[SOLVED] My GTX 960 is broken(?)

Jan 5, 2020
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I've had my GTX 960 for a while now, but as of maybe 2 weeks ago, I discovered that the new COD game doesn't run as well as it should/has ran in the past. High GPU frametimes, framerate randomly getting locked to 47, graphical glitches etc. I just brushed it off as it being the game itself and tried fixing it but never actually did, so I uninstalled the game. A couple days ago I installed the new DOOM and discovered that the same issues that were present in COD, were present there. High frametimes etc etc. At this point it was obvious that the issue was my GPU, and not the games themselves.

Things I've tried:
-DDU, nothing happened
-Reseated the GPU, nothing happened
-Reset core and memory clocks to their default values, nothing happened
-Undervolted the card, nothing happened
-Underclocked my CPU, nothing happened
-Reinstalled Windows, nothing happened

Full specs:
MB: ASRock 970 Pro3 R2.0
CPU: AMD FX-8320
GPU: MSI GTX 960 4GB OC
RAM: Generic 8GB 1600mHz (2x4GB)
SSD: HyperX Fury 240GB
HDD: WD Blue 1TB (2012)
PSU: Corsair VS550

3DMark TimeSpy score(graphics score obviously lower than average GTX 960): https://www.3dmark.com/spy/11147094

I'm honestly clueless at this point, post anything you think might help and I'll try it.
 
Solution
update: I managed to fix it (for now) by cleaning it a bit and reseating it again. DOOM works fine (see video) and GeForce Overlay no longer artifacts. I will update this thread if more problems occur.
Qa4CPqM.png
Jan 5, 2020
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Why would you try undervolting?

My first thought is it's the 8320. New games don't run smooth and you have a 8320. Check the CPU load and temps. You are probably maxed out.
It's most certainly not the 8320. Temps are fine and load doesn't exceed 60% when running the new DOOM meawhile the card is running at 100% at all times. I don't see how you'd make this connection when issues like high GPU frametimes are present.
As for undervolting, I read that the issue may have to do with my PSU not being enough for my components so I tried undervolting the card.
 
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4745454b

Titan
Moderator
Undervolting can lead to instability which is why I wondered why you tried it. Lowering the power limit or undervolting while underclocking might help if it was a voltage issue.

I mention the CPU because the FX CPUs are known to have poor single core performance. If the game uses only a few cores it can perform badly, while reporting only 50% usage. If your game uses only 2 cores effectively and pegs the 8320 to 25%, it's the 8320 that needs to be changed. Not every game uses many cores, or does it effectively. You didn't mention 100% GPU load in the OP so that was my thinking.

What are the temps for the GPU? If you undervolted it's probably not a temp issue but it would be nice to know. Does it have issues with older games? Can you change the render path? Drop down to vulcan or DX11?
 
Jan 5, 2020
14
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Undervolting can lead to instability which is why I wondered why you tried it. Lowering the power limit or undervolting while underclocking might help if it was a voltage issue.

I mention the CPU because the FX CPUs are known to have poor single core performance. If the game uses only a few cores it can perform badly, while reporting only 50% usage. If your game uses only 2 cores effectively and pegs the 8320 to 25%, it's the 8320 that needs to be changed. Not every game uses many cores, or does it effectively. You didn't mention 100% GPU load in the OP so that was my thinking.

What are the temps for the GPU? If you undervolted it's probably not a temp issue but it would be nice to know. Does it have issues with older games? Can you change the render path? Drop down to vulcan or DX11?
GPU temps during FurMark were ~60C and when playing COD/DOOM ~40C. I had issues with CS:GO later that day, but a reboot fixed that(CS:GO uses DX9). Also DOOM uses Vulkan, but you can't change it.
edit: Also this weird issue with GeForce Experience started happening right now
LeWE6VF.png
 
Jan 5, 2020
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update: I managed to fix it (for now) by cleaning it a bit and reseating it again. DOOM works fine (see video) and GeForce Overlay no longer artifacts. I will update this thread if more problems occur.
Qa4CPqM.png
 
Solution