Screen Blackout few seconds when gaming.

Ventez · Aug 24, 2015

Hi to one and all at toms.

I recently changed my graphics card on my rig. From a Asus GTX 760 to a Gigabyte GTX970 G1 Gaming.

I mainly play the following games .

World of Warcraft
League of Legends
Heroes of the Storm

Now the problem is, I have already experienced problem with WoW since day one of plugging the card in.

All 3 games i experience the same problem, where the screen turns black for like 3-5 seconds and goes back to normal.

On WoW, ( Have yet to see this happening since i changed from a HDMI over to a DISPLAY PORT cable, i tested the dual link DVI cable that was provided by my monitor but it still had the same problem)

It turns black, and when it comes back i notice some of my hotkeys go weird like the button becomes weird lines, of random colors.

On League of Legends.

It Turn black, and comes back 3-5 seconds later, all graphics look the same.

On HOTS ,

It turns black, and comes back after 3-5 seconds too. graphics remain intact.

So here’s what I THINK it could be but i’d need the experts here to give me better guidance as to whether this guessing of mine is correct.

I think it could be caused by the amount of FPS i’m getting on these games massively exceeding my monitor’s frequency OR the refreshrate on my monitor is too slow.

Below are the specs of my machine.

Monitor: ??Dell UltraSharp 29 Inch, U2913WM
Processor: Intel i7 4771 3.5 ghz quad core
Ram: 2x 8gb Corsair
GPU: Gigabyte GTX970 G1 Gaming
PSU: 770Watts ( i cant recall the brand )
Storage: Plextor 256gb
Add. Storage: WD caviar Black(or was it blue) 1TB

Thank you guys, i look forward to hearing from you all, and hopefully get this fixed=/ its pretty annoying.

Darkbreeze · Aug 24, 2015

Ventez :

THIS, is the most likely issue. What is the brand and model number. If it's an off brand or anything not listed Tier 2 or higher at the following link, it's highly suspect.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html

Frame rate issues would generally result in tearing, not black screens. It could however be a driver issue, and doing a CLEAN install of the most recent GPU card drivers is probably a very good idea as a starting point.

http://www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-2767677/clean-graphics-driver-install-windows.html

Ventez · Aug 25, 2015

I've just did a reinstall of my drivers last night. Following the steps in the 2nd link provided. Will monitor and see how it is, if it still doesnt maybe i'll consider getting new PSU.

What would the symptoms be ? for a psu thats dying out?

Darkbreeze · Aug 25, 2015

Black screens. Heh, nah, just kidding. Well, it's a possible symptom. Any strange graphical behavior or really anything related to your unit. Since the power supply, well, supplies power, to EVERYTHING, any symptom you have could be a power supply issue. A failing PSU can imitate a failure on any part of the system. Errors for GPU cards, CPUs, motherboards, memory, storage drives, can all be generated due to a lack of voltage from the power supply. There is nothing that can go wrong with a system that can't be attributed to the power supply.

I'd start by downloading HWinfo, running "sensors only" while also running a demanding game or Furmark, and take as screenshot of the HWinfo sensors. You'll likely need to take three screenshots to capture all the sensors.

*Click here for instructions on how to post images in Tom's hardware forums

Run HWinfo and look at system voltages and other sensor readings.

Monitoring temperatures, core speeds, voltages, clock ratios and other reported sensor data can often help to pick out an issue right off the bat. HWinfo is a good way to get that data and in my experience tends to be more accurate than some of the other utilities available. CPU-Z, GPU-Z and Core Temp all have their uses but HWinfo tends to have it all laid out in a more convenient fashion so you can usually see what one sensor is reporting while looking at another instead of having to flip through various tabs that have specific groupings.

After installation, run the utility and when asked, choose "sensors only". The other window options have some use but in most cases everything you need will be located in the sensors window.

*Download HWinfo

Ventez · Aug 26, 2015

Thanks ! ill get that up and running in the next 2 days or so then revert back with some screenshots

My Psu's only 1 year 8 months old too :<

DSzymborski · Aug 26, 2015

Ventez :

The problem's more the quality than the age. It could be 1 day and 8 hours old, but if it's an off-brand -- something that has a dreadful history in PSUs -- we'd strongly recommend you replacing it.

Ventez · Aug 26, 2015

I forgot to check out what brand/model it is, ill also be sure to include that when i come back with those screenshots

Darkbreeze · Aug 26, 2015

Sounds good.

Ventez · Aug 26, 2015

Okay i'm back with the results.

Wanna firstly thank you guys for taking time in reading my queries really hopeful to fix this problem asap, it doesnt occur frequently. maybe once in 3-5 days ? its still annoying.

