Monitors Go static when PC is under Load

[Joelsome2211]

Please Help!! Whenever i use a program/ game that is heavy on my GPU, my screens go static for 10 seconds, then black. I have to manually restart the system from the power switch to get rid of the problem.

My system Specs:

GPU: AMD R7 240
CPU: I5 4440
PSU: some crappy 350-watt thing, probably Asus IDK I bought it as a system from PC world ( bad move!)
RAM: 8 GB of DDR3
Storage: 2 TB Hard Drive

I value any replies.

Joelsome2211

 

[pigeoncracker]

So, that sounds suspiciously like a power issue. The GPU failing is what is probably causing the monitors to stop receiving a signal. The power supply is going to be the main issue. Regardless of the wattage, it's going to have a hard time if it can't supply enough power on the rail for your GPU. The computer should have plenty of headroom, both the CPU and GPU drawing most likely about 114 watts combined.

Everything else should be fine. Intel CPU's don't draw much power at all, but your GPU is going to draw a lot more. Replacing your PSU at the nearest opportunity would be the best you can do.

If you're comfortable with underclocking, you can down clock your GPU to prevent it from reaching the voltage threshold that it seems to hit for a short term fix. As long as your card isn't stock and you use the right program. It probably hovers around 780MHz. If you reduced that to 600 MHz (or lower) and tested it, and it worked, that would just confirm a lame power supply.

Does it crash at all when running a program like Prime 95?

Edit: Just realized that your GPU doesn't use a connector from the PSU and instead goes through the motherboard. I'd still say that it's the PSU and to try the underclocking solution, but that raises other concerns about the motherboard that I'm hesitant to say is a problem.

 

[Joelsome2211]

So, that sounds suspiciously like a power issue. The GPU failing is what is probably causing the monitors to stop receiving a signal. The power supply is going to be the main issue. Regardless of the wattage, it's going to have a hard time if it can't supply enough power on the rail for your GPU. The computer should have plenty of headroom, both the CPU and GPU drawing most likely about 114 watts combined.

Everything else should be fine. Intel CPU's don't draw much power at all, but your GPU is going to draw a lot more. Replacing your PSU at the nearest opportunity would be the best you can do.

If you're comfortable with underclocking, you can down clock your GPU to prevent it from reaching the voltage threshold that it seems to hit for a short term fix. As long as your card isn't stock and you use the right program. It probably hovers around 780MHz. If you reduced that to 600 MHz (or lower) and tested it, and it worked, that would just confirm a lame power supply.

Does it crash at all when running a program like Prime 95?

Edit: Just realized that your GPU doesn't use a connector from the PSU and instead goes through the motherboard. I'd still say that it's the PSU and to try the underclocking solution, but that raises other concerns about the motherboard that I'm hesitant to say is a problem.

Prime 95? Im not so sure about underclocking. My PC struggles to run Fs 15 on Medium Graphics overclocked ;-/ -

 

[pigeoncracker]

Prime 95? Im not so sure about underclocking. My PC struggles to run Fs 15 on Medium Graphics overclocked ;-/

Overclocked? Well, that makes a lot of sense. Revert it back to it's base settings. The GPU isn't stable and is crashing. Either that or pull back on the overclock.

If this hasn't been happening before, you've probably got a heat buildup, like hair and dust in the fan.

Prime 95 is a CPU stress testing program that is commonly used. Just to check if your CPU wasn't doing anything fishy.

 

[Joelsome2211]

Prime 95? Im not so sure about underclocking. My PC struggles to run Fs 15 on Medium Graphics overclocked ;-/

Overclocked? Well, that makes a lot of sense. Revert it back to it's base settings. The GPU isn't stable and is crashing. Either that or pull back on the overclock.

If this hasn't been happening before, you've probably got a heat buildup, like hair and dust in the fan.

Prime 95 is a CPU stress testing program that is commonly used. Just to check if your CPU wasn't doing anything fishy.

I thought it might be the overclock so i pulled that back already... Still does it, but less frequently

 

[pigeoncracker]

I thought it might be the overclock so i pulled that back already... Still does it, but less frequently

You could download OpenHardwareMonitor and open a temperature plot and check it every once in a while when gaming. The max temp of the card is about 100C. The higher the temp of the card the less stable it's going to be.

 

[turkey3_scratch]

Your GPU is at fault here. It could be that the PSU is related (and not because it runs out of power, that doesn't happen, but because of voltage instability), so I'd say buying a new GPU would probably fix your problem. Or buying a new PSU could possibly help your issue, but it'd be helpful if you looked at the model number.

When people say a PSU is causing freezes and crashes, it's important to note that technically it is the hardware attached to the PSU not being able to handle whatever crazy voltage outputs it has. There are some situations where buying a new PSU or a new other piece of hardware, for instance, could fix the same problem, if that new piece of hardware can tolerate the PSU's voltages better than the old one, or if you buy a new PSU, if that new PSU brings voltage stability down to a level your current hardware can handle.

But in this case I'd say get a new GPU, but if your PSU is a piece of junk you should get one in the process since a sucky power supply can cause your GPU and other hardware to fail earlier on.

