- May 24, 2015
- 361
- 3
- 18,815
• Windows 7 64-bit
• Intel i7-950
• 12 Gb RAM
• EVGA GTX 580 Superclock with 1.5 Gb VRAM
• Drivers 340.52 and 352.86
Two nights ago, I found the video from my gaming computer corrupted by scintillating artifacts which were followed by a hard crash.
I noticed that the fan didn't seem to speed up, anymore. I used to hear it kick into high gear when I started games and such.
The artifacts and crashes returned whenever the machine ran for more than a few minutes, or when playing video. I had horizontal lines, dots that sparkled like snow, blocks, and corrupted portions of various windows. The machine might lock up and require a restart, lock up for a few seconds, or crash hard. Even restarting was a roll of the dice.
I read that this signaled the inevitable death of the video card, which I purchased in 2011. Still, I did try cleaning it out with a Shop Vac, in case dust was causing a heat issue.
Along with one CTD, I saw a message reporting the failure of the video driver, which prompted me to think this was software problem, not hardware. I was able to run a clean installation of the newest available drivers. The problem went away for several hours.
And then returned, crashing a game and locking up the computer. It actually got worse. Now, the machine won't really boot but in Safe mode; even then, the screen is covered in artifacts, although everything else seems to work.
I'm hoping it's the video card and not the motherboard, which could entail purchasing all sorts of other stuff. I've temporarily replaced the card with a GT 730 I just bought locally. No more artifacts. It's booting fine.
I think I'll try my luck with a refurbished GTX 780, which would be a nice improvement and even cost less than what I paid for the GTX 580 Superclock.
Is three and one half years the expected lifespan of a video card?
• Intel i7-950
• 12 Gb RAM
• EVGA GTX 580 Superclock with 1.5 Gb VRAM
• Drivers 340.52 and 352.86
Two nights ago, I found the video from my gaming computer corrupted by scintillating artifacts which were followed by a hard crash.
I noticed that the fan didn't seem to speed up, anymore. I used to hear it kick into high gear when I started games and such.
The artifacts and crashes returned whenever the machine ran for more than a few minutes, or when playing video. I had horizontal lines, dots that sparkled like snow, blocks, and corrupted portions of various windows. The machine might lock up and require a restart, lock up for a few seconds, or crash hard. Even restarting was a roll of the dice.
I read that this signaled the inevitable death of the video card, which I purchased in 2011. Still, I did try cleaning it out with a Shop Vac, in case dust was causing a heat issue.
Along with one CTD, I saw a message reporting the failure of the video driver, which prompted me to think this was software problem, not hardware. I was able to run a clean installation of the newest available drivers. The problem went away for several hours.
And then returned, crashing a game and locking up the computer. It actually got worse. Now, the machine won't really boot but in Safe mode; even then, the screen is covered in artifacts, although everything else seems to work.
I'm hoping it's the video card and not the motherboard, which could entail purchasing all sorts of other stuff. I've temporarily replaced the card with a GT 730 I just bought locally. No more artifacts. It's booting fine.
I think I'll try my luck with a refurbished GTX 780, which would be a nice improvement and even cost less than what I paid for the GTX 580 Superclock.
Is three and one half years the expected lifespan of a video card?
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