Hardware lurkers - help me find a new video card!

[kandrathe]

Or maybe I'll just leave the side panel off my computer and roll without case fans.

Depending on the engineering of the case for air flow, sometimes certain components within the case depend on the side panel being in place. Then also, depending on where the case is located, you might have unwanted stuff that gets into the case (like for me, that includes pets and children). "No Kitty! Don't chew on that! >Zot<"

[DeeBye]

Depending on the engineering of the case for air flow, sometimes certain components within the case depend on the side panel being in place. Then also, depending on where the case is located, you might have unwanted stuff that gets into the case (like for me, that includes pets and children). "No Kitty! Don't chew on that! >Zot<"

I don't have any small animals and my child knows to keep his hand away from the insides of my computer, but I had to plug the crappy fan back in. I didn't get a chance to buy a new one today.

All was well and good with my computer today with the case fan turned off, until I decided to play some Minecraft. After about 20 minutes, I started getting random black screens and artifacts. I was thinking that I got a bad video card, until I stuck my hand inside my case. It was all kinds of hot. The warm air from the CPU and GPU were just hovering there, even though the side panel was totally off. I plugged the noisy fan back in and everything was okay again.

The moral of the story is that I need to go buy a new case fan 2 weeks ago.

[DeeBye]

Update! Woowoo!

This Gigabyte 6770 is all kinds of bad. It started out good, but when I actually tried it in an actual 3D game it made me cry actual tears. It all started with cursor artifacts after exiting Minecraft. I totally wiped every singe trace of any nvidia and ATI video drivers from my system and re-installing from scratch. I still had the same problem. I was constantly checking GPU/fan speed data to make sure I wasn't somehow overheating it. I never once saw the GPU temp go over 40°C.

I tried playing some WoW on lowish settings and after a short flightpath I landed in a place that should have had trees, but instead it had flickering trees that turned on and off. I started flying around on my flying manhole cover, and got blackness and misery and a "VPU recover" notice after WoW crashed.

Since any kind of actual 3d gaming was totally out of the question at this point (and I really wanted to play some games), I took a look at my old "fan slowly dying" 4890 and decided to see if I could salvage it. I performed expert dust removal surgery on it and cleaned it up like it was new. I plopped it back in, re-installed drivers, and I think it's better. All of my careful cleaning seems to have solved the fan noise issues I originally had.

One thing I wonder about is if my power supply is at fault here. My 4890 requires two 6-pin power connectors, while the 6770 only required one. Is it possible that one of my PSU's 6-pin power connectors is faulty and wasn't supplying enough juice to the 6770? Is that a thing that might make a video card work fine unless it was doing actual 3D gaming stuff? The PSU is a Antec 500W.

[Kevin]

One thing I wonder about is if my power supply is at fault here. My 4890 requires two 6-pin power connectors, while the 6770 only required one. Is it possible that one of my PSU's 6-pin power connectors is faulty and wasn't supplying enough juice to the 6770? Is that a thing that might make a video card work fine unless it was doing actual 3D gaming stuff? The PSU is a Antec 500W.

I can't say that it's specifically one connector being bad, but yes lack of power can do exactly what you described. I've seen systems doing that, swapped power supplies without changing anything else and system ran perfect.

Drivers, which you checked, are the next most likely problem. For some reason cursor artifacts, especially with dual monitors, seem to be common with Radeon cards. I hadn't seen any for around a year with my 7870, but the newest drivers (Oct 12th download) re-introduced them. This time at least the cursor only tends to flake out on the 2nd monitor and not the primary. Of course the slow loading and other display issues, while still potentially a driver issue aren't really the same things as the cursor issue.

The other most likely issue that I've seen with that is not heat on the GPU, but a memory issue on the video card.

[LavCat]

I'm having a new problem the last couple of days with my Radeon. The driver crashes and recovers, both in WoW and just while web browsing, and often as not after crashing the cursor disappears.

Had no problems for months and have not made any driver or system changes recently.

[DeeBye]

I'm having a new problem the last couple of days with my Radeon. The driver crashes and recovers, both in WoW and just while web browsing, and often as not after crashing the cursor disappears.

Had no problems for months and have not made any driver or system changes recently.

That's exactly the problems I was having! Driver crashing and cursor madness.

[LavCat]

That's exactly the problems I was having! Driver crashing and cursor madness.

I don't know what's causing it here, but it is a frustrating problem. I did not have the problem at all till recently.

[LavCat]

This afternoon I took apart the computer. The dust filter was clogged. (I don't know why I was surprised, it always is.) The filter disintegrated when I tried to clean it. I also reseated the power connections to the video card.

Now I am running with the cover off. So far no crashes or driver restarts. We shall see.

