Display turned off then on, GPU issue or PSU issue?

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Drake Parker

Drake Parker

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Sep 28, 2014
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All PC experts help!

Yesterday, while i was playing Mass Effect 2, at 60fps locked, GPU usage around 40-50%, both my monitors turned off for 5 secs then turned back on, my pc didn't restart or anything as my game was still on. But after i moved my camera it had artifacts and weird shit was going on but only on half my one monitor's screen, the other monitor, which had windows seemed normal. After restarting I'm not having any of those issues anymore, I stressed the GPU a lot in other games and heaven benchmark but I can't seem to reproduce it again so I can't produce any pics of the artifacts. But suddenly my MSI GTX 970 started coil whining while on load, it didn't do it before at all. My GPU's max load temps are around 69c. I'm pretty sure it's not the temps as that's the full load temp and I was playing ME2 on 50% load and the temps were 61c. Now what I think is that the PSU is bad, because on idle the voltage on the 12v rail is 10.9v and on load it's 10.6v. All the other rails are fine. What I need help with is, is the PSU bad, is the GPU bad or both?

i7 3770k
Seasonic S12II 620W
MSI GTX 970
8GB RAM
AsRock z77 Extreme 4

PS. I have dual monitor setup but I play games on one only, therefore the other monitor has windows.

PS. i think what happened was the psu stopped giving power to gpu but after 5 sec it did again, it was as if my gpu was replugged while pc was on. but im no pc expert.

bab0e23feb914b71a51cdc85f0733708.jpg
 
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panathas

panathas

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Feb 12, 2014
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Your PSU is probably bad. That 12V voltage is too low. If that's the actual +12V voltage that you are getting from the PSU, then I'm afraid that you need a new one. That said sometimes the motherboard voltage readings aren't too accurate and your PSU may be fine. You should try testing your system with another reliable PSU. If the voltage readings are normal then you have a bad PSU and you should RMA it if it is still under warranty or get a new one.
 
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Drake Parker

Drake Parker

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Is there any chance the gpu might be bad, i really hope it's not. Cause I saw artifacts, you have any explanation why it happened but I can't reproduce it anymore?
 
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panathas

panathas

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The fact that you can't reproduce them is a good sign but you can't be absolutely certain whether your GPU is bad or not until you get a new PSU. A GPU relies on the power provided by the PSU. If it is getting "bad" power then it can't function properly. You should also keep in mind that a bad PSU can damage a GPU. That said your current PSU is made from a good manufacturer and likely it hasn't caused any GPU damage yet.
 
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Drake Parker

Drake Parker

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Well I guess the GPU is dying. I got a multimeter and checked the voltages by connecting the red lead to the yellow wire slot in a molex connector and the black lead to the black wire slot, and the voltages are fine. Sad.

Here's the 12v rail voltage on load
09839ef9ded847c6ac95bbaaa52b3e90.jpg
 
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panathas

panathas

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You shouldn't use a molex connector for that. You should get the readings from the ATX main power connector, the CPU power connector and/or the PCIe power connector. I once had a PSU that had the proper voltage readings on the molex or sata connectors but the main ATX motherboard power connector, gave me readings that were way off. That PSU had multiple +12V rails just like your PSU. One rail may be fine but the other may be way off specs. Finally you should monitor those readings under load.

EDIT: I understand that it's difficult to get those readings without the proper tools, while the system is working and that's why I told you to use another PSU.
 
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Drake Parker

Drake Parker

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Okay so what I did just now is i unplugged all PSU cables from everything excepts fans just to know if it's on and turned the psu on by connecting the green wire on ATX with a papreclip to a black one. Then did a reading on CPU 8 pin power, PCI power, ATX, and CPU spare 4+4 power and some molex. All had same readings (12.25v) except the ATX which had 12.16v. All of this was done when PC was off, it's just the PSU.

I don't know how to get readings from ATX while the PC is on load though, so i tried reading from the CPU spare 4+4 power and it was 12.15v on load, same as the molex. So i guess out of those two rails only the ATX one is on a different rail. Weird.
 
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panathas

panathas

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The PSU's manual should have all the info about the +12V voltage rails and which cable is connected to each rail. The +12v voltage readings that your BIOS/software reports, should come from the ATX main power connector. In order to measure those readings under load, you need special equipment or you should modify the ATX power plug in order to be able to get those readings while your PC is working. This process is way more dangerous and you could end up frying your PSU and/or your board.

You should use another PSU instead and check back those software +12v voltage readings. You should use exactly the same software as before and follow the same procedure. If this time they appear normal then your current PSU is probably damaged and you should get a new one.
 
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Drake Parker

Drake Parker

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I don't have access to another PSU or I would have done that already. None of my IRL friends are PC enthusiasts, they have PCs with cheap PSUs and I can't afford to buy a new one finding the reading and exactly the same.
 
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panathas

panathas

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If your current PSU is still under warranty, you could just RMA it. One other thing you could do, is to remove the GPU and use only the onboard Intel iGPU. Then check the same voltage readings. If they are normal this time it means that the PSU can't handle the extra GPU load. If they are the same, then your PSU may be bad or the software readings aren't accurate. You could also log into the BIOS and check the voltage readings there and whether they look normal or not. Good luck.
 
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