GPU randomly freezes when playing games

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mirko2828

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Aug 13, 2012
18
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10,510
Hey, I realize that this is a somewhat frequent problem and I have researched it before, but most stuff I tried doesn't work and I want to make sure I fix this as it's bugging me for a long time.

So my problem is that my monitor would freeze at a random time when playing any 'newer' game. (In my case games like Borderlands 2, or Dishonored or BioShock Infinite.) What would happen is that I play the game for any time from 5 minutes to even 3-4 hours and eventually the monitor would freeze, while the sound is still playing. I can't move my mouse or ctrl-alt-delete or task manager or anything at all, all I can do is reboot the computer.

I have tried to fix this by:

  • -monitoring the temperature and load of the GPU by MSI Afterburner and I found out that usually the game crashes when the load is around 70%-90% and the temperature varies from 45C to 60C

    -changing the monitor refresh rate to 50Hz

    -changing my core clock and memory clock (MHz) by about 100 less in both in MSI Afterburner

    - reinstalling the drivers, updating drivers, and using the old drivers on the CD which came with my graphics card (installing old drivers actually worked for some games and for some time, then it started all over again.)

    - capping the frame rate on 40/50/60 fps
None of these things helped to stop the freezes so I think it's my power supply that's causing these problems, I'll tell you the name of it when I get time to clean my pc and take a look at it tomorrow

My system specs are as following:

Monitor:HP x2301 (1920x1080@50Hz)
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
GPU:1024MB ATI AMD Radeon HD 7700 Series (MSI)
CPU:AMD FX-4100
Zambezi 32nm Technology
Motherboard:ASUSTeK Computer INC. SABERTOOTH 990FX (AM3r2)
RAM: 12.0GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 668MHz (9-9-9-24)
HardDrive: 932GB Hitachi HDS721010CLA332 SCSI Disk Device (SATA)
OpticalDrives: OVQ WDIJWXYJ0 SCSI CdRom Device
HL-DT-ST BD-RE GGW-H20L SCSI CdRom Device
Audio:Realtek High Definition Audio
The PC is about 2-3 years old and I only got this graphics card about a year ago when the old one died.
The freezing happens very rarely or not at all when playing less demanding older games.

I would ask for you help to identify the cause of the freezes and please tell me what information to provide you with, because I'm not exactly the best with this kind of stuff :)
Thanks in advance.
 
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mirko2828

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Aug 13, 2012
18
0
10,510


Maybe, but I also had similar problem on my old card (Radeon HD 4870 I think) before it died because it was really old.

I'll try installing the default drivers now and see if the problem persists.
 
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mirko2828

Honorable
Aug 13, 2012
18
0
10,510


To be honest I think I had the problem all the time, regardless of the driver, but it just depended on what game I played, is there anything else I can try to figure out the cause of the problem?

BTW i'm playing on my old driver from the CD and so far so good, I'll play for an hour of two, but I expect it will freeze again

EDIT: Right now, I'm getting no freezes but what usually happens is that problem comes back when I start up the computer the next. I'm also experiencing some 2-4 second hiccups (3 hiccups so far) where it looks exactly like it's going to freeze like normal, but then it unfreezes itself.

I'm going to stop playing now and I'll update tomorrow after I clean the computer
 
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mirko2828

Honorable
Aug 13, 2012
18
0
10,510
So yesterday after installing the old drivers I played for 2-3 hours and run into no freezes, only 3 or 4 hiccups where freezes and unfreezes after a couple of second. Today I played the same game without changing anything and the freeze happened again after about 30 minutes.
Does anyone know what I should do or what the problem could be?
 
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Serhat Hicyilmaz

Serhat Hicyilmaz

Reputable
Aug 19, 2014
32
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4,540
have the same problem too :) i changed my PSU i changed my HD to SSD bla bla . i saw many freze problems looks like mine and yours . now i am thinking about my cpu or Mobo has problem maybe the main problem for everyone is this . dont know but i changed my HDD to SSD yesterday now i dont have freezes from 15 hours . if it occurs again i try to use my warranty and send my CPU and Moba .
 
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mirko2828

Honorable
Aug 13, 2012
18
0
10,510
Thanks for the input, I have no freezes like this anymore and I know this may sound weird but all I have to do is install the cards old drivers from the CD I got with it every day after I launch my computer. So day 1 I install old drivers in the morning and basically play all day with no issues at all except for some hiccups every now and then but there is no reason to restart. If on the 2nd day I don't install the drivers again then the freezing continues, which is pretty odd.
 
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