[DeeBye]

One thing I wonder about is if my power supply is at fault here. My 4890 requires two 6-pin power connectors, while the 6770 only required one. Is it possible that one of my PSU's 6-pin power connectors is faulty and wasn't supplying enough juice to the 6770? Is that a thing that might make a video card work fine unless it was doing actual 3D gaming stuff? The PSU is a Antec 500W.

I can't say that it's specifically one connector being bad, but yes lack of power can do exactly what you described. I've seen systems doing that, swapped power supplies without changing anything else and system ran perfect.

Drivers, which you checked, are the next most likely problem. For some reason cursor artifacts, especially with dual monitors, seem to be common with Radeon cards. I hadn't seen any for around a year with my 7870, but the newest drivers (Oct 12th download) re-introduced them. This time at least the cursor only tends to flake out on the 2nd monitor and not the primary. Of course the slow loading and other display issues, while still potentially a driver issue aren't really the same things as the cursor issue.

The other most likely issue that I've seen with that is not heat on the GPU, but a memory issue on the video card.

So I've been messing around with some games, and both the 6770 and my old 4890 are crashing under load and giving me the "VPU recover" screen. I've only been testing them in WoW, Minecraft, HL2 and Portal - so not very graphically intensive. The temps on both cards seem to be just fine. The 4890 cranks up to 82°C or so, and the 6770 goes to maybe 45°C. Both look to be within normal under load.

Can I now be sure that I have a faulty power supply? The exact PSU I have is an Antec 500W Earthwatts. Is it at all remotely possible that I might have a motherboard/cpu/ram issue instead?

I've put in for an RMA for the 6770, but since it might not be faulty I'll be charged a 15% restock fee - plus I'll be out the shipping costs. Should I just keep it?

I'd hate to buy another new component and not have it solve my problems.

[Kevin]

One thing I wonder about is if my power supply is at fault here. My 4890 requires two 6-pin power connectors, while the 6770 only required one. Is it possible that one of my PSU's 6-pin power connectors is faulty and wasn't supplying enough juice to the 6770? Is that a thing that might make a video card work fine unless it was doing actual 3D gaming stuff? The PSU is a Antec 500W.

I can't say that it's specifically one connector being bad, but yes lack of power can do exactly what you described. I've seen systems doing that, swapped power supplies without changing anything else and system ran perfect.

Drivers, which you checked, are the next most likely problem. For some reason cursor artifacts, especially with dual monitors, seem to be common with Radeon cards. I hadn't seen any for around a year with my 7870, but the newest drivers (Oct 12th download) re-introduced them. This time at least the cursor only tends to flake out on the 2nd monitor and not the primary. Of course the slow loading and other display issues, while still potentially a driver issue aren't really the same things as the cursor issue.

The other most likely issue that I've seen with that is not heat on the GPU, but a memory issue on the video card.

So I've been messing around with some games, and both the 6770 and my old 4890 are crashing under load and giving me the "VPU recover" screen. I've only been testing them in WoW, Minecraft, HL2 and Portal - so not very graphically intensive. The temps on both cards seem to be just fine. The 4890 cranks up to 82°C or so, and the 6770 goes to maybe 45°C. Both look to be within normal under load.

Can I now be sure that I have a faulty power supply? The exact PSU I have is an Antec 500W Earthwatts. Is it at all remotely possible that I might have a motherboard/cpu/ram issue instead?

I've put in for an RMA for the 6770, but since it might not be faulty I'll be charged a 15% restock fee - plus I'll be out the shipping costs. Should I just keep it?

I'd hate to buy another new component and not have it solve my problems.

It could be a MB or RAM issue, I really don't see it being a CPU issue. You might have a component on the MB that is overheating under load, you might have a RAM issue in a higher range that is only being used under load. Heat issues on RAM causing issues like this are rare. I believe http://www.memtest86.com/ is still a solid tool for testing memory (Crucial and OCZ used to take test results from it unquestioningly for RMA requests). You could probably grab some sort of benchmarking tool that focuses on productivity stuff and loop it for awhile to check stuff too. Those don't tend to stress video too much, or allow you to turn off the 3D or graphics intensive stuff. Though that doesn't fully rule out the PSU either.

[DeeBye]

Welp, this is getting incredibly frustrating. I've swapped video cards, added a new 120mm case fan, and bought a new 700W PSU to try and solve my problems. I still have issues.

I can do regular non-gaming computer stuff like web-browsing and e-mail all day long with no trouble, but after about 5-20 minutes of actual 3D gaming I'm still getting crashes with a "VPU recover" notice. I'm wondering if I just spent $200 on new components when it really might be just a software issue. I've swapped video cards between my old 4890 and my new 6770 a few times, and I always have huge issues with removing/re-installing the drivers. I either get errors while uninstalling the old drivers, or when install the new ones. I've tried Driver Cleaner and Driver Fusion, but nothing seems to completely solve it.

