Question GPU detected but not working ?

[pellemao]

I was gaming the other night and suddenly my computer froze and I got a black screen. After that, there was no return.

The day after I tried it all to figure out what the problem could be. I formated the disk and re-installed windows, I swapped the RAMs too see if they were faulty and finally I unplugged my Graphics Card and tried with the integrated GPU of my motherboard. The computer was alive but my graphics card did not work...

Now I've cleaned, heat-gunned and put fresh cooling paste on the GPU and visually inspected it. Nothing out of the ordinary. When I plugg it in the device manager finds it and so does NVidia Geforce Experience. But when I plug in my screen with a HDMI/Displayport cable there is no reaction what so ever. But the card still gets "hot", not too hot but there definitly is current running through it.
So to the questions. What could cause this problem? Is the graphics card broken? Is there a way to fix this? I haven't noticed any heat issues before and the FPS has been stable all the way through.

Relevant specs:
Graphics card: Asus NVidia GTX 2070 DUAL 08G.
Motherboard: Asus Z730 TUF
CPU: Intel Core i7 8700 @ 3.20GHz
Power Supply: Fractal 650W

 

[Aeacus]

What could cause this problem?

Hard to say, if GPU itself is wholly toast, or if the driver chip on it is toast.

To test it:

• Plug your monitor to MoBo.
• Using DDU, remove all and any GPU drivers you have on your PC.
• Shut down, after which, plug your monitor to your GPU.
• If you get an image, albeit with lower resolution (by using Win built-in display drivers), then at least, your GPU works "somewhat".
• Install GPU drivers again (download latest from Nvidia).
• If you loose image signal after GPU drivers are installed, the driver chip on your GPU is toast.

Is the graphics card broken?

If you've tried with different cable and/or in different display ports, and still won't get image on monitor, it is safe to assume: Yes.

Is there a way to fix this?

No. Other than replacing GPU.

I haven't noticed any heat issues before and the FPS has been stable all the way through.

Hardware dies on daily basis and often without any visible reason what-so-ever. And for that reason, we have warranty. Since if no hardware ever dies, there wouldn't be a need for warranty at all. So, if your GPU has warranty, RMA it.

 

[Nine Layer Nige]

So, did the pc work ok with the CPU integrated graphics ?
Can you test the GPU in a different pc ?
Win 10 or win 11 ?

If you have a spare SSD to swap out then do a test install with Win 10 or Linux Mint to try.

 

[pellemao]

Hard to say, if GPU itself is wholly toast, or if the driver chip on it is toast.

To test it:

• Plug your monitor to MoBo.
• Using DDU, remove all and any GPU drivers you have on your PC.
• Shut down, after which, plug your monitor to your GPU.
• If you get an image, albeit with lower resolution (by using Win built-in display drivers), then at least, your GPU works "somewhat".
• Install GPU drivers again (download latest from Nvidia).
• If you loose image signal after GPU drivers are installed, the driver chip on your GPU is toast.

I did this after the first re-installation of Windows 10, I briefly got it to work but as soon as I updated the drivers the screen turned black.

If you've tried with different cable and/or in different display ports, and still won't get image on monitor, it is safe to assume: Yes.

Aouch...

Hardware dies on daily basis and often without any visible reason what-so-ever. And for that reason, we have warranty. Since if no hardware ever dies, there wouldn't be a need for warranty at all. So, if your GPU has warranty, RMA it.

The GPU is a couple of years old, what warranty does ASUS leave on it's Graphic Boards? Could I leave it for someone to repair or is that just a waste of time and money?

 

[pellemao]

So, did the pc work ok with the CPU integrated graphics ?
Can you test the GPU in a different pc ?
Win 10 or win 11 ?

If you have a spare SSD to swap out then do a test install with Win 10 or Linux Mint to try.

I re-installed a fresh Win 10 on a formated SSD. Unfortunatelly I don't have a spare SSD. Could probably test the GPU in a friends PC, do you recommend that?

 

[rolli59]

Yes test in a different PC will tell if it is the card or something else.

 

[Aeacus]

I briefly got it to work but as soon as I updated the drivers the screen turned black.

Yeah, that sounds like a bad driver chip.

Now, you may get image on 2nd PC as well, but once you install GPU drivers there too, you should be seeing the same result (black screen). If so, your GPU is essentially toast. Well, at least 80% of it, since you can use it without drivers but that limits what you can get out of GPU, considerably.

what warranty does ASUS leave on it's Graphic Boards?

You can check from here, if you have valid warranty,
link: https://www.asus.com/us/support/warranty-status-inquiry/

But Asus has 3 years of warranty for their GPUs.

And from here, you can download the GPU warranty policy:
(Just scroll down a bit and pick "Graphics Card")
link: https://www.asus.com/us/support/article/925/

In the Asus GPU warranty policy, there is stated:

3. Customer responsibility
When using the Product:
* Do not remove thermal module, reassemble thermal module may cause contact defective and damage components.

So, you doing this:

I've cleaned, heat-gunned and put fresh cooling paste on the GPU

Might have had voided the warranty.

Could I leave it for someone to repair or is that just a waste of time and money?

If you can't RMA your GPU, no point fixing it. Since that requires to:

• know exactly what component died on your GPU (my assumption of driver chip is most obvious, but there could be another component that has failed).
• know the source where to buy the exact spare component.
• know-how of soldering (since all important components are soldered to GPU PCB).

Now, i don't know if Asus would fix the GPU for you, if you paid for your GPU repair. Some companies in the industry do that though. E.g Gigabyte can repair their MoBo, if you pay for it. To know for sure, you need to contact Asus customer support.