Graphic Problems Mystery - 21 Month Ongoing Problem

Discussion in 'hardware' started by Gamer, Dec 10, 2012.

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  1. Gamer

    Gamer Registered Member

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    The last 21 months have been a total mess for my computer. Before i go further, the video cards i purchase are all high end as well as all the other parts in my computer.

    In April 2011, my graphics card died ($500 XFX Geforce 9800GX2) and it was barely 2 years old. Before it fully died, the FPS was choppy (for example, the FPS indicator showed 60 FPS, but it looked like it was 5 FPS).

    I got a RMA replacement card (Ati Radeon HD 5830) and that card was fine for a few months, then it too started causing choppy fps. I came up with a fix, but its only temporary as the issue can come back anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours later (i open a video in vlc and resize the window).

    In July of this year i bought a new video card ($400 EVGA GeForce GTX 580), and it too worked fine for a few months and then the choppy FPS problem occurred too. 2 months later that card died. I sent it off for RMA repair, they sent me back the same model and i put it back in my comp. The choppy FPS problem is still there and i dealt with it with my trick mentioned above, but over the past month my computer has been freezing. I mean a total freeze where the screen turns black and the sound skips forever. This has happened on startup on the post screen and its even happened on my desktop when nothing graphics intensive has been happening. Oddly, when i have my second monitor plugged in, the freeze occurs much much more often.

    I'm currently testing this latest video card in another computer (running heaven benchmark) and so far it hasnt showed any choppy FPS and the freeze hasnt occurred.

    8 months ago i took my computer to the store and had them run some tests and everything came back fine. The PSU was running perfectly as well as the ram. Last week i did tests on the PSU and ram too and both came back fine (i ran windows memory diagnostic extended tests for over 12 hours and Memtest 86 64Bit and no errors occurred).

    The problems are not a temperature issue either as they occur even if the temp is at its lowest.

    I dont know what's happening. Is my motherboard the problem? My CPU? Please help me!

    Here's my computer specs:

    Type: Custom Built
    CPU: Intel Core2 Quad 3Ghz
    Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-X48-DQ6
    Memory: 8 GB
    Power Supply Unit: Corsair HX 1000 Watt
    Graphics Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 580 3072MB
    Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum Fatal1ty Champion
    Hard Drive(s): 2x SATA2 Internal & 1x SATA2 External (3.4 TBs)
    Optical Disk(s): Samsung SH-203B DVD Burner & LG DVD Reader
    Mouse: Logitech G9X
    Keyboard: Logitech G110
    Speakers: Corsair SP2500 2.1
    Case: Thermaltake Xaser VI VG4000BNSB (its almost twice the size of a standard case and it has 4 120mm fans for maximum air flow)
    Monitors: Samsung 940b 19" & LG 1952TX 19"
    OS: Windows 7 Pro 64Bit
     
    Last edited: Dec 10, 2012
  2. Keyboard_Commando

    Keyboard_Commando Registered Member

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    Have you done any benchmark tests with your hardrives?
     
  3. Gamer

    Gamer Registered Member

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    Yes, they all run fine.
     
  4. Fuzzfas

    Fuzzfas Registered Member

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    It's just a wild guess, but if it was my computer, i 'd check:

    1) The the PSU cables give the right amperage (too much can be bad too, although it won't show signs of psu failure. PSU seems fine, but it's the same concept as overvolting your CPU. After a point, you can fry it).

    Quick googled article:

    http://www.huddysworld.co.uk/index....rdware/91-hoe-to-check-if-your-psu-is-working

    There are also "lazier" solutions, i have one such:

    http://www.quietpc.com/images/products/x_psu_tester.jpg

    2) Suspect the motherboard VGA slot is delivering abnormal power, thus, slowly frying the VGAs.

    Of course, i presume you 've already tried the "healing all" format and update drivers for motherboard and VGA.

    It can't be your CPU killing the rest of your components. That's something only the PSU and motherboard can do.
     
    Last edited: Dec 10, 2012
  5. Gamer

    Gamer Registered Member

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    Yeah ive tried reinstalling and the problem persists. Is there any way to tell if its the graphic slot causing abnormal voltages (volt meter?)
     
  6. Fuzzfas

    Fuzzfas Registered Member

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    Not that i know of... If the PSU delivers "normal" current to the motherboard, my guess is that it's the motherboard's fault. But it's tough to prove that. I wouldn't know how. But at that point, if it was my computer, i 'd swap motherboard.
     
  7. Gamer

    Gamer Registered Member

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    Many thanks for the idea.

    I'm taking my computer in tomorrow to get them to troubleshoot it. Your suggestion should help them pinpoint it. I'll update this thread once i get more info.
     
  8. zfactor

    zfactor Registered Member

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    at this point i would guess first the motherboard since i HIGHLY doubt its the psu as we see hardly any of the hx series come in being bad. if you have any access to a volt and amp meter i would test your psu rails. i have seen psu's delivering VERY low current and after a while of being run this way things can be damaged due to low voltage / amperage. amperage can also be a issue but if you can at the very least test the voltage that would be a good starting point. even though its a great psu it could still have issues but rare with the hx series imo we sell a ton of corsair ones and see VERY few come back but its possible.

    yes there are ways of testing the slot but im not sure you have the ability or tools to do so (i may be wrong though) if you know circuit design and have the ability and tools it can be tested. depending on where you are and if you were willing id be happy to put it on the bench for you and tell you whats going on with the motherboard and or psu. i have all the tools as well as a re-flow machine and everything that is needed to do board repairs.

    if you basically at this point just want to rid the issue totally the 2 things i would replace if you cant do any testing are the psu (again its possible to be the psu but i have my doubts and feel the mobo is probably the main problem here) and the mobo. if you need help in selectin see johnny guru forums for a lot of psu test results. but you can get a VERY good psu for a reasonable amount without breaking the bank. you have a AWESOME psu one of the best out there and corsair is awesome for warranty i know many people there and if you need help with warranty please let me know as im a dealer for them. and then replace the mobo which im leaning towards but i have not seen it of course. by now if it was the psu i would prob say the mobo may also have suffered some damage that you may not always see i.e capacitors and other parts could be going bad. i see this a LOT with hp motherboards from just a few years ago that suffered from caps that went bad and were just slightly swollen but causing bsod's all the time. i would be more than happy to help if i can just let me know i do full circuit repairs and have all the proper tools do test this kind of thing out id be happy to do the testing as long as you cover the shipping costs.
     
    Last edited: Dec 10, 2012
  9. pandlouk

    pandlouk Registered Member

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    This kind of sudden freeze I have seen it only with:
    -either a faulty ram module (very hard to identify).
    -or faulty sata cables.

    Panagiotis
     
  10. zfactor

    zfactor Registered Member

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    you can test ram with memtest but one pass is not enough i let it run overnight myself.
     
  11. pandlouk

    pandlouk Registered Member

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    I know but memtest will not always identify the problem.
    Some years ago I run the test for more than 24 hours and the ram resulted ok, but in reality one of my modules was faulty. I got an RMA from corsair and since they did not produced the same model anymore they send me back a refund check.

    Panagiotis
     
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