The title says it all. Basically, whenever I play a graphically intensive game my GPU fan goes absolutely crazy and my screen goes black. However, the first time it happened I wasn't even gaming (just browsing google), and it has happened a few times right after logging in. This problem started a little less than a week ago for no apparent reason.
My system
Model: Alienware x51 R2
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601)
BIOS: Alienware A04 (04.06.05), 11/18/13
Processor: Intel(R) Core(M) i7-4770 CPU @ 3.4GHz (8 CPUs), ~ 3.4GHz
RAM: 16 gigs
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
Hard drive: 1 TB
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 Ti OEM, (2048 MB dedicated, 2048 MB shared)
Display: Dell U2412M(Digital), 1920 x 1200 (32 bit) (59Hz)
PSU: 330W
What I [might] know
Drivers: To my knowledge, my drivers are up to date, and I know for sure that my I have the latest graphics drivers (clean installed). In fact, after yesterdays nvidia update, I didn't have any of these crashes for a while and I was able to happily play games on high settings until I took a break for dinner, and then when I resumed my fun the issues were back.
GPU Fan: My GPU fan is not working or sensing properly. Usually when I start up a game I can hear my fans revving, but now I hear no such thing. I confirmed this using MSI Afterburner. On auto, my GPU fans never go above the base 30% speed that is the default, even when starting up a graphically intensive game like Dark Souls 3. However, when I manually put my fan speed to the maximum 80%, my games still crash - except I can actually play for a minute before the crash as opposed to an instant crash. It is important to note that the crashes occur no matter what my temperature is, be it 95 C or 70 C. Because of all this, my conclusion is that the fan problems are a symptom and not the inherent cause.
Stress Tests: I have tried stress test type diagnostics (Dell's SupportAssist) and either I pass it and the computer says everything is fine (when I know it isn't) or I get the same fan at max speed/black screen crash, and that doesn't tell me anything, because I crash mid-test before it can give me any results.
Power Supply: When browsing around for solutions one recurring thing that I saw was that this might be a power supply issue. I have tried different wall sockets, put my computer on power saver, and messed around with my power limit in MSI Afterburner, all to no avail. Consequently, I don't think my power supply is at fault unless the power cables that connect to my graphics card are messed up or something.
Graphics Card: I don't believe that my graphics card is fried, because there are no lines/blips in my screen, various programs detect my graphics card, I can watch 1080p 60fps videos without any problem, and play games that are not graphically demanding (though I haven't done much testing with such games).
General Overheating: My CPU temperatures seem to be fine (50-60 C when running a demanding game) and I clean/dust the inside of my computer quite regularly.
Weird Pins: So ever since I first got my computer I had always heard something rattling around my graphics card. Eventually, when I was doing some maintenance, I turn my card on its side and these two little black pins fall out. I have only been able to find 1 other reference to these only with someone else's Alienware x51, and they could not figure them out. The Alienware folks said the pins were from the case, but why were they INSIDE my graphics card? I am not sure if this is related to my problem, but I suppose it doesn't hurt to give this info anyways.
I would appreciate any help that I can get. Thank you.
My system
Model: Alienware x51 R2
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601)
BIOS: Alienware A04 (04.06.05), 11/18/13
Processor: Intel(R) Core(M) i7-4770 CPU @ 3.4GHz (8 CPUs), ~ 3.4GHz
RAM: 16 gigs
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
Hard drive: 1 TB
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 Ti OEM, (2048 MB dedicated, 2048 MB shared)
Display: Dell U2412M(Digital), 1920 x 1200 (32 bit) (59Hz)
PSU: 330W
What I [might] know
Drivers: To my knowledge, my drivers are up to date, and I know for sure that my I have the latest graphics drivers (clean installed). In fact, after yesterdays nvidia update, I didn't have any of these crashes for a while and I was able to happily play games on high settings until I took a break for dinner, and then when I resumed my fun the issues were back.
GPU Fan: My GPU fan is not working or sensing properly. Usually when I start up a game I can hear my fans revving, but now I hear no such thing. I confirmed this using MSI Afterburner. On auto, my GPU fans never go above the base 30% speed that is the default, even when starting up a graphically intensive game like Dark Souls 3. However, when I manually put my fan speed to the maximum 80%, my games still crash - except I can actually play for a minute before the crash as opposed to an instant crash. It is important to note that the crashes occur no matter what my temperature is, be it 95 C or 70 C. Because of all this, my conclusion is that the fan problems are a symptom and not the inherent cause.
Stress Tests: I have tried stress test type diagnostics (Dell's SupportAssist) and either I pass it and the computer says everything is fine (when I know it isn't) or I get the same fan at max speed/black screen crash, and that doesn't tell me anything, because I crash mid-test before it can give me any results.
Power Supply: When browsing around for solutions one recurring thing that I saw was that this might be a power supply issue. I have tried different wall sockets, put my computer on power saver, and messed around with my power limit in MSI Afterburner, all to no avail. Consequently, I don't think my power supply is at fault unless the power cables that connect to my graphics card are messed up or something.
Graphics Card: I don't believe that my graphics card is fried, because there are no lines/blips in my screen, various programs detect my graphics card, I can watch 1080p 60fps videos without any problem, and play games that are not graphically demanding (though I haven't done much testing with such games).
General Overheating: My CPU temperatures seem to be fine (50-60 C when running a demanding game) and I clean/dust the inside of my computer quite regularly.
Weird Pins: So ever since I first got my computer I had always heard something rattling around my graphics card. Eventually, when I was doing some maintenance, I turn my card on its side and these two little black pins fall out. I have only been able to find 1 other reference to these only with someone else's Alienware x51, and they could not figure them out. The Alienware folks said the pins were from the case, but why were they INSIDE my graphics card? I am not sure if this is related to my problem, but I suppose it doesn't hurt to give this info anyways.
I would appreciate any help that I can get. Thank you.
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