Right now I'm in the process of backing up everything and I'm going to try a complete format/re-install of Windows. I just don't know what else to do.

edit: i decided against RMA'ing my 6770 because I can't be absolutely sure it's defective at this point, and it would cost me a 15% restocking fee + shipping if I sent it back to the online vendor. If it does turn out to be defective, Gigabyte has a 3-year warrantee so I could always just send it back to them.

[Thenryb]

Well, I am not having near the issues you describe DeeBye, but I replaced my 240 with an NVidia 650gtx, and got no appreciable increase in performance. In fact, it was worse in terms of clarity regardless of whether it was a game, or just surfing the net. So it was RMA for me regardless of the restocking fee and shipping cost.

[DeeBye]

Well, I am not having near the issues you describe DeeBye, but I replaced my 240 with an NVidia 650gtx, and got no appreciable increase in performance. In fact, it was worse in terms of clarity regardless of whether it was a game, or just surfing the net. So it was RMA for me regardless of the restocking fee and shipping cost.

It's not even an issue with performance at this point. I just want to be able to play a 3D game. The games I am trying to play, and have played in years past, are just outright crashing on me after several minutes. It's stuff like WoW and Half-Life 2, so it's not like they are resource hogs.

[LochnarITB]

Are you playing under DirectX? Have you tried switching WoW to OpenGL (if that is still possible?)? Have your tried reinstalling DirectX? (although I would assume reinstalling Win7 would accomplish the same thing)

[LavCat]

I'm still having problems. Most of my restarts though are while I am web browsing, not while I am playing wow. Now that I think about it, have not had wow issues in days, and the wow disconnects were only over a couple of days, and may have been something else.

[kandrathe]

I'm still having problems. Most of my restarts though are while I am web browsing, not while I am playing wow. Now that I think about it, have not had wow issues in days, and the wow disconnects were only over a couple of days, and may have been something else.

I usually can track these types of issues to a driver/hardware issue from the crash logs. The last one was fixed by disabling hardware acceleration until the driver was able to do it properly. Sometimes, you can get stability by using Open GL, but really, most game/card makers should be building for DirectX on PC's. Getting the exact best working firmware, driver, DX versions are usually the issue. Once I find a zone of stability I'm loath to change anything unless I'm really in need.

I think if I were Deebye, I return the card and try a different one.

[DeeBye]

Are you playing under DirectX? Have you tried switching WoW to OpenGL (if that is still possible?)? Have your tried reinstalling DirectX?

I tried re-installing DirectX, but you can't fully uninstall it because it's part of Windows. The installer just sees that I have the current version and stops there.

Anyways, I think I've solved my problems. I'm not exactly sure how, but I was removing/reinstalling a lot of windows components and drivers. I think that my original problems were due to a combination of videocard failure and driver issues. I might not have needed the new PSU I bought, but I don't regret it. Everything seems to be running well gaming-wise - no artifacts, no black screens. My new videocard is staying at a cool 43°C under load and has been stable.

(although I would assume reinstalling Win7 would accomplish the same thing)

Win7? Funny you should mention that. I am actually still using XP (32-bit at that). I just never had need to "upgrade" beyond it.

But now it looks like Microsoft is offering Windows 8 for $39.99, which I might just take advantage of - unless someone gives me a compelling reason to stick to 32-bit XP.

fake edit - i just saw this:

If your PC has a 64-bit capable processor (CPU) but is currently running a 32-bit version of Windows, you can install a 64-bit version of Windows 8, but you'll need to buy Windows 8 as a DVD.

You also won't be able to keep any files, settings, or apps when you upgrade from a 32-bit to a 64-bit version.

Not really a deal-breaker for me, but it bumps the cost up a bit.

[LochnarITB]

I tried re-installing DirectX, but you can't fully uninstall it because it's part of Windows. The installer just sees that I have the current version and stops there.

Interesting. The suggestion to reinstall directx comes from Microsoft sites where they basically all say the same thing - directx can't be uninstalled but running the web directx installer will clean up the installation.

Anyway, good to hear it automagically fell in line with all the dart throwing.

[DeeBye]

Anyway, good to hear it automagically fell in line with all the dart throwing.

It somehow fixed itself when I was uninstalling old stuff in preparation for a possible reformat. No idea how that worked, but then again I'm running on a 4+ year old XP install.

I really should just buy a new mobo/cpu/ram combo and get in line with today's tech, but ... money.

[Thenryb]

Anyway, good to hear it automagically fell in line with all the dart throwing.

It somehow fixed itself when I was uninstalling old stuff in preparation for a possible reformat. No idea how that worked, but then again I'm running on a 4+ year old XP install.

I really should just buy a new mobo/cpu/ram combo and get in line with today's tech, but ... money.

Glad to hear you got it working. Like you, I am running on a 4+year old xp install. I am generally motivated when there is some game I want to run better, but alas no such games are out there to provide that motivation for me.