GTX 970 - No Signal on Start Up and Poor Performance

[uhhoh]

UPDATE: The "No-Signal" Problem has been resolved, but performance issues persist with games dropping sub-60 randomly. Along with this, a new problem has emerged - blue screens for "memory management".

So I bought a GTX 970 about a year ago and for the first portion of that year, was fairly satisfied with its performance. We we're gradually upgrading the PC, and our next goal was a true 1080p monitor, so off we went, found one, bought it, and installed it.

We we're fairly satisifed with pretty much everything about the new monitor, atleast for day one... Day two, on the other hand, kickstarted a tiny nightmare... Upon starting the computer up we met an error message detailing that no signal could be found, and ever since then, every time we start the computer we are forced to unplug and replug the monitor for it work.

It was a minor issue and not one we really deemed worthy of fixing at the time - just an extra step on start up, and a small annoyance... However, as the days went on and Fall began, we started to notice slight performance hitches in our gaming - minor frame drops, and freezing - and though they we're minor at the time, they soon began to increase in severity and spread.

Now, alot of the games I use to run very well dip down into the low 50s and high 40s - Borderlands 2, for example, which use to run anywhere between 80-120 FPS, now frequently drops to sub-60, and Planetside 2 which even my old AMD HD 7770 could handle fairly well, began plummeting into the low 30s during larger fights.

We decided that enough was enough, and thought maybe the 1080p upgrade was a bit taxing, so we downgraded back to our original 1600x900 monitor, only to find that not only had the performance issue been maintained, but also the signal loss - a problem this monitor never had...

Is it possible that these two occurences are linked, and that the GPU might be dying? Or is this just coincidence? And more importantly, how can we fix them?

Specs

CPU: I7 3770k 3.5 GHZ

GPU: GTX 970

RAM: 16 GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 798MHz

Harddrives--------------------------

ADDATA SSD S510 120GB (111 GB usable)

ST1000DM003-1CH162

WDC WD5000AAKZ-00ERMA0
------------------------------------------

Motherboard: ASRock B75M-DGS

Monitor (current one being used): HP x20LED

Resolution: 1600x900

Frequency: 60 Hz

OS: Windows 10 (Note: We only recently installed Windows 10, and the performance issues and communication issues did occur prior to "upgrading")

Power Supply: NS-PCW5250 (110-120V-, 50/60hZ 10A)

Brand: Insignia

Special Note: The CPU did come close to overheating back during Fall thanks to a broken fan. I can't say if the GPU also took damage from this, or if coming close to an overheat can cause damage, but better to disclose everything than hide all the cards. And by close to overheat, I mean the CPU throttled but didn't crash the OS...

[[☥] - CJ -]

If you didnt manually install the NVIDIA drivers, thats one possible cause.

What power supply do you have?

And that system is no issue for 1080p.

[Dodece]

You will first need to attempt some very basic troubleshooting to see if it will resolve the issues.

1. Install the latest drivers for your graphics card.
2. Wipe your system memory and do a fresh install.
3. Inspect your system physically for frayed cords, unseated cards, loose cords, and detritus.
4. Clean your system with a can of compressed air.

Doing these things will typically clear up ninety percent of problems, and they should usually be attempted before you start pointing fingers at components. Anyway if the problem persists after your having done these things will limit the number of potential causes. We will instantly know a lot of things that it cannot be.

Further more in your next post provided that the problem hasn't been resolved. You really need to provide us a detailed list of your components. Including you power supply, memory storage, cooling, motherboard, and so forth. The problem could be with any of these parts. You might be way off. You could have a hard drive that is going defective, or your power supply could simply be under powered.

Basically the more you can tell us about the hardware the better. The more you do before hand the faster we will be able to help.

[uhhoh]

引用自 ☥ - CJ -：

If you didnt manually install the NVIDIA drivers, thats one possible cause.

What power supply do you have?

And that system is no issue for 1080p.

I did not manually install the drivers, I used Geforce Experience because i'm not very tech savvy and don't really trust myself. However, if your going to recommend a clean install, do know that I recently reset the PC - just to eliminate software as a factor - and have no additional drivers installed at the time, meaning that, atleast to my knowledge, a driver conflict isn't possible but the problem persists.

The power supply states that it is "110-120V-, 50/60hz 10A" it doesn't appear to state a wattage, if that is needed and if thats included somehow in the information above, I don't know because again, not tech savvy or apparently good at math :P

[uhhoh]

引用自 Dodece：

You will first need to attempt some very basic troubleshooting to see if it will resolve the issues.

1. Install the latest drivers for your graphics card.
2. Wipe your system memory and do a fresh install.
3. Inspect your system physically for frayed cords, unseated cards, loose cords, and detritus.
4. Clean your system with a can of compressed air.

