I have two GTX 570s running 3 monitors. Recently (past ~5 days), I've been experiencing seemingly random restarts (at least 8) and two BSODs. What ALWAYS happens with the restarts is that the two monitors connected to the primary GTX 570 (call it Card A) go black and if I had music playing, it freezes on one note and keeps blaring it. The third monitor on Card B looks fine, and I've even had the mouse work on that monitor for a few seconds. Then the computer restarts. This happens during gameplay (which has been very infrequent the last couple months) AND simple tasks like going on the internet or working on a Word doc.
The BSOD whose BCCode I remember (7E) happened when I was just checking emails. Unfortunately, neither BSOD has been recorded in the Event Log, so I have no idea what program caused it. Even more recently (just the last couple of surprise restarts), the screen freezes right at the end of the starting screen that says "Starting Windows" with the shining logo. But the computer keeps starting up in the background- it plays the welcome sound and I could type in my password, except that the screen is still stuck. It sounds weird, but on that login screen I can also restart the computer with a few taps of the keys (to highlight the red box on the lower right then select restart. I do this from memory of the keystrokes). It will do this several times, then on the 3rd or 4th manual restart, the screen gets past the start screen and to the login like normal. Then everything's fine until the next random restart.
What I've done:
1. Virus scan- nothing found by Norton or Smit Fraud Fix
2. Defrag
3. Chkdsk- everything fine, no bad sectors
4. Updated my previous 296.10 drivers to the latest 301.42
5. I always have EVGA Precision open in the corner of one monitor to check on temps. Card A shows temps of 55C idle (that's with Card B running; it's 46C without) and load at 78C. Card B, which is usually under 80% load constantly, shows idle temps of 40C and load temps of 72C. CPU temps never get above 70C under full load.
I'm probably going to reinstall Windows to completely rule out software problems tomorrow. I have a bad feeling that it won't help, and this is either a motherboard or video card problem. Any more ideas on what to do to determine the cause of the problem before I reinstall or spend $300 on a replacement for Card A? All in all, I tend to have my computer on doing something 24/7, but it only uses Card A during games. Card B has gotten a workout being used for BOINC/Folding@home. Card A really hasn't been pushed hard at all the last few months, so I'm at a loss why it's failing (if it is).
My computer specs (assembled Jan 2011):
Gigabyte UD3R motherboard
2x GTX 570 @ stock
i7 950 @ stock
12GB DDR3 1333
150GB Raptor for OS
1TB Hitachi data
320GB WD
Corsair 850W
3x Samsung HD monitors (2 on Card A, 1 on Card B)
The last occurrence was just 15 minutes ago- screens went blank, then the system restarted. It then froze at the startup screen, and I had to go through two manual restarts to get to the desktop again. I was watching a .ts video file in MPC at the time on my primary monitor, but I'm still not seeing a definite pattern.
The BSOD whose BCCode I remember (7E) happened when I was just checking emails. Unfortunately, neither BSOD has been recorded in the Event Log, so I have no idea what program caused it. Even more recently (just the last couple of surprise restarts), the screen freezes right at the end of the starting screen that says "Starting Windows" with the shining logo. But the computer keeps starting up in the background- it plays the welcome sound and I could type in my password, except that the screen is still stuck. It sounds weird, but on that login screen I can also restart the computer with a few taps of the keys (to highlight the red box on the lower right then select restart. I do this from memory of the keystrokes). It will do this several times, then on the 3rd or 4th manual restart, the screen gets past the start screen and to the login like normal. Then everything's fine until the next random restart.
What I've done:
1. Virus scan- nothing found by Norton or Smit Fraud Fix
2. Defrag
3. Chkdsk- everything fine, no bad sectors
4. Updated my previous 296.10 drivers to the latest 301.42
5. I always have EVGA Precision open in the corner of one monitor to check on temps. Card A shows temps of 55C idle (that's with Card B running; it's 46C without) and load at 78C. Card B, which is usually under 80% load constantly, shows idle temps of 40C and load temps of 72C. CPU temps never get above 70C under full load.
I'm probably going to reinstall Windows to completely rule out software problems tomorrow. I have a bad feeling that it won't help, and this is either a motherboard or video card problem. Any more ideas on what to do to determine the cause of the problem before I reinstall or spend $300 on a replacement for Card A? All in all, I tend to have my computer on doing something 24/7, but it only uses Card A during games. Card B has gotten a workout being used for BOINC/Folding@home. Card A really hasn't been pushed hard at all the last few months, so I'm at a loss why it's failing (if it is).
My computer specs (assembled Jan 2011):
Gigabyte UD3R motherboard
2x GTX 570 @ stock
i7 950 @ stock
12GB DDR3 1333
150GB Raptor for OS
1TB Hitachi data
320GB WD
Corsair 850W
3x Samsung HD monitors (2 on Card A, 1 on Card B)
The last occurrence was just 15 minutes ago- screens went blank, then the system restarted. It then froze at the startup screen, and I had to go through two manual restarts to get to the desktop again. I was watching a .ts video file in MPC at the time on my primary monitor, but I'm still not seeing a definite pattern.
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