Bought a used GTX 970, damaged my new computer!

[felix5]

Hi everyone,

I recently bought a used Gigabyte GTX 970 Mini for my boyfriend's new build, and that's when the problems began. System was very unstable and crashing in newer games, etc. I recall the seller mentioned it crashed in Overwatch which is why he upgraded to GTX 1070 and sold this one, but I didn't think much of it at the time.

Eventually I RMA'ed the card and bought a MSI R9 390X. But I still have problems :

- PC shuts down immediately after power button is pressed
- sometimes error message during Windows 10 install, requiring a reinstallation
- odd errors and such while in Windows (this one seems to be ok for now after installing latest Windows 10 many times)
- crashes when running newer games on ultra settings
- apps occasionally freeze (taking very long to respond)
- stalls during windows update
- the i5-6600K CPU can no longer overclock to 4.5Ghz like when it was using onboard video before installing the GTX 970, now can only do 4.2Ghz stable on the R9 390X
- this R9 390X video card runs very warm, I can feel the heat coming out of case (even the front and sides, and even when all fans incl GPU are at max)


What is wrong with this computer? Power supply? Motherboard?

Current system specs :

Intel Core i5-6600K @ 4.2Ghz w/ Noctua NH-D15S CPU Cooler
ASRock Z170 Pro4S
Avexir Core Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4 2400 @ 2400Mhz
MSI R9 390X Gaming 8G
EVGA SuperNOVA 750W G2 PSU
ADATA Premier SP550 480GB
Fractal Design Define R5 ATX Mid Tower Window Case w/ 3 x 140mm fans

 

[UsandThem]

Tough to say.

I'd start by removing the video card, and using the integrated graphics. Return the CPU to stock. Test the RAM by running Memtesti6+. If it is still unstable after that, I'd try another PSU as it is easier to rule that out than the motherboard.

If still having having issues, my next guess would be the motherboard. A defective video card could have damaged the PSU or the motherboard.

But I do have some questions though. You said system was stable before putting in used GTX 970, but what video card was in there before buying it, and how long was this system used before it began having these issues?

 

[AnonymouseUser]

It's possible you have a defective motherboard, one that was defective originally but you didn't notice because you weren't using discrete graphics. You could try a BIOS upgrade and see if it helps with stability. Also, remove the 390X and see if you can hit 4.5GHz overclock again.

You said system was stable before putting in used GTX 970, but what video card was in there before buying it

Onboard graphics.

the i5-6600K CPU can no longer overclock to 4.5Ghz like when it was using onboard video before installing the GTX 970

 

[UsandThem]

Onboard graphics.

I missed that. Darn ADD

I would lean towards the PSU as the issue then. It could be the extra power load from adding a video card and overclocking the CPU is causing the issue.

If you have another computer, or someone to borrow a PSU from, I'd test that component first.

Back in February I bought a SuperNova G2 for my son's computer build, and it had similar issues. After much troubleshooting and trying different components (including a different GPU), I exchanged it and the replacement unit worked perfectly. While the G2 series are great units, there will always be occasional duds.

 

[felix5]

Thanks for the replies. I have run latest Memtest (no errors) and SeaTools for the hard drive (passed all basic tests).

Just now I have flushed out stuck energies (held power button for 30 seconds with PSU unplugged and switched off). Hope it will help.

 

[felix5]

It's possible you have a defective motherboard, one that was defective originally but you didn't notice because you weren't using discrete graphics. You could try a BIOS upgrade and see if it helps with stability. Also, remove the 390X and see if you can hit 4.5GHz overclock again.
Onboard graphics.

The motherboard BIOS is up to date. Great idea on removing the video card. I will try that.

If you have another computer, or someone to borrow a PSU from, I'd test that component first.

Yes I do have another computer, mine has a EVGA SuperNova 750W P2 power supply ... I was just worried about damaging other good components I put in so I haven't done any swapping to test yet :-(

 

[UsandThem]

Yes I do have another computer, mine has a EVGA SuperNova 750W P2 power supply ... I was just worried about damaging other good components I put in so I haven't done any swapping to test yet :-(

I just think if it were your motherboard that was that damaged\defective, your PC wouldn't be booting at all.

