Question Losing display and fans going to max speed

Sep 2, 2019
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Here's the parts list. I built it maybe a month ago. Basically, seemingly at random, my display freezes for a bit, then it goes out, and then the fans go on full power. I suspect it might be some fault in my GPU, but I don't know.

Here's a list of the times it's happened, if that helps:

1. The computer had barely got past the bootup screen.

2. PC was on for a long time and I was on my home screen.

3. I was in the middle of a game of Overwatch.

4. I'd been on it no longer than a minute.

5. 9/13, my PC had been on for like 3 hours, I slept it, came back 15 minutes later, started browsing the web and then it happened.

6. 9/14, I was plugging in my microphone and my mic oddly didn't turn on, my screen froze for about 10 seconds, I heard a slight buzzing noise through my headphones, and then my fans went full power. This is the only time the issue occurred that my PC automatically rebooted, too, which is odd.

7. 9/15, I merely turned my PC on and had it sitting on the first screen before the login screen (on Windows, that is), and the issue occurred within 20 seconds.

8. 9/16, I started playing my first match of Overwatch for the day, when I noticed very small but noticeable screen freezes, followed by a slightly longer screen freeze with some audio disruption, followed by the screen freezing, a loud buzzing noise in my headphones, and the rest happening as you'd expect.

9. 9/20, I accidentally pressed the sleep button on my keyboard. Quickly woke up my PC, was sent to my lock screen, as usual. Pressed a key to transition into the login screen, and mid-transition the screen froze and the issue occurred.

Basically, it happened 4 times within maybe the span of a week, then a solid week and five days gap of no issues, then the latest few times.

Attempts to monitor and deal with the issue:
  • I checked the screws on the CPU cooler: they seem secure and snug to me.
  • All the PSU cables are connected fine.
  • At some point in time I'd considered a faulty HDMI cable could've been the issue, but the issue has happened across two different HDMI cables and now with a DVI cable.
  • I suspected some kind of CPU or GPU temperature issues based on the time I was playing OW and it happened, but I monitored those in multiple hours-long play sessions afterward and saw no particularly high temperatures or issues on that front. And I've been playing the game near daily the last near two weeks w/o the issue happening again, until the fifth time.
  • Googling. The best possible answer I've found so far doing that is it's possible the thermal paste inside the GPU isn't on right, but that doesn't really add up when the issue doesn't seem to be related to temperatures.
  • BIOS updating. I asked about this on the discord after the fourth time, and someone suggested that. I did it, and had no more issues, until the fifth time.
  • Checking Event logs. Error, Warning, Critical, Information, and Audit Success and Failure: nothing shows in the logs at the times when the issue occurs (except for the 6th time, b/c the PC automatically rebooted itself)
  • Checked MSI Afterburner Hardware Monitor logs. I've had this hardware monitor running for a while for when the issue occurs again, and it was on during the 9th occurrence. However, it either stopped right before it could record anything abnormal, or nothing abnormal could be detected b/w CPU and GPU temp, usage, and power usage...
Suggestions I have yet to test
  • Someone suggested to me the issue is the GPU instantly overheating, due to either poorly factory-applied thermal paste or the fans having a deadspot, or some mix of those issues. I believe opening my GPU up will break warranty, so I'm waiting on that. Plus I was hoping I wouldn't have to go messing with components again, lol.
  • Someone suggested to me to go through a full-on hardware diagnostic process, starting with using an electric meter on my PC. I don't know anything about that, but I might end up giving it a try if it could help.
I'm just clueless as to what's going on at this point. I keep reposting threads over on reddit and trying to get help on the r/buildapc discord and barely anyone seems to have any ideas, but I'm still hoping to find a solution. I got to thinking maybe someone on here might know.
 
Last edited:
Sep 2, 2019
7
0
10
that's usaully a display output issue . whehter its hdmi or display port .

I apologize, what exactly do you mean by that? A faulty cable? You believe the ports in the GPU itself are messed up?

I doubt it's a cable, since, as I mentioned, I've had the issue occur across 2 different HDMI cables and also a DVI cable. Is it likely multiple ports would be messed up?