Custom Built PC Issues

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dgio21

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So I did a lot of research and decided to build my own computer. After two weeks, issues started to rise. After my computer loads past the welcome screen of windows 7 it freezes and restarts. I boot easily into safe mode and everything works fine. I switched the graphics card over to the next pci-e slot. It worked perfect again for a couple days but then the same problems started to happen. I reinstalled all video drivers and i even tried to do a clean install of windows 7. Nothing worked. I deduced it to being either a mobo problem or a graphics card problem. I think this because certain times there are black artifacts across my monitor right before the computer freezes up. Bad thing is i bought all my parts from newegg and i didn't know that their warranty for certain products were voided if the rebated was mailed in. I was thinking of also taking it in to a local computer shop to see if they could figure it out. What do you guys think could be the problem??

Also can a faulty GPU, if thats the case, destroy the pci-e slot?

Mobo: ASUS M4A79XTD EVO
Graphics: SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6870
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition
PSU: Antec TruePower New TP-650 650W
RAM: 2x4 gb CORSAIR XMS3 ddr3 1333
 
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internetlad
wow lots of replies on this one. I'm concerned that you're describing "black spots" (artifacts). Sounds like a bad card to me. If a fresh re-install didn't fix it then it's probably not software (unless you kept re-installing the same software)

if you can get your hands on a copy of DaRT for your system you could run the crash analyzer on it, might be able to tell you what is causing it.
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dgio21

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no advice?? I need to figure this out soon since i need to see if i can afford a new graphics card if thats the problem or if i can just rma my mobo through asus..
 
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jb6684

jb6684

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First, if you OC'ing any thing, drop it back to stock clocks & voltages.

Second, ALL the parts are were great choices, nicely matched, good brands,....

First test, just One RAM stick.... then try the other to see if one stick crashes more than the other.

You need to check temperatures: Prime95 to put on a load, and FanSpeed to monitor CPU temps. Ok if your 70C or under.
GPU, FurMark 1.8.2 to put on a load, and GPU-Z to check temperature of the GPU. Ok if your 85C or under.

If one test crashes More than the other, you getting somewhere...
 
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Daplinksta

Daplinksta

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Can you swap any parts? I'd suggest trying a diff vid card that would diagnose the quickest. Even a very low end card would work, on bo...wait you don't have on board. If your freezing on windows say in the morning(if you had left it off over night)it is most likely NOT an overheating issue unless it's actually in the gpu hs. Is your gpu fan spinning? Memtest(freeware) will check your memory without having to disassemble. It could be many things....but going with the 90% rule I'd say most likely 1. gpu overheating 2. Pci lane problem(mobo) 3. Memory throwing errors
 
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dgio21

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i tried switch the ram sticks out.. it went past the welcome screen into a black screen, froze, and restarted again. Thats what usually happens so theres no way i can get in.

I also tried uninstalling the card drivers as well a couple days ago. I could easily boot into windows without them but as soon as i installed them the same errors kept occuring. This is why i think the graphics card is the problem but i have no way of knowing unless i take it to my local tech shop which might cost me some money...
 
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Daplinksta

Daplinksta

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Dg can you install your gpu on a diff comp? Take it to a friends or family members install it....if you have the same problem...there ya go. Did you check the gpu hs fan? I listed that but you didn't respond.
 
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dgio21

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yea its running, i was looking through my comp and i heard it running.. It was easy to tell since i accidently pushed a chassis fan wire into it so i could definitely tell it was working... Im at college right now and not a lot of people i know has a desktop here. Only person i know that might have one is busy for the next week or so with papers. I'll try asking him if hes free sometime

EDIT: i installed the drivers from the sapphire website in normal windows 7.
 
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MartyS

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I think its to do with Windows itself.

