Do I have a faulty 970?

[jcgill]

I bought a second 970 for sli and decided to attempt to overclock them. This is my first sli build and first attempt at overclocking. I tried overclocking them together and that caused crashes and artifacts so I saw I should try doing them individually. I started with the newer card and got a pretty good overclock but then Heaven Benchmark crashed and now it crashes before starting even after closing the program completely. Also I can't play Witcher 3, KSP, or any of my other games unless I re-enable SLI. Is my new card defective or did I break it overclocking? or am I just an idiot?

Edit: It wasn't temps either because when testing individually the cards didn't get over 62 C

 

[i7Baby]

Got them both plugged into a PSU that can run them? What make and model?

In Device Manager, are they both shown as 'working properly' and their drivers up to date?

If so -

Try both cards by themselves. If one crashes all the time and the other doesn't then the crashy one is faulty.

 

[rdc85]

If the card reset -ed (no. O.C.) is it running fine in SLI?

usually card can survive O.C. as long u don't touch the voltage..
it may crash because of the O.C. properties /profile, so u need to reset the card so it back to default setting..

 

[jcgill]

Got them both plugged into a PSU that can run them? What make and model?

In Device Manager, are they both shown as 'working properly' and their drivers up to date?

If so -

Try both cards by themselves. If one crashes all the time and the other doesn't then the crashy one is faulty.

It's an EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Modular power supply

Yes, it shows both are working properly and drivers are updated

Can I just disable SLI and move the HDMI or do I need to remove and switch the cards position on my mobo?

 

[i7Baby]

Can I just disable SLI and move the HDMI or do I need to remove and switch the cards position on my mobo? - remove and switch. Use each in pcie slot 1.

 

[jcgill]

If the card reset -ed (no. O.C.) is it running fine in SLI?

usually card can survive O.C. as long u don't touch the voltage..
it may crash because of the O.C. properties /profile, so u need to reset the card so it back to default setting..

They can start the games, the fps is around 80 instead of 115 but that might be just the game.

 

[jcgill]

Can I just disable SLI and move the HDMI or do I need to remove and switch the cards position on my mobo? - remove and switch. Use each in pcie slot 1.

Okay, I won't be able to remove the cards until the morning but I'll try that. Could my problem be because I am using the second graphics card as my primary one but it isn't in the pcie slot 1? It is running benchmarks as well as I was with the card in pcie 1 but it can't run games?

 

[rdc85]

If the card reset -ed (no. O.C.) is it running fine in SLI?

usually card can survive O.C. as long u don't touch the voltage..
it may crash because of the O.C. properties /profile, so u need to reset the card so it back to default setting..

They can start the games, the fps is around 80 instead of 115 but that might be just the game.

If it's runs fine on normal setting/speed.. and SLI work fine..
u can check SLI runs using gpu-z render test ("?" mark)..

looks like the card is ok.. u can try O.C. again if u like but now try little step like 10mhz/5mhz increase..
(both), test if it stable..

I don't think there is a problem where the slot is for the primary card..
but again that based on my old CFX setup not SLI, so cannot said for sure..

It's also good to check each card for failure as i7baby said, try stress test each card..
(with only one running/installed at one time)..

 

[jcgill]

If the card reset -ed (no. O.C.) is it running fine in SLI?

usually card can survive O.C. as long u don't touch the voltage..
it may crash because of the O.C. properties /profile, so u need to reset the card so it back to default setting..

They can start the games, the fps is around 80 instead of 115 but that might be just the game.

If it's runs fine on normal setting/speed.. and SLI work fine..
u can check SLI runs using gpu-z render test ("?" mark)..

looks like the card is ok.. u can try O.C. again if u like but now try little step like 10mhz/5mhz increase..
(both), test if it stable..

I don't think there is a problem where the slot is for the primary card..
but again that based on my old CFX setup not SLI, so cannot said for sure..

It's also good to check each card for failure as i7baby said, try stress test each card..
(with only one running/installed at one time)..

Thank you both, I'll definitely test them individually tomorrow

 

[i7Baby]

Can I just disable SLI and move the HDMI or do I need to remove and switch the cards position on my mobo? - remove and switch. Use each in pcie slot 1.

Okay, I won't be able to remove the cards until the morning but I'll try that. Could my problem be because I am using the second graphics card as my primary one but it isn't in the pcie slot 1? It is running benchmarks as well as I was with the card in pcie 1 but it can't run games?

You need to look at your motherboard spec. The primary card should be in slot 1. It should run the monitor(s)