Strange problem with by GPU, black screen

[shoeseat]

I have msi nvidia 9800gt 512MB,it's around 2 years old.The problem is that whenever I play games there is a black screen with monitor power blinking and I had to restart my computer as there is no other way to get back around desktop(Alt+tab,ctrl+alt+del didn't worked).I read almost all article about black screen using google but without specific answers.

My computer won't detect my video card once black screen happens and the only solution I had found is to take out GPU fan,insert gpu without fan to PCIE slot and then boot the computer.PC won't boot,black screen after starting windows screen.But when I take gpu out from pcie slot and then reattach fan(with some thermal paste),it works for around 3/4 days.This is the third time I have repeated this procress.Also there are horizontal small lines and white dots in BIOS screen when my card is not detected.

I am 100% sure it's GPU issue(not PSU,RAM etc).So my question is what's wrong with my GPU?why it works when I repeat my process of inserting gpu without fan and then reinserting it with fan?I have checked the GPU temprature constantly and it never went past 68 C(on load,40 on idle).so it's not temp issue as well.

Also I noticed my GPU shader clock is 1674(1650 default) and core clock ic 663.4(660 default) in msi afterburner.I have attached the screenshot.rivatuner and gpu-z also shows 1674 and 663.4.I have never overcolcked my gpu,I don't have clue how this higher clock was set.

Please guys help me to solve this problem.Thankx in advance

 

[Tmagic650]

Try swapping out the Power Supply even thought you say it's okay. Doing this might just solve your graphics card problem. What brand and wattage is your power supply?

 

[shoeseat]

thankx for the suggestion but i dont have another power supply to swap,i need to buy it.I already checked my GPU in anothe computer with different power supply and it has the same problem.My PSU is goldkist crand 460W.If it really was PSU fault then why it's working after i do the same process i mentioned above but not working when i just unplug psu cable from gpu then again plug cable in gpu( i have done this many times but it doesn't work).Also does PSU performance degrade over time?like watts decrease etc?Also why my clocks are shown higher than it's default vale in gpu-z and msi afterburener?

 

[Tmagic650]

"...Also why my clocks are shown higher than it's default vale in gpu-z and msi afterburner?"...
The video card may just be faulty

 

[shoeseat]

humm ya i suspect that too.it might be dying but it works fine for 3/4 days.If its faulty then way it wasn't dead completely?

 

[shoeseat]

It happened again yesterday and i had to repeat my process again to work my gpu back.Can anyone here tell me why my gpu clocks are showing high?Is my GPU really faulty.I don't know what's wrong and what to do with this problem.Please help someone.

 

[gwailo247]

Well if you put the card into another computer and it does the same thing, then your video card is broken.

Your GPU is not that overclocked if you do the math the percentage increase is negligible. Your temperatures, when the fan in installed, are perfectly normal for that video card.

You probably need to replace the video card. Sometimes components die fast, sometimes they die slow. Graphics cards can die slow sometimes.

What you are risking though by playing around with all this is damaging the rest of your system. If the video card has some kind of electrical problem on it, each time you do it you stand a chance of zapping everything. I think you'd be best served by getting another graphics card.

If you don't have the money right now, appears that your motherboard has onboard video, Intel GMA 3100, so you can take out the video card and use the onboard video for regular use until you can get a new video card.

 

[shoeseat]

thankx for the quick reply.The problem is that my gpu wasn't all dead.I also thought it was dead and was about the get new card next morning the problem started but then i got this freaking idea to put gpu without fan and then put it back with fan and it worked.So i thought there might be some problem that can be solved but it seems like my GPU is dying.

I am just curious why it works for 3/4 days and suddenly it's not working,if anyone knows?It works fine when i am not gaming.Even while gaming,there is no single problem like frame drop,graphics glitch etc until the problem occurs.

Anyway thankx for the suggestion.I will be replacing my GPU as soon as i get new one.

 

[Tmagic650]

"then i got this freaking idea to put gpu without fan and then put it back with fan and it worked"...

If it wasn't for the fact that the GPU fails in another computer, this would be a clue that your power supply might not be strong enough to power the GPU properly. Let us know when you get another GPU

 

[shoeseat]

Sorry to bring back old topics,but i think my GPU problem is due to solders in GPU getting loose cause when i heat up without fan it works for hours without black screen.Then another day it crashes after few minutes of play.Also i read in other forums that nvidia 8 and 9 series have these problems.Other people are baking their cards but i don't think this will help.Is there any method?

I don't think it's PSU problem as i don't remember single incident my computer has restarted or power off.

Anyway i am frustrated with this problem and deciding to buy new GPU.There aren't many choices here with GPU and also expensive.If i am to choose between ATI 5770HD and nvidia 450gts both MSI which will be the best buy?They are less or more same price here.I think 5770 is better but not sure.Also i am disappointed with Nvidia as my hard earned money went in vain without lasting 2 year,so i am thinking of giving ATI my money this time

 

[shoeseat]

Just check in to tell that my GPU was the problem.I think it's soldering issue.So i bought ati 5770.I found out that ATI 5770 and other cards have this micro stutter problem due to it's clock fluctuation(powerplay or whatever it's called) in some games like PES 2011 in my case.I was very frustrated with this problem for 2 days.I thought ATI was better than nvidia but they haven't addressed to solve this issue in there driver.I had to search for 2 days to solve this problem cause it was very annoying during game play.
I finally solve it using ATI tray tool which have this overclocking save profile function.hope it helps other with similar problem.