FPS Drop followed by crash

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Zaeke

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Aug 31, 2013
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As of a couple of days ago, I've had a problem with my PC suddenly dropping in terms of performance. Playing a typically mid-graphics game on ultra I can get about 60-80 easy with no lag. For the past couple of days, my FPS would drop to below 40 and lag severely before my PC would, without warning, shut down. I checked CPU temps and they were pretty high, so I reapplied my thermal paste and tried again. The CPU seems to be doing better, staying around 35 C in-idle and under 47 C in-game. Yet, upon trying my games out again, it happened again. FPS degrade, no-warning shutdown. I defragged my HDD, ran AVG to check for malware and came up nothing. What could be the possible explanation for this?

SYSTEM SPECS:

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Deneb 45nm Technology
GPU:AMD Radeon HD 6800 Series (XFX Pine Group)
PSU:750watt CORSAIRS
MOBO:ASRock A770DE+ (CPUSocket)
HDD:932GB Seagate ST1000DM003-9YN162 ATA Device (SATA)
RAM:4.00 GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 399MHz (6-6-6-18)
 
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nostall
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nostall

nostall

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Nov 28, 2012
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Well, if you worked on the CPU, my bet is that the interior of the case is clean, so heat caused by dirt isn't a problem, right?
That leaves only a couple things: Check the temps on the video card. Download, install and run either EVGA's Precision X or MSI Afterburner and monitor temps AND fan speeds. If you don't have two monitors you might need to run in a game in Windowed mode so you can see the information. Only info I could find indicates that 100C is a safe maximum temperature.
If it is overheating, check to make sure its fan is functional AND is spinning up as it warms up. If the fan appears to be working correctly, then in either of the utilities I mentioned adjust the speed to increase at a LOWER temperature and reach maximum sooner (or at a slightly lower temp).
You didn't state what case this is all in, but make sure those fans are working and you have good airflow.
I think that card has a lifetime warranty; if so it will be time to call XFX if the above hasn't solved the problem.
If it is OUT OF Warranty, then the last resort is to remove the cooler and fan, clean everything that has thermal compound on it and the cooler (use 99% isopropyl alcohol), put new compound on those parts and reassemble and see if that fixes it.
Temps sound like the problem, obviously from my reply. But if all of the foregoing doesn't solve the problem, then it is highly likely that your video card is dieing.
 
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Z

Zaeke

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Aug 31, 2013
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While I managed to find out the problem while I was doing most of the above, which is the correct steps to go about for anyone else looking into this kind of problem, is seems my GPU has been very packed with dust. After cleaning and re-applying thermal paste, I gave the card a test run and found that the fan is either shot or is having problems starting up. The card is still good, just the fan is shot. I'm not sure if I get a XFX warranty because I bought the card through newegg, but I could be wrong.
 
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nostall

nostall

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Nov 28, 2012
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YES, you do get an XFX warranty!! 'egg is just the seller. Contact XFX to see if the warranty is still in effect; a lot of their AMD/ATI cards have lifetime warranties.
Also, if out of warranty, you could try replacing the fan.
If not, consider a new 7850, 7870GHz edition. Your system will handle it and you will see a difference in the games.
 
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