GPU shuts down while gaming.

[Mirk1]

Hi,

I'm not super tech savvy so I apologize if I've left out some crucial detail.

CPU: i5 2400 @ 3.1 ghz
Motherboard: Asus p8z68-v le
GPU: Nvidia GeForce 560 ti w/448 cores
RAM: 8 gb
PSU: 600 watts, seasonic I think

I've had this rig for about 3 years and have had no issues until recently. What happens now is that anytime I play any game with decent graphics other than EVE online, I almost immediately crash to black screen, or some times to a solid colour, sometimes with a sound loop. Strangely this even happens when I try and play Star Wars Galaxies emulator on highest settings, when it's a game from 2003.

It seems as if the GPU is just shutting down as I notice that the GPU fan shuts down at the same time as the black screen.

I'm pretty sure this isn't a cooling issue as the afterburner logs show temp at around 45 C when the crash occurs, and also it happens so early in game that the GPU hasn't really had a chance to heat up.

I've run furmark, and while it heated my GPU up to 90 C, there were no crashes.

I also ran intelburntest which also seems to have been fine.

I have recently replaced my CPU fan, and temperatures there also seem fine.

Any advice on what the cause could be would be a great help. Thanks!

 

[Dee Kay]

Do you have the latest drivers installed? Here is one dated March 2015 you can try to see if it helps. Try turning some of the video options off to see if it helps or if it still crashes.
http://www.nvidia.com/download/driverResults.aspx/83080/en-us

 

[Mirk1]

Do you have the latest drivers installed? Here is one dated March 2015 you can try to see if it helps. Try turning some of the video options off to see if it helps or if it still crashes.
http://www.nvidia.com/download/driverResults.aspx/83080/en-us

I do have the latest drivers. Also the issues started before installing new drivers so I suspect it's not the drivers.

 

[Dee Kay]

Try turning off or lowering some of the video options to see if it helps. You are trying to see if it is the settings, the game, or your card itself. Try the card in another system or with another PSU if possible to try to rule out either of them being the cause.

 

[Mirk1]

Try turning off or lowering some of the video options to see if it helps. You are trying to see if it is the settings, the game, or your card itself. Try the card in another system or with another PSU if possible to try to rule out either of them being the cause.

That's the thing, I don't have spare parts or another desktop handy, so I want to make the best guess before I start forking out money for new stuff.

When graphics setting are minimized I don't seem to have the same problem.

Is it possible that some games could require the GPU to pull more power from the PSU which for some reason isn't providing it causing the GPU to shut down?

 

[Dee Kay]

That is possible but it sounds like the card itself just can't handle all of the load that the higher settings are calling for. It sounds like you are exceeding the limits of the cards abilities and it just shuts down instead of lagging or freezing like you would expect. It may be that one of the vram is failing on your card when it is put under too much of a load.

 

[Dee Kay]

Try running furmark again to test your card. http://www.ozone3d.net/benchmarks/fur/

 

[Mirk1]

Try running furmark again to test your card. http://www.ozone3d.net/benchmarks/fur/

I ran it for an hour yesterday with no issues.

 

[Dee Kay]

It sounds like you card is okay then but just can't handle the more intense demands that some games are designed for. It is like trying to run a mustang against a bunch of corvettes or dragsters. You can make it to the finish line as long as you don't try to keep up with the pack. You may be further ahead starting to save up for a new GPU and just run the problem games at lower resolutions. That gives you a good incentive to save up faster.