voltage drops /unstable graphics card/system

[sc805]

Hello all, thanks in advance for the help!

For starters here are my system specs. Home built a little over 2 years ago.

Windows 7 64-bit
Nvidia GTX 560 Ti with latest driver 327.23
8 GB DDR3 RAM Patriot Memory 1600Mhz (2x 4GB originally, just removed one stick that I saw wasn't fully seated)
Intel COre i5-2400 CPU @3.10GHz
asus p8z68-v/gen3 mother board
750 W Corsair TX750M

Now to get to the problem a few months ago I started having problems with my graphics crashing out, at first the screen would go black for a few seconds and come back saying the nvidia display driver had stopped responding. It gradually got worse to the point that even upon startup the system would keep a black screen despite the computer booting up. I suspected I might either be having some issues with either the graphics card or the PSU so I installed Speccy and HW monitor to check my voltages. Low and behold both diagnostics showed my voltages dropping out. I figured the PSU was the problem and swapped out my original 750W Coolmaster with my new Corsair and the system ran flawlessly....for a few weeks.

Now the system is back to the same problems with the display shutting out entirely, it also seems that the voltage drops may have gotten bad enough that the system is off entirely(cant say for certain).

Right now I'm running the monitor off the motherboards monitor port as opposed to the graphics card just so I can post this but here are the speccy and HW monitor files

http://speccy.piriform.com/results/KbR2L2Oc0vAiSSR5BXz6viO

Thanks for the help!


[recovering disk space, attachment deleted by admin]

[Lisa_maree]

Hi

Both the power supply and graphics card should still be under warrantee.  Have a look at the capacitors on the graphics card and for any areas that look like they have been hot, discoloured. I would suspect a failing supply on the graphics card, do you have any other powered PCIE graphics cards you could try. If that works then return the card.

 

[Geek-9pm]

Lisa_maree, good general advice.

He needs to have another graphics card to verify the system.
Aldo, he needs to use an ammeter probe to really measure the current levels.

Code: [Select]

IF
  { current levels are same  for either video card
  AND
   problem with only old card}
THEN
it is not likely power supply.

image is from eBay

[sc805]

well... unfortunately this is my only graphics card...first build. I do have a good mm but it only has the clamp on current meter which in my experience is garbage at mA...:/

I couldn't find any exposed capacitors to check for signs of distress, however with the diagnostics showing the voltages on all the rails fluctuating could that be merely a problem with the graphics card?

Thanks again for the help

[Geek-9pm]

well... unfortunately this is my only graphics card...first build. I do have a good mm but it only has the clamp on current meter which in my experience is garbage at mA...:/

garbage ?? You need some training.
An amp probe is a basic tool for r troubleshooting.Here is a video.
Right way to use an Amp Probe. Training Video.
PS Having a spare video card is required for home builders. 

[sc805]

Thanks for the help... I'm definitely looking for all the training I can get .
I do however understand how to use an mm I work with digital controls so I use them often, even if I could get an accurate reading with the clamp I don't have the room to breakout the hot and neutral wire on the PCI-E jack nor do I know which of the 4 wires are which. If I could though what kind of reading should I expect to get?
Ill probably end up buying an extra graphics card but like I was saying this was my first build so I didn't want to buy two considering how pricy they are  .
I just wanted to run through and see if there was any basics I should check first mostly considering the fluctuations on the other voltage rails I wasn't sure about the motherboard and the voltage regulator circuit. Of course this wouldn't explain the issues I'm having with the graphics card....right?

[Geek-9pm]

What do you mean by fluctuation?
All the voltages should be well withing 3% dof nominal and within 1% or better on the board and the GPU. Any short tern changes are not good. A nonage should only be when the GPU is under heavy work.

This can help ID the different wires.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/power-supply-specifications-atx-reference,3061-7.html

Does your GPU have a separate 12 bolt line? Measure the yellow wires.

[Calum]

Just so you know, Speccy (and any other software) will not read your voltages properly.  As said, only a multimeter will do that.  It would be unlikely for you to have two faulty PSUs in a row causing the exact same issue.
Have you tried running on just the onboard graphics, and if so does the system still go to a black screen or shut down?
Have you tried any newer or older drivers for the graphics card?
Have you tried a different PCI-E slot, if available?
It's also worth checking if there are any BIOS updates for your board.

Also, just re reading your attachment before clicking post - your CPU temperature looks high to me, was the system idle when you ran that report?  If so, it's possible your CPU is overheating, 60C idle is not right.  It's worth checking to make sure your CPU fan is running as it should, and reseating the heatsink with fresh thermal paste.

[Lisa_maree]

Hi

My thoughts are that when a power supply is overloaded all rails can fluctuate. That's why it looks like something is drawing to much current. The power supply 750 W Corsair TX750M should run that build without problems.
You  removed the graphics card and the fault disappeared so that removed about 8 amps load from the 12v rail. You could measure that with the clamp over the 3 yellow wires + 12v feeding power to the graphics card.
Have you checked the warranty  on the power supply,  here they give a 3 year warranty on that model.

If you are looking for a DC clamp meter that reads ma then the Standard ST-337 does . Very handy when building or testing PC's 

http://www.standardinst.com/frames/clamp_337.html

Was the best one I could find, without getting a Fluke.

 

[sc805]

Sorry about the late reply here, I've been a little swamped with work but appreciate all the help.
Anyways, I have a good Fieldpiece MM the problem is that I cant separate the hot  wires from the common enough to get a clamp on without stripping back the casing.
Lately even the video output coming straight off the motherboard has been failing as well, I know the monitor and video cable is good as I've used it on other computers.
I really doubt the power supply is the problem as this one is brand new and the previous supply was giving me the same results. Unless of course I'm having issues with my line voltage to the PSU.

[Geek-9pm]

the previous supply was giving me the same results. Unless of course I'm having issues with my line voltage to the PSU.

Well, ,check it. Do you have an electric heater running? Maybe failing main power wall outlets? They do go bad y'know. 

[sc805]

Well... checking the line voltage didn't show me much, earlier it was down at around 118 and up to about 122 now doesn't seem drastic enough to be causing these problems I'll keep checking it every so often though.

[sc805]

One thing I have noticed is that when I remove one stick of RAM this system seems to be much more stable, still has the same problem but not nearly as often.

For example yesterday when first removed the extra RAM I didn't have any problem all even during high load periods. Today I've been having some issues but when I add the RAM back I can't even get Windows to load.