GSOD, PSU or GFX issue? (SOLVED)

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Snow
Posts: 47
Joined: Sun Jul 27, 2008 2:15 am

GSOD, PSU or GFX issue? (SOLVED)

Post by Snow » Sun Aug 05, 2012 4:48 am

Hi guys,

Alright, here goes,

I was having GSODs (vertical lines, stuttering sound, reset required) at random times, even when idling.

http://www.ngohq.com/news/17176-workaro ... issue.html

This was with a Q6600, 4x2GB DDR2 RAM, HD5770, 3 HDD's, 1 SSD, 1 PCI-e FW and 4 x 120mm fans all powered by a Seasonic S12-430W.
I upgraded since I figured it was related to my OC or maxed out RAM and I was in need for an upgrade anyway because I use PS on a daily base (for work) that eats a lot of RAM.
My current system is an i5 2500k (stock) and 4x4GB DDR3 with above components.
Still I'm having the same issues so that leaves the GPU and PSU which are the only parts that haven't been replaced.

Now, a lot of people seem to have issues with these HD5000 but could it be my PSU (5 years old) not providing enough juice?

One important question, since the Seasonic does not come with a PCI-e 6pin connector and I'm forced to use a 2 x molex to 6pin adapter is it ok to connect the 2 molex to one rail or should I divide it between two rails?
For now I have the HD5770 connected to one rail and the second rail powers the other components 3 HDD's, 1 SSD and 4 fans (some at 5V/7V)

I'm still in doubt what to do next:

- Buying a 550TI that has the same performance as the 5770, slightly higher power consumption but avoiding the faulty ATI's. If there are still GSOD's then I know for sure it's the PSU and will have to get the Corsair 650HX.
- Buying the Corsair 650HX PSU and if still GSOD's get the 550TI.
- or I could probably fix both issues in one go by getting a 640GT which does not require external power and consumes half the power of my current card, downside is that the performance is a lot lower.

What do you guys think? what route should I take. I cannot RMA the 5770 atm since I'm using my rig on a daily base. So I'll have to buy a new one, RMA the 5770 and then sell it.

Thanks in advance lads
Last edited by Snow on Tue Aug 21, 2012 2:08 am, edited 1 time in total.

m1st
Posts: 132
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Location: US

Re: GSOD, PSU or GFX issue?

Post by m1st » Sun Aug 05, 2012 5:34 am

It sounds like a GPU issue to me. Your power supply should be able to handle that system without any problems. Then again, it is getting quite old...

Also, the 5770 shouldn't draw so much current that it needs to be separated on different rails. I would try replacing the vid card first.

Snow
Posts: 47
Joined: Sun Jul 27, 2008 2:15 am

Re: GSOD, PSU or GFX issue?

Post by Snow » Sun Aug 05, 2012 5:57 am

m1st wrote:It sounds like a GPU issue to me. Your power supply should be able to handle that system without any problems. Then again, it is getting quite old...

Also, the 5770 shouldn't draw so much current that it needs to be separated on different rails. I would try replacing the vid card first.
Alright will do, thanks a lot mate!

fuzzymath10
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Re: GSOD, PSU or GFX issue?

Post by fuzzymath10 » Sun Aug 05, 2012 6:37 am

I have been running a 5750 + 2500k on a 350w Seasonic PSU, including overclocking the 5750. Every issue I've ever had was because of inadequate cooling of the GPU. The moment I bumped my case fans up, the issues usually disappeared. Try cleaning the dust out of your case, or temporarily put a fan close to the GPU to see if your issues then disappear.

Snow
Posts: 47
Joined: Sun Jul 27, 2008 2:15 am

Re: GSOD, PSU or GFX issue?

