windows 8.1 - Diagnosing video card failure while gaming

07
2014-07
  • Yuck

    I have a reproducible issue with my system where most games will crash within 10 - 15 minutes. This seems only to include graphics-intense games. I have used multiple modern video cards which indicates to me (correct me if I'm wrong) that the issue is likely to be overheating or insufficient power supply. System stability otherwise is rock-solid.

    How can I determine which is causing my problem? I installed GPU-Z to assist me but nothing seems out of the ordinary. Card peaks at about 60 C with no spikes or increase until the point of failure. The PerfCap Reason is VRel (Limited by reliability voltage) although after reading other forums I wonder if this isn't a red herring. VDDC is steady at about 1.187 V.

    Any thoughts?

    Relevant components are:

    DxDiag Results:

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    • Answers
  • Yuck

    I replaced the power supply listed in the question with Thermaltake SMART M Series SP-850M 850W, and the problem appears to have resolved itself. At this point I think it's fair to say that the system / GPU heat was not the problem.

    Whether the power supply was underpowered for my system or if it had begun to fail is still in question.


    • Related Question

    motherboard - How to diagnose PC power failure?
  • Alex B

    I can't turn on my box anymore, and I can't diagnose where the failure occurs.

    1. The LED on the motherboard itself is on when the power supply is on.
    2. When the power switch is pressed, the fans start for a split second but then they stop.
    3. Can't seem to turn it on using the power switch pins directly.

    It's almost the same with another (healthy) equivalent power supply, except the fans do not even move.

    Does it mean my motherboard is toast, or should I be looking elsewhere?


    • Related Answers
  • Patkos Csaba

    If youtried with a good power supply and you eliminated a switch failure, all it remains is your motherboard. However, this may be a minor problem, so before throwing it out go to a computer service, maybe they can fix it.

  • Sirex

    sometimes reseating the cpu and ram can help, but i've had this twice in the past that as just a toasted motherboard.

    It can also be duff PSU, but it sounds liek you've tested that to some degree.

    To be honest, One time this happened it turned out to be a loose screw on the back of the board shorting it up, and one time it was a spare metal riser post for other form factor motherboards, so it could be a lot of things but start with the easiest to check.

  • Alex B

    Turns out it was... *drum roll*... a dead video card! Removing it brings the power back. Putting it back makes the symptoms come back again.

    Oddly enough, I found it out accidentally while trying to reseat a CMOS battery (as some posts suggested elsewhere), which I did, but not before removing the video card that got in the way.