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Frequent GSOD / Black screen while gaming

Tags:
  • GPUs
  • Games
  • Graphics Cards
  • Radeon
Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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July 21, 2014 9:20:37 AM

Hello,

I pretty much rebuilt my entire rig quite a while ago (about a year and a half), and everything was going well up until 2-3 weeks ago.

I got a GSOD while playing a game and have since been getting them fairly regularly. They will appear to be random because sometimes I can play for hours without the computer crashing and sometimes I will get one literally 5 seconds into the game.

Recently, I have also started getting GSODs or black screens using even simpler applications (like playing Hearthstone) or browsing on Firefox, so it doesn't seem to be performance-related.

I am running on default settings for everything and monitored temperatures and they seem to be mostly normal (sometimes it'll go near 80 degrees, but it's usually lower than 70, and between 40-50 when idle).

I have already ran memtest and it doesn't seem to be the RAM. I have also uninstalled and re-installed the latest catalyst drivers several times, to no avail (although I am tempted to try and rollback to older drivers, because the issues seems to have started shortly after I upgraded, but it could be my bad memory that's playing tricks on me).

Here's a rundown of my setup (from memory, I could be off but will check tonight if need be):
CPU: i5-3570K
MOBO: Asus P8Z77-V LX
GPU: Asus HD 7870 DirectCUII 2GB
RAM: 2x 4GB DDR3 HyperX
PSU: Cooler Master GX 650W (bronze?)
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64

Any help would be greatly appreciated... Like I said, everything used to work fine and now I can't even play a competitive game, out of fear of just crashing all the time : /

More about : frequent gsod black screen gaming

a b U Graphics card
July 21, 2014 10:21:07 AM

Is your case dusty? Sometimes dust buildup can cause shorts or result in components not cooling adequately, causing the GPU to overheat.
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July 21, 2014 11:54:47 AM

Thelps said:
Is your case dusty? Sometimes dust buildup can cause shorts or result in components not cooling adequately, causing the GPU to overheat.


Since the first GSOD (and actually before that, as well), I've been regularly dusting off everything in the case using gas duster.

Like I said, I've also been monitoring temperatures (using GPU Tweak, don't know if another software would be better suited for this) and never saw the temps rise above "abnormal" levels (ie anything that could cause the repeated crashes).

Whenever I get a GSOD or a black screen, I can hear sound play for a couple seconds, then nothing. I have to do a force shutdown by pressing the power button for a couple seconds.
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a b U Graphics card
July 21, 2014 12:12:06 PM

Is the GPU securely sat in its PCIe x16 slot? Are the power connectors securely attached to the Graphics Card? Poor connections to the slot or connectors can result in erratic behaviour with the card.
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July 21, 2014 1:30:17 PM

Thelps said:
Is the GPU securely sat in its PCIe x16 slot? Are the power connectors securely attached to the Graphics Card? Poor connections to the slot or connectors can result in erratic behaviour with the card.


I'll check to make sure that's the case once I get back home, although I'm not entirely sure how it could have "unsecured" itself in the past 2 weeks without any bump or collision with the case (but hey, you never know; better safe than sorry).
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a b U Graphics card
July 21, 2014 1:32:15 PM

Cards can occasionally 'creep' out of their slots due to heating up and cooling down (causes the silicon on the card to expand and contract, gradually 'wiggling' out of its slot) though this is probably unlikely given the short time period you mentioned.

You may also want to try GPU-Z to monitor your GPU temperatures. It could offer a second opinion.

Also, ensure no wires are snagging on the GPU's fan.

http://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/

I'll keep looking for other possible causes.
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July 21, 2014 4:31:14 PM

Thelps said:
Cards can occasionally 'creep' out of their slots due to heating up and cooling down (causes the silicon on the card to expand and contract, gradually 'wiggling' out of its slot) though this is probably unlikely given the short time period you mentioned.

You may also want to try GPU-Z to monitor your GPU temperatures. It could offer a second opinion.

Also, ensure no wires are snagging on the GPU's fan.

http://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/

I'll keep looking for other possible causes.


Thanks, I'll look into all of this tonight. I've also talked to one of the IT guys here for other possible causes/solutions.

I figure I will eventually be able to either fix it or, if all else fails, will have to replace whatever is faulty.
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