GPU issues? Please advise.

danthrax

danthrax

Member
So I was playing CSS today when all of a sudden everything froze up and the display on the screen became distorted. I was unable to get back to Windows in any way. So I turned off the computer and restarted it, everything started normally, no weird noises, smells, or indications that any hardware had failed. However, the monitor remained asleep, and when I turned off and then turned on the monitor it says on the screen there is no input from the HDMI or VGA (just the HDMI chord was hooked up at this point). So i tried hooking up the VGA cable and encountered the same problem, there was still no signal from the VGA or HDMI ports.

I have encountered an issue similar to this before where the GPU (GeForce 9800 512mb), when put under any amount of stress, would cause the computer to freeze in its tracks. The GPU was replaced under warranty so this is the second 9800 GeForce I've had in this computer.

I'm just curious as to what you guys think the problem could be, like I said I've had issues with this GPU before and have encountered this same distorted screen before freezing up. Is it probably a GPU issue again? Could it be an issue with the monitor? Any advice is appreciated!
 
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sounds like the video card went kaput, either overheated or the electricals just went to crap. You gotta pay close attention to gpu temps when using graphical intensive applications. I set my fan speed manually in the ATI catalyst control center to automatic when idle and then somewhere between 25-40% when doing heavy graphical applications. Plus I take my card apart every few month or so and clean out the dust and put some new thermal paste on the gpu.
 
I agree with Konsole. It sounds like your video card took a dump. I would connect up a monitor you know is functional to your system just to make sure though.
 
Thanks for the advice guys. Initially when it happened I opened the computer and felt the graphics card, attempting to locate the source of the problem, and the card was pretty warm... I currently have a GeForce 9800 512mb graphics card (which is more than likely kaput) with an Asus M2N78-LA motherboard, what do you guys recommend for a new graphics card? This was a prebuilt computer and I'm not sure if the motherboard will support a more powerful GPU (although I'd love to buy a better one), how would I go about finding out what kind of graphics card the motherboard will support?
 
zomg! i had the exact same problem this weekend. i was playing css, then there were like gray horizontal lines all over the screen and the whole computer froze! :eek:

are you by any chance using windows 7?

i was on the quad core & crossfire rig. i though my cards were overheating too, but now i'm not so sure.

once i restart, everything is normal again, but i don't see any messages in the event log. :confused:

[edit] oh, wait. my screen did come back up, so im not sure about your problem. i just read teh first few lines, sowwy!

still happened with CSS, though, so that's weird. [/edit]
 
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Just so you know the gpu should feel pretty hot when playing games like that with the fan at a moderate speed. I've seen my gpu run upwards of 190 F when I am playing a big game and forget to change the fan speed, though I usually try to keep it 150-160 which is still pretty hot to the touch.
 
zombine210 said:
zomg! i had the exact same problem this weekend. i was playing css, then there were like gray horizontal lines all over the screen and the whole computer froze! :eek:

are you by any chance using windows 7?
Click to expand...

I am using Vista Home Premium

My budget for a new GPU would be less than $200.
 
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