[SOLVED] Have I permanently damaged by GPU by overheating?

[evantass]

Hello, I just completed my first build, and am using a Radeon RX570. On my first longish (2hr) gaming session, I suddenly got tears and black "snow" across my screen, which didn't go away when I closed the game. I promptly shut down, then opened the case to find that the graphics card was hot to the touch, but not alarming. The next day, on startup, the tearing and snow is still there, basically making my PC unusable. I notice that right now, the GPU fans are not running, and (greenhorn as I am) I realize I didn't confirm that they were running while gaming, though the PCIe cables are plugged in and everything.

Here's a video of what the screen looks like now, on startup: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jh0pGNRPo29NYfAc32xqzSALnN2RBQ-h/view?usp=sharing

Naturally I'm freaking out a bit about possible having ruined my new video card. Can anyone tell me (a) whether I might've caused irreparable damage, (b) how I can eliminate the glitching and snow, assuming it's not a permanent hardware malfunction, and (c) how I can make sure the GPU fans are set up to function properly? General apology for being inexperienced at all this--I realize there's the Radeon program that helps to monitor the card, but I hadn't really looked at the performance info before this incident, and am really kicking myself now for not doing more homework on this.

Thanks for any help/advice you can give.

 

[Shektron]

Normally, if the GPU was reaching dangerous temps, it should have automatically shut the system down, I think, as part of protection features. Install MSI Afterburner and try to set up a custom fan curve, see if the fans spin up then. Update your drivers, in fact use Display Driver Uninstaller to remove current GPU drivers and then install the latest drivers. If the custom fan profile doesn't work either, you probably got a defective GPU and should get it replaced as the fans seem to not have worked right from the start.

P.S. : Mention your full system specs.

 

[evantass]

Thanks very much for your reply. Sorry for not including more specs in the OP, I've included what I assume is all the basic info below.

I ran DDU in Safe Mode and removed the drivers, after which the "snow" / tearing disappeared (resolution was reset etc.). Upon re-installing the latest Radeon drivers, the snow and tearing are back, just like they were. Again, I apologize for being pretty ignorant about all this stuff, but if anyone knows what my next diagnostic steps should be, please let me know.

In MSI Afterburner, the fan profile shows that the GPU fans should be running at any temperature--when MSIA is on, the fans were indeed running, but as soon as I closed the program the fans stopped. I'm using an Intel chip with no iGPU, so I would've assumed that the GPU is always running, no? Shouldn't the fans be on whenever the PC is on? Anyway, I've at least confirmed that the fan hardware is working. I'll have to test out while gaming / otherwise putting some actual load on the GPU.

Not really sure what I should do next to address the snow, but I hope this is at least a good sign that this is some driver failure issue, and not any permanent damage to the GPU...?

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System specs: Intel i5-9400F 2.9gHz (does NOT have integrated graphics)
Gigabyte B365M DS3H Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard
G.Skill Aegis 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-2400 Memory
WD 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive
XFX Radeon RX 570 4 GB RS XXX Video Card
EVGA BR 500 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX PSU

 

[evantass]

Update: I've tried installing past versions of AMD drivers (eg. 19.12.2), which also isn't helping. Doesn't seem to be any issue with my monitor (I've checked cables etc, and the artifacting isn't happening when I run in Safe Mode, or after I uninstall the AMD drivers). At this point should I assume that the GPU itself is faulty, or are there other diagnostic things I should be doing before I return the unit?

 

[Shektron]

Update: I've tried installing past versions of AMD drivers (eg. 19.12.2), which also isn't helping. Doesn't seem to be any issue with my monitor (I've checked cables etc, and the artifacting isn't happening when I run in Safe Mode, or after I uninstall the AMD drivers). At this point should I assume that the GPU itself is faulty, or are there other diagnostic things I should be doing before I return the unit?

If multiple drivers are causing the same artifacts, I would say don't risk it and return the card as defective. That PSU of yours isn't high quality and might also be the source of the original issue her. Try to put a light load on the GPU without running MSI Afterburner, see if the fans spin up automatically. By default, some cards have fans that don't spin at all when the card is idle, and only spin up when a load is put. Try running a UserBenchmark, that should put a short-term load on the GPU, see if the fans spin up. Either way, though, I think returning the card would be the best option.