Doing these things will typically clear up ninety percent of problems, and they should usually be attempted before you start pointing fingers at components. Anyway if the problem persists after your having done these things will limit the number of potential causes. We will instantly know a lot of things that it cannot be.

Further more in your next post provided that the problem hasn't been resolved. You really need to provide us a detailed list of your components. Including you power supply, memory storage, cooling, motherboard, and so forth. The problem could be with any of these parts. You might be way off. You could have a hard drive that is going defective, or your power supply could simply be under powered.

Basically the more you can tell us about the hardware the better. The more you do before hand the faster we will be able to help.

I've done all 4 of the basic troubleshooting methods, and will update with more specification information momentarily.

Main post updated - I got most of what you asked for, but certain things like fans I simply couldn't find a model number...

[Dodece]

@uhhoh

I actually have a fairly good notion as to where the issue lies. I actually had a fairly good notion as to what the problem was from your initial description. That said you really do need to cover all your bases. Thankfully if I am correct this problem should be easy to resolve, but it will cost you some money, but frankly it was money you needed to spend anyway.

These are the classic symptoms of a memory stick having gone bad. This explains the issues you are having with your monitor, and it explains the abysmal frame rates. That said you need to upgrade these components anyway as eight is actually the bare minimum, and you will need to have twice as much to play some of the more demanding games that are already out, and that are coming out soon. Otherwise your frame rates are going to suffer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgAtgddjf_U

I haven't had this particular issue myself in ages, and when I did I physically tested my memory, but perhaps someone else has had more recent experience, and can recommend a better tool. I am not saying this is your problem. There is a possibility it could be something else. I hope for your sake it isn't, because well most everything else is going to be more expensive, and fairly time consuming.

Popping out a couple old memory sticks, and popping in a couple new ones can be done in all of a couple minutes, and will run you maybe sixty dollars. Obviously spending any money at all is not ideal, but like I said it is an upgrade that needs to happen anyway. It isn't like you were not going to have to do this sooner rather then later.

[uhhoh]

引用自 Dodece：

@uhhoh

I actually have a fairly good notion as to where the issue lies. I actually had a fairly good notion as to what the problem was from your initial description. That said you really do need to cover all your bases. Thankfully if I am correct this problem should be easy to resolve, but it will cost you some money, but frankly it was money you needed to spend anyway.

These are the classic symptoms of a memory stick having gone bad. This explains the issues you are having with your monitor, and it explains the abysmal frame rates. That said you need to upgrade these components anyway as eight is actually the bare minimum, and you will need to have twice as much to play some of the more demanding games that are already out, and that are coming out soon. Otherwise your frame rates are going to suffer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgAtgddjf_U

I haven't had this particular issue myself in ages, and when I did I physically tested my memory, but perhaps someone else has had more recent experience, and can recommend a better tool. I am not saying this is your problem. There is a possibility it could be something else. I hope for your sake it isn't, because well most everything else is going to be more expensive, and fairly time consuming.

Popping out a couple old memory sticks, and popping in a couple new ones can be done in all of a couple minutes, and will run you maybe sixty dollars. Obviously spending any money at all is not ideal, but like I said it is an upgrade that needs to happen anyway. It isn't like you were not going to have to do this sooner rather then later.

Thanks for the reply.

Performed the test and had no anamolies detected. Since RAM isn't that expensive, i'll probably buy an upgrade and try it out.

Not sure if that will be tommorow or later this week, but will post details ASAP.

If anyone else has any recommendations, i'm all ears open.

[_I_]

what power supply?
brand/model

[uhhoh]

引用自 Dodece：

@uhhoh

I actually have a fairly good notion as to where the issue lies. I actually had a fairly good notion as to what the problem was from your initial description. That said you really do need to cover all your bases. Thankfully if I am correct this problem should be easy to resolve, but it will cost you some money, but frankly it was money you needed to spend anyway.

These are the classic symptoms of a memory stick having gone bad. This explains the issues you are having with your monitor, and it explains the abysmal frame rates. That said you need to upgrade these components anyway as eight is actually the bare minimum, and you will need to have twice as much to play some of the more demanding games that are already out, and that are coming out soon. Otherwise your frame rates are going to suffer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgAtgddjf_U

I haven't had this particular issue myself in ages, and when I did I physically tested my memory, but perhaps someone else has had more recent experience, and can recommend a better tool. I am not saying this is your problem. There is a possibility it could be something else. I hope for your sake it isn't, because well most everything else is going to be more expensive, and fairly time consuming.

Popping out a couple old memory sticks, and popping in a couple new ones can be done in all of a couple minutes, and will run you maybe sixty dollars. Obviously spending any money at all is not ideal, but like I said it is an upgrade that needs to happen anyway. It isn't like you were not going to have to do this sooner rather then later.

No luck, i'm afraid - monitor and performance issues is maintained. 30-40 FPS in Planetside 2 with 16 GB of RAM, at 900p. Will get more specific powersupply information when I can.

