1

I recently had to do a warranty return on a Gigabyte video card, and they have sent me a replacement. I've installed the replacement, done a complete re-install of Windows 7 x64, installed the latest drivers and the card is unstable. The new card is a Gigabyte GeForce GTX 560 (GV-N56GOC-1GI).

When running games for about 20 minutes, or in some cases full screen video or flash video, the video will drop out and leave a black screen, often with the game audio still playing. I have to manually reboot the computer to get it to come back up. If I just 'restart' the computer the video is usually still compromised. If I turn off the computer with a full shut down (hold power button in for 10 secs) and reboot it goes back to running fine.

Because this is an RMA replacement I contacted Gigabyte and went through their support system. I've tried a number of different drivers, but the result is the same. They wanted me to test the card on another rig but I don't have access to one. They also suggested it could be a power supply issue.

The issue with the original card was the thermal system was failing, it couldn't cool itself and was overheating and shutting down. This card stays very cool and quiet, but intermittently stops working. It seems stable for most desktop applications, but fails when gaming or under other graphics load. One other note, because the card is unstable I threw in an old card, an AMD Radeon HD 4850 (512mb), and that's perfectly stable. No problems.

The point is that I don't want to spend another $35 and wait a month sending it back to Gigabyte and have them test it, especially if they say there's nothing wrong.

My question is, is there any other testing I can do? Does this sound like a power supply issue? I'm happy to replace either the power supply or the graphics card, but not both, and I'd hate to waste money replacing a component that doesn't need replacing. Any advice is appreciated.

Specs: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 560 - GV-N56GOC-1GI Gigabyte GA-890GPA-UDH3 Mobo Windows 7 x64 AMD PhenomII X6 1055T 8 GB RAM (Ripjaw) 5 Hard drives Corsair TX750 Power Supply

1 Answer 1

0

Well it looks like you have enough Watts to handle that video card, heres what I found out:

Your PSU Capacity: 750W

Your CPU: 125W, Your GPU: 500W, Your HDD: ~100W,

Hard drives can take around ~20 Watts depending on what drives they are and this pretty much brings you to your capacity. However, those numbers are at maximum usage so I wouldn't have thought it would be a power issue. If you decide to add anything else to your system I'd suggest upgrading your PSU.

Make sure you have attached two 6-Pin power connectors to your graphics card too, I once had one plug loose and it caused all sorts of problems.

2
  • The GPU should push enough power, and it has enough ampage on the 12V rail, and both 6 pin connectors are plugged securely. I've removed and reseated the graphics card to ensure a good connection, and it's secure. Mostly I wondered if the power supply (which is about 3 years old) could be failing, or throwing irregular voltage, which might cause the GPU to act erratically. It seems likely that Gigabyte sent me a faulty replacement, but I'd hate to go out and buy yet another video card and find out the problem was the power supply, or the RAM, or the motherboard, or something else, etc.
    – Adam
    Dec 1, 2012 at 13:53
  • @Adam Well I would say it is a Motherboard issue but if the other graphics card works fine then I think you will need to RMA it back to Gigabyte. An over-heating or failing PSU could well be the problem. Check it for excessive dust and ventilation. I assume your GPU is in the first PCI-E slot?
    – joshkrz
    Dec 1, 2012 at 13:55

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .