Think my graphics card has died

seveneyes

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Sep 27, 2011
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Hi guys,

Yesterday I was playing a game of EVE online and suddenly my screen had blue vertical lines, but felt like it was still running. As in I could still hear the background music of the game. None of the keyboard shortcuts: ctrl alt delete/alt tab etc worked at all. So thinking it was some sort of issue with the game I restarted my computer.

On restart it went into the windows starting screen but just when it was supposed to go to the login screen it went black. I'm pretty sure the "black screen" isn't a monitor issue as it looks like it's slightly "bluer" than when the monitor is turned off.

First thing I did was to open her up and found the gpu to be extremely dusty. My fault I know as I should be cleaning it, but it's a busy time of my life (new job/getting married). I gave it a good "undust" and re-fitted it making sure it was sat correctly. Unfortunately this made no difference.

I am able to reboot into safe mode perfectly fine. And so next I tried uninstalling my video card drivers, which it successfully does and when I reboot back into normal mode it works fine! But when I re-install the video card drivers and reboot it repeats the "black screen" issue. I'm currently on my computer with the drivers uninstalled.

I have tried looking in my bios to see if it's recognised there but I haven't had any luck. The BIOS that I reach is ASUS EFI, which appears to be mostly suited for overclocking.

I've also tried doing checking windows with chkdsk + some other commands and the different startup repair options. Plus I've tried starting windows in a low Resolution with the same problem.

Also it's worth noting that the fans of the GPU do run when I boot up with fitted in.

Unfortunately I don't have another system to test my graphics card or anything else on, which makes it extremely hard to diagnose the exact problem. From what I've discovered so far I'm reasonably sure that it's my graphics card or possibly my Power Supply.

What I really need to know is if anyone has any tips for attempting to fix this or if not, any way I can find exactly which part it is so I can get a replacement asap.

My specs are:

GPU: HD 6950 2GB
CPU: Intel 2500k
Memory: 8 GB
PSU: 500W Coolermaster
Windows 7

Cheers
 
Solution
Thanks for the HWInfo screens

CPU running too hot (57C) but Vcore is OK and fan rpm OK. You need to at least re-seat the cpu cooler or better still get a better cpu cooler eg Coolermaster Hyper 212 evo

Power Supply - actually really good

Graphics card - its stopped working (250MHz clock, 150MHz memory) yet voltage is OK - stuck at 1.000V. Temp is warm (48C)

So -

1. Get a new graphics card

2. fix or renew the cpu cooler.
maintenance is part of owning a computer. plugging it and and just leave it sit doesn't help. think of the times you sat down and played a game for an hour or two. one of those hours could have been spent cleaning things up. takes a half hour to pull a card, disassemble, clean and reapply new thermal paste and reassemble.

just cleaning dust and dirt from the fan once every 2 or 3 years isn't enough.

does your motherboard have on board graphics?

when you reinstall drivers do a custom or advanced install and only install the graphics drivers if you don't have any real world use for anything else thats included.

 

seveneyes

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Sep 27, 2011
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Here you go: http://i.imgur.com/3K9YgYV.png and http://i.imgur.com/XNzQtmF.png



Oh I know I messed up on this, not trying to make excuses for myself. To be honest in the past I've been good at maintaining my Pc's but obviously just not recently. I think it's been a year since I last opened it up. Trying to look for good in a bad situation and will use this as a learning experience to not get complacent...

My CPU has integrated graphics, so like I said I can run the computer when my GPU drivers are uninstalled.

I can definitely try reinstalling the graphics drivers without all of the fluff and see how that goes.
 
Thanks for the HWInfo screens

CPU running too hot (57C) but Vcore is OK and fan rpm OK. You need to at least re-seat the cpu cooler or better still get a better cpu cooler eg Coolermaster Hyper 212 evo

Power Supply - actually really good

Graphics card - its stopped working (250MHz clock, 150MHz memory) yet voltage is OK - stuck at 1.000V. Temp is warm (48C)

So -

1. Get a new graphics card

2. fix or renew the cpu cooler.
 
Solution

seveneyes

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Sep 27, 2011
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Thank you very much for this conclusion! I'm glad that my PSU is fine as I know how that can easily mess everything else up.

As you suggested with the cooler, I checked it out and noticed one of the fasteners wasn't down properly so I snapped it down. After restarting the computer I ran HWFInfo and it's now averaging out in the mid 40's - barely breaching the 50's maximum.

Does that sound better? This is considering that I am using the CPU for graphics as well (I believe), which when I get a new GPU won't be an issue. Or do you still recommend a new CPU cooler?

In regards to the graphics card, I don't doubt your judgement, but I just want to double check. I ran the HWInfo test while my GPU is plugged in but completely devoid of any drivers - hence not being touched by the system. So I just want to confirm that you definitely think it's dead too?

As for the replacement GPU, I was thinking of around £200. After looking around, the GTX 770 seems to be the best near that price with between £220 to £250 depending on the manufacturer. Or would you recommend a different card for around that price? I'm not particular about AMD or Nvidia and I currently only run one monitor - although I do plan to get another one in a year or so...

EDIT: I'm thinking if I do a GPU upgrade like that, will my PSU won't be sufficient powerwise? I purposely bought Coolermaster as it's a trusted make, but should I still think of upgrading the PSU?