Problem with GPU, MB or ram ?

[arhyno]

Hi all, here is my odd issue and wondering if anyone has seen anything like this.

To start, my specs are this.


OS: Windows 7 pro

ASUS Radeon HD 6870 DirectCU 913MHZ 1GB 4.2GHZ GDDR5
G.SKILL Ripjaws X F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-24 Memory
Intel Core i5 2500K Quad Core Unlocked Processor LGA1155 3.3GHZ Sandy Bridge 6MB
Seasonic X760 Gold ATX 12V 24PIN 760W Active PFC 80PLUS Gold Modular SLI Ready
Gigabyte P67X-UD3-B3 ATX LGA1155 P67 DDR3 3PCI-E1 2PCI 2PCI-E16 CrossFireX SATA3 USB3.0 Motherboard

This issue happens about 15- 25% of the time when i boot up, and what happens is, when i turn my computer on, what's seen in the video happens, my screen at bios is hacked up, my OS tries to boot, and after windows loads, i just get a black screen.

At this point i need to restart my computer, and when i restart it either boots fine, or repeats this issue. Normally after 1 or 2 re-boots it works fine but 75% of the time when i do my first boot, it boots fine, all is well, and when it boots fine, i can play till i shut the pc off. no issues, no hacks in the video, everything works fine like nothing is wrong with my pc. i play video games 1 to 5 hours at a time and no issues. only when i boot sometimes does this happen

i tried a different screen and cable. i dont have onboard video, and no second video card, or MB or ram. but if no one has an idea of my issue, i will start asking around for parts to test with.

http://youtu.be/w1kwhYMBdDI

Edit: Also,when this happens, i can boot into safe mode, and have access..... odd.

 

[Kkkk1]

I would guess a BIOS setting somewhere. Is your CPU and RAM at stock settings or overclocked? Try restoring default settings and see what happens. Also have you tried reseating all of your components?

 

[arhyno]

i Updated my bios and i have not OC'ed anything at this point. i assume updating bios resets defaults? i havent tinkered really with anything at this point. and i have tried re setting all parts. this weekend i was thinking about doing it a second time, but removing MB and the works.

 

[dudewitbow]

plug your dvi/hdmi cable to your mobo and remove the gpu. if it works, you can rule that its the gpu that is causing the problem

 

[Kkkk1]

Good. If I were you i'd take ALL components out, i.e CPU, GPU, RAM, HD. Reseat them all again making sure you provide sufficient Thermal Paste for the CPU. I'm not sure the BIOS resets to default after flashing so i'd reset defaults anyway. Let us know how it goes.

 

[ubercake]

Test the RAM using the Window Memory Diagnostic Tool - click on the 'Windows' button and type Windows Memory in the search box - when you can get windows running long enough to schedule it and then restart as prompted. You can rule out a RAM issue this way.

Because you're seeing garble on the screen at the BIOS, I would tend to believe something could be wrong with your video card.

 

[Kkkk1]

Test the RAM using the Window Memory Diagnostic Tool - click on the 'Windows' button and type Windows Memory in the search box - when you can get windows running long enough to schedule it and then restart as prompted. You can rule out a RAM issue this way.

Because you're seeing garble on the screen at the BIOS, I would tend to believe something could be wrong with your video card.

I guess you could be right but since he can game for up to 5hrs at a time without any problems I think his components are OK. I still think it could be BIOS related.

 

[ubercake]

I guess you could be right but since he can game for up to 5hrs at a time without any problems I think his components are OK. I still think it could be BIOS related.

Checking the on-board video is a good way to rule out a video card issue though too.

 

[arhyno]

i agree, my MB doesnt have Onboard, a lesson learned for future builds.

 

[ubercake]

i agree, my MB doesnt have Onboard, a lesson learned for future builds.

Actually, it's not a big deal if you can keep a $30-40 card around like a Geforce 210 for such occasions. If you're strapped though, that's understandable too.

Check what you can though. When the system "allows" it, check the RAM. Make sure your BIOS is updated to the latest release. If you are able to pick up a cheap video card to test it, do so.

Bad RAM and bad video cards can both lead to performance consistency issues. I've had problems with both in the past.

When I had problems with the RAM (when I was running XP), the PC would often just shut down or restart out of nowhere.

When I had a problem with the video card, I had inconsistencies with the boot-up process. Sometimes it would just shut down or give me black screens once Windows would load as you describe. Sometimes it would run fine, but others the screen would just go black after running for a while with no way to recover but cold boot.

 

[mmilner1]

if it works every time in safe mode and never locks up during the boot then there is little doubt its your video card or the power supply. What seems to be happening is when the windows starts to load its drivers the graphics kick in and is either heating up too much or loading a slowly dieing power supply. If it was a software setting you'd see more consistency of the error and if it was ram or cpu you'd see the error also during the boot before windows loads. Odds are one of the two (gpu or pwr supply) that is heating up, power supplies are more prone to go bad and its loaded down more by the GPU in Windows then safe mode, but the graphics card would probably be my first guess. The only way to truly narrow it down would be to put a volt meter on the power supply and reboot it over and over to see if the power drops when the graphics card kicks in. Other than that you could do as some has suggested and put a cheap video card in. Maybe its just the computer gods telling you its time to upgrade

 

[ubercake]

if it works every time in safe mode and never locks up during the boot then there is little doubt its your video card or the power supply. What seems to be happening is when the windows starts to load its drivers the graphics kick in and is either heating up too much or loading a slowly dieing power supply. If it was a software setting you'd see more consistency of the error and if it was ram or cpu you'd see the error also during the boot before windows loads. Odds are one of the two (gpu or pwr supply) that is heating up, power supplies are more prone to go bad and its loaded down more by the GPU in Windows then safe mode, but the graphics card would probably be my first guess. The only way to truly narrow it down would be to put a volt meter on the power supply and reboot it over and over to see if the power drops when the graphics card kicks in. Other than that you could do as some has suggested and put a cheap video card in. Maybe its just the computer gods telling you its time to upgrade

How can video problems exist in the BIOS if there is no possibility of a problem with the video card? "my screen at bios is hacked up"? Sometimes 1-2 reboots?

This is before any disk even spins.