GPU Overheating leading to black screen and crashing

[DreJReaper]

Hi

I've had a r9 290x lightning in my rig for a few years now and in the past year it's been playing up quite often. Temperatures while running games like rust can reach temperatures of up to 100 degrees Celsius. I begin receiving graphical glitches and anomalies in the game and within a matter of 10 seconds the game stops responding and I end up with a black screen.


It's certainly possible that the black screen is not a result of the temperature although that's all I can think of. I've tried decreasing the temperature by running all fans in my rig at 100%, I've cleaned out my case and GPU for dust and have not seen any other people experiencing the same issues with my card.


I've had it looked at by a PC store however I was told there was not a problem with it. I've been contemplating opening up my GPU and ordering some thermal paste to change it although I'm worried about having to replace and apply the thermal pads.


I also have 3 fans built into my case as well as an aftermarket CPU cooler. I have also updated all of my graphics drivers.

I don't know if the black screen could possibly even have nothing to do with my GPU or the fact that it overheats. This has been bothering me for quite some time now and I have absolutely no idea what to do.


Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.


Thanks




Specs if needed:

CPU:
Intel Core i7-4790k 4.00 GHz

GPU:
MSI R9 Radeon 290x Lightning

Motherboard:
MSI Z87 MPOWER

SSD:
Corsair FORCE LX Sata 3 256GB SSD

HDD:
Western Digital Green 3TB HDD

RAM:
Corsair DDR3 Vengeance 2x4GB + 1x8GB

CPU Cooler:
Thermaltake FrioOCK Snow Edition CPU Cooler

Case:
Thermaltake s71 Urban

Power Supply:
Corsair CX Series CX750M Modular ATX

 

[Martell1977]

I would start by replacing the thermal paste, Arctic MX-4 is really good for GPU's and CPU's.

The 290X is safe to 95c and then should throttle itself to prevent damage and overheating. If the card is hitting 100c, then the cooler is not working as it should and it is not able to throttle enough to get the temp down.

Also not a bad idea to do a clean install of the GPU driver after. Meaning, uninstall it, run DDU (Display Driver uninstaller), then install the latest driver from AMD.

 

[DreJReaper]

I would start by replacing the thermal paste, Arctic MX-4 is really good for GPU's and CPU's.

The 290X is safe to 95c and then should throttle itself to prevent damage and overheating. If the card is hitting 100c, then the cooler is not working as it should and it is not able to throttle enough to get the temp down.

Also not a bad idea to do a clean install of the GPU driver after. Meaning, uninstall it, run DDU (Display Driver uninstaller), then install the latest driver from AMD.

Thanks for the reply, but as I stated above, I'm kinda worried about the thermal pads. If I open it up to replace the thermal paste, would the thermal pads come off? and how will I know where to put them back? A bit worried. Also keep in mind it's the lightning edition as the 290x lightning and the regular 290x are very different. If that affects anything.

Thanks

 

[Martell1977]

Thanks for the reply, but as I stated above, I'm kinda worried about the thermal pads. If I open it up to replace the thermal paste, would the thermal pads come off? and how will I know where to put them back? A bit worried. Also keep in mind it's the lightning edition as the 290x lightning and the regular 290x are very different. If that affects anything.

Thanks

The pads shouldn't be of concern, they go on the memory chips and they wont fall off. I've replaced the thermal paste on about 2 dozen GPU's and the pads have always stayed on the memory modules. Even if it did come off, they have an impression of the modules on it and you can easily match it up. Not to mention that there are more than likely pictures or videos online on how to do this.

Being an MSI model instead of reference really only means that the mounting screws for the cooler will be in a different spot, but the mount to the GPU itself will be the same.

It's actually a very easy process, just have to be patient and take your time, making note of any change in the screws length or thread pattern. Once you do it, you will be amazed how easy it is. But if still nervous, you could pay that shop you mentioned to do it and hope they are honest.

 

[DreJReaper]

Thanks for the reply, but as I stated above, I'm kinda worried about the thermal pads. If I open it up to replace the thermal paste, would the thermal pads come off? and how will I know where to put them back? A bit worried. Also keep in mind it's the lightning edition as the 290x lightning and the regular 290x are very different. If that affects anything.

Thanks

The pads shouldn't be of concern, they go on the memory chips and they wont fall off. I've replaced the thermal paste on about 2 dozen GPU's and the pads have always stayed on the memory modules. Even if it did come off, they have an impression of the modules on it and you can easily match it up. Not to mention that there are more than likely pictures or videos online on how to do this.

Being an MSI model instead of reference really only means that the mounting screws for the cooler will be in a different spot, but the mount to the GPU itself will be the same.

It's actually a very easy process, just have to be patient and take your time, making note of any change in the screws length or thread pattern. Once you do it, you will be amazed how easy it is. But if still nervous, you could pay that shop you mentioned to do it and hope they are honest.

Thanks, I'll go ahead and do it once I gather the supplies.

 

[DreJReaper]

I would start by replacing the thermal paste, Arctic MX-4 is really good for GPU's and CPU's.

The 290X is safe to 95c and then should throttle itself to prevent damage and overheating. If the card is hitting 100c, then the cooler is not working as it should and it is not able to throttle enough to get the temp down.

Also not a bad idea to do a clean install of the GPU driver after. Meaning, uninstall it, run DDU (Display Driver uninstaller), then install the latest driver from AMD.

Alright just went ahead and applied the new thermal paste and remove dust from the GPU heatsink. After some testing I have concluded that the temperature is significantly lower (10-20 degrees Celsius less!) and the black screen issue no longer happens! Thank you very much!

 

[Martell1977]

Alright just went ahead and applied the new thermal paste and remove dust from the GPU heatsink. After some testing I have concluded that the temperature is significantly lower (10-20 degrees Celsius less!) and the black screen issue no longer happens! Thank you very much!

Glad I could help, in the future, when temps start to rise, just take the computer outside and blow out all the dust from the GPU, CPU and PSU. No need to replace the thermal paste again unless the temps get out of control again. I clean the dust out of my PC about once a month using an air compressor. NEVER USE A VACUUM! The static could ruin the computer.