Question PC freezes / solid green video playback / black screen flashes / CPU fan overworking

[doodledile]

Background:
Relatively new Gaming PC (Jan 2019), ran like a dream until recently - experiencing unusual/disruptive behaviour as outlined below (screenshots included from Dropbox). PC is usually running all the time but not intensively - I don't play games (but do make games) so I don't exhaust the hardware to incite any failures that I can think of but I do suspect a hardware failure somewhere - specifically the CPU due to symptoms or possibly GPU. Paws crossed it's just a software/driver issue though.

Machine specification: ACER Predator Orion 9000 Intel® Core™ i9 RTX 2080 Ti Gaming PC - 3 TB HDD & 512 GB SSD

Operating system	Windows 10 (64-bit)

Processor	- Intel® Core™ i9-7900X Processor

RAM	- 32 GB DDR4 (2666 MHz)

Graphics card	- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti x 2 - 11 GB DDR6

Symptoms:

• Solid green video glitch: example: https://www.dropbox.com/s/2bz4dukmhjta1nq/youtube-green-screen.png?dl=0
  Video playback sometimes stops and shows solid green (YouTube as well as locally i.e. Windows Media Player). Refreshing page / restarting application resolves issue (temporary but recurring glitch). Video drivers are up-to-date via GeForce Experience app.
  
  
• Flashing (black) screen:
  Screen sometimes flashes black, comparable to what you might expect when installing video drivers
  
  
• CPU fan: see image: https://www.dropbox.com/s/sm7ogcveke2sd22/CPU fan.png?dl=0
  Cooling fan sometimes kicks in unexpectedly (particularly CPU fan) but system isn't doing anything strenuous and temperature seems normal (38-48 degrees Celsius range). Temperatures never exceed 48 degrees.
  
  
• Freezing:
  See my event viewer history - lots of errors (.mp4 scroll-through ensure 1080p is selected): https://www.dropbox.com/s/kntshivysu8ws11/Event_Viewer_doodledile.webm?dl=0
  Most recent experience which prompted me to seek advice: Windows froze, completely unable to move cursor and Windows lingered on a still image of my desktop with open windows for a few minutes before restarting. Included recent history from Event Viewer .msc - highlighted the point at which the restart happened.

Would be extremely grateful for your help. Thanks so much!

Updates:

• Manufactured unit (not custom build)
  
  
• Symptoms began in the last week altogether or in quick succession, in this order: green video glitch, black screen flashes, cpu fan, freezing. (Latest white square artefacts/glitches mentioned below)
  
  
• PSU: MODEL NO: FSP1000-50AAG
  Potato photograph
  
  
• BIOS is latest version (different dates though?): R01-A4
  CPU-Z screenshot (Mainboard)
  PC Manufacturer's website
  
  
• Update: Flickering white square graphical glitches/artefacts 😥
  
  
• Update: Screen lingered on black screen for 2-3 minutes while browsing online - recovered - was able to resume browsing activities. Captured possible culprit on event manager (error: nvlddmkm at 07:46:23 & display warnings)
  
  
• Update: 27/05/2019 - Freezing and screen blackouts becoming increasingly frequent (once every few hours) here are recent event viewer logs:
  
  4.01AM: https://www.dropbox.com/s/xn3dvv85seujvrq/event viewer 4.01AM 27-05-2019.webm?dl=0
  6.35AM: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ssdskmv1a1qln4a/event viewer 6.35AM 27-05-2019.png?dl=0
  12.06PM: https://www.dropbox.com/s/clwmafq8vfhjx4v/event viewer 12.06PM 27-05-2019.webm?dl=0
  
  4.01AM error presented a graphics driver error when the screen recovered from the blackout. As such I uninstalled/reinstalled Nvidia drivers, but the problem persisted from 6.35AM. 😥
  
  To Note: Recurring item of interest from Event Manager: "The description for Event ID 14 from source nvlddmkm cannot be found."

 

[Darkbreeze]

Solid green over video = Turn off hardware acceleration in the browser or video player settings, usually. That normally fixes that problem in 99% of cases.

How to Fix Green Screen Problem when Playing Videos | Stellar

Is green screen problem when playing videos in a browser or media player troubling you? Learn how you can fix green screen problem on PC, Mac, Android, or iPhone.

www.stellarinfo.com

Might be you are the 1% though. What is the exact model of your power supply and your motherboard?

Is this a recent build and has this problem been happening since it was built or did it work fine before and start happening only recently?

Did ALL these symptoms begin at the same time?

Do you have the MOST recent motherboard BIOS version installed as outlined on the motherboard or system model product page?

