Graphics Card Problem!!!

[joelkamper]

My Nvidia GPU has been running well for about a year and a half until recently, when it gave me the "throttling down to prevent damage" message. I quickly shut off, checked my heatsink, etc, temps were normal and everything was firmly attached. Turned back on, everything appeared normal and games, etc worked fine. A week or so later, GPU temp is now reading -61C (speedfan) 256C (Classic control panel) or 50C (New control panel). Also, performance has been a bit choppy, even when moving my mouse around the desktop. Any thoughts?

Specs:
FSP 450W PSU
A64x2 3800+
MSI K8n-F MB
2 GB Corsair valueRAM
Seagate % WD Hdd's
XFX 6800gs w/ aftermarket cooler

Both PSU and MB have been recently replaced due to other problems (I had a bad PSU and then went though 3 bad MB's, including 1 bad RMA).

 

[Dahak]

Try removing the heatsink from the GPU,clean all the old paste off,then re-apply a small amount of paste and the heatsink.It may solve your issues.Also check to see if the memory chips are cooled by the GPU cooler.If they are then you'll have to do the same for them.Once all is said and done,uninstall the video drivers,go to NVIDIA's website and download the latest drivers that are wqhl certified.You should install the drivers in safe mode.This will allow the computer to configure the drivers correctly.Do not install them with an anti-virus running in the background as it will prevent the drivers from being configured correctly,hence causing issues.Goodluck.P.S.Clean all the dust out of your computer with a can or two of compressed air.Same with the heatsink on the video card.

Dahak

AMD X2 5600+ @ 2.8ghz(stock)
M2N32-SLI DELUXE MB
2 GIGS DDR2 800 RAM
THERMALTAKE 850WATT PSU
7950GT KO(WAITING FOR MY OTHER TO COME BACK FROM RMA)
ACER 22IN. LCD
SMILIDON RAIDMAX GAMING CASE
80GIG/250gig SATA2 HD's
XP MCE