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Computer nerds here? I need halp

zemmaxzemmax Posts: 295 Arc User
edited May 2014 in Off Topic
Yo, I know this is not a tech forum but seriously, google is not that helpful either.

I bought a new pc on friday and me and my big brother put it together. Everything connected to just fine, but am having some problems when I am playing games. Games crash to black screen after 10-20 minutes of gameplay, then I have to push the power button to turn the system off. I don't know what the problem is and it is getting so frustrating because I paid a lot of money for this. I googled some stuff a lot and tried many things but I am completely at lost. I hope some of you can help me?

All the games work smoothly until this sudden point of crash.

Here are some tips I found on google but nothing helps.

First I checked if it's overheating - no, I don't think so, it was 50~ celsius while playing champs

I tried to update my audio drivers, nope.

I tried to disable the extra audio drivers, no, didn't work.

I tried to update my video card, nope.

I tried to go back my video card's old version that came with the disk, nope.

did a memory test, nope, all checks fine.

any suggestions? my specs here:
Windows 7 home edition SP1 64 bit
ASUS B85m-G motherboard
Intel Core i3-4130 CPU @ 3,40ghz, 3,40ghz
Nvidia Geforce GTX 770 2gb ddr5
8gb ram
I have windows on seperated 120gb drive, and the games and other stuff are on 1TB drive
Power supply is Tesla R2 650w
I think that's it..?
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • helbjornhelbjorn Posts: 678 Arc User
    edited May 2014
    Firstly, I'm no computer guru, but I've had a similar issue to what you describe, and it was my GPU overheating. Additional, bigger case fans and a cooler room helped that problem.

    Just remember that the temp being reported is not necessarily accurate and is likely not the actual temps your CPU and GPU are running at.

    To test, leave your case open and run a large box fan (or similar) on the unit. If the problem resolves or your play time increases before crashing, that's likely the problem.
  • biffsmackwellbiffsmackwell Posts: 4,739 Arc User
    edited May 2014
    helbjorn wrote: »
    Firstly, I'm no computer guru, but I've had a similar issue to what you describe, and it was my GPU overheating.

    This is the first thing I thought of, too. Seeing as it only crashes during gaming, it's either a heat issue with your graphics card, or just a bad graphics card.

    Make sure whatever software you're using isn't just looking at your processor's heat level.

    If all that checks out, I'd check your RAM next. But it's very likely the graphics card.
    biffsig.jpg
  • spinnytopspinnytop Posts: 16,450 Arc User
    edited May 2014
    helbjorn wrote: »
    To test, leave your case open and run a large box fan (or similar) on the unit.

    Say um.. is this something I can just do all the time? .... or is that gonna like... be like leaving someone with an open chest after heart surgery?
  • flyingfinnflyingfinn Posts: 8,408 Arc User
    edited May 2014
    Clean the dust off from the fans.

    And why leave the case open, when you can build the case of...fans.
    huge_fan_cooled_case_mod_3.jpg
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  • biffsmackwellbiffsmackwell Posts: 4,739 Arc User
    edited May 2014
    spinnytop wrote: »
    Say um.. is this something I can just do all the time? .... or is that gonna like... be like leaving someone with an open chest after heart surgery?

    Yeah but you're inviting more dust into your case.

    I built a computer some years ago, but the case I ordered was too small to fit the computer. I decided to just build the computer in the cardboard box that the motherboard came in. I cut a few holes for the PCI cards, and called it a day. When the processor fan would start winding up too much, all you had to do was open the lid and the thing cooled off almost immediately.

    It was the most ghetto computer build I ever did, but it was so funny that I never got a case for it, just left it like that. You could leave the lid open all the time if you wanted. If you're in a relatively dust-free area, then you don't have much to worry about, I guess.
    biffsig.jpg
  • taintedmesstaintedmess Posts: 446 Arc User
    edited May 2014
    like the others have said check the GPU temp if its rising significantly check its cooler is actually working (fans turning) as would be the first time I've seen a good GFX card die due to bad heat sink/fan.

    I would also check the CPU though if 50c is its temperature then there should be no issues there

    ypu mentioned doing a memory test did you try just running it with a single stick if it works repeat with each stick till you fin the one that fails and you have your culprit.