 

[doodledile]

Thanks Darkbreeze! Here's the info:

• Manufactured unit (not custom build)
  
  
• Worked like a dream for the 5 months I've had it. Symptoms began in the last week altogether or in quick succession, in this order: green video glitch, black screen flashes, cpu fan, freezing. (Latest white square artefacts/glitches mentioned below)
  
  
• PSU: MODEL NO: FSP1000-50AAG
  Potato photograph
  
  
• BIOS is latest version (different dates though?): R01-A4
  CPU-Z screenshot (Mainboard)
  PC Manufacturer's website
  
  
• Update - as I'm preparing this reply, I've seen some flickering white square/rectangle glitches/artefacts on my screen as well (on Chrome over images I'm previewing on Dropbox) 😥
  
  
• Disabled hardware acceleration in chrome - will update if helps the green glitches.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Well, to start with that's an older FSP unit, that is an industrial model, and is not very good from what I can see, especially since it's been rebranded as a Sparkle product, and they only sell garbage for the most part so if FSP is selling these to Sparkle you can be pretty sure they are probably not desirable for use in a build with 2 x 2080 TI, not to mention the fact that for 2080 TI SLI (Or x2 multi GPU non-SLI) you would want to see a very good 900w or higher unit, and that unit is not a very good 900w or higher unit.

I'd be surprised if that unit was capable of supplying 60-75% of it's rated capacity sustained or peak, but since there are no reviews of that unit (Which itself is telling) then it's hard to say. Obviously, this would be the primary culprit and even if it's not the core issue, with that hardware I'd SERIOUSLY consider a better power supply regardless.

Actually, that's not the latest bios version. You have R01-A4 and R01-B1 is the latest version. I'd recommend updating. The fact that the latest version lists "Fix can't show HDD information" as the primary change does not mean there are not also other changes or fixes included with the updated firmware version.

Your artifacts on the screen are indicative of a lack of power delivery. As a test only, try removing one of the graphics cards completely from the system leaving only the card that is installed in the primary x16 slot installed. Don't just unplug power and monitor, completely remove the second card from the system. That MIGHT tell us if there is a power issue, although I think it's a foregone conclusion that a better power supply is a good idea.

Just wondering, is there a reason why you have 2080 TI SLI and you don't game? You certainly shouldn't need two of those very powerful cards for game development unless you are also required to test at Ultra 4k resolutions and settings, or are using multiple 4k monitors for gaming. Maybe you have a reason, but for creation it seems incredibly overkill.

 

[doodledile]

You rule, Darkbreeze! Thanks for your advice.

Thanks for the heads up re: the PSU! I expected this machine would be equipped with a decent PSU to bear its hardware! What a bummer. Would you mind recommending a suitable PSU? Let me know if you require more info, I know there are variables like no. of pins and things.

Can a garbage PSU really cause graphical glitches? Not to contest, just curious! I would have expected the PSU wouldn't start the machine at all - a more obvious and convenient telltale which would be more comforting to catch early on! Betting a rubbish PSU puts all the hardware at risk.

I'll update the bios to R01-B1, thanks so much!

Ha! To be honest, it's more of a future-proofing thing and I went for the best I could because I wasn't sure how to interpret the specs on competing units & I needed to be sure I got something decent for work. I test our game builds on this machine and create 3D assets, so the most intensive apps are only Maya, Zbrush, and Substance Painter. Extra power's there if needed (Or not! PSU) I love to play in my free time but the opportunities are a bit scarce!

 

[Darkbreeze]

Are you in the US? I ask only so that I can recommend a power supply that will be available to you in your region. You might not think so, but it's pretty common for specific brands and models to only be regionally available, or have different versions of certain model depending on the region. Obviously, the power grids are one reason for this as well as differing electrical quality mandates by various governments.

 

[doodledile]

Sure thing! I'm based in England, United Kingdom 🙏

My go-to retailers:

• www.pcworld.co.uk
• www.scan.co.uk

(thanks so much!)

 

[doodledile]

Update: Screen lingered on black screen for 2-3 minutes while browsing online - recovered - was able to resume browsing activities. Captured possible culprit on event manager (error: nvlddmkm at 07:46:23 & display warnings)

 

[Darkbreeze]

One of these three units would be my primary choices in that capacity range if you're looking to spend as little as possible and still get a quality unit.

Power Supply Comparison

uk.pcpartpicker.com

 

[doodledile]

Huge thanks! I'm super grateful.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Glad to help.

 

[fullmetalshinpai]

Did you ever find the root of the problems? Did A PSU swap solve it?