Display turns off while gaming

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nodesire

nodesire

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Hello. I'm gonna first explain what happened. Yesterday I was playing Cities - Skylines, the PC was running fine but out of the blue my display turned off. I was still hearing the game running in background but after a while I heard the sound started to freeze because it was repeating over and over again. I restarted the PC and everything became normal, even the display tuned back on. Then the same thing happened again with the same game so I decided to run DOOM just to see if it happens again. Strangely nothing happened this time and I was playing DOOM for quite a while. This morning I ran Monstrum and it happened again, several times. So I ran DOOM again to check and apparently the issue occurred right after going to main menu.

I have checked my cpu and gpu temp while running games and they are perfectly normal, yet my display turns off first then PC crashes after few seconds, without any warning. The PC runs fine while not gaming. I have reinstalled my OS and the problem still persists. I'm running Windows 10 64-bit.

Here is my spec -

Mobo: Gigabyte H170-Gaming 3
CPU: I5 6500 3.2 GHz
GPU: MSI Nvidia GTX 1060 6 GB Armor Edition
Ram: G-Skill 8 GB single channel running at 2133 MHz
PSU: Coolermaster GX 550w
Monitor: Asus vx229h

It's been only a year since I upgraded my mobo, cpu and ram. I upgraded my GPU only 2 months ago. PSU is the only thing which I have been using for more than 3 years. I have never overclocked my system.

Anybody can help me out here? I really have no clue what might cause this. My friends are saying it's the PSU but I'm still not sure.

Thank you.





 
Solution
photonboy
Just FYI, as I agree it could be the power supply here's some info from a review page:
http://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/msi-geforce-gtx-1060-gaming-x-review,8.html

"What could happen if your PSU can't cope with the load is:
Bad 3D performance
Crashing games
Spontaneous reset or imminent shutdown of the PC
Freezing during gameplay
PSU overload can cause it to break down"

So when you test make sure it's about the same Wattage or higher and a quality PSU. I don't recommend moving the GPU over to another system because that doesn't completely prove where the problem is. It's nice to be certain if you have to wait to RMA a part.

*If the PSU, then buy a better one, then perhaps RMA your existing one if still under Warranty but leave it...
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photonboy

photonboy

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Jun 20, 2006
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1) it's not a monitor issue.

2) I would suspect the GPU first partly because of how new it is relative to everything else, though the PSU being the problem is not impossible.

3) I suggest you SWAP out the power supply. Maybe your friend can loan you one temporarily.

4) Another solution is to DOWNCLOCK both the GPU and VRAM to 90% of what it was if you are comfortable with that. (note that doesn't prove it's the GPU as it also uses less power, but it does make it much more likely it is the graphics card)
 
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photonboy

photonboy

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Jun 20, 2006
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Just FYI, as I agree it could be the power supply here's some info from a review page:
http://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/msi-geforce-gtx-1060-gaming-x-review,8.html

"What could happen if your PSU can't cope with the load is:
Bad 3D performance
Crashing games
Spontaneous reset or imminent shutdown of the PC
Freezing during gameplay
PSU overload can cause it to break down"

So when you test make sure it's about the same Wattage or higher and a quality PSU. I don't recommend moving the GPU over to another system because that doesn't completely prove where the problem is. It's nice to be certain if you have to wait to RMA a part.

*If the PSU, then buy a better one, then perhaps RMA your existing one if still under Warranty but leave it in a box to use for troubleshooting in the future.

USA links: http://pcpartpicker.com/products/power-supply/

650W is overkill in terms of power, but many power supply fans stay the same at 50% load then ramp up. Some have an ECO mode. My 750W EVGA G2 was listed as "nearly silent" by reviewers but it was by far the loudest thing in my system. It has ECO MODE though so I disabled the fan (won't spin up until 375W which I rarely hit).

EXAMPLE of cheaper (price) unit: http://pcpartpicker.com/product/vRmLrH/xfx-power-supply-p1550sxxb9

I don't know your budget, and perhaps you can look for sales near home but this can get you started. So roughly $60 to $100USD, and 550W or higher. If you plan to add another GTX1060 (not really recommended) I'd get an 850W unit.
 
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Solution
photonboy

photonboy

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Jun 20, 2006
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Other:
I would consider buying another identical 8GB DDR4 stick at some point. Most stuff does okay with single-channel 2133 and that CPU but some will lose performance.

And more than 8GB may be required, though currently outside a couple titles (which I think have fixed the memory bloat) it's a non-issue currently. I don't recommend running anything like Google Chrome whilst gaming anyway.
 
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nodesire

nodesire

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Okay my friend has the same PSU as mine. I will borrow his to check it it occurs again and will post the result here.

BTW is there any program to check the PSU performance?
 
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photonboy

photonboy

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no.
Some power supplies can monitor their VOLTAGE, and some motherboards can monitor the VOLTAGE at specific points but you don't have anything useful in that respect.

If you swap the PSU and it works then you've figured out the problem. If you have the same issue I would not rule out the power supply but I'm more inclined to believe it's the GPU since that power supply should have enough power.

*Heck, my calculations indicate you are likely not to go over 250Watts for the entire computer. About 120W for the GTX1060, and similar for the rest. Even at 300W you're nowhere near the max so if your PSU is the issue then it's seriously starting to fail.

If your friend has a half decent GPU then it's likely he uses more power than you.
 
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nodesire

nodesire

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We have the same PSU. I borrowed his and tested my PC. I have tested it with Cities - Skylines, Monstrum and DOOM, the same games which I had crashes. Played them for more than an hour and there was no crash whatsoever. So I am assuming it's my PSU. If that's the case, can I do any sort of light gaming with my current PSU? Or should I stop using my PC until I get a new PSU? Is it risky if I just normally use my PC now?

Oh and a PSU suggestion would be helpful. Thank you.
 
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photonboy

photonboy

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You should STOP using the power supply.
(I'm not sure what exactly is wrong so it is possible it could fail further and destroy your motherboard or other parts)

PCPARTPICKER is handy for finding power supplies if you can't find anything local.

EXAMPLE: http://pcpartpicker.com/product/9q4NnQ/evga-power-supply-220g20650y1

It has an ECO mode switch which will disable the fan until you reach about 325 Watts. So on your PC it should not even turn on. (I'd still run the fan for a week to ensure it works). Yes, 650W is overkill but it allows for a future upgrade and is also what you need to use the ECO mode so that's nice too.

Switch will be on the inside of the case if you forget.

You can find CHEAPER than this, however this is the one I recommend for about $75.
 
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M

memmud1911

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Dec 5, 2017
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i know it's a bit late and i hope you got your problem fixed! here's my experience having the same problem with bran new RX570! i was scared it was a faulty card cause i can't guarantee warranty specially being in a third world country like Egypt sometimes they make excuses to not replace cards(disgusting i know!) >> lucky me it was psu problem so check that first before freaking out like i did! if it's new card it's most probably your psu can't provide enough power so the display turns off while hearing sounds which they stop eventually too!
 
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