Hello,
Before I start, here are some of my system specs:
- OS: Windows 7 Professional, 64-bit
- Processor: Intel i7 3770k @3.5 gHz (8-core)
- GPU: Nvidia GTX 660 Ti
- Motherboard: Asus Sabertooth z77 (bios date: 12/19/2012)
- Cooling Unit: Corsair h100i w/radiator and thermal paste for processor
- 16 gb Ram
- 2x 2TB Hard Drives
- PSU: Corsair TX850
-
Okay. So I have an issue where, upon any kind of graphical stress (even just drawing the screen sometimes), the GPU will crash, the windows timeout will attempt to recover the driver. Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn't, and the monitor will remain black, as it's not receiving a signal from the graphics card anymore. Under heavy load (playing Battlefield, Skyrim, etc), or any kind of moderate-to-advanced graphics rendering, the GPU hangs and crashes within the first few minutes of playing. Other times, even opening the start menu or Google Chrome will cause the graphics driver/card to hang and crash as well. This is extremely annoying and I haven't been able to pinpoint a cause. I have not installed any new hardware as of late that could possibly be interfering with the driver, or the GPU. It just sort of started "happening."
I have closely monitored the temps of the CPU and the GPU, and neither of them yield irregular temperatures under load. (nothing above ~45 C)
Tidbit: I don't know if this matters, but around the same time, the LED "Corsair" insignia that contains the thermal paste that sits directly over the processor turned from white to red on the inside of the PC. I have opened a ticket with Corsair to see if it has anything to do with it but haven't yet received a response.
Here's what I've tried to resolve the problem:
- Reinstalled/downgraded graphics drivers
- Reseated the card
- Reapplied thermal paste to processor
- Edited the windows timeout to allow GPU more time to process (doesn't help, just gets slower and slower until it times out)
- Reset the CMOS battery on mobo
I don't know what could possibly be causing the problem here. Some people I've consulted say it's an issue with an out-of-date BIOS, but the BIOS is supposedly able to update itself. Others have said a manual re-install of Windows is necessary, but I don't want to do that until I am sure I've exhausted any other solutions.
Let me know what y'all think. Thanks for your time.
Before I start, here are some of my system specs:
- OS: Windows 7 Professional, 64-bit
- Processor: Intel i7 3770k @3.5 gHz (8-core)
- GPU: Nvidia GTX 660 Ti
- Motherboard: Asus Sabertooth z77 (bios date: 12/19/2012)
- Cooling Unit: Corsair h100i w/radiator and thermal paste for processor
- 16 gb Ram
- 2x 2TB Hard Drives
- PSU: Corsair TX850
-
Okay. So I have an issue where, upon any kind of graphical stress (even just drawing the screen sometimes), the GPU will crash, the windows timeout will attempt to recover the driver. Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn't, and the monitor will remain black, as it's not receiving a signal from the graphics card anymore. Under heavy load (playing Battlefield, Skyrim, etc), or any kind of moderate-to-advanced graphics rendering, the GPU hangs and crashes within the first few minutes of playing. Other times, even opening the start menu or Google Chrome will cause the graphics driver/card to hang and crash as well. This is extremely annoying and I haven't been able to pinpoint a cause. I have not installed any new hardware as of late that could possibly be interfering with the driver, or the GPU. It just sort of started "happening."
I have closely monitored the temps of the CPU and the GPU, and neither of them yield irregular temperatures under load. (nothing above ~45 C)
Tidbit: I don't know if this matters, but around the same time, the LED "Corsair" insignia that contains the thermal paste that sits directly over the processor turned from white to red on the inside of the PC. I have opened a ticket with Corsair to see if it has anything to do with it but haven't yet received a response.
Here's what I've tried to resolve the problem:
- Reinstalled/downgraded graphics drivers
- Reseated the card
- Reapplied thermal paste to processor
- Edited the windows timeout to allow GPU more time to process (doesn't help, just gets slower and slower until it times out)
- Reset the CMOS battery on mobo
I don't know what could possibly be causing the problem here. Some people I've consulted say it's an issue with an out-of-date BIOS, but the BIOS is supposedly able to update itself. Others have said a manual re-install of Windows is necessary, but I don't want to do that until I am sure I've exhausted any other solutions.
Let me know what y'all think. Thanks for your time.