Galaxy GTX 465 issue- need suggestion

[isotla]

Hello guys. I've only had my Galaxy GTX 465 for about 6 weeks and I just started having problems as well. For the last month (not right away), when I power my monitor back on in the morning, I'm starting to get a nearly all black screen (white dialog boxes are barely visible). It's now gotten to the point where I have to restart my PC in order to get a visible display again.

I called Galaxy tech yesterday and he asked me one question. How old is my PSU? I told him over a year old, but it's actually nearly 3 years old. I have the CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V v2.2 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS. The tech told me word for word "power supplies have the capability to lose 20% of their capacity in a year". Is this really true? Should I start by replacing this card as a first step before starting an RMA?

Again, these black screens only happens when I have my monitor off after an extended period of time and turn it back on. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[nforce4max]

Only cheap quality units degrade that much over time and the only other way for that to take place is when the unit is being pushed to around or greater than what it was rated for then they degrade but over all most end up lasting for a lot more than 3 years. Some units do survive after almost daily use for decades if maintained. I would try to at least check the volts to see if they are where they should be and not dipping to low while under load.

What is the rest of your system specs?

 

[isotla]

I would try to at least check the volts to see if they are where they should be and not dipping to low while under load.

What is the rest of your system specs?

First off, thanks a bunch nforce4max for the quick response!

SPECS:

Win 7 Pro

Gigabyte EP45-DS3L Motherboard
Intel Core 2 Quad- Q6600 2.4GHz
8 GB RAM
Creative Fat1lity Pro soundcard


How would I go about checking the volts specific to the GPU? Through BIOS or software?

 

[isotla]

PS...I take it the voltage should be 12V exactly?

 

[nforce4max]

Or very close to it and shouldn't dip much during full load.

 

[isotla]

Or very close to it and shouldn't dip much during full load.

Sorry for what may be obvious to most on here, but how do I tell what the voltage is during full load? Sounds like I have to download software.

 

[nforce4max]

Speed fan is good but some tend to rely more on a physical device to monitor voltage such as a volt meter. In software you can get a good idea how good your volts are and in bios where there is no real load you can check there to see how well they are. Overall I think that it can be the card as well. Fermi era cards are very flaky when it comes to be reliable.

 

[isotla]

Speed fan is good but some tend to rely more on a physical device to monitor voltage such as a volt meter. In software you can get a good idea how good your volts are and in bios where there is no real load you can check there to see how well they are. Overall I think that it can be the card as well. Fermi era cards are very flaky when it comes to be reliable.

Thanks again. I checked BIOS and to my surprise, there was an "intial display" setting that was incorrectly set to PEG (PCI-E) instead of PCI. I really have no idea if this is the true reason why I'm having my issue, but obviously the GTX 465 card is not PCI-E. The whole idea of "initial" display versus (generic / full time?) display is beyond me, but I changed it.

I'll give it a day or so and see if my black screens after monitor is powered back on disappears. I'll report back with what I find.

 

[jjb8675309]

also try a different driver and see if problems persist

 

[isotla]

also try a different driver and see if problems persist

I've gone through the last two NVIDIA updates with the same results. Thanks.

 

[jjb8675309]

yeah sorry then it is probably the card... RMA that piece

 

[isotla]

Overall I think that it can be the card as well. Fermi era cards are very flaky when it comes to be reliable.

Guys, any suggestion would be appreciated!

Well, I changed the BIOS setting I mentioned above and the Galaxy GTX 465 card still doesn't send the display to the monitor after the monitor is turned off for more than 30 minutes. The monitor light stays blue (indicating its getting something from the card), it's just not the display. In BIOS (I know, not full load...) I am getting an indication from the PCI cables that I'm getting my necessary 12V.

At this point in time, does it really make sense to buy another PSU as a test before I RMA this card to Galaxy? I doubt the 750W Corsair plus PSU I have is bad, I really do and I don't feel like putting down another $150 for a PSU I may not need.

 

[jjb8675309]

no not worth it imo, rma the 465

 

[isotla]

no not worth it imo, rma the 465

Thanks for the opinion. I mean, if it was a cheap PSU I had and I had any other indication that it was bad in any way, I'd buy another.

The tech himself said the recommended PSU wattage was either 500 or 550, so I should be fine.

Thanks.

 

[benski]

Thanks again. I checked BIOS and to my surprise, there was an "intial display" setting that was incorrectly set to PEG (PCI-E) instead of PCI. I really have no idea if this is the true reason why I'm having my issue, but obviously the GTX 465 card is not PCI-E. The whole idea of "initial" display versus (generic / full time?) display is beyond me, but I changed it.

I'll give it a day or so and see if my black screens after monitor is powered back on disappears. I'll report back with what I find.

Your card IS PCI-E, not PCI

 

[isotla]

Your card IS PCI-E, not PCI

Thank you and you're right. Because the video card is utilizing a slot that doesn't physically look like the PCI-E slot my sound card is using, I stupidly threw myself off for no good reason.

Regardless, either BIOS setting with this option still didn't resolve my issue with this card.

 

[benski]

This sounds more like a monitor problem than a video card problem to me.

 

[isotla]

This sounds more like a monitor problem than a video card problem to me.

Thanks for the suggestion. What's one more day before I RMA the card?

No one made this suggestion before but I guess that it's possible the monitor would only start doing this after I installed a new video card. I'll give that a try tonight as I have another monitor to test in the house.

Fortunately for me, the problem is consistent after the PC runs and I have the monitor turned off for about 30 minutes, so I can determine this in quick order.


Have a good night.

 

[isotla]

This sounds more like a monitor problem than a video card problem to me.

Your suggestion was exactly the problem! It was my 4-5 year old ViewSonic monitor. I swapped the monitors and the ViewSonic did the same thing on my second desktop.

Thanks for the help! I'm glad I didn't RMA my new card.

 

[benski]

Good to hear. Probably the backlight or inverter going bad on your monitor, you might be able to google a kit to repair it cheaply, although luckily monitors have gotten alot better and cheaper in the last 4 or 5 years if you do end up replacing it. Simple solutions are always the best

 

[isotla]

Good to hear. Probably the backlight or inverter going bad on your monitor, you might be able to google a kit to repair it cheaply, although luckily monitors have gotten alot better and cheaper in the last 4 or 5 years if you do end up replacing it. Simple solutions are always the best

No fix it kit for me. I just bought the Samsung B2430H @ BJ's for $190 (tax included). I went to newegg.com to see what they cost there, and I saved myself $50 by getting it at BJ's. I couldn't believe it.

Anyways, this new Samsung looks 10 times better than the old ViewSonic.

 

[jjb8675309]

yeah to me viewsonic and LG= very pixelated