My monitor loses signal after about 5 minutes of gameplay

[Do You Even Lift]

Hi everyone!

First off, i'll post my specs:

Monitor - BenQ XL2411Z
PSU - Corsair 600W
GPU - MSI GTX 970
CPU - Intel Core i5-3570k CPU @ 3.40 GHz
6GB RM
SanDisk 128GB SSD
Hitachi 1TB HDD

Preface: I posted this over in displays but after connecting my other monitor and got the same result, so it's not a problem with my display as far as I can tell.

My problem is as the title says, after a while of playing any game my monitors display will turn black and lose signal. It won't regain the signal until I reboot the PC manually by holding down the power button.

I can browse the internet without any problem but as soon as I start playing any game for 5 minutes (even CS:GO and WoW) the signal cuts out.

I'm not sure if it's worth mentioning but I installed a new motherboard and CPU about a month ago, I had some problems with the installation (you can see the posts on my profile) but in the end it all worked out and has ran smoothly and without any complications until today.

Solutions I have tried:

Checked for driver updates.
Connected a different monitor.
Switched to VGA from DVI.
Switched monitor off and on after losing signal.
Scanned my computer for malware.
Checked temps (GPU runs at around 60 degrees centigrade and Cores float around 40-50)
Forced voltage with MSI afterburner

Of course if you need any more information i'm happy to provide!

Thanks in advance.

 

[rolli59]

Do you still have the old monitor and if so does it have the same issue? If so it is most likely GPU issue.

 

[Do You Even Lift]

Do you still have the old monitor and if so does it have the same issue? If so it is most likely GPU issue.

I currently have them both connected, i've tested them individually and they have the same problem, and when I have them both connected they both lose signal after 5 minutes of gameplay.

 

[rolli59]

That then points to your card, can you try it in another computer to see if it takes the symptoms with it?

 

[Do You Even Lift]

That then points to your card, can you try it in another computer to see if it takes the symptoms with it?

I don't have another computer, but would it achieve the same effect if I were to test games on the integrated graphics card to see if the monitors still crapped out?

 

[Inachu]

1 in a million both monitors are bad but I doubt that. Also could be the video signal getting lost in the video cable. Is it just a normal 6 foot cable or have you extended the video cable to maybe 12 or 20 feet? Just use a normal 6 footer video cable for now. Also check and make sure no pins are bent.

Also turn off idle monitor sleeping see how the pc acts then.

 

[jaytechgaming]

1 in a million both monitors are bad but I doubt that. Also could be the video signal getting lost in the video cable. Is it just a normal 6 foot cable or have you extended the video cable to maybe 12 or 20 feet? Just use a normal 6 footer video cable for now. Also check and make sure no pins are bent.

Also turn off idle monitor sleeping see how the pc acts then.

Yes, try removing the GPU and play games using only integrated. If the issue persists then it narrows it down to the monitor or something else in your PC. If it works fine then it is your GPU.

 

[Do You Even Lift]

1 in a million both monitors are bad but I doubt that. Also could be the video signal getting lost in the video cable. Is it just a normal 6 foot cable or have you extended the video cable to maybe 12 or 20 feet? Just use a normal 6 footer video cable for now. Also check and make sure no pins are bent.

Also turn off idle monitor sleeping see how the pc acts then.

It's just a normal 6 foot DVI, I have tried my older monitor with both HDMI and VGA and it still does the same thing.

Idle mode is already turned off as well

 

[Inachu]

1 in a million both monitors are bad but I doubt that. Also could be the video signal getting lost in the video cable. Is it just a normal 6 foot cable or have you extended the video cable to maybe 12 or 20 feet? Just use a normal 6 footer video cable for now. Also check and make sure no pins are bent.

Also turn off idle monitor sleeping see how the pc acts then.

It's just a normal 6 foot DVI, I have tried my older monitor with both HDMI and VGA and it still does the same thing.

Idle mode is already turned off as well

Some computers have 2 or 3 PCI-E slots Have you tried the GPU in the other slots? Or does your pc only have 1 PCI-e?

 

[Inachu]

Best thing here is to always look for cheap solutions first.

Buy a new video cable and never bend them and wrapping them up super tight out of the way.
Keeping wire super bent tightly wrapped out of the way although makes for nice visual computing it puts major stress on the wire and reduces the overall lifetime of that cable be it CAT 5 or VIDEO cable or regular power cabling or PSU or sound speaker internal wiring.

 

[jaytechgaming]

Best thing here is to always look for cheap solutions first.

Buy a new video cable and never bend them and wrapping them up super tight out of the way.
Keeping wire super bent tightly wrapped out of the way although makes for nice visual computing it puts major stress on the wire and reduces the overall lifetime of that cable be it CAT 5 or VIDEO cable or regular power cabling or PSU or sound speaker internal wiring.

