Please help figure this one out...

[BadKarmaPT]

Hi,

I really could use some help figuring out what's wrong with my PC.

Lately, mostly but not only when gaming, my monitor goes black and after a few seconds I get a "No signal" message.

My PC keeps working and it seems the only problem is the loss of image.

I can still hear the sound from the game I'm playing but sometimes there's some "screeching" with the other sounds in the background.

Pushing reset (I also learned that doing ctrl+alt+delete+3 times tab+enter shuts down the PC even if I can't see what I'm doing :-D) solves the problem until the next time.

I have a four year old EVGA GeForce GTX 770 with the EVGA ACX Cooler. 

I noticed the cooler on the card has been a bit more "noisy" lately so thinking it was probably dust, I opened the case and when I was removing the card from the case, one of the fans fell from the cooler.

I was able to put the fan back and it holds in place but I'm not sure it's doing it's job properly. The idle temperature is around 25ºC.

I really could use an upgrade but I can't afford one so I have to do with what I have.

Is it the graphics card (probably the cooler) causing this issue? What are my options? Aftermarket coolers must be hard to find for such a "legacy" card, right?

Any input greatly appreciated!

Thank you in advance.

[dmarques69]

Hello Hugo,

 

Sounds a GPU problem indeed, did you try reinstalling the drivers using DDU for example?

You can also try a different port/connection on both GPU and monitor, and also change the cable.

As for the cooler, try to log your GPU temps to see what temp is reaching when you lose your image(you can use MSI afterburner for example), but i dont believe this is cooler related!

 

Abraços ;)

 

[martin-w]

Had a similar issue with my daughters PC.

The cure for me, and in these cases is often works, is to unplug the PSU and then hold your finger on the cases's on button for a full minute. This discharges the capacitors,.

As I say, should be the first thing to do as it often fixes issues like this.

[BadKarmaPT]

Thank you for your input, gents. I appreciate it.

@dmarques69

Yes, I tried different driver version and even removed Geforce Experience from my system because I had some problems with it in the past.

I also tried different ports and a brand new HDMI cable.

I'll try MSI afterburner and check if it happens at a certain temperature or not.

Obrigado! Um abraço e boas entradas! :-)

@martin-w

Thank you for your suggestion but it didn't help in this case. I always discharge the capacitors before opening my PC case and even do it on a regular basis.

Unfortunately it didn't help.

I sent EVGA customer support an email and just got an answer. They confirm that it is most likely a graphics card issue and that they usualy do an RMA and replace the card but since mine is 4 years old I'm out of luck and on my own!

It seems I have to get a new card when I can...

[martin-w]

Oh right. Do try to test it in another PC though. Make sure it is actually dead and not a different issue. Or try a different graphics card in your PC. Best to do that before splashing out big bucks on a new card. 

[Jethro]

Hello Hugo,

Just to be sure you have covered all bases before writing off your GTX770, have you tested with another monitor. Have you also tried using the higher rated DP (DisplayPort) with a DP>HDMI adapter.
Have you made sure if using a modular PSU (power Supply) that the power cables are securely connected both at the PSU and at the Graphics card. It might also be handy to know that your PSU is still able to supply sufficient power to your system and the Graphics card.

Another thing you could try is to remove the GTX770 from the motherboard PCIeX16 slot and try another slot if you have SLI capable MOBO.
Or
You could enable the iGPU in bios  or set to auto then remove the GTX770 from the PCIeX16 slot, connect the HDMI or DP monitor cable to the PC's back panel HDMI or DP port (iGPU is a function of your CPU or so called onboard graphics)
Now I'm not saying you can successfully run Flight Simulator effectively with the iGPU, but it may help you to confirm a failing GTX770 simply by taking it out of the loop when testing other periferals, Display monitor, Graphics card port malfunction, PCIeX16 slot malfunction, before conceding defeat.

[MDFlier]

6 hours ago, BadKarmaPT said:

Thank you for your input, gents. I appreciate it.

@dmarques69

Yes, I tried different driver version and even removed Geforce Experience from my system because I had some problems with it in the past.

I also tried different ports and a brand new HDMI cable.

