GTX980ti, Monitor no signal under load

[flying_w 58]

Just acquired a new GTX980Ti to upgrade my GTX970 which is working just fine.  With the Ti I can get as far as the windows desktop most of the time, but any significant graphics load causes the monitor to go black and report "no signal detected".  It does this on every card port (DVI, DisplayPort and HDMI) and even the scenario screen with the spinning aircraft on FSX/P3D is enough to bring it down.  Sometimes even the Windows 10 desktop does it in, Windows 7 seems to be OK.

 

I've tried everything I can think of:

- Updating drivers

- Different versions of windows

- Different cables and rail combinations from the PSU

 

But nothing seems to fix it.  I put the 970 back in and it works fine, right up to 99% GPU consumption if I wish.  The first thought is PSU problems, but it's hard to accept when the 970 works fine and the Ti can't even manage minimal 3D workloads.  The second thought is a faulty card.

 

Anyone come across this kind of thing before?

 

Thanks
Simon

[martin-w 3,234]

Some of the ideas below you have no doubt thought of, so bear with me...

 

Power?

You are powering the card from the required PCIe cables? Two 8 pin PCIe's isn't it for 980Ti?

You say you've tried different rails. So you have a multi-rail PSU. So you have tried two PCIe 8 pin cables each fed from a different rail so you have the required amps? Two cables from the same rail may not provide enough amps!

 

This would be my primary diagnosis... Not enough amps because you are powering the card from ONE rail, or you are powering the card from two separate rails, but your PSU still can't provide enough total amps. Don't forget, if the OCP trip point is reached the PSU will shut down.

 

Is the graphics card fan functioning properly? It's not overheating and shutting down is it?

 

What is the make and model of your PSU. Wattage? Amps provided on the 12v rails?

 

I recall it's 38 amps required for the 980 TI, 600 watts recommended minimum.

 

I haven't assembled my Skylake system yet, I too will be running a 980Ti. The card will be powered from two PCIe cables both fed from different rails. 30 amps per rail, total 60 amps. 

 

If you've already thought of everything above... may be a faulty card and RMA time.

[ohsirus 241]

I have a 980 ti also and have my own issues with my 3-displayport to DVI setup. It's a hit or miss if all 3 screens will start on load or stop working after a single-full screen gameplay. Some have reported poor display link cables maybe the cause, if you search thru your maker's card ( I have EVGA) you may see similar issues. I have a 1200W PS so it's not power related.

[flying_w 58]

I reached out to Palit for help and I'm glad to say I received a reply.  While it may be a stock answer to every situation, I was impressed to receive anything based on my experiences with other manufactures over the years.  For anyone else in this situation, they suggested the following:

 

Please try below possible solutions.

1. If the graphic card is dusty please clean dust from the graphic card. (Dust might keep some wet and affect electric components)

2. Clean the PCI-E "gold finger" of the graphic card by an eraser.

3. Download the DDU to un-install current graphic card driver and clean driver leftover files completely. Then install the latest graphic card driver. 

DDU: https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/550192/geforce-drivers/display-driver-uninstaller-ddu-v12-9-5-1-released-06-18-14-/

Download driver website: http://www.nvidia.com/Download/Find.aspx?lang=en-us

4. Please upgrade the motherboard BIOS to the latest version.

 

5. Upgrade the graphic card BIOS to the latest version.

Please follow the steps of attached TXT file to backup your graphic card’s BIOS and then send to us.

We’ll provide the latest BIOS for you to try.

Please also provide the S/N of the graphic card to us.

You can find it from the product box or the sticker in back of the graphic card.

 

If the error remained and if it's possible please test the graphic card in another PC.

If the error happened again please contact the store where you bought the graphic card to claim warranty.

 

From the above I have tried everything except the VGA bios, which I have provided to them as requested.  Last restore, and not a bad one, is RMA.

 

Some of the ideas below you have no doubt thought of, so bear with me...

 

Power?

You are powering the card from the required PCIe cables? Two 8 pin PCIe's isn't it for 980Ti?

You say you've tried different rails. So you have a multi-rail PSU. So you have tried two PCIe 8 pin cables each fed from a different rail so you have the required amps? Two cables from the same rail may not provide enough amps!

 

This would be my primary diagnosis... Not enough amps because you are powering the card from ONE rail, or you are powering the card from two separate rails, but your PSU still can't provide enough total amps. Don't forget, if the OCP trip point is reached the PSU will shut down.

 

Is the graphics card fan functioning properly? It's not overheating and shutting down is it?

 

What is the make and model of your PSU. Wattage? Amps provided on the 12v rails?

 

I recall it's 38 amps required for the 980 TI, 600 watts recommended minimum.

 

I haven't assembled my Skylake system yet, I too will be running a 980Ti. The card will be powered from two PCIe cables both fed from different rails. 30 amps per rail, total 60 amps. 

 

Thank you, all good suggestions here.  I have tried:

 

- On my Ti it's a 6 and 8 pin connection;

- Tried feeding each from separate rails on the PSU;

- The fans spin up during PC bios and initial windows boot, but go off as soon as Windows desktop is up as there's little load at that point.

- When running load tests the fans do not kick in.  That said, the lack of output could be a "crash" as it happens so quickly and the load may have been disposed of.

- Tried now in two PCs, one with a Corsair 1050W PSU and another with CoolerMaster 750W.

 

And in all cases the results are unchanged.  I did monitor the situation with GPU-Z, and when load is applied the card frequency, voltage and performance counters all step up a little for one reading in the log, after which further readings all contain "no values" for the various metrics.  Another symptom of crash or failure perhaps.

 

I suspect this one is heading for RMA, and thanks once again for the ideas.

Simon

[ohsirus 241]

Yeah, I did most  of that, but in my case I'm sure it's something dealing with the displayport to dvi setup I have. One of my monitors is "flaky" in that it can never get Id'd, so i use a custom EDID to get it working, but displayport seems to monitor each screen and when one glitches it resets them all. Older Acer monitors.

[martin-w 3,234]

If you've tried in two different PC's, does sound like time for RMA. Do try the alternative  graphics card bios though.

[martin-w 3,234]

http://www.avsim.com/topic/468814-evga-980-screen-blackouts-with-fsx/

[flying_w 58]

Thank you for the link, and I'd have been glad to try it had the card not already been returned.  Palit wrote to me to say I already had the latest bios so that was the end of the story as far as they were concerned and it was time for an RMA.  I'm certainly glad of the support I received, although I'm a little hesitant now about buying another 980ti (the RMA was for a refund).

 

Simon

[martin-w 3,234]

Okay Simon. I wouldn't be hesitant if I were you, the 980Ti is an awesome card. I prefer EVGA I have to say.

[flying_w 58]

Just thought I'd report in with the end of this story.  A new Gigabyte 980Ti arrived today and I'm relieved to say it worked perfectly (in the same computer as the Palit).  So I think we can safely conclude the previous Palit card was faulty rather than the PC itself or my sanity.  Nothing bad to say about Palit, there support was excellent and the RMA process painless.  There's every chance a Palit replacement card would have worked but I decided to play it safe with another vendor just in case.

 

And finally I'm very grateful of the suggestions, support and encouragement received here.  Thanks everyone!

 

Simon

[martin-w 3,234]

Fantastic news Simon, Glad you are finally up and running.