World of Warcraft Black Screen Crashes

[backdoc77]

Just installed a new GTX 285 (evga) and I'm getting black screen crashes during gameplay usually within 15 mins. The monitor loses signal. Tower lights and fans still working but a hard reboot is required. My old GTX+ 9800 worked with no problems for 1 year. Before that I had 2 GTS 8800's sli'd with no problems. This problem only occurs playing world of warcraft and only after I installed the new GTX 285. Bioshock, Fallout 3, Crysis and COD all work fine. Thousands of posts regarding this issue but no solution. Wow blames nvidia and nvidia (evga) blames wow.

Things i've tried:
New Drivers
Old Drivers
New power supply (corsair 750w model# CMPSU-750TX)
Turned down video settings/resolution
Removed SB Audigy and used onboard sound
Increased VC fan speed.
Checked fans/GPU and CPU temps
Increased memory voltage
Downclocked the VC (decreased crash frequency - the only thing that helped)
Updated motherboard chipset driver (nforce)
Replaced power strip/Direct from wall outlet
RMA'd the card (i'm on the third one)
Tried 2nd PCIE slot
Updated Direct X
Swapped VC into 2 other systems (one of which was a fresh XP install)
Closed background programs
Checked the event viewer for clues
Removed mods/deleted cache/wtf folders
System File Checker
Wow repair.exe
Windowed mode

I'm at my wits end. Anyone else having this issue?

My Specs:
Intel Core 2 Duo E8600 (3.33 Ghz)
Asus P5N32-E SLI Motherboard (680i chipset)
2 G Corsair CM2X1024-6400C4 Memory (2.1 voltage) 4-4-4-12
Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB sata
EVGA GTX 285 sc edition (01G-P3-1285-AR)(underclocked to stock settings 648/1476/1242)
Win XP Pro SP3 w/ all updates

 

[zerocool84]

When you installed new drivers did you uninstall the old ones and used driver sweeper to get rid of all remnants of the old drivers?

 

[backdoc77]

Yes, all drivers removed using sweeper. I also tried the card in 3 different systems, one of which was a clean XP install. Nothing worked.

 

[zerocool84]

Originally posted by: backdoc77
Yes, all drivers removed using sweeper. I also tried the card in 3 different systems, one of which was a clean XP install. Nothing worked.

Then it's the card. Is this a known problem specifically with the card and that one game? You said other games worked. You also said there are many other posts reguarding this problem.

 

[backdoc77]

Yeah, i'm thinkin it's the card as well.......but 3 bad cards in a row??

seems really unlikely

 

[Azeroth101]

Stop playing

 

[ryan256]

I used to get something similar and found out the problem was my video card was at 80c!! I've got a new HD4870 and some more fans I'll be adding to the system later. You might want to take a closer look at your temperatures.

 

[backdoc77]

Originally posted by: ryan256
I used to get something similar and found out the problem was my video card was at 80c!! I've got a new HD4870 and some more fans I'll be adding to the system later. You might want to take a closer look at your temperatures.

CPU and GPU temps checked to be within normal limits. The GPU temp never goes over 60c while playing wow. Besides I have the Storm Sniper Case with 4 fans all spinning at high settings and I've increased the GPU fan to 100%

 

[Aikouka]

Hmm I was actually thinking about picking up that video card (2GB model) for WoW... I guess not now.

 

[CoinOperatedBoy]

Maybe this should be posted in Computer Help. If you've RMA'd three times, what is EVGA suggesting you try? You might try checking your voltages with a multimeter, running memtest86+, increasing voltage to MCH, completely reinstalling WoW...

 

[backdoc77]

Originally posted by: Aikouka
Hmm I was actually thinking about picking up that video card (2GB model) for WoW... I guess not now.

Maybe....but I'm starting to think it's a problem with these factory overclocked cards. The only thing that has helped my black out problem was to under clock the card. The problem still occured but less frequently. My advise would be to get the 2g version but make sure you have a full return and get your money back policy. Newegg screwed me with the "replacement only" warranty (i wasn't paying attention when I ordered it)
If you do wind up getting that card, lemme know if wow works for you. It would be much appreciated.

 

[ViviTheMage]

uhh, surprisingly, WoW takes a lot out of my 260GTX..that fan is cranking, so it must get pretty darn hot.

 

[coloumb]

Originally posted by: Azeroth101
Stop playing

:thumbsup:

 

[backdoc77]

Thanks for the input guys.
I got an email from nvidia today and they want me to try a few things including re-installing an older driver. If that doesn't work, i'm going to test the card in a brand new system I'm building for a buddy. I'll be re-installing wow from scratch as well.
I'll post the results soon.

 

[backdoc77]

If that doesn't work, i'm going to test the card in a brand new system I'm building for a buddy. I'll be re-installing wow from scratch as well. I'll post the results soon.

Update:

The problem has been solved, well sort of. Out of frustration I bought a brand new GTX 285 (BFG) from a local retailer. I installed the card and World of Warcraft has been running solid for 4 days now. Not a single crash. So EVGA did indeed send me 3 defective cards AND bullied me into thinking it was my fault. They blamed my computer, they blamed the circuits in my house, they blamed World of Warcraft, they even blamed the disc i installed WinXP from. I have to admit that i doubted myself for a time even though I work on computers for a living and I knew it had to be the card. But what are the chances of getting 3 bad cards??
So either I had some extremely bad luck or EVGA has a big QA problem. I am very disappointed with EVGA and recommend caution when dealing with them.

Now my problem is that they are refusing a refund because I RMA'd the card. I had no choice but to RMA the card because I bought the card from Newegg.com and it had a "replacement only" warranty (my bad, i wasn't paying attention when i bought the card) The "replacement only" warranty was probably a warning sign. Learn from my mistake.
Anyway, does anyone have any advise regarding a possible refund? Or am i stuck with a brick?

 

[Qbah]

I would say keep RMA'ing it 'till you get a working one (and call them and say you bought a BFG and it's working flawlessly). Once you get a working one, eBay it or something.

 

[CoinOperatedBoy]

I honestly find it hard to believe that you got three bum cards in a row, but I have no explanation. If it were a power issue, I would think you'd see the same or worse problems with the (higher-clocked?) BFG. When my EVGA 8800 GTS died and I RMA'd, I got a bad 9800 GT as a replacement and it went on me too. Maybe their quality is on the decline. But for what it's worth, my customer service experience with them was top notch.

 

[JF060392]

i had the same problem you should try uninstalling and not reinstalling the game.