I'll try MSI afterburner and check if it happens at a certain temperature or not.

Obrigado! Um abraço e boas entradas! :-)

@martin-w

Thank you for your suggestion but it didn't help in this case. I always discharge the capacitors before opening my PC case and even do it on a regular basis.

Unfortunately it didn't help.

I sent EVGA customer support an email and just got an answer. They confirm that it is most likely a graphics card issue and that they usualy do an RMA and replace the card but since mine is 4 years old I'm out of luck and on my own!

It seems I have to get a new card when I can...

It's just a fan. Take the fan out and see if you can Google the numbers off of it to find a replacement.

In a worse case scenario, remove the bad fan from the card and unplug or cut the wires. Get any fan equal in size or larger than the one you removed and rig a way to mount it so that the air hits directly where the old fan used to be. Once the card has good cooling air flow, it will work properly again. Shoot. Leave the old fan in place, but cut the spokes holding the motor in place and epoxy a new fan right to the frame of the old one.  

[BadKarmaPT]

@martin-w

That sure is great advice but by now I'm pretty sure it's graphics card causing the issue. There's no way I'm buying a new one though. At least right now.

@Jethro

Thank you for your input. Unfortunately I don't have another monitor I can test the card with. Since my PSU is modular I did try different (never used) PCI-E cables connected to a different port on the PSU. I'll try a different PCIeX16 on the motherboard next (Asus P8Z68 V-PRO).

@MDFlier

Thank you for your help. I also think this is just an heat issue caused by a faulty fan. I may just do what you suggest regarding a new fan. I don't think that it will be that hard to do.

 

[martin-w]

Quote

I have a four year old EVGA GeForce GTX 770 with the EVGA ACX Cooler. 

 

Same card in my son's PC. I gave him the system. A common problem with the ACX cooler is rattling fans. At certain RPM it does sound like a screeching sound. But of course if the fan actually fell out, then that's weird. Never come across that before.

 

Quote

 

 

I was able to put the fan back and it holds in place but I'm not sure it's doing it's job properly. The idle temperature is around 25ºC.

 

 

But what's the temperature under load? That's the important factor.

 

Quote

Aftermarket coolers must be hard to find for such a "legacy" card, right?

 

No, in fact EVGA make an AIO that fits most of their graphics cards. Check your model number below. That's assuming the issue is JUST cooling of course.

 

https://www.evga.com/products/product.aspx?pn=400-HY-5188-B1

[Mace]

I had a whine like that once, and it was indeed the gpu.

martin is exactly right, it's the loaded temp that matters.  And it could be that it's not getting that hot, but a capacitor or the chip simply can't handle much load at all anymore.

I would download one of those GPU burn-in / test programs.  I have one of those test programs on my old FS machine (the 2700K), that displays a big furry donut on the screen (haha) and it really does tax the gpu, albeit with Open-GL it seems.  Monitor your temps while doing this -- I use GPU-Z to do that.  With a gpu test program, you should find out pretty quickly if it is the culprit...

As for eVGA -- I'm now running eVGA's 1080Ti card that has their AIO attached to it.  In my limited testing -- it's running quite cool for a gpu.  We'll see how well it works long-term, and in a long flight session.

[martin-w]

Correction.... not with it at the moment. The EVGA ACX cooler issue is rattling FINS, not fan. In fact I had to RMA my old GTX 770 for that reason. Well known issue. The OP's issue on the other hand appears to be different, perhaps with rattling fins compounding the issue. I recall the rattling is worse around 40% fan RPM.

 

 

[Jethro]

On ‎30‎/‎12‎/‎2017 at 7:37 AM, Mace said:

that displays a big furry donut on the screen (haha) and it really does tax the gpu

The benchmarking program with the fuzzy donut is called "Kombustor" part of MSI Afterburner, although now a separate DL.
Hugo, If you don't wish to use AB & Kombustor you can use  "Unigine Heaven" or the latest "Unigine Superposition" benchtesting tool to tax your GTX770 where temps and stress reveal where the problem may be. You should also use GPU-Z to monitor relative GPU temps during the test.