    Looking at the MB it has solid state CAPs so they should all be good. I also note it has on-board VGA try removing the GFX card and just running it si if the problems still there.
  • selpheaselphea Posts: 1,229 Arc User
    edited May 2014
    You're probably better off posting on a dedicated tech forum.

    There could be a number of possible reasons but I'm not a pro so I can't give you comprehensive troubleshooting instructions.

    Sounds like a power supply issue to me. Not necessarily the PSU itself, but something is causing it to trip.

    Edit: Apparently your PSU uses Teapo caps, which have a reputation for being... unreliable. With a power hungry card like the GTX 770 that might be an issue.

    If you have another PSU I'd definitely look at testing that out first.
  • sistersiliconsistersilicon Posts: 1,687 Arc User
    edited May 2014
    Open-bench cases, you say?

    antec_skeleton_02_thumb.jpg

    Antec Skeleton. Slightly more drive bays than a Smackwell Box-the-Mobo-Came-In. The fan blows up to pull dust off the board. I don't want to think about the noise, though. (Says the builder who swears by the Nanoxia Deep Silence 1.)
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  • spinnytopspinnytop Posts: 16,450 Arc User
    edited May 2014
    flyingfinn wrote: »
    Clean the dust off from the fans.

    And why leave the case open, when you can build the case of...fans.
    huge_fan_cooled_case_mod_3.jpg

    o3o ...gimme dat
  • jonsillsjonsills Posts: 6,315 Arc User
    edited May 2014
    flyingfinn wrote: »
    Clean the dust off from the fans.

    And why leave the case open, when you can build the case of...fans.
    huge_fan_cooled_case_mod_3.jpg
    Someone finally built a computer to handle STO! (Seriously, if you think CO makes your GPU heat up, you should give STO a try...)
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  • spinnytopspinnytop Posts: 16,450 Arc User
    edited May 2014
    jonsills wrote: »
    Someone finally built a computer to handle STO! (Seriously, if you think CO makes your GPU heat up, you should give STO a try...)

    I dunno, my laptop seems to handle them both just fine o3o
  • bluhmanbluhman Posts: 2,410 Arc User
    edited May 2014
    Got a few extra questions:
    • Have you tried the configuration with other games and found that this happened as well? This is a good place to start to see if it's hardware or software related; Hardware-related problems will occur pretty much globally.
    • What in particular was hitting 50C during play? GPU? CPU? What program were you using to measure the temperature? This is important, since usually the GPU is designed to take much higher heat levels than your CPU (though this isn't always the case.)
    • Does the computer crash if it's just being used normally? I.E. Just browing the internet and watching youtube, etc?
    • Are you using any overclocks, or any superclocked hardware?
    That last one is a big one, because every single factory overclocked video card that I have used, sooner or later, failed spectacularly. I had to recently get my 770 replaced with a non OC'd one because it kept freezing very sporadically when playing games. Meanwhile, my previous system, which had a Radeon HD 4850 had two new GPU upgrades attempted. A superclocked 7950 I got just completely screwed up after 3 days. No more than about a minute before my desktop graphics would screw up completely. I then tried an R7-260x, which worked fine mostly, except it'd both generate odd artifacts at random in games, and would crash when watching Youtube. The R7-260x is pretty poignant, because the symptoms of the crashes you're getting sound pretty much identical to what I experienced with that card, despite being completely different manufacturers and all.

    If it's only happening during gaming or even during any situation where the GPU's being used to a greater extent than average (yes, youtube does count), then it is possible that the graphics card you've got is just a dud.

    Bottom line: If you're getting full-out system crashes in all games, and/or anything that stresses the GPU even slightly, and your GPU doesn't seem to be overheating (if what you're saying about 50C applies to the card, then you are not overheating - The 770 takes up to 85C), it's most likely that your card has poor transistors, and the best thing to do would be to get an RMA.
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  • zemmaxzemmax Posts: 295 Arc User
    edited May 2014
    Thanks for the replies and I infact have a deskfan blowing to my computer already, I had to make sure if it's overheating issue or not. (Still not completely sure).

    13247388.jpg

    I was jsut playing champs a bit, (and it didn't crash this time) and there you can see the maximum temperature during playing (max 67c). The screenshot is taken from the ASUS GPU TWEAK, that came with the video card. Can it spike sometimes higher and shutdown the computer immediatly? Asus gpu tweak has Gpu Temp Target set at 79 celsius.

