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Geek Culture / Odd Graphics Card Issue

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Dark Java Dude 64
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Posted: 14th Aug 2012 23:21 Edited at: 14th Aug 2012 23:23
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Hey everyone! As some of you may know I have this new computer I recently built. The component in question here, the graphics card, is an nVidia GeForce GTX 550 ti. Recently I downloaded a graphics demo off of the nVidia website, and it does do some pretty intense graphics. However, yesterday whilst I was using the demo, the screen went black, the monitor told me that there was no longer any signal, and the graphics card's fan went to full speed. So I had to manually shut off the computer with the power button, which I hate doing. The computer rebooted just fine, and I downloaded that CPUID program that tells you your various hardware temperatures, voltages, fan speeds, etc. The temperature was pretty normal. So with that running, I ran the demo again, and it did just fine, only getting up to about 75C. However, today I was running the demo again, and the same issue came up again. So I immediately restarted the computer, started that program, and the temp was 50C again. Of course, the card would have had time to cool down during the restart, but being only 50C when it powered up again allows me to think the card was doing fine temp wise.

Anyone else ever had this issue? Is this something I should be concerned about?

Thanks, your answers are well appreciated.

Also, in case the other specs are needed, here they are:

AMD Athlon II x3 @ 3.2Ghz
8GB DDR3 RAM

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MrValentine
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Posted: 15th Aug 2012 00:33
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PSU?

I am not sure but I think the 550 models did not get the lovely lower power, can you confirm which model you have?

if it kicks the juice out of your system it could be the reason, if your PSu is heavy in usage and it will probably be in use during the demo [Memory management?] and consume its max power usage [Use HWMonitor from CPUID] and then the Graphics... I think I recall you saying you had a 800W PSU?

Full Specs might help... AMD are known to be overheated and also power hungry... also if the PSU is of low quality build it could also short, and check the Amperage on the PCIe power from the PSU if the GPU is using them, it might not match up...

Cannot think of more, about to hit the hay...

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spooky
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Posted: 15th Aug 2012 00:34
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I too have a GTX 550 Ti (Asus) which I bought a few weeks ago after my old 8800GT blew up after about 4 years (lucky it lasted that long as they apparently have a bad design flaw).

I've had no issues and have run some pretty intense demos to make sure it could cope.

Sounds to me like the pc is semi-shutting down to protect itself, probably overheating, either the case temp, cpu temp, or maybe even the graphics card temp.

Also what software are you using for graphics card driver? I would not use the version that came on cd with graphics card as that is normally really old. Download latest nvidia software off the web (301.42 is version I'm running).

Could also just be a dodgy demo, some of them nvidia demos are quite old now. Which one are you running? I can download and run the same one to see what happens.

Boo!
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Indicium
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Posted: 15th Aug 2012 00:34
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I've had this issue before, long story short, get a better PSU. What PSU do you have?


They see me coding, they hating. http://indi-indicium.blogspot.co.uk/
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Dark Java Dude 64
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Posted: 15th Aug 2012 03:34
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Quote: "Sounds to me like the pc is semi-shutting down to protect itself, probably overheating, either the case temp, cpu temp, or maybe even the graphics card temp."
I don't think so seeing as the temps as indicated by the software are rather low. Also, it just did it again after running the browser and no other software for like 5 minutes. :/

Ill update the drivers, tho.

Quote: "What PSU do you have?"
Not sure about the model, I can get that to you, but I do know it's 450 watts.

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Indicium
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Posted: 15th Aug 2012 04:16
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The wattage doesn't matter, it's about the amps on the 12V rail, if it's not stable enough and your GPU is drawing more than your PSU can give, computer cuts out.

That's why I vowed never to buy cheap PSU's ever again.


They see me coding, they hating. http://indi-indicium.blogspot.co.uk/
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Dark Java Dude 64
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Posted: 15th Aug 2012 04:42 Edited at: 15th Aug 2012 04:47
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Well, wattage is voltage multiplied by amperes.

The graphics card says it the power supply must be at least 400 watts. Also, the computer has run fine for like 3 months, and all of the sudden between today and yesterday it has done it 3 times... So something new has occurred, I'm thinking.

Meh, I'll try installing a new driver...

Quote: "Which one are you running? I can download and run the same one to see what happens."
Oh yeah! This one.

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Indicium
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Posted: 15th Aug 2012 04:58
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Quote: "Well, wattage is voltage multiplied by amperes."


Well yeah, but there's different rails. Wattage does not matter in these cases, my power supply was 700W, but the quality of the power it supplied was worthless.

Although I've just read it properly, I thought your comp was cutting out, so I'm probably wrong.


They see me coding, they hating. http://indi-indicium.blogspot.co.uk/
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Dark Java Dude 64
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Posted: 15th Aug 2012 05:14 Edited at: 15th Aug 2012 05:15
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There is still the possibility of it being bad, wasn't the most expensive one there was.

Yah basically all of the fans continue to run, however the graphics card sounds like it's trying to escape to space.

What's interesting, when I turn the computer back on, the card's fan goes at full speed for a split second then goes back down to normal speed. On normal startups, all the fans just slowly power up to normal speed and stay there until the computer shuts down.

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Indicium
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Posted: 15th Aug 2012 05:36
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That's happened to me too, come to think about it, I think that was also one of the symptoms of the PSU that went away when I got a new one.

Do you have another PSU you can try?


They see me coding, they hating. http://indi-indicium.blogspot.co.uk/
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Dark Java Dude 64
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Posted: 15th Aug 2012 05:50 Edited at: 15th Aug 2012 05:55
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Sadly I do not... Hmm... I'll see if I can edit in the exact model number of that PSU once I find it...

