Black Screen

Mephisto_Helix

Mephisto_Helix

Resident Postwhore
Joined
Jan 29, 2008
Messages
33,893
Reaction score
11,780
Location
UK
Right, so I have Googled my arse off about this and asked some friends about it but I'm still not 100% sold on what the exact cause is so thought I'd ask some of you guys here .....

Yesterday (hot day) after gaming for a good few hours, my pc froze - black screened out and a weird stuck sound loop. Only a hard restart fixed it. I checked the GPU temps and it's between 45-50c at idle and peaked out at 97c under load :erm: Did a clean up of dust, updated drivers, the whole shebang, no joy so I took to the internet and found others with the same issue. Problems range from:

Bad ram - so I memtesed and all good
Wonky PSU - no spare but I don't think it's that. It's a Corsair 600W.
Broken sound drivers - :wtf:
Overheating GPU - seems to be the one I reckon.

Anyway, here's some specs below, let me know what you think the issue could be. Really just want as much input as possible before spending money I don't have on parts I don't really need. Much thanks.


8gb Ram
i5 2400
GTX 570
Win7 64bit
600W PSU
 
That is a really high temp for the GTX570. I had one, I would know :D

If you are handy, try taking the heatsink off and cleaning out all the stubborn dust bunnies in there. At the age it is now the thermal paste is probably chalked up too, so I would try my hand at replacing it as well if you are taking the heatsink and fan off. You can safely leave the thermal pads that are over the VRM's and RAM modules in place.

Which manufacturer and model 570 do you have?
 
Ja, 5 years old, I think it's had it's moment in the sun :(

@Phireside - it's a Gigabyte GTX570 .... I'm not brave (or clever) enough to take it apart, heh
 
Last edited:
Could be a case that doesn't have good air flow or a case fan that isn't working.

Take the side off the case and put it under load see if it still shuts down.
 
It's a bigass Haf X and I've had the side panel off for about a year now ..... KZN heat and all that. The fans are all about a year old and not stock plus I've got a floor fan blowing into it as well :D

Will try get a new card I suppose, maybe a 1050? Just has to last about 8-12 months max and all I play is Dungeons and Dragons Online.
 
How did you do the memtest, if there is no post or do you get post, but nothing when it boots into windows?
 
PhireSide said:
That is a really high temp for the GTX570. I had one, I would know :D

If you are handy, try taking the heatsink off and cleaning out all the stubborn dust bunnies in there. At the age it is now the thermal paste is probably chalked up too, so I would try my hand at replacing it as well if you are taking the heatsink and fan off. You can safely leave the thermal pads that are over the VRM's and RAM modules in place.

Which manufacturer and model 570 do you have?
Click to expand...

This.
 
SharkBait said:
How did you do the memtest, if there is no post or do you get post, but nothing when it boots into windows?
Click to expand...

It works (for now touch wood) normal as long as I don't do anything involving GPU load ..... try game and I get the mentioned troubles. I mean, right now I have Chrome (2 tabs), Afterburner and Winamp running, it's a cold day and it's idling at between 46-50c :wtf:
 
I had a GTX 460 that i abused the crap out of, during gaming it would reach 99-100c without complaint.

I see my card is rated for 104 C max while yours is rated at 97 C max.


Cleaning out the thermal paste is a very simple and quick job that yields best results.
 
Mephisto_Helix said:
Ja, 5 years old, I think it's had it's moment in the sun :(

@Phireside - it's a Gigabyte GTX570 .... I'm not brave (or clever) enough to take it apart, heh
Click to expand...

Rickster said:
I had a GTX 460 that i abused the crap out of, during gaming it would reach 99-100c without complaint.

I see my card is rated for 104 C max while yours is rated at 97 C max.


Cleaning out the thermal paste is a very simple and quick job that yields best results.
Click to expand...

This is what I would also suggest, but I am going to guess that you don't want to go that route.

I have not played Dungeons and Dragons Online before, but I did look at the specs needed and I would suggest you look at a fan cooled GT 1030.
 
SharkBait said:
This is what I would also suggest, but I am going to guess that you don't want to go that route.

I have not played Dungeons and Dragons Online before, but I did look at the specs needed and I would suggest you look at a fan cooled GT 1030.
Click to expand...

I'll watch some vids on the process and if I have nothing to lose, I may give it a go ..... shot too for the recommend ;)


Thanks for the feedback so far everyone, much appreciated, all of it.
 
Running a card close to its max temp will shorten its lifespan quite a bit.
Maybe try adding some extra case fans, they're cheap & easy enough to install.

You can also move some components around, make more space around the gfx card and try not to mount e.g. a hdd in front of it, so incoming air is a bit cooler.
 
Mephisto_Helix said:
I'll watch some vids on the process and if I have nothing to lose, I may give it a go ..... shot too for the recommend ;)
Click to expand...

It's really not hard. You need a screwdriver, a paintbrush to brush out all the dust, some alcohol (from the chemist not the liquor store), cotton buds to dip in alcohol and clean off old paste, new paste to reapply. Afterwards you can reward yourself with some normal alcohol like a beer or two ;)
 
So I have a GTX650 on loan for a week or two - 25c idle and max 51 while gaming, huge difference huh :crylaugh:

Anyway, I'm gonna do the thermal paste thing while I have this card as a spare. Got nothing to lose so why not. Thanks again everyone, good info all round :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X