It is extremely rare for a cable to work and then not work repeatedly like this. Especially a DVI or HDMI cable. They either do or don't. I highly doubt the cable is at fault here.

 

[Inachu]

Best thing here is to always look for cheap solutions first.

Buy a new video cable and never bend them and wrapping them up super tight out of the way.
Keeping wire super bent tightly wrapped out of the way although makes for nice visual computing it puts major stress on the wire and reduces the overall lifetime of that cable be it CAT 5 or VIDEO cable or regular power cabling or PSU or sound speaker internal wiring.

It is extremely rare for a cable to work and then not work repeatedly like this. Especially a DVI or HDMI cable. They either do or don't. I highly doubt the cable is at fault here.

Correct.
I do agree but I've seen quite a few being kicked while hanging down in the back against the wall for those who always shuffle their feet around to get random results because of the kicking. Just depends if they are a "kicker" or not.

 

[Do You Even Lift]

Best thing here is to always look for cheap solutions first.

Buy a new video cable and never bend them and wrapping them up super tight out of the way.
Keeping wire super bent tightly wrapped out of the way although makes for nice visual computing it puts major stress on the wire and reduces the overall lifetime of that cable be it CAT 5 or VIDEO cable or regular power cabling or PSU or sound speaker internal wiring.

It is extremely rare for a cable to work and then not work repeatedly like this. Especially a DVI or HDMI cable. They either do or don't. I highly doubt the cable is at fault here.

Correct.
I do agree but I've seen quite a few being kicked while hanging down in the back against the wall for those who always shuffle their feet around to get random results because of the kicking. Just depends if they are a "kicker" or not.

My cables are all relatively straight and are lined along my desk rather than hanging down by my legs, i've also tested 2 different monitors with VGA, DVI and HDMI.

I'm about to test the results on the integrated graphics but CS:GO wont even load on integrated graphics and on Rocket League I literally get 0 fps, feels bad man. Currently downloading CS:S to try that out, if that doesn't work I guess it's back to CS 1.6!

 

[Do You Even Lift]

So far i'm 15 minutes into a CS:S bot match with the integrated graphics and no signal loss, I guess it's looking like a fault with my GPU?

EDIT: I should also probably add that with my GTX 970 installed there's a slight delay when the PC turns on, as in I press the button then 1 second later it boots up. With the integrated graphics it's seemingly instant when I press the button, not sure if that has anything to do with it, just thought i'd let you know.

There's also something weird going on with my monitor, I noticed when I was moving it that the power cable is very touchy, the slightest nudge will turn the monitor off and I will have to fiddle with it for a couple of minutes before the power returns. I'm not sure if this has anything to do with it though considering the other monitor had the same problem.

 

[rolli59]

Power cable issue is only the monitor, the display issue is as you seem to have concluded most likely the card. I would RMA both new monitor for cable issue and card for loosing output.

 

[Do You Even Lift]

Power cable issue is only the monitor, the display issue is as you seem to have concluded most likely the card. I would RMA both new monitor for cable issue and card for loosing output.

I don't think it's possible to RMA the card at this point, it's been close to a year I believe. Though again, I don't have a clue about this stuff so any advice on that is appreciated!

The monitor will be simple enough, I purchased that very recently so I can just go through the standard return. Thanks

 

[rolli59]

Most cards have 2 year warranty in the western world some more!

 

[Do You Even Lift]

Most cards have 2 year warranty in the western world some more!

Just checked eBuyers return policy, apparently they only have a 28 day return policy for damaged items... Am I reading that wrong or is eBuyer's return policy a sick joke?

It's been roughly 1 year and 1 month since I bought the GPU from them and it says it's out of warranty, is it worth caling them or am I just screwed?

 

[rolli59]

Most cards have 2 year warranty in the western world some more!

Just checked eBuyers return policy, apparently they only have a 28 day return policy for damaged items... Am I reading that wrong or is eBuyer's return policy a sick joke?

It's been roughly 1 year and 1 month since I bought the GPU from them and it says it's out of warranty, is it worth caling them or am I just screwed?

See the question answered here at ebuyer staff saying 3 year warranty http://www.ebuyer.com/663848-msi-gtx-970-gaming-twin-frozr-v-4gb-gddr5-dual-dvi-hdmi-gtx-970-gaming-4g

Contact MSI support!

 

[Justin31brown]

Hi. I have been having the same issue lately. I have even switched GPU's with my brother and worked fine with him and his GPU that he gave me still the problem occurs for me. So it's defiantly not the GPU. Did you ever find out the problem?

 

[armaos.dk]

Kinda late here, but here are some suggestions I got.

Update the driver

make sure that the ram isfully compatible with your cpu and gpu for the smoothes performance

update your bios

theres a very low chance for it being the cable or the monitor. if nothing works then I sadly cant help further other than telling you to try underclocking