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I built a new system with following specs:

  • Intel i7 3770K
  • AsRock Z77 Extreme 4
  • 16 GB (2x8GB) from GEiL, DDR3-1600
  • MSI GTX670 OC Version

On that GPU I replaced the cooling system with a ProlimaTech MK-26 and silent fans.

The OS used is Windows 7 x64, and for some reason when I run the Performance Index test, the driver crashes over and over (and at the end resulting in a score of 1.0, since it wouldn't do anything).

I tested with current nVidia driver 310.90, and an older version 306.23

I can run Diablo 3 with maximum settings just fine, and the card would not exceed 35°C, but when I run DotA2, it runs for 1 minute, then I get a black screen, and then I have an invisible DotA2 window, which I have to kill from task manager.

I tried seriously underclocking the card (to absolute minimum that Precision X / Afterburner allowed), but it behaved precisely the same.

I also tried to change the timeout in regedit (TdrDelay), but that did not help, and I found nothing else pointing me to possibly the right direction.

Anyone know what may be happening here? The system is brand new, and all drivers have just tonight been installed.

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Sounds like something went wrong when you customised your graphics card. I'm not very knowledgeable, but I know such a thing is not exactly recommended. I don't know, maybe there are "modes" on the GPU cooler. "Normal" mode works fine for Diablo 3, but DOTA 2 requires "high speed" fan speed, and that mode for some reason doesn't work, so either the cooler stays on "normal" mode, either it just turns off for as long as the "high speed" mode is requested. Just a guess. I don't have the qualification required to say this for sure, but I have a strong feeling your hardware mod is the problem. – Ariane Jan 13 at 18:12
But if I set the fans to 100%, and the temperature stays well below 40°C, that should not cause anything. The GPU itself just knows with which voltage it adresses the fans, and the fans reply with what speed they are running. – Anton Roth Jan 13 at 18:16
Besides, in theory, the problem shouldn't be driver-wise. If you hadn't installed the right nVidia driver or something like that, I don't think Diablo 3 would run very well at all. Also, sounds like you made quite a few advanced tries in solving the problem. If you don't mind it, I'd recommend making everything as "default" as possible, possibly even reformating, in hopes of isolating the problem. Your underclocking and register changes worry me. – Ariane Jan 13 at 18:17
Oh, how about looking at the power of the card? Perhaps it's not able to give sufficient power to your new fan. – Ariane Jan 13 at 18:17
The point is, the error happened from the first second on. The performance index did fail from the very first try, before I had installed software, but I did not think it to be anything important, so I ignored the failing performance test. – Anton Roth Jan 13 at 18:32
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