Does my gpu need replacing?

[nzl_jason c]

Hi all,

So for a while now i havent been able to play games, because my computer keeps freezing up followed by a bsod. I'v run memtest and my ram is fine and also checked my hard drives for errors, which there are none. Just today i decided to find out where the strange high pitched clicking and whining noises are coming from that occour when the system is under load, and usually followed by the bsod. It appears its coming from my graphics card, a GTX 275. I downloaded GPU-Z and had it open while running ATItool, my temperatures dont exceed 85C while at 100% load, but i hear the noises as soon as i start the test. My cpu core temps get to about 70C at the highest and idle at about 40-45.

My question is, has the card stopped working properly and do i need to get a new one, or is it something else?

My PSU is 650w so i have plenty of power, i have a core 2 quad Q9400 processor and 4gb ram so the computer should have no problems running games at high settings. For example i can normally play cod4 at 1920x1080 at highest settings and get 90fps constant, but now i get the noise and then a bsod after only 1-2 minutes of gameplay. The computer ran with no issues for months then the bsod became more and more frequent, happening once or twice a week but now i'm lucky to play for 5 minutes without hearing noises and the screen freezing up.

This issue has frustrated me for months, and I really want to be able to get my computer back runing as it should, just ask if you need any aditional details, and i look forward to hearing any solutions.

Thanks

 

[esrever]

Its either the PSU or the card, probably the card if there is a noise.

 

[nzl_jason c]

Thanks for the fast reply, i've had a look at what my PSU voltages are, and compared them to the recomended voltages, and they all appear to be within the recomended values, +/- 5% if i remember correctly

 

[GreenDutchAlien]

Sounds as a dying gpu . . .

 

[larkspur]

Have you sprayed the dust out of your card and case using some canned air? Make sure those heat-sink fins are clear. But high-pitched whining sounds like a dying fan to me especially since it happens right after putting a load on. Probably the card's fan bearing. If it isn't dusty and the whining persists you should probably consider a new card soon.

 

[esrever]

can you tell if the noise if from the gpu or the cpu? is it a buzzing or something thats wrong with the fan?

leave your case open and try prime95 which will stress your cpu and see if there is noise.

if it is your GPU or your cpu, you'd probably have to replace it.

 

[GreenDutchAlien]

Or maybe coil whining, though the clicking sounds i'm not familiair with.

 

[nzl_jason c]

The noise is definately from the GPU, i have the case open right now i and can see the fan still spins. GPU-Z reads about 1500RPM at idle. The best i can describe the noise is a whine that lasts about 1 second, which increases in pitch until it is no longer able to be heard, possibly the fan spinning back up or something im not sure.

I've never pulled the cover of the card and cleaned it so it could be a bit dusty, I'll try and get that done tomorrow when i have a bit more time.

 

[esrever]

cleaning will probably be the best option, probably the only thing you can do without replacing the card.

 

[nzl_jason c]

More specifically the sound is coming from the fan end of the GPU, so i guess its the fan making the noise

 

[GreenDutchAlien]

Can you disable the fan for a short period ? The sound should be away than.

I'm not so sure it is the fan.

 

[nzl_jason c]

How do i disable the fan?

 

[GreenDutchAlien]

Mmmm, good one, never tried it myself. Thought maybe with an oc program like afterburner, you can manually set the fan speed. I just tried with mine but you can't get below a certain speed, meh.

Probably have to disconnect the powercable from the board ( if not solderd that is ) so you'll have to open the gpu case for it.

Sounds more and more as a stupid idea, never mind . . .

 

[nzl_jason c]

Thanks for all the help anyway, i'll get back to you tomorrow after i do some dust busting (I'm in new zealand so it's midday and i'm off to work now and wont be home until late tonight)

 

[GreenDutchAlien]

I'm in Old Zealand ( province Zeeland in Holland ) finished working and off to bed now.

Bye for now.

 

[nzl_jason c]

Ok so its been a while since my last post, but i finally got round to cleaning out the dust, but still hasn't fixed the problem. Maybe its time to get a new gpu then.

 

[nzl_jason c]

Best answer selected by NZL_Jason C.