My graphics card melting down? Hardware gurus: Help wanted

[user-7256]

I'm not exactly sure what the problem is but any hardware gurus here willing to take a look?

During a graphically-intense use of my computer, it froze, the sound stuttered, and I got a brief glimpse of a blue screen as the screen started garbling into very thinly-defined blocks of what was displayed. It was very strange. It immediately rebooted.

My system is encrypted with TrueCrypt full-disk encryption. It boots into the TC bootloader so I can mount it with my password. I was a bit scared to see even the boot screen garbled, with characters mixed around and in different places, it looked like "rueCryp Bodrloade" and there was a general mess everywhere. Thankfully I was able to mount the system (meaning the header wasn't corrupted) and boot into safe mode, shortly thereafter garbling went away.

Well I rebooted into normal mode and updated my video drivers. A few minutes in, it just locked up (no blue screen that I could see) with those garbled blocks on screen again. Then the display went black, so I turned off the computer and opened it up.

After finding nothing unusual (blew out some dust), I put it back together and booted this time into my Linux side. I updated drivers, it was working for a while but then, sure enough, the blocks appeared and it locked up.

So now I have it off until I figure out what the deal is. I'm on my laptop right now.

I wonder if it's a graphics card thing: I have an NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT. There's some dust on the card/around the fan but I blew some of it away, some of it is just kind of stuck there. It's only a year old though! It doesn't feel extra warm or anything...

Another interesting thing to note is that the past couple weeks, I've been hearing - very intermittently -- some "buzzing" sounds coming from the computer. Almost as if someone stuck a piece of straw in a fan and let the fan hit it every time it went around. I would nudge my computer or even apply pressure to the back of the case and it would cease. So I didn't think it was too serious, but I opened it up one day and nudged a tie of power cables a couple millimeters - literally - to the side by the power supply - and it seemed to stop it pretty good.

A few minutes before the BSOD the buzzing was back but I was able to get it to stop by nudging the computer or tilting it slightly.

Anybody have any ideas what might be going on?

 

[Nathan]

Just a shot in the dark, but you could try to put the GFX Card in a different PCI slot just to make sure the problem isn't there.

 

[user-7256]

I only have 1 PCI Express slot. (PCI Express 2 x16)

 

[liquidcherry]

I only have 1 PCI Express slot. (PCI Express 2 x16)

Hi there,

It seems to me like a overheating prob, try to let your case open to see if this makes any difference.

If yes, you need an additional Fan ( somehow, there are bay solutions or you could replace your case fan or gfx card solutions are available too)

Let me know,

Cheers

Liquidcherry

 

[user-7256]

Hm, see that's what I was wondering... I don't know why though. I blew out a bunch of dust a month and a half ago, and I don't visibly see a lot of dust, but I still wonder if it's that fan. Again, it doesn't feel very warm, and the inside feels pretty normally warm, and the ancillary fan is working just great. I don't know if I could fit another one either; it's a mini-tower...

I'll try leaving the case open to see if I still get the problem.

If I do, would that be grounds to look for a new graphics card? If I don't want to dish much out, would this one be a good pick you think?

 

[Eric]

I wouldn't recommend BFG cards. I've had two BFG cards before what I have now, neither one lasted more than 3 months. I would recommend either eVGA or XFX. BTW, what size PSU do you have? Some of these higher end cards require at least 400-500W.

 

[user-7256]

I was a bit suspicious of BFG -- thanks for the tip. I'll look for one of the two you mentioned.

Uh, my PSU is... well, I don't know which of those crazy numbers to read but it says total max power is 300W.... good thinking. I didn't think of that.

Could you recommend a good NVIDIA card that will work with that power level?

 

[Eric]

That might be your problem, or part of it anyway. Based on what I could find - the 8600GT requires at least a 350W PSU. Any of the 9x00 series will require 400-500. If it was a graphics intense process, it would put extra strain on the PSU as well. So I'd actually recommend replacing both the video card AND the PSU.

This is the video card I'm using: Newegg.com - XFX PVT98GYDLU GeForce 9800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

For PSU's I'd highly recommend Corsair. I'm not sure what all you run on your PC but I'd probably say at least a 500 Watter. Here's one:

Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Power Supplies

Some others, Newegg.com - Computer Hardware,Corsair Memory, Inc.,Power Supplies,

 

[user-7256]

Awesome, thanks a lot Eric. Strange that Dell shipped my PC with a card that was out of the power range of its PSU.

I guess for now I'll just run my computer in Safe Mode -- I've been able to keep it on for hours in Safe Mode. That way I can get some files off of it while I wait for my new stuff to come...

Cheers

 

[James]

I wouldn't recommend BFG cards. I've had two BFG cards before what I have now, neither one lasted more than 3 months. I would recommend either eVGA or XFX. BTW, what size PSU do you have? Some of these higher end cards require at least 400-500W.

Shouldn't be a problem. You should be more worried about the DC output and the peak current.

I was a bit suspicious of BFG -- thanks for the tip. I'll look for one of the two you mentioned.

Uh, my PSU is... well, I don't know which of those crazy numbers to read but it says total max power is 300W.... good thinking. I didn't think of that.

Could you recommend a good NVIDIA card that will work with that power level?

If you're looking for something good but cheap, 9800GTX or 9800/9600 - Look for GT's

Check that you've put the graphics card back into the PCI slot properly make sure you hear the click.
Also, if you do get a new card, if you've got a generic power supply, you'll need to upgrade.

Check out Vantec ION2+ 450W or a Corsair HX520 to keep upgrades in mind.

 

[user-7256]

Alright, bonus advice! :D Thanks James. I'll look in detail tomorrow at some options and follow up on them.

 

[dna]

Unplug the graphic card and then plug it back in.
Do you get any beeps when you power up?
Dell has a beeping code that tells you what the hardware problem is.

 

[user-7256]

I should probably reply... sorry...

I took the card out and tried another one that my office had, just to ensure it was in fact the graphics card. It worked fine with the new card in, so something was indeed wrong with my NVIDIA bit.

Just for kicks, since it was out, I got a nice cloth and cleaned it up on the outside... the gold shines and the plastic design on the fan looks gorgeous again. I blew out a whole bunch of dust... so much, in fact, that I wondered if that was the problem: overheating.

I plugged it back in, shiny and cleaned out and it has worked fine ever since, not even a hint of any prior problems.

Kudos to NVIDIA for making a good product that fails without totally and literally frying itself!