[SOLVED] [SOLVED] GPU Suddenly Spikes To 100% When Starting To Play Games, Freezes The Whole System

[Vetkin]

Hello,

first of all: DxDiag + GPU-Z logs

I'm running:

• 3 monitors (1920x1080, one of them 144 Hz G-Sync, rest 60 Hz)
• PSU: AeroCool gt-sg Series 1050W
• Graphics card: Asus ROG Strix 1080 Ti OC (didn't do the OC myself, bought the "OC-Version"
• CPU: i7 8700k @ 4,7 Ghz (OC'd myself)
• Mainoard: Z370 Extreme 4
• 5 HDDs, 2 SSDs
• Mouse: Corsair Ironclaw RGB
• Keyboard: Magic Eagle blue switches
• Audio interface: Scarlett 2i4

When I'm about to play games (The Division 2, Battlefield V e.g.) the system freezes when loading into them or shortly after. I could figure out that it might have to do with a spike regarding my GPU (it jumps to ~1V and 100% usage). The strange thing: everything worked fine for like 2 years. I didn't change anything, no new hardware or software. But 3 days ago, while gaming, the screens suddenly went black and the GPU fans ran at max speed. That happened a few more times when trying to play games (which wasn't successfull since that happened) but now it just changed to freezing the whole system. Another interesting thing: I randomly had the "nvlddmkm.sys stopped responding and has recovered" error after that first crash but somehow resolved it by something (I know it still occurred after getting new / old drivers).

I already experimented with over- and undervolting my graphics card to no success (used Afterburner, EVGA Precision and Asus GPU Tweak II). Ofc I also reseated the card, switched PCIe-Slot and used other PCIe cables.
Appreciate your help!

I've been troubleshooting for the past two days and can definitely say that there's no problem with:

• Windows (reinstalled, updated)
• RAM (tested it, tried using only one stick at a time)
• CPU
• Overheating (GPU ~70°C under full load, CPU ~60°C)
• Drivers (updated everything, used old NVIDIA drivers)

I have no other graphics card or PSU to test, unfortunately:
If I had to guess, I'd nail down the problem to either the PSU or GPU. But my 1080 Ti is only about 1,5 years old now, the PSU about 2,5 or 3. But I've heard that other people (especially with a 1080 Ti) have the same problem. Is this just and NVIDIA thing?

Do you have any clues?

EDIT: SOLVED. I even bought a new PSU today and the same error was still there. What solved it was the removal of the old (dry) thermal paste and I applied a new one. I've found that solution in a similar, age-old thread and it really worked. Really strange since my card didn't even overheat (60°C under full load)

 

[Vetkin]

do a stress test on gpu using gpu-z renderind option and check the voltages with fan speed and temp on hwinfo sensor page ,to stress test your psu use occt .

Hello Scout, thanks for your help.

I've done what you said with these results: GPU-Z Log while OCCT and Rendertest were running

The render test was finde but OCCT just stopped doing the test after 59s. I've set it to 60 minutes. Also, it won't even start in endless mode.

Hope that helps.

EDIT: I tried a few more games that run on dx12 or dx11. When I enable dx11 it doesn't freeze but crashes with this error from windows:

Application has been blocked from accessing graphics hardware

 

[scout_03]

strange that psu stop at 59sec on test ou might need to rma it also you did overclock the cpu did you try with the turbo boost from intel another option remove gpu from system and use onboard then try to run those games back to see what happens .

 

[Vetkin]

EDIT: SOLVED. I even bought a new PSU today and the same error was still there. What solved it was the removal of the old (dry) thermal paste and I applied a new one. I've found that solution in a similar, age-old thread and it really worked.

 

[Basolan]

Hi Vetkin, I'm having a similar issue now. Did you replace the thermal paste on your CPU? Were you having CPU overheating issues? Or did you remove the cooler from your GPU and replace the thermal pads?