Display driver stopped working on a new build

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strigg

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Feb 8, 2016
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Greetings everyone!

I recently built a new system with the following specs:

MSI Z170A gaming M5 motherboard
Intel core i7 6700k
Cooler Master hyper 212 evo
2x 8gb Kingston hyperx RAM
Corsair Hx750i psu

Everything above is brand new. And as my budget is tight, I decided to get a pre-owned GPU, which is MSI Twin frozr GTX 670 until I get more money to buy a decent GPU later.

When I first installed it, it was running fine - just checked on some games like Skyrim, Witcher 2 was running on High-Ultra no problems. (there was some weird stuff, though - as when booting, the BIOS screen being not full-screen; some screen flickering during load-screens on games, etc.) Then I decided to finish with installing all the mobo's drivers, updating BIOS, and the next time I ran a game - it was doomed. Performance decreased dramatically, stuttering and sound looping, and a pop-up "Display driver stopped working and has recovered" (that is if I'm lucky - sometimes games crash so bad that I have to do a hard reset).

Tried setting the power mode from "adaptive" to "max performance" in nvidia control panel, also high-performance in the "power options" under control panel, still nothing. I even tried a fresh reinstall of windows 8.1 and downgrading my BIOS back to 1.2 (from factory it was 1.1 though), but no results. Tried to increase the voltage to +100 with MSI afterburner - also no results.

I switched to a GPU I already owned - GT730, and it runs with no problems - didn't even need to reinstall the NVIDIA drivers, as the PC particularly recognized the card and it's running fine - kinda weird, tho. Also the BIOS screen is fullscreen with this card, just to notice the difference.

So now I'm running out of ideas - if it is indeed a faulty GPU, then how is it possible that it was first running fine? Also tried different versions on nvidia drivers, none working.

Any help would be much appreciated!
 
Solution
Darkbreeze


Stuff dies. That's why we never recommend buying used graphics cards or power supplies. They are the worst culprits. Unlike most motherboards and CPUs, graphics card and power supply manufacturers tell you outright that those products have an expected lifespan of about 3-5 years for graphics cards and 3-10 years for power supplies depending on the model and how close to capacity you're riding that unit.

As for trying different driver versions, if you didn't fully remove the previous drivers by using the DDU...
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Darkbreeze

Darkbreeze

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Jun 24, 2014
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Not installing the most recent drivers for your card model was your most likely problem. The drivers for the GT730 might even be incorrect for the GTX670. I'd run the DDU as outlined at the following link and then visit the Nvidia website to download and manually install the most recent recommended GPU card drivers as outlined for your card model and operating system version.

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

If you follow the directions EXACTLY as outlined, and the problem is not resolved, then you either got a bad card or have a power supply issue. I'd recommend reinstalling the latest bios back again as well. It's EXTREMELY rare for an older bios version to correct problems with hardware. It happens from time to time but mostly only when a newer bios version is a beta release.
 
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Darkbreeze

Darkbreeze

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Jun 24, 2014
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Stuff dies. That's why we never recommend buying used graphics cards or power supplies. They are the worst culprits. Unlike most motherboards and CPUs, graphics card and power supply manufacturers tell you outright that those products have an expected lifespan of about 3-5 years for graphics cards and 3-10 years for power supplies depending on the model and how close to capacity you're riding that unit.

As for trying different driver versions, if you didn't fully remove the previous drivers by using the DDU to nix the errant registry entries, installing additional or alternate driver versions was likely both part of and increasing the problem.
 
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Solution
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strigg

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Feb 8, 2016
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Thank you for your fast reply!

When I reinstalled Windows, I already switched back to the latest BIOS, and installed latest drivers for the gtx 670, so there were no leftovers of previous drivers. I mean, the problem still was there, and I just plugged in the GT730 instead of GTX670 to check, and then it worked like a charm with the 730.
But still causing issues with the 670 - even with fresh windows and latest drivers.

The PSU problem is unlikely, as I got it brand-new, and it's the hx series corsair - should be quite reliable?
Then again, if it is indeed a faulty GPU, then how is it possible that at first it was running fine? Just kinda curious.

Maybe it would be wise to bring the gtx 670 to my local computer workshop for diagnostics?
 
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Darkbreeze

Darkbreeze

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Might as well ask "how is it that my car was running fine, right before it wasn't", or "why am I now sick when I was feeling fine yesterday". Stuff happens, especially with used hardware that has already seen a significant portion of it's intended lifespan. If somebody sells you a card that they've seen exhibit glitches or problems once or twice, but not regularly, it's quite likely that at some point for you it will begin to do it all the time.
 
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strigg

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Feb 8, 2016
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Ok, but is there any chance that I have somehow messed up the GPU? The wiring must be correct - 2 x 6pin PCI-e connectors, each connected to a different 8-pin (6+2 PCI-e & 4+4 CPU) plug in the PSU. Other than that, is it possible that I broke the GPU some other way(software-way or smth), or that can be excluded? (just want to prevent f*cking up something in the future if/when I get another card).
 
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Darkbreeze

Darkbreeze

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Pretty doubtful. If it was working fine and then just stopped working fine when nothing had been done to the card, then it's likely just the card. That card is like 3-4 years old in all probability since the GTX 670 was released in 2012 so depending on hard it was ridden, it's not that surprising. Plus it was used and you have no idea if it was previously used with a high quality power supply or a crappy one that damaged it over time.
 
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strigg

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Feb 8, 2016
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Ok, thank you very much for your replies!
I will post an update when I get the card back whether it will have turned out indeed to be a hardware problem.
 
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strigg

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Feb 8, 2016
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Just received the card back and it indeed turned out to be a faulty one. As it was pretty much dead already, decided to bake it in the oven in 200 degrees C for about 10 minutes, but that didn't help either.
Anyway, here's a lesson to never purchase used graphics cards, unless you get a warranty or a very good chance to test it prior to buying!
Thank you, darkbreeze, for all your replies, I really appreciate that!
And this topic can be closed.
 
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Darkbreeze

Darkbreeze

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Jun 24, 2014
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Sorry to hear about your card. This "bad feeling" you likely have right now after investing in a card that died is EXACTLY why I tell everybody not to buy used graphics cards or power supplies. The probability of failure is increased, there is generally no opportunity for a warranty replacement and you end up having to invest in a full price new card, if you're smart, anyhow, so doing it from the start makes a lot more sense.

Anyhow, good luck to you Strigg and I hope you have better success going forward.
 
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