Looks like it's the RS-450-ACAA. Not sure what brand... That should be easy to find online though. Says the 12 volt rail is rated for 35 amps, which seems pretty decent... Also says it has like high reliability etc.

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Indicium
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Posted: 15th Aug 2012 16:26
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Yeah you should be fine with a Coolermaster PSU, Ignore everything I've said, sorry!


They see me coding, they hating. http://indi-indicium.blogspot.co.uk/
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Pincho Paxton
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Posted: 15th Aug 2012 17:32
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The PSU is probably just dying even if it is capable of powering the card. Cheap brands die often. Corsair Power Supply Units are good.

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The Zoq2
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Posted: 15th Aug 2012 19:14
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Hmm, when i got my new computer, the graphicscard, also a 550 ti was broken (the fans either sounded like a boat engine, or didn't run at all). I got the exact same symptoms as you, fans not working/working to much. then crashing the computer and the screen saying "no input signal". I got the computer replaced because I got it the day before and it was obvious that it was broken.
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Dark Java Dude 64
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Posted: 15th Aug 2012 23:37
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@Indicium Ah ok hahah!

@Pincho hmm... Everything in there is like only 3 months old...

@The Zoq2 Hmmm, I suppose it isn't quite as bad as yours....



I recently installed new drivers and it hasn't done it since so I'll just wait and see if it does it again...

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spooky
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Posted: 16th Aug 2012 00:50
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With regards to that unigine demo, I had already tried that a week or so ago to test my new card as it tests lots of directx11 stuff. Runs perfectly well on my pc.

As mentioned by others, yes it could be a duff psu. Personally I have a Corsair 520W which is more than adequate.

I assume you have actually connected one of the 6 pin pcie connectors from the psu to the graphics card. Not sure card would even work without you doing that though!

May even be driver issue anyway as they do tend to fix lots of issues with each new release.

Good luck!

Boo!
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Dark Java Dude 64
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Posted: 16th Aug 2012 02:15
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Ah very well, thank you! Yeh I haven;t run the demo with my new drivers yet but I will and I'll see if that is the issue...

If it is the PSU, is there any chance the card or anything else has taken any damage?

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Pincho Paxton
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Posted: 16th Aug 2012 10:37 Edited at: 16th Aug 2012 10:38
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Quote: "If it is the PSU, is there any chance the card or anything else has taken any damage?"


None of my cards have ever been damaged by a dying PSU... none of my cards have ever been damaged at all for any reason.

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Dark Java Dude 64
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Posted: 16th Aug 2012 11:51
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Ah that's relieving to hear!

So today I did a test. In theory, if it's the power supply, the power supply will put out unstable current at higher current levels. So I removed the graphics card to let the computer run off the integrated graphics, made a CPU intensive program, and ran 100 iterations of the program. The CPU was maxed out, so in theory it would have been using maximum power. However, the computer did not go bazerk. So possibly it is the card? If it is, and I get it exchanged, I'll likely splurge some extra money on a better one.

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Pincho Paxton
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Posted: 16th Aug 2012 11:55
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I doubt if you could get the same power as a graphic card with an intensive program.

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Dark Java Dude 64
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Posted: 16th Aug 2012 14:37
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Time to short the terminals with a resistor! Nah I would never do that. Hmm... So like I wonder how I could test to see if it is the card or the power supply or whatever else is could possibly be?

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Pincho Paxton
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Posted: 16th Aug 2012 14:42
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I thought you fixed it with the drivers anyway?

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bitJericho
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Posted: 16th Aug 2012 14:43 Edited at: 16th Aug 2012 14:51
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Quote: "Time to short the terminals with a resistor! Nah I would never do that. Hmm... So like I wonder how I could test to see if it is the card or the power supply or whatever else is could possibly be?"


See this is a hard one to test. You need spare parts really. You might be able to test the 12v rail with a multimeter/psu check, but it might be fine under nominal load. (The processor doesn't use the 12v rail). You could try the gpu in a different pc or try a different PSU. At this point, I would replace the most likely candidate, which is the PSU. It'll be cheaper, you can resell the old PSU if you find the GPU is the culprit or keep it as a spare/backup.

You could also claim the warranty on your PSU or GPU and have the manufacturer replace it, if it's powerful enough to run your GPU, amperage-wise. You can contact nvidia if you need to know if your PSU is compatible.

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Dark Java Dude 64
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Posted: 16th Aug 2012 15:13
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Quote: "I thought you fixed it with the drivers anyway?"
Nah those didn't help at all...

@Jerry ( <<-- ) Indeed, I'll likely contact iVdina sometime to check the compatibility. Unfortunately I haven't any spare parts at all to check anything with...

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Indicium
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Posted: 17th Aug 2012 18:41
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Run a benchmark like furmark, and see if it cuts out when the GPU is under full load?


They see me coding, they hating. http://indi-indicium.blogspot.co.uk/
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Dark Java Dude 64
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Posted: 20th Aug 2012 04:38 Edited at: 20th Aug 2012 07:58
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I shall do that and post my results! Thanks.

Alright I figured double posting wouldn't be necessary here... So yah, I ran that benchmark at 100% for a good 20 minutes, the GPU got up to about 90C and the computer never failed! So that must mean it isn't a PSU issue eh? Using full power for 20 minutes you'd expect the PSU to go unstable and trigger a shutdown... Hmm.

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Pincho Paxton
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Posted: 20th Aug 2012 11:51
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OK so try removing your Codecs, and re-installing them.

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Indicium
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Posted: 20th Aug 2012 14:42
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Yeah, looks like the power supply is fine man, I'm baffled from here.


They see me coding, they hating. http://indi-indicium.blogspot.co.uk/
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Dark Java Dude 64
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Posted: 21st Aug 2012 00:31
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Ah codecs? What are those?

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