I built a new Windows 7 PC fairly recently (parts listed here), and I started having what I thought was an issue with the GPU. After booting, the screen would flicker up and down periodically. Eventually, this would progress into the screen turning completely grey with vertical lines, like this. Sometimes audio from the PC could still be heard, sometimes not. While this is happening, the GPU fan starts spinning at maximum speed, making a lot of noise. I always end up hard resetting the PC.
As far as I can tell, there aren't specific steps that cause the issue. It can happen during gaming, Google Chrome use, or general program use. It always happens within a few hours of restarting the PC. It doesn't seem to be a temperature issue, since the GPU temp never gets out of safe ranges.
I RMA'd the GPU and PowerColor replaced it. But this did not fix the problem.
I removed the old drivers, used Display Driver Uninstaller in safe mode to remove everything, and reinstalled new drivers. I tried this with both the latest version of the drivers from AMD's website, and with the drivers that came on the disc with the GPU.
The computer still grey screens within a few minutes of booting up.
Removing the GPU from the system and using the motherboard's graphics makes the issue completely disappear, so the issue is connected to the GPU somehow.
As far as I can tell, there are three possibilities for what is causing this: 1) PowerColor sent me another bad GPU; 2) the PCI-E slot on the motherboard is defective; or 3) the PSU is failing.
Are there any other possibilities? And how do I go about diagnosing this?
As far as I can tell, there aren't specific steps that cause the issue. It can happen during gaming, Google Chrome use, or general program use. It always happens within a few hours of restarting the PC. It doesn't seem to be a temperature issue, since the GPU temp never gets out of safe ranges.
I RMA'd the GPU and PowerColor replaced it. But this did not fix the problem.
I removed the old drivers, used Display Driver Uninstaller in safe mode to remove everything, and reinstalled new drivers. I tried this with both the latest version of the drivers from AMD's website, and with the drivers that came on the disc with the GPU.
The computer still grey screens within a few minutes of booting up.
Removing the GPU from the system and using the motherboard's graphics makes the issue completely disappear, so the issue is connected to the GPU somehow.
As far as I can tell, there are three possibilities for what is causing this: 1) PowerColor sent me another bad GPU; 2) the PCI-E slot on the motherboard is defective; or 3) the PSU is failing.
Are there any other possibilities? And how do I go about diagnosing this?
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