Post by Snow » Sun Aug 05, 2012 7:27 am

fuzzymath10 wrote:I have been running a 5750 + 2500k on a 350w Seasonic PSU, including overclocking the 5750. Every issue I've ever had was because of inadequate cooling of the GPU. The moment I bumped my case fans up, the issues usually disappeared. Try cleaning the dust out of your case, or temporarily put a fan close to the GPU to see if your issues then disappear.
Hi mate,

Nah no temp issues here, the 5770 Silent Cell comes with a huge passive cooler and temps were low 40's' idle and high 70's on load.
I've put a 120mm fan on the cooler (zip ties) with RAM coolers and temps are now mid 30's idle and high 60's on load so it's not heat related.
Benchmarking (3D mark or furmark) doesn't crash my system either but the simple things like browsing or editing images in PS can give a GSOD.

No dust in case since I cleaned it out when I did the upgrade.
Does the 5750 require a PCI-e connection? if so how do you use the molex connectors, 2 on one rail or each on a separate rail?

I found an official BIOS update for my card and flashed it, let's see how this turns out. If it's still bad I will re-flash to the old BIOS and RMA the card after buying the 550ti. I'm 90% sure I've got a bad card here but I still want to cover all bases.
And I'm not going back to ATI if this is the case, that's for sure. These issues never happened with my previous Geforce cards (gone trough a lot since the very first)

Thanks guys for your input, much appreciated.

fuzzymath10
Posts: 69
Joined: Tue May 03, 2011 5:52 pm
Location: Toronto

Re: GSOD, PSU or GFX issue?

Post by fuzzymath10 » Sun Aug 05, 2012 8:10 am

The 5750 has one PCI-E plug. I think you're supposed to split it not because the PSU can't handle one rail, but because the molex cables cannot handle that much power without heating up. A 5770 doesn't exactly use that much power (75W from the motherboard, leaving not much for the molex plugs) so I doubt that's the issue.

Funny enough, my other PC with a 4830 (also one plug, similar TDP to 5770) used to crash all the time when playing videos (e.g. flash video, or DXVA video in MPC-HC) but not in 3D. The temps also looked fine; idle 40 and load 70-80. I think one specific part was overheating since the sensors do not measure every part of the PCB. So when I modified my airflow which resulted in idle temps of about 32 and load 50, the problem disappeared, despite the older temps being more than reasonable.

Pappnaas
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Re: GSOD, PSU or GFX issue?

Post by Pappnaas » Sun Aug 05, 2012 9:39 am

if your mainboard allows using onboard gpu only, you could test w/o the ATI. Since PS is pretty picky about using gpu power, depending on your workload you won't even notice the difference.

At 5 years of age the psu is out of warranty, so buying a "fresh" one to protect your shiny new i5 from psu mishap isn't a bad idea anyway, assuming after 5 years of duty some decay may occur on components inside the psu.

CA_Steve
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Re: GSOD, PSU or GFX issue?

Post by CA_Steve » Sun Aug 05, 2012 3:21 pm

Pappnaas wrote:if your mainboard allows using onboard gpu only, you could test w/o the ATI.
+1

Snow
Posts: 47
Joined: Sun Jul 27, 2008 2:15 am

Re: GSOD, PSU or GFX issue?

Post by Snow » Sun Aug 05, 2012 10:38 pm

CA_Steve wrote:
Pappnaas wrote:if your mainboard allows using onboard gpu only, you could test w/o the ATI.
+1
Will do lads. I have tried this is the past but had other issues with this (no GSODs though)
Maybe my BIOS wasn't set up right for the onboard so I'll try again after testing the new VGA BIOS for a few days.

Thanks!

Snow
Posts: 47
Joined: Sun Jul 27, 2008 2:15 am

Re: GSOD, PSU or GFX issue?

Post by Snow » Tue Aug 21, 2012 2:08 am

I'm happy to inform you guys that it was the GPU BIOS at fault here and an unofficial update solved the issues.

Thanks for your support and take care all.

CA_Steve
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Re: GSOD, PSU or GFX issue? (SOLVED)

Post by CA_Steve » Tue Aug 21, 2012 1:51 pm

Awesome!

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