 

[Joelsome2211]

I thought it might be the overclock so i pulled that back already... Still does it, but less frequently

You could download OpenHardwareMonitor and open a temperature plot and check it every once in a while when gaming. The max temp of the card is about 100C. The higher the temp of the card the less stable it's going to be.

i can do that already in Radeon settings... never gets above 70'c

 

[Joelsome2211]

Your GPU is at fault here. It could be that the PSU is related (and not because it runs out of power, that doesn't happen, but because of voltage instability), so I'd say buying a new GPU would probably fix your problem. Or buying a new PSU could possibly help your issue, but it'd be helpful if you looked at the model number.

When people say a PSU is causing freezes and crashes, it's important to note that technically it is the hardware attached to the PSU not being able to handle whatever crazy voltage outputs it has. There are some situations where buying a new PSU or a new other piece of hardware, for instance, could fix the same problem, if that new piece of hardware can tolerate the PSU's voltages better than the old one, or if you buy a new PSU, if that new PSU brings voltage stability down to a level your current hardware can handle.

But in this case I'd say get a new GPU, but if your PSU is a piece of junk you should get one in the process since a sucky power supply can cause your GPU and other hardware to fail earlier on.

even if the computer is a thing prebuilt by PC world (in all their wisdom. R7 240 in a 550 quid GAMING COMPUTER!?!?!?!?!?!

 

[pigeoncracker]

Best thing to do would be to just start switching out parts. It could just be going bad and you need a new one like Turkey said. Idk, I'm picking at straws at this point that would be able to fix it. I'd say deal with it for a while and save up for a new one. If it's crashing like that even at base clocks, reinstalling the drivers and if that doesn't work, installing older drivers.

Did it stop working after a driver update?

550 quid is an awful lot for those specs. Sounds like a rip off (which is why I like to build all of my computers). But I live in the USA, so I wouldn't know how bad the price rise is.

 

[Joelsome2211]

Best thing to do would be to just start switching out parts. It could just be going bad and you need a new one like Turkey said. Idk, I'm picking at straws at this point that would be able to fix it. I'd say deal with it for a while and save up for a new one. If it's crashing like that even at base clocks, reinstalling the drivers and if that doesn't work, installing older drivers.

Did it stop working after a driver update?

550 quid is an awful lot for those specs. Sounds like a rip off (which is why I like to build all of my computers). But I live in the USA, so I wouldn't know how bad the price rise is.

I know now that I was ripped off :-( They didn't tell me the specs and even if they did I thought a Graphics card was a type of credit card. I literaly only knew what they told me, and they told me it was good. I took it into our local computer shop to get it to work with 3 moniters and found out the crappo system specs. Wish I had custom made it a year later when the RX 480 came along... Its realty not that old :-/ Also it has been doing it from about 5 months after I bought it. I had problems with the partitions to start with. It would be 650 Quid, but it was the last one and a display one so they gave me 100 Pounds off.

 

[pigeoncracker]

I know now that I was ripped off :-( They didn't tell me the specs and even if they did I thought a Graphics card was a type of credit card. I literaly only knew what they told me, and they told me it was good. I took it into our local computer shop to get it to work with 3 moniters and found out the crappo system specs. Wish I had custom made it a year later when the RX 480 came along... Its realty not that old :-/ Also it has been doing it from about 5 months after I bought it. I had problems with the partitions to start with. It would be 650 Quid, but it was the last one and a display one so they gave me 100 Pounds off.

Does it still have a warrenty? I know most prebuilt towers come with a year warrenty. I would take advantage of that.

 

[Joelsome2211]

I know now that I was ripped off :-( They didn't tell me the specs and even if they did I thought a Graphics card was a type of credit card. I literaly only knew what they told me, and they told me it was good. I took it into our local computer shop to get it to work with 3 monitors and found out the crappo system specs. Wish I had custom made it a year later when the RX 480 came along... Its realy not that old :-/ Also it has been doing it from about 5 months after I bought it. I had problems with the partitions to start with. It would be 650 Quid, but it was the last one and a display one so they gave me 100 Pounds off.

Does it still have a warrenty? I know most prebuilt towers come with a year warrenty. I would take advantage of that.

I don't think so. I bought it June last year ( I think). I know it's outside of warranty, on second thoughts it might be 2 years old, I cant remember now.

 

[pigeoncracker]

I don't think so. I bought it June last year ( I think). I know it's outside of warranty, on second thoughts it might be 2 years old, I cant remember now.

Pity. It doesnt sould like the system is able to run games well at all, either. Saving ip for an upgrade sounds in order. A GPU and maybe PSU are the first things that you should replace.

There is the appetizing option of the RX 460 that is cheep. And if you're worried about breaking things if you replace it yourself, you shouldn't be. Computers are legos for adults. Pull one out and slot the other in, power up the computer and make sure the drivers are installed.

You might have to worry about replacing the power supply yourself. They're a bit tricky for people not used to playing with them. You mentioned a tech shop or something? You could always buy the components and have them install it.

Everything else you can probably keep until you get the money to replace them.