[OT] System Crashes

[Scarus]

So once again my system has decided to be an enourmous pile of shite and crash when I most need it, now I was suffering random crashes with my old system. Randomly the monitor would say that it was not recieving any sort of signal and just turn itself off, tried with about 3 different monitors so the obvious conclusion "okay, my GPU is on it's way out".

Well, I decided to upgrade my system entirely instead of just buying a new GPU and I'm currently running on.

Intel Pentium D 3.20Ghz Dual Core
Asus P5N32-SLI Deluxe Socket 775 Mobo
Nvidia Geforce BFG-Tech 7900GT OC SLI
2 x 1GB DDR2 5300 RAM
Tagen 480w ATX12V PSU

As well as 2 HDD, but I can't remember their details, both wiped completely clean.

Trouble is I'm suffering more problems yet again, while gaming sometimes the GFX will glitch, sometimes stretching polygons across the screen for under a second before it snaps back. I can use my PC sometimes for hours without anything happening, and then at other times while I'm on the desktop the display will fill with artifacts? so basically broken horizontal lines fill my screen which can still be seen through, but if I move my mouse or try to alt+tab the lines get worse until eventually the display just loses the signal again and I get nothing but darkness, the system doesn't reboot or anything. However I did notice when i first tried to game with the new system I got a BSOD saying that the nv4_disp.dll had became stuck in an infinite loop which led me to these steps.


Updating the display driver
Completely getting rid of the driver through safe mode and reinstalling off the CD
Same as above only reinstalling from the internet
Trying a new PCI slot
Flashing my mobo BIOS
Running a RAM check over 2 hours
Downclocking my Core bus to 450Mhz from 475Mhz
Running Nvidia Automatic Fine tuning over 3 hours
Reformatting and reflashing my system back to it's defaults
Downclocking the GPU through BIOS
As well as searching numerous technical websites to no avail, I think the next step is to either send the parts back for a replacement which would leave me PC-less for about a week which I can't really deal with at the moment with upcoming work or taking in to a technician for a second opinion, nothing exact seems to set it off although some things do cause it more then others, certain websites instantly trigger it, embedded media seems to increase the frequency although not always, programs such as Flash MX and Adobe Illustrator seem to cause it after a few minutes and Java programs such as azureus can sometimes cause it, although some nights azureus can be open for 8+ hours with no problems.

I am searching for your technical council as I am out of ideas, I've attached the .log of my system in hopes that will give some insight to my problems, I'm not completely against another reformat, but if you reach a solution which requires it I'll be more then happy to try it out.

Many thanks to the NC community.

Scarus

[CMaster]

Graphical artefacts (although normally texture based rather than polygon) are a classic sign of grahics card overheating.
Or there could just be driver bugs. Seems unlikley they would be in all versions however.

[Scarus]

Thats what I was worried about but even at high load the max it reaches is 51c and it normally sits at 30 completely idle and 40 under normal load, the case I'm using is this.

http://www.cocc.co.uk/itemcode=XCLIOII&sTitle=components&prodesc=XCLIO~II~BLACK~WITH~250MM~SIDE~PANEL~FAN.html

Which has a shitting huge fan on the side of it delivering cool air straight to the GPU, although lately (after my BIOS flash I think) my CPU has been reaching heats of 55c+ which is enourmously high compared to what it used to be, the highest I've seen it is 69c right after boot up in BIOS, so god knows whats going on there, but apparently my CPU is running fine apart from the high heat.

Scarus

[rob444]

It's the GFX card that is failing for sure. Sounds like a heat issue because this doesn't happen immediately in games right? If it happens immediately the gfx card is probably damaged, maybe damaged memory. Do you get weird stuff in Windows too?

[Scarus]

It's the GFX card that is failing for sure. Sounds like a heat issue because this doesn't happen immediately in games right? If it happens immediately the gfx card is probably damaged, maybe damaged memory. Do you get weird stuff in Windows too?

All the time, more so in windows then in games, sometimes I can game for hours though without anything happening and we're talking pretty intensive games like Half Life 2, and then I can play a game like Deux Ex, or C&C Generals and it will crash in 10minutes, not saying it doesn't crash while playing Half Life 2, just saying I can't work out what the triggering factor is.

Sometimes it happens while I have alot of processes or program windows open in winxp, it tends not to happen while the PC is idling on the desktop, and I've never had it happen while the PC is left overnight to download or left alone for a large amount of time.

Scarus

[rob444]

Well you bought new hardware and kept the old GFX card and the problems still persist and all the symptoms indicates GFX card issues. My best bet would be buying a new card or try a better cooling system, but I doubt it's the heat because my GFX card can go up to 80c without any gfx issues, but you got an nvidia card and I got an ATI card but I dont think there's a difference on heat resistance between the two card types.

[Tratos]

Well you bought new hardware and kept the old GFX card and the problems still persist and all the symptoms indicates GFX card issues. My best bet would be buying a new card or try a better cooling system, but I doubt it's the heat because my GFX card can go up to 80c without any gfx issues, but you got an nvidia card and I got an ATI card but I dont think there's a difference on heat resistance between the two card types.

Well, I decided to upgrade my system entirely instead of just buying a new GPU and I'm currently running on.
Scarus got a new graphics card aswell.

I've got an nVid 6800 which runs rather hot - i need to get some cooling for my current system, i've just checked and idling my GPU is running at a hideously shocking 63c so i'd asume it gets hotter than that and i never experience any problems during games except the occasional stutter when everything is going on which i think is also connected to my having only 512mb of RAM. So nVids, or at least this one can live in heat, lol


I really need to get some cooling, that temperature is insane.

[rob444]

Ah I must have read wrong, my bad.