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Black screen while playing games

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  • Computers
  • Games
  • Graphics
Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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July 16, 2013 3:48:18 PM

Hi guys, I'm in real trouble.
Every time I play games the screen turns black and buzzing sound comes out of my speakers for some seconds. It doesn't happen with every game in my computer. I can play older games, like GTA San Andreas normally, but if I play games like Dead Island, Max Payne 3 etc my screen turns black.

I have updated my GPU drivers manually
I have cleaned my computer with compressed air.
None of temperatures will go over 60 degrees when I play, and won't go over 40C when idle.

My System

CPU: Intel Core i3 @ 3.40 GHz
8GB of RAM
Motherboard: MSI H61M-P21 (MS-7680)
GPU: 1536MB GeForce GTX 550 Ti
Hard drive: 932GB SAMSUNG SAMSUNG HD103SJ (SATA)

NB! It is not an home-made computer. I bought it about 1 year ago. Problem started about 1-2 weeks ago.

Please, I really need help!

More about : black screen playing games

July 17, 2013 10:23:35 AM

What is the brand of PSU ?
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July 17, 2013 12:10:17 PM

Power Supply JSP 500W PS-05-500W 80+, Active PFC,24PIN,4SATA, 3-ATA,2xPCIe 6pin,12cm fan
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July 18, 2013 9:40:49 AM

The brand of PSU you mentioned is not a good and reliable brand. Replace it if you could. I think it was not delivering sufficient power to the GPU, when running modern games. And it might be your GPU also. Try to replace both with friends/family/work if you could. Than see how the games work. If that solves the problem than replace both PSU and GPU ASAP. Here is link to a benchmark software to test your GPU. See the results. Good luck.

http://www.ozone3d.net/benchmarks/fur/
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July 19, 2013 3:40:18 PM

But before the problem started, I had always a chance to play modern games like Max Payne 3. But now I can't do it anymore. And one more thing, that I didn't say before: I can play these games now about 5-10 minutes before the screen turns black.

So Power supply & GPU should be good enought.
Can't it be a software problem?
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July 20, 2013 10:48:21 AM

It can be a software issue, but not likely. If you are in doubt try to clean install of OS and see how it works. If that don't change anything than first replace the PSU, I strongly doubt it's bad. Than after seeing the results you can replace your GPU. So first change the PSU, and I think that will solve the problem.
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August 11, 2013 4:59:07 AM

Alright, I discovered that it can be still an overheating problem.

First, I decided to DL MSI Afterburner to speed-up my GPU's fans manually and tried playing different games while Afterburner is working.
So here are the results:
1. GTA San Andreas - Works always without crashing. No need to speed up my fans.
2. Team Fortress 2 - Works only if I speed up my fans to 80-100%, otherwise it crashes.
3. Max Payne 3 - Doesn't work even if my fans are working at max speed. (Crashes after 5 minutes of play).
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So I don't know what should I do. If I look at my temps, they won't even go over 60C before my PC crashes. Maybe is it too high for my GPU?
I have already cleaned my computer with compressed air.

Is anybody sure now that is definatly an overheating issue?
Should I replace the thermal paste?

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August 11, 2013 10:17:06 AM

The temps of GPU is more than Ok. As I said earlier replace the PSU. The PSU has not enough power on +12V rail, thus not producing the power required for high end games, and the black screen or freeze happens. You can play some not power hungry games, but not power hungry games.

If you could borrow a PSU from someone to test than do it to be more sure. Or the GPU may be faulty also.
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August 12, 2013 9:18:53 AM

I really thank you for fast answers lonewolf. But how can it be PSU, if I had a chance to play high end games before, but one day that problem started? First it happened maybe once per 2-3 days, but now it happens every single time I run an high-end game. I'm just asking, because I wouldn't like to replace different expensive parts to find out what's the problem. Also, some people say that my PSU is definatly good enough. Can it just be broken? Or can I even run my computer if PSU is broken?

Sorry, I just know almost nothing about PC hardware :/ 
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August 12, 2013 10:31:10 AM

Like you we all hate to replace expensive components. But if you ran into problems then you must find a way to solve it. The easiest way is to borrow components from someone and to test things, if that is not possible, then try a local tech they can help you. Basically my doubt is PSU and then GPU.
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