Should I RMA my graphics card?

[ferret mocha latte]

Hello everyone!
I am not sure if this is the correct forum for this post, but my issue does deal largely with my graphics card. If so I apologize in advance and ask to be directed to the correct forum.

I have searched the boards for similar issues and I have tried their approaches but it has not resolved my issue.

I am experiencing issues with my ASUS graphics card. Whenever I am playing a videogame or doing something that is graphics intensive, my display freezes and I either have to reboot my machine or sometimes the display unfreezes and I am allowed to resume my activities.

I originally had graphics driver 295.73, but I upgraded to version 296.10 when it came out.

I still had the same issue when I upgraded my driver so I rolled back to version 295.73. I kept bouncing back and forth between the two drivers and I even tried going into safe mode to install the drivers.

Twice while I was using AutoCAD and playing a videogame, the display became distorted and showed pixelated colors.
I installed the 301.24 driver when it came out on May 22nd, but the problem occurred again while I was playing a game and while I was in AutoCAD.

In the rare instances that my display froze and unfroze, I received a windows notification from the windows event log stating that my driver 295.73, 296.10, or 301.24 failed.

I have performed numerous diagnostics and stress tests using Ultimate Boot CD.

My memory tests have checked out fine and so have my hdd and ssd tests. The only thing that sticks out is that my southbridge temperature, my CPUTIN according to HWMonitor, is at a constant 60°. It never changes or fluctuates.

Speedfan shows my CPUTIN temps as -60°. Nevertheless, I used Speedfan in conjunction with my BIOS settings to optimize fan speeds to see if this will resolve the issue or if my GPU was overheating.

I checked the forums and most people state that they have remedied this issue by giving their internals a thorough cleaning. I have done so three times and reseated everything onto my board while making sure that I was grounded. Others have resorted to initiating an RMA.

I am still within ASUS’s 3 year warranty. Should I do the same?

Sys Hardware:
Board: asus p8z68-v gen 3
CPU: intel i5-2500k
CPU Cooler: noctua nh-d14
SSD: 120GB crucial m4-ct128m4ssd2
HDD: western digital caviar blue 500gb @ 7200 rpm
Vid Card: asus engtx560 ti dc2 top/2di/1
Memory: g.skill sniper 4gb x2 ddr3 1600, pc3 12800
PSU: corsair hx 850w

Sys Idle Temps:

Later on in the day, I will play a game in windowed mode and use AutoCAD in a separate session to obtain the load temperatures.

 

[Rustyy117]

Hi

If you can, try the graphics card in another PC to be sure the card is at fault (providing your load temps are fine).

It sounds like a faulty card to me, I would just want to make sure its the card before RMA-ing.

 

[alvine]

hello
what are your gpu temps? idle and load
it sounds like your graphics card might be overheating. crank up the fan speed up and see if the system still crashes.

 

[begnme]

Not sure if the process is the same at ASUS....at EVGA I got a graphics card diagnostic program from them. I ran it for an hour and got not one single error. I was positive my graphics card was what was causing my issues. About a month later the card finally went. I ran the same diagnostics program and got 5 million errors in about three minutes. After reporting that to tech support they RMA'd the card immeadiately. I hope that ASUS can do something similar for you.

 

[jsrudd]

I would try doing a reinstall of the drivers. Uninstall the drivers, boot into safe mode, run driver cleaner, reboot, reinstall the drivers.

 

[ferret mocha latte]

Hi

If you can, try the graphics card in another PC to be sure the card is at fault (providing your load temps are fine).

It sounds like a faulty card to me, I would just want to make sure its the card before RMA-ing.

I don't have another machine to test it on.

This is my first build.

Can you recommend any apps where I can view the GPU's in game temperatures?

Like an ingame overlay?

 

[ferret mocha latte]

hello
what are your gpu temps? idle and load
it sounds like your graphics card might be overheating. crank up the fan speed up and see if the system still crashes.

Hi, I apologize for not clarifying the column titles in the picture I posted, but the 1st column is the idle temps, the second the min temps, and the third is the max.

What I don't understand is that besides the 2 fans on the graphics card and the 2 fans on the CPU cooler, I have 3 fans in total in my case.

Do I still need to crank those up to maximum in order for the card to work normally?

 

[alvine]

use msi afterburner and in the settings enable on screen display info such as core clock, memory clock, temerature, gpu usage, fan speed

 

[ferret mocha latte]

I would try doing a reinstall of the drivers. Uninstall the drivers, boot into safe mode, run driver cleaner, reboot, reinstall the drivers.

I used phyxion.net's driver sweeper and while in safe mode.

I forgot to plug my dvi cable into my integrated display adapter so Windows automatically detected and installed the drivers for my card.

When I get home I will try what you advised the proper way.

Thanks!

 

[ferret mocha latte]

use msi afterburner and in the settings enable on screen display info such as core clock, memory clock, temerature, gpu usage, fan speed

Thanks will do.

It may be a while before I get to this. I am replying to these messages while on my lunch break.

 

[Rustyy117]

I don't have another machine to test it on.

This is my first build.

Can you recommend any apps where I can view the GPU's in game temperatures?

Like an ingame overlay?

Hi, HWMonitor (which you already have) displays a current, minimum and maximum temperature for your graphics card, I would suggest leaving HWMonitor running whilst you play a game, then check the maximum temperature in HWMonitor, alternatively MSI afterburner and FRAPS both have the ability to display an overlay (which can include a current temp reading). Both are free programs.

 

[ferret mocha latte]

So I jumped into Mass Effect 3's multiplayer because that seems to be the instance that forces my problem to reoccur.

I put my gfx card fan speeds on the max speed and temperatures steadily rose from 35°C idle to 53-54°C under load. It took about 20 minutes for this to happen.

After leaving the match temperatures dropped down to around 45°C and was steadily dropping to about 42°C or so.

This is the game with maxed out settings.

I lost my manual so I checked ASUS's site for expected temps but I could not find anything.

I went into my ASUS Smart Doctor and saw that medium fans seeds kick in when the GPU's temp hits 55°C.

Are these temps normal for load?

p.s. msi afterburner is awesome.

 

[Rustyy117]

Yes, your load temps are absolutely fine, anything south of 90C won't be causing a problem.

 

[ferret mocha latte]

I spoke too soon. The problem occurred again.

 

[ferret mocha latte]

It froze again.

 

[jaiizxvi]

RMA it and exchange it for an XFX Radeon HD 6850. I had a similar experience with an ASUS HD Radeon 6850.

 

[ferret mocha latte]

Hey everyone,
Sorry it took so long for the reply, but I sent in my graphics card to be RMA'd on Friday.

I am using my integrated graphics card and the same problem occurred again.

 

[Deemo13]

It sounds more like a Windows problem then. Does it only happen in 3D applications?

 

[ferret mocha latte]

It sounds more like a Windows problem then. Does it only happen in 3D applications?

This time it happened while I was watching a video in HD on YouTube and then I regained control of my machine.

I then went to my event viewer to see if any messages were returned, but there were no errors or warnings pertaining to display or graphics.

 

[ferret mocha latte]

I initiated an RMA of my gfx card and the issue occurred without my ASUS gfx card.