I had an AMD Phenom II x4 955BE 4x DDR3 RAM ANd Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit. When my mobo dies i had to use and old MSI board with an Athlon 64 x2, my computer was doing the same thing as yours even though the cpu is 64bit compatible. I had to install a 32bit version on a separate HDD to be able to access mt computer. I think once you activate windows, any major hardware changes and win7 goes nuts! lol

I dont know how to get around this problem though!
 
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dgio21

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actually.. i looked at the wrong fan.. the hs is inside the card right?

EDIT: forget what i said... anyways.. i got past the black freezing screen.. I don't know what i did.. what should i do now?
 
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dgio21

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oh and is it bad to keep my computer on while this problem is still around?? Could the part in question cause more damage to the mobo or to the gpu or to any other part in the computer??
 
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dgio21

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yea could be... thats what i thought too.. Too bad sapphire's warranty goes through the dealer only and neweggs warranty is voided once the mail in rebate is sent in which i didn't know until after all this started happening... If im gonna get another card im gonna buy an xfx radeon 6870.. Lifetime warranty that goes straight through them..
 
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Daplinksta

Daplinksta

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I have windows 7 64 bit and have replaced everything in my comp multiple times the only thing 7 (generally) has a probsky with is a MOBO CHANGE. Even then you can get around it by calling the windows activation and telling them you had a defective motherboard that was replaced under warranty.
 
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dgio21

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So i installed the chipset drivers for my mobo. Worked fine for a couple days then the problems started to happen again.... I ran out of options so i switched the hdmi cord to another on my tv and it worked fine... Does anybody know what this means??

Also while i was on my computer i noticed some graphical issues on the desktop. In google chrome, the area with the tabs started to flicker. not significant at all but i noticed it....
 
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dgio21

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so i ran memtest.. no issues.. ran prime95 for 6 hours and no issues. havent run furmark yet.. gonna wait on that till tomorrow... want to see if my pc starts up normally tomorrow after running all these stress tests.. any other tests i can do to see whats wrong with my comp?
 
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dgio21

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so i ran furmark just now for a good 10 minutes... no problems at all... so i have no idea whats wrong with my pc.... i did update to the 11.3 drivers on the amd website a couple days ago instead of the ones offered at sapphire and i've been going error free except for today. i was in shogun 2 total war when my computer monitor went to a gray screen and there was no way i could fix it without rebooting my computer. It loaded into windows fine so idk what the problem was
 
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dgio21

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Hey sorry for the quadruple post but i have one last question. If my computer works fine without the ati display drivers and begins to crash with them, does that points towards a faulty gpu or a faulty motherboard??

Just to clarify, i got the latest drivers from the amd website
 
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internetlad

internetlad

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wow lots of replies on this one. I'm concerned that you're describing "black spots" (artifacts). Sounds like a bad card to me. If a fresh re-install didn't fix it then it's probably not software (unless you kept re-installing the same software)

if you can get your hands on a copy of DaRT for your system you could run the crash analyzer on it, might be able to tell you what is causing it.
 
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dgio21

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yea they were artifacts, except these artifacts spanned the entire screen. it was ridiculous. I already ordered a new gpu which was cheaper.

I also wanted to ask if a faulty pci-e slot can destroy a gpu? I was just wondering since when i first put this build together i completely forgot that the pci-e card locks in and i tried to remove the gpu with the lock still on it. It popped out but one end of the card was still locked. Do you think i could have destroyed my pci-e slot? Every time i reset the card in the same slot it moves slightly while the other slot is a little more snug.

Just want some information so i know if i should put the new card in the same slot or the other one
 
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internetlad

internetlad

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Certainly too much force could damage a slot (or the pins) but I wouldn't think unless you were really reefing on it and it actually broke some of the solder points or somehow managed to bend the pins, which are all on the sides, or something of that nature.

I've never heard of a card-killing PCI-E slot but if you're paranoid i don't see any reason why it wouldn't work in the second slot, however I've heard that the bottom slot is sometimes a PCI-E 8X instead of 16X, i'd check with GPU-Z to make sure after it's installed.
 
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