You can go into your BIOS and see what your rails, especially the 12v, are reading with and without the card installed.

 

[denis280]

and SeaTools for the hard drive (passed all basic tests).

I was thinking psu myself,but the hard drive is my suspect

 

[Ketchup]

Going by the model and power rating along, your power supply would be fine. But considering the addition of a video card crashes your computer AND lowers your overclock, I am leaning towards that power supply as a prime suspect as well.

I did notice that you mentioned a lot about crashes, but nothing about memory dumps. Are you getting a blue screen with a full memory dump, or something else (reboot, blank screen, freeze, etc). Anything other than a blue screen would point to power being another possible cause of your issue.

Also, don't be too surprised if, once you get the stability issue sorted out, your overclock stays a little lower than you were seeing before. A LOT of heat is now traveling up to your CPU from that AMD video card. Noctua makes some great equipment, but it's still pretty common for more heat to equate to less overclock. I am not promising that your overclock will stay lower than you are used to, just want you to know that it is a possibility.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

In the bios, under advanced - chipset configuration - set the PCIe link speed to gen 2 and see if that helps.

 

[felix5]

Just an update, we replaced the PSU with my EVGA 750W P2 PSU. It is much better now, we can finally play games like The Division on Ultra settings without crashing! (at least within the 5 minutes we tested, was in a hurry, previously it would not run at all in Ultra so it's definitely an improvement). And ARK would still crash in Epic (higher than Ultra), but I know that game is poorly optimized.

However, as soon as I bump up the CPU overclock to 4.4Ghz, The Division's framerate is very poor and unplayable. This same power supply is able to overclock CPU to 4.6Ghz in my computer (also a i5-6600K processor, different motherboard and ram) and run ARK in Epic. So I am wondering if I am still lacking power. I do not have a PSU over 750W to test.

I have already initiated the RMA process for the G2 PSU, as something is definitely wrong with it.

My question is: Could my MSI R9 390X video card somehow be drawing more power than normal? (ie. defective?) The previous seller sold it on eBay after about 2 months (he bought it brand new, sent me the invoice), said there was no problems with it. Or maybe somehow the motherboard is causing the video card to draw more power than normal.

Also, the card still gives off a lot of heat which I can feel through the window case. Is this normal? We didn't test for long enough (I needed my PSU back) but if it's like with the last PSU it made the surrounding area warm like a heater. My Asus GTX980 on the other hand runs very cool (currently in my system).

 

[UsandThem]

My question is: Could my MSI R9 390X video card somehow be drawing more power than normal? (ie. defective?) The previous seller sold it on eBay after about 2 months (he bought it brand new, sent me the invoice), said there was no problems with it. Or maybe somehow the motherboard is causing the video card to draw more power than normal.

Also, the card still gives off a lot of heat which I can feel through the window case. Is this normal? We didn't test for long enough (I needed my PSU back) but if it's like with the last PSU it made the surrounding area warm like a heater. My Asus GTX980 on the other hand runs very cool (currently in my system).

A quality 750w power supply should be plenty for that card and your system. However, the heat could be an issue. They put of a fair amount of heat, but it's tough to say if it excessive without actually feeling it like you did. Maybe between the overclock heat and the video card heat, your system is throttling and causing the frame-rate to dip on The Division game.

A review of that card shows at idle it is at 57c and at load it hit 82c. That's 179 degrees Fahrenheit.

https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/R9_390X_Gaming/34.html

EDIT

Here is the section showing what the power consumption is:

https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/R9_390X_Gaming/28.html

Another test:

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2015..._gaming_8g_overclocking_review/6#.V-9TGeArJhE

 

[felix5]

Thanks, maybe I should install the R9 390X in my other system to test (similar specs, also with a 750W PSU). If it doesn't crash anymore, then I guess the motherboard is the issue. I am just worried about it damaging my good system.