HD 4870 gone kerflooey?

[hedgy]

So about a week ago, I returned from a vacation, and now whenever I try and run any sort of game on my rig, I get a black-screen as soon as whatever game loads, followed by a complete system lock up (sounds start to stutter, too). Could this be a problem tied to the GPU? I ran a memtest without issue, and I'm pretty much all out of ideas here.
Specs:
Gigabyte P45 series mobo
Core 2 quad Q6600
AMD Radeon HD 4870 1gb
4gb ddr3 1333

P.S. I'm really not sure what all details I need to include, but hopefully this will serve as a start!

 

[Orlean]

What kinda power supply do you have ? And how many passes of Memtest did you run ?

 

[hedgy]

Thanks for the response! I'm running a SPARKLE 550-watter, and I believe I did 2 passes in the memtest this afternoon. Hope this helps!

 

[Orlean]

1-2 passes in Memtest is enough for a fresh build to test for errors with no known stability issues. I personally usually run 7+ passes which is about 11 hours ( usually when I'm at work) but the number of passes for RAM stability is very subjective depending on the person and there system for some people it may take a few hours to come up with errors and some 24 hours it just depends. Best way is to run 1 module at a time usually overnight in each DIMM slot if some errors come up it will be easier to pin point which stick it is and or slot.



As far as you're power supply only way you're going to be able to test is out is with a Volt Meter have to check the 12v, 5v and 3v rails for readings. I personally don't think that bad GPU hardware would cause a complete system lock up, so to me it sounds like a power issue since from the looks of it when its under load it decides to lock up but I could be wrong, maybe somebody can correct me on that.

 

[hedgy]

Well your guess is certainly as good as mine! Although I've been kind of thinking it was the power supply, also.

Anywho, so this morning, it took me 4 or 5 tries to get my computer just to boot successfully. During various places at startup (and even two instances after logging into windows), I would suddenly lose power. I managed to fire up a game a few moments ago, and instead of locking up after loading the level, it just shut off suddenly.

Also, whenever I go into the BIOS for any reason and I select save changes, I get a power error upon restart.

 

[adamdbz]

Replace the psu with a new one get it from a good brand like antec or corsair etc..

 

[Sunius]

Replace the psu with a new one get it from a good brand like antec or corsair etc..

Dude, his PC is quite old and I'm sure his PSU powerful enough. After all, it worked for long time. HD 4870 isn't power hungry card either.

@OP: Would you mind downloading FurMark http://www.ozone3d.net/benchmarks/fur and try stress testing the video card?

 

[hedgy]

Okay, well I downloaded the benchmark and ran it once without issue, and the card went up to ~ 75 C. I tried running it a second time at my native resolution, though, and I lost power immediately

 

[Sunius]

Drivers might be messed. To narrow it down to either hardware or software, I'd suggest reinstalling windows. I know it's a hassle, but it will help us determine what's at fault here. Also, check that your monitor cable is not lose. Are you sure you're not trying to run higher resolution than your monitor supports?

 

[hedgy]

ughh that's a huge bummer to hear. I just had to reinstall windows a coupla months ago! I did just reinstall my drivers, and this time I couldn't even get through a single burn-in test without losing power. Also, I was running it below my native resolution this time.

 

[Guest]

Your symptoms sound like the power suppy.