Firstly, this is the PSU i'm using right now.

http://www.thermaltake.com/This/Smart_Series_/Smart_SE/C_00001966/Smart_SE_730W/Design.htm

This is HWinfo page when in idle mode (when i just booted up my pc before running any thing special only had chrome up , and downloaded hwinfo thats about it) http://imgur.com/QJ1uydk

This is when it is under load, i was using furmark as suggested, ran it for about 6 minutes, then took this screenshot.
http://imgur.com/5DZsbq0

------------
Side note, i also did open up my rig, to replugin the graphics card, and ensure all the psu cables are firmly plugged in.

Darkbreeze · Aug 26, 2015

CPU and GPU behavior and specs look ok. PSU dropped to 11.6v under load which is probably what some people would call borderline, I call it a problem considering it was at over 12v at idle. The +3v and +5v rails stayed within spec but +12v dropped by almost a full half volt. The Thermaltake Smart series and TR2 units are well known to be poor quality, so considering that drop happened in less than six minutes under load, I suspect much worse behavior after you've had it under a gaming load for longer than ten minutes. I'd replace it with something from tier 1 or 2 that's 550w or more from the following list:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html

Right now the EVGA B2 750w semi-modular units are on sale and are very good power supplies based on the Super Flower Golden Green platform.

They are 73.00 but have a 30.00 mail in rebate so only 43.00 after rebate. Any 550w or higher Seasonic, XFX, Super Flower, or SOME of the Antec and EVGA units that are tiered high should be good.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($73.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $73.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-26 13:56 EDT-0400

Ventez · Aug 26, 2015

Thanks darkbreeze!

What do you reckon i should get if i want to prepare for a 2nd GTX 970 for SLI in future?

I went ahead to look at the price list of the pc hardware store i usually go to.

Below are price list of all the available psu's from them.

I'm looking at mainly 'future proofing' my rig so in the case where i do put in a 2nd piece of GTX970 i need my supply to be able to handle it.

I'm also looking at something which is below $200 (prices listed there are all in Singapore Dollars)

following are 2 images which consists of the PSUs they have.

http://imgur.com/pvgevTL
http://imgur.com/voRngHe

Darkbreeze · Aug 26, 2015

That EVGA B2 unit will run GTX 970 SLI just fine so long as you are not overclocking your graphics cards beyond the factory overclock or doing any significant overclocking to the CPU. If you are, I'd suggest an 850w unit and this would do well:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $89.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-26 21:17 EDT-0400

If you want something fully modular, I'd suggest an EVGA G2 750w or 850w, depending on your overclocking requirements or lack thereof.

Ventez · Aug 26, 2015

Reckon these deliveries send stuff overseas? I'm from Singapore and some of these parts isn't available over here. Amazon prolly has it but .. they usually take 2-3 weeks to reach here.

Darkbreeze · Aug 27, 2015

Ventez · Aug 27, 2015

Thanks ! this will be a good reference for what i need

Darkbreeze · Aug 27, 2015

No problem. Anytime.

Ventez · Aug 28, 2015

I've decided to go with 750W. Thought even in the next 1 - 2 years will EITHER choose to upgrade to a SLI dual GTX 970 or upgrade my processor to the unlocked ones, where OC is possible. That's if i plan to do the upgrade.

Reckon 750W is sufficient?

i've looked at one of the price list of the store here and short listed the following whilst comparing with the list of PSU Tier , these are all Tier 1

Also not sure if they are worth it , with the price tag that comes along with it

CoolerMaster V750 - $165
Seasonic X-750 - $205
Corsair RM750i - $219
Corsair HX750i - $229

*Prices are all in Singapore Dollars over here

Darkbreeze · Aug 28, 2015

The V750 is a good unit but the Super Flower Leadex Gold 850w is better than any of those units, is 100w higher capacity, is available in Singapore and is less than any of them except the V750.

http://www.sgpcmart.com/power-supplies/SUPERFLOWER-LEADEX-850W-GOLD?mfp=manufacturers

The 750w model is a little cheaper, and still better than any of those units on your short list.

http://www.sgpcmart.com/power-supplies/SUPERFLOWER-LEADEX-750W-GOLD?mfp=manufacturers[64]

Screen Blackout few seconds when gaming.

Reputable

Retired Mod

Reputable

Retired Mod

Reputable

Curmudgeon Pursuivant

Reputable

Retired Mod

Reputable

Retired Mod

Reputable

Retired Mod

Reputable

Retired Mod

Reputable

Retired Mod

Reputable

Retired Mod

Share this page