HD6950 crashing in games - switch psu or gpu?

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Neils1

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Apr 7, 2013
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Hello!

My 3 year old gaming rig crashes after loading, in games such as League of Legends. I suspect the graphic card or the PSU is the problem.
PSU: 650w LC-Power Ozeanos
http://www.testseek.dk/computere/stromforsyning/lc-power_ozeanos_650w-p-251e6f5d-2f06-0437-651d-f459902ecfca.html (sorry about the danish link, couldn't find one in english.)
GFX: Asus Radeon HD 6950
http://www.asus.com/Graphics_Cards/EAH69502DI2S2GD5
Motherboard: Asrock P55 Extreme
http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/P55%20Extreme/
CPU: Intel I5-750 Lynnfield 2.66 Ghz Quadcore processor.
http://ark.intel.com/products/42915/Intel-Core-i5-750-Processor-8M-Cache-2_66-GHz

I should mention that the CPU and GPU temperatures usually aren't above 55 celsius when the crashes happen. The crashes happen instantly, when the game is loaded (when going from the loading screen to the in-game screen).

It has helped before to switch the graphiccard from one PCI-e slot to another, but it doesn't always help. The problem has been coming and going.

I've run Memtest, and there was no RAM-errors. Also I've updated drivers, tried different screen resolutions, lower settings etc. etc. Lower settings used to postpone the crash with about 5 minutes, but this isn't the case anymore.

I'm suspecting that either the PSU or the graphic card is faulty. No warranty on either, so I'll most likely buy something new. I just don't know which, and I have no idea of how to find out which is the faulty component.

Help is appreciated, and thank you very much in advance!

Yours
Niels Ejlersen
Ps. I do hope this is in the right section of the forums.
 
Solution
S
have you gone to windows update recently. ( netframework or other updates may help )

could be anything. would rather try and work on software for now.

when you said you swapped slots......... could be mobo too..??

what about mobo drivers?

you didn't happen to install that Gigabyte auto BIOS up date tool off the mobo disc when you first put this thing together did you? if you did, uninstall it.
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Spaniard United

Spaniard United

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Nov 17, 2012
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It is unlikely that this is a hardware issue unless you have the PSU hooked up to the GPU in some odd way.

My first thought is uninstall video drivers, use a driver sweeper to make sure everything is cleaned out, then reinstall the latest version.
 
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Neils1

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Apr 7, 2013
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The game was just an example, this has happened in tons of games, including diablo 3, WoW, Starcraft 2, Battlefield, modern warfare etc. etc.
 
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Neils1

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Apr 7, 2013
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I've done several reinstalls, also using driver sweeper to clean out everything related to the video card driver.

 
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swifty_morgan

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Feb 10, 2006
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have you gone to windows update recently. ( netframework or other updates may help )

could be anything. would rather try and work on software for now.

when you said you swapped slots......... could be mobo too..??

what about mobo drivers?

you didn't happen to install that Gigabyte auto BIOS up date tool off the mobo disc when you first put this thing together did you? if you did, uninstall it.
 
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Solution
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Neils1

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Apr 7, 2013
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I will check windows update, and check for BIOS updates for the motherboard right away. No auto bios update tools installed.
Cheers for the quick replies!
 
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Neils1

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Apr 7, 2013
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I just installed some "INF" driver, that seemed to upgrade the PCI-E root ports, and a lot of other random stuff. I assume the LAN and Audio drivers are unnecessary. I will test if it worked in a minute. :)
 
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Neils1

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Apr 7, 2013
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The Bios update seems to have fixed the problem! Thank you very much for the help, I hadn't really taken the motherboard into the equation at all. Half a year of computer crashes, and it's fixed in no time, how ironic. If there's anything I can do in return, you just name it. :)
 
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Neils1

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Apr 7, 2013
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So it just turns out it wasn't fixed after all, only temporarily. The computer just crashed again, and it does it again within about 5 minutes of entering a game again.
 
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swifty_morgan

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Feb 10, 2006
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what hardware can you swap out?

is the video card clogged with lint/fuzz?

is cpu heat sink and fan clear of dust?

have you pulled the heat sink from the processor and cleaned and replaced the thermal grease and reattached?

same with the gpu............

open the device manager see if anything needs an update.
 
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Neils1

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Apr 7, 2013
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All I have lying around is an extra hdd.
The video card isn't clugged, i cleaned it recently, it is however not an open design, so cleaning it completely would require opening it up (pic in #0).
The CPU fan and heatsink was recently cleaned completely, so no dust there. Also new thermal grease was applied.
Should I open up the GPU to reapply thermal paste? It doesn't look like heat is a problem, the crash being at 54 celsius.
Will check the device manager for stuff needing upgrades.
No devices in need of upgrades as far as I can see.
 
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Neils1

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Apr 7, 2013
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I'll try to get the entire card cleaned then, and I'm able to replace the stuff myself I believe, but thank you. ^^

Would it perhaps make sense to start with the PSU? the current PSU is in the cheap category, and it's the oldest component in the computer as well. Afterwards, if the problem is still there, i'll go for a new gpu, then motherboard.
 
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Neils1

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Apr 7, 2013
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Yeah, I didn't know back when I bought this psu, that the brand could really mean a lot to whether or not it's a good psu - I thought it was more or less as important as the dvd-drive working.
I was thinking Chieftec, Corsair, or something along the lines of that for this one.
I'll update when I've done something. :)
 
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Neils1

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Apr 7, 2013
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Update: Tried replacing the thermal paste in the graphic card, which was completely dried out. My GPU is cleaned up and is a few degrees colder, but the computer still crashes instantly when I enter a game of any sort. I just ordered a XFX XXX 750w ProSeries, due to incredible reviews and recommendations from a few friends. Hopefully that will put an end to this nuisance. Will hopefully have it tomorrow, so I can test it.
 
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