引用自 _I_：

what power supply?
brand/model

Model: NS-PCW5250

Brand: Insignia

will update OP

[pasa]

For the no signal, does it happen on a different cable? Best would be to try a different type, like DVI vs. HDMI. I used to have strange things that later turned out to be due to a defective HDMI cable.

For the frame rate, are you sure your system is not running some stuff in the background? I'm not familiar with your games, isn't it possible they have fps tied to network response or other things around? I.e in Rift the fps can drop to half or even 10% just from other players present in the area -- not anywhere to be seen on the picture.

The GPU or CPU may also start throttling due to overheating -- try to launch an utility that plots/records temperature, fan rpm and similar things. It might show some correlatin with dropouts. (If problems occour less running with open box would also indicate that).

For a general card failure I'd expect to see driver restarts, picture artifacts and other drastic things, not just slowdown.

[uhhoh]

引用自 pasa：

For the no signal, does it happen on a different cable? Best would be to try a different type, like DVI vs. HDMI. I used to have strange things that later turned out to be due to a defective HDMI cable.

For the frame rate, are you sure your system is not running some stuff in the background? I'm not familiar with your games, isn't it possible they have fps tied to network response or other things around? I.e in Rift the fps can drop to half or even 10% just from other players present in the area -- not anywhere to be seen on the picture.

The GPU or CPU may also start throttling due to overheating -- try to launch an utility that plots/records temperature, fan rpm and similar things. It might show some correlatin with dropouts. (If problems occour less running with open box would also indicate that).

For a general card failure I'd expect to see driver restarts, picture artifacts and other drastic things, not just slowdown.

All of our monitors use DVI and we've tried multiple DVI cords. We will attempt to acquire a non-DVI native monitor, and test the other transmissions.

As for frame rate, as you and many others have said, we're the card failing it would have more noticable consequences, so odds are whats happening here with the communication issue, is unrelated to the framerate...

So the question then becomes, what is? If the GPU is not failing, then what component is dragging this computer through the dirt and causing such poor performance?

I've tried CPU core monitoring in the past, and the computer has only once come close to an overheat. Usually speaking, besides that one rare case, the cores sit at an average of 60 - 70 degrees while in full activity. I can perform some tests later today, to get more accurate and recent results.

Furthermore, if this would help, I could use Nvidia Shadowplay to potentially record in-game performance, assuming it plays well with Afterburner, and actually show you guys the issues i'm having directly.

[pasa]

Shadowplay recording is a great idea.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

If it is DVI-only, u can use DVI-female-to-HDMI-male adapter; plugging the adapter into your GPU and still able to use a DVI cable/monitor.

I would run DDU and from that, rid the system of Intel/AMD/NVIDIA Drivers.
And ensure Displays only connect to your dedicated GPU card.
And that when onboard Intel or AMD GPU is available, that it gets disabled.

[uhhoh]

引用自 pasa：

Shadowplay recording is a great idea.

Small problem, I whiped my OS and upon reinstalling Afterburner somehow now lack the On-Screen Display option...

[Bad 💀 Motha]

引用自 uhhoh：

引用自 pasa：

Shadowplay recording is a great idea.

Small problem, I whiped my OS and upon reinstalling Afterburner somehow now lack the On-Screen Display option...

MSI AB > Settings > enable the OSD features. Once applied, RivaTuner will be an available icon for which u can then configure all your OSD features.

[uhhoh]

引用自 Bad-Motha：

引用自 uhhoh：

Small problem, I whiped my OS and upon reinstalling Afterburner somehow now lack the On-Screen Display option...

MSI AB > Settings > enable the OSD features. Once applied, RivaTuner will be an available icon for which u can then configure all your OSD features.

Thank you, i've gotten it working.

What all should I show in display, everything? I'll probably just check everything, cover all bases...

Here - i've edited together as many FPS drops as I could find within Borderlands 2 in a 5 minute sample of gameplay. This video only includes the parts that drop, and not the walking around that stays mostly at 60. If you want to see the full 5 minute video, I can upload that as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72DkJiQH8Bs&feature=youtu.be


For the most part the game runs a smooth and solid 60, even in most combat areas, however occassionally it does just plummet down by 10 FPS into the high 40s. Most people might not consider that to be a problem, but i'm a performance gamer - I like high performance - and even random drops like these make me want to rip my eyes out...

This footage was recorded on my new 1080p monitor, but the same problem persists even into 900p, albeit with a small increase of about 1-3 frames. Mind that this is with everything set to max with exception to Physx (Low) and Anisotropic Filtering which is set to 8x.

I did plan to record Planetside 2, but as it turns out activity is pretty low atm, and i'd prefer to get a big battle. Might upload that later, however, as the drops in it are far more consistent and severe...