Installed new Graphics Card - PC shuts down after a few secs into starting DaS3

Nik_las · Apr 23, 2016

Hello friends,

i've got a problem with my newly aquired Sapphire Radeon 7870 HD XT Boost (or at least i think so), which i bought on eBay a few days ago in order to be able to play Dark Souls 3, upgrading from my previously installed 6850.

Now, when i start DaS, everythings going fine until i start the actual game, then a few seconds into the ingame intro, my PC shuts down.
After that, i tried playing Dota 2 in Sandbox mode. I actually get into the game and am able play, and i have been running it in the background for a while and nothing happened.
If i start spamming AoE spells or spells with demanding particle effects though, my pc goes black again.

I got the driver from Catalyst. I tried deleting and reinstalling it, and i tried another driver i found somewhere else as well, but the results stayed the same.

I also downloaded GPU Z and CoreTemp, logging the temperature of both GPU and CPU to see the values during the time my PC shuts down. Nothing to see here though, the last values logged were always around 50°c each and there was no surge at the end or something else peculiar.

I've gathered some specs of my PC here:

And it's running on Win7 64bit.

Of course, it's completely possible that the card is just broken, especially since I bought it used on eBay. Before i settle on that though, i'd like to try for other reasons that might be the problem.
If any of you have any idea what might cause the problem, or what i could do to further narrow down the possibilities, i would be very grateful!

Thanks a lot in advance,

Niklas

clutchc · Apr 23, 2016

What is your power supply?

Nik_las · Apr 23, 2016

Oh Yeah, totally forgot to post that. I even already took the pic:

Ironsounds · Apr 23, 2016

Hello... the GPU is 185 watts and that's 15.4 amps 12Vdc.

Nik_las · Apr 23, 2016

Hey,

thanks for the answer! Could you explain a little further though? Im not really well versed in this stuff, does this mean the supply is overall too weak? I just did a quick google search before i bought the card, and it said a 550 Watt supply would be more than sufficient for the 7870, so i just went with that.

clutchc · Apr 23, 2016

Your PSU is marginal for the HD-7870 when it is maxed out. The difference at max load could be just enough to cause issues. Or like you say, the card was used... maybe abused.

If you haven't done it already, eliminate most driver/software possibilities by running DDU from safe mode. Have it remove bothe AMD and Nvidia drivers it finds. Boot to the desktop and then run CCleaner to get rid of most registry errors and other crap. Finally, install the latest driver for the card and your OS.
DDU: http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/display_driver_uninstaller.html
CCleaner: https://www.piriform.com/ccleaner

Ironsounds · Apr 23, 2016

Hello... Typically when I buying used...
1) I Replace the Thermal paste/tape, inspect and clean ( rubbing alcohol ).
2) Another thing I do is check and re-flash the Original OEM BIO's for it, if there is a problem using it.

Nik_las · Apr 23, 2016

Hey again,

First, thank you for your posts.

@clutchc I tried your suggestions, and it seemed to work at first. I got into the actual gameplay at DaS3, slayed a couple of enemies, looted a bunch of corpses, and then BAM!. Same thing again, screen went black, PC reboots.

Startet up Dota 2 after the reboot, and tried excessive spell spamming, and it actually went great for at least a minute or two. Loaded up another hero, spammed spells, all good. When i came to the third hero, pc shat down after i started spamming spells with more complicated effects for like 2-3 seconds.
Im really puzzled at this point. I really would not have expected it to run just a little better then before, but either working like it should or no change at all. But maybe it was a coincidence? I dont know. The difference in time to the shutdown was really remarkable though, i tried the Dota spell spamming thing at least 5-6 times before, and the time my screen went black was almost exactly the same at all tries, which makes believe there must at least be some siginficance to this.

@Ironsounds 1. I didn't know there was something like thermal paste even used for graphic cards. Is it the same as using it on my CPU? Because i've done that a few times before. As i mentioned in my original post though, i already tracked the temperature for my GPU and it didn't seem to be overheating.
2. I dont quite get this even after googling, could you elaborate?

Ironsounds · Apr 24, 2016

Hello... 1) Sometimes the thermal paste on a OLDER cards dries out... sometimes not... it needs to be moist to do it's Job, CPU thermal paste is used.
2) https://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/
3) Look in your computer-manage-event viewer-Windows logs and view what the OS says for those shutdowns.

maxalge · Apr 24, 2016

Nik_las :

Hey again,

First, thank you for your posts.

@clutchc I tried your suggestions, and it seemed to work at first. I got into the actual gameplay at DaS3, slayed a couple of enemies, looted a bunch of corpses, and then BAM!. Same thing again, screen went black, PC reboots.

Startet up Dota 2 after the reboot, and tried excessive spell spamming, and it actually went great for at least a minute or two. Loaded up another hero, spammed spells, all good. When i came to the third hero, pc shat down after i started spamming spells with more complicated effects for like 2-3 seconds.
Im really puzzled at this point. I really would not have expected it to run just a little better then before, but either working like it should or no change at all. But maybe it was a coincidence? I dont know. The difference in time to the shutdown was really remarkable though, i tried the Dota spell spamming thing at least 5-6 times before, and the time my screen went black was almost exactly the same at all tries, which makes believe there must at least be some siginficance to this.

@Ironsounds 1. I didn't know there was something like thermal paste even used for graphic cards. Is it the same as using it on my CPU? Because i've done that a few times before. As i mentioned in my original post though, i already tracked the temperature for my GPU and it didn't seem to be overheating.
2. I dont quite get this even after googling, could you elaborate?

100% the card ramps up, tries to take the power it needs and the psu cant deliver

you need a proper 550w psu

that unit is a tin can, test with another psu

Nik_las · Apr 24, 2016

Thanks for the answers guys.

I think i will try with another PSU, do you maybe have any recommendations for a fitting one from the top of your head?

clutchc · Apr 24, 2016

Nik_las :

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151136
If you're not in the USA, maybe you can find it locally. If not, give us your budget and where you can buy from.

Nik_las · Apr 24, 2016

I would have said around 50-60€. I have no idea if thats realistic for a solid PSU though.
Im living in Germany, probably would have bought in some local computer store or on amazon.de if they didnt have a suitable model.

clutchc · Apr 24, 2016

Nik_las :

That budget is going to make it rough to find a good quality unit big enough. You may have to settle for a Corsair CX or VS 500/550W. This 500W EVGA has gotten passing marks form JohnyGuru: http://www.amazon.de/EVGA-100-W1-0500-KR-PSU-500W-Netzteil/dp/B00H33SFJU/ref=sr_1_136?ie=UTF8&qid=1461534013&sr=8-136&keywords=psu

Here is his review of it: http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&file=print&reid=384
I've got a few of them in use on budget builds that are still going strong.

Nik_las · Apr 25, 2016

Okay, i've bought that PSU now. Hopefully it will work.
Thanks a lot for everyones effort! I really appreciate it. I'll check in again when the PSUs here

Nik_las · Apr 28, 2016

Just wanted to say that everything seems to work fine with the new PSU! Thanks a lot for everyones help again.

clutchc · Apr 28, 2016

Thanks for the feedback.

Installed new Graphics Card - PC shuts down after a few secs into starting DaS3

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