    My computer runs normally doing other things than playing games, like watching youtube n stuff.

    Last run of Champions went fine without crashing. I am going to try Metro2033 again and see how that runs.

    I will try to monitor the CPU temperatures too, if they overheat. I will be back with more info.
  • bluhmanbluhman Posts: 2,410 Arc User
    edited May 2014
    The way that the GTX770 calculates and maintains a maximum temperature is that it will basically hold itself back if it gets near the plotted maximum temperature of 79C. However, most 770s can easily take temperatures above that; it's just set to that limit as pretty much a safety measure.

    The computer can and will shut itself off if a temperature limit is exceeded (to protect itself, of course), but to really figure anything out you'll likely need a program that dynamically monitors the temperatures for your CPU and GPU - especially make sure that your processor isn't doing anything funky, because at the rate your graphics card temperatures are going there really shouldn't be any problem.

    And if the CPU's temperatures are within a safe limit, then it's probably safe to say that it's likely just a faulty card. Unless Metro 2033 doesn't cause any incident, in which case I dunno.
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  • artmanpweartmanpwe Posts: 177 Arc User
    edited May 2014
    Just to add my personal experience to the potential of the CPU overheating. One time, the thermal gel 'pea' that came preinstalled on the Intel CPU failed to make good contact with the stock Intel CPU cooler (just wasn't enough of it), and caused the issue you described. I cleaned it off, put thermal paste that I had around on it and everything worked fine after that.
    ...Since 2009.
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  • zemmaxzemmax Posts: 295 Arc User
    edited May 2014
    Yeeess I think I fixed it now!

    I downclocked my GPU by -80mhz. I just played metro2033 for an hour and it didn't crash and worked just fine.

    Sooo can anyone tell me what the actual problem was? I've heard problems with cards when you overclock em, but is downclocking fine?
  • bluhmanbluhman Posts: 2,410 Arc User
    edited May 2014
    zemmax wrote: »
    Yeeess I think I fixed it now!

    I downclocked my GPU by -80mhz. I just played metro2033 for an hour and it didn't crash and worked just fine.

    Sooo can anyone tell me what the actual problem was? I've heard problems with cards when you overclock em, but is downclocking fine?

    Downclocking can alleviate the issue if it's any of these causes:
    • The card actually was overheating, and the downclock actually removed enough stress and heat from the system to not cause the issue. (again, very unlikely given how low your temperatures are in the last post)
    • The card's clock or overclock was set too high for the chip to handle it. When GPUs are first made by the main development companies (AMD, NVidia, etc) they have basic specifications that a standard-performance card should meet. However, A lot of other companies that actually manufacture the end card products like to overclock them for extra performance potential (Sapphire, EVGA, MSi ASUS, etc), and attempt to offset the increased stress by adding extra factors, such as fans or liquid cooling, to keep the card cooler while it runs faster. The card runs at a higher clock speed, with less apparent heat on the card generated - but this is offset by greater power usage, potentially a lot more heat dissipated in the computer case, and (potentially) stability issues! Even if cooling and power is ample, the base chip model is in no way guaranteed to be stable at such drastically higher clock levels.
      If your card's default clock speed is significantly above 1046mhz, then you have a factory overclocked GTX 770. What I've found is that sometimes the boost clocks on these cards can cause issues; disabling all boosting on a superclocked GTX770 I had seemed to remove random freezes I'd get, for example.

    If you're underclocking, not overheating, and have a card with a base clock speed of at or near 1046mhz, you probably have a faulty card; it simply isn't able to perform as well as a card of its chip type should, and you can send it in for an RMA with your manufacturer (provided warranty hasn't run out, but GPU warranties are pretty lenient most of the time, with lengths ranging from a couple of months to 3 years.)

    All things I've looked up on Overclocking and such seem to say that 'oh, so long as the card can continuously run a benchmark, keeps under max temperature, and you don't get rendering artifacts it's fine!' but that is probably further from the truth than anything else. None of the failing cards I had generated these so-called artifacts, they just crashed or froze extremely sporadically while far under their maximum reported temperatures. Also, the given benchmark programs (Heaven and Valley, for instance) didn't cause any issues at all!

    Basically, what I'm saying is that factory overclocked cards are horrible and that RMA condition is probably very important for them given how failure-prone they can be.
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