Trying to figure out what's wrong with my PC.

This topic is locked from further discussion.

Avatar image for jdt532
jdt532

4236

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 5

User Lists: 0

#1 jdt532
Member since 2003 • 4236 Posts

For awhile now (6 mo+) my PC has had this issue where my monitor will lose the video signal and then a few seconds latter my PC will freeze and the only fix is to force a shutdown by holding in the power button for a few seconds then rebooting the computer. 9 times out of 10 this happens when I'm playing a game and the other times it will happen when I'm surfing the web very rarely, I can have my PC on doing nothing for 10 hours straight and nothing will happen. I used ATI tool to scan my GPU for memory artifacts and I ran that for about 5 mins and there were zero errors. I also used a program that tells you what temps your GPU is running at so I can find out if my GPU is overheating or not, while idling on the desktop the temp stays around 54 and 55 degrees C, after playing Elder Scrolls Skyrim for about 20min the GPU temp was around 67 and 69 degrees C. Are these normal temps for a GPU?

My theory is that there's something wrong with my GPU due to the fact that this issue mostly happens when I'm playing a game which is demanding on a GPU. I admit that I've owned my current PC for more than 2 years and I've rarely cleaned dust from inside the case. For the first time ever I recently removed my GPU and cleaned dust from it and there was allot of dust on it. I'm thinking all the dust caused my GPU over the last 2+ years to run hotter than normal which caused damage and now my GPU is failing. Do you guys agree or might it be something else?

Avatar image for MrN1ce9uy
MrN1ce9uy

188

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

#2 MrN1ce9uy
Member since 2008 • 188 Posts
Your theory sounds about what I was thinking. I would clean the CPU fan/heatsink and any other dust build ups you find. Also, post all of your system specs to help others work out your issue.
Avatar image for jdt532
jdt532

4236

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 5

User Lists: 0

#3 jdt532
Member since 2003 • 4236 Posts

Would you recommend using compressed air in a can? My brother had one of those and I was going to use it until I noticed some kind of liquid coming out of the nozzle and I don't want that stuff getting on my motherboard or something else and causing damage.

Here are my full specs

CPU: Intel core i7 920 @2.67GHz 4 physical cores

GPU: ATI Radeon HD 4850 with 1024MB of memory and the latest driver installed

11GB of RAM

1TB HDD with 436GB free space

500W PSU

Windows 7 64-bit

Avatar image for MrN1ce9uy
MrN1ce9uy

188

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

#4 MrN1ce9uy
Member since 2008 • 188 Posts
Yes use canned air, just don't turn it sideways or upside down so to not let the freezing agent come out. Also, update your video driver to the latest driver supported by it's manufacturer.
Avatar image for jdt532
jdt532

4236

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 5

User Lists: 0

#5 jdt532
Member since 2003 • 4236 Posts

Yeah I have the latest video driver installed.

Avatar image for SLUSHiNaToR
SLUSHiNaToR

1366

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

#6 SLUSHiNaToR
Member since 2009 • 1366 Posts
you should try installing driver sweeper and get rid of any old video card drivers there might be on there. Also, I've had a similar issue to this one. My screen would freeze or go blank then comeback. I switched the slot the video card was in and haven't had the issue sense.