Display crashes, computer still runs

**Kassandros** · April 27, 2011, 10:55 PM

So I have returned to the TWcenter forums because, frankly, they're the only place I've ever gotten good solid help with techy questions

So here is my problem...

While running games (Dragon Age II, World of Tanks, Victoria 2) my display will suddenly (though seldomly) shut off, leaving the monitor black. My first reaction was "

ing video card", but the power switch also stops working and I have to turn it off by turning off the PSU from the back.

Any ideas?

Here are my specs:

Motherboard: MSI 890FXA-GD65
Video Card: Sapphire Vapor-X Radeon 5750
RAM: Corsair XMS 8 GIGs
CPU: AMD Phenom II x4 970 Deneb Black Edition 3.5 Ghz
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
PSU: Antec 1000W PSU

Now here's the funky thing. If it's overheating I'm seriously pissed because I'm using a Antec 1200 case lol. HWMonitor says it runs at max 115F so I don't think it's a heat issue.

Arrrrrrg

**Crazyeyesreaper** · April 27, 2011, 11:38 PM

when talking about PC temps always use 'C not 'F as conversions suck lol that said might not be a heat issue but in general could be a GPU issue, It happens in a few situations but id suggest updating to the newest 11.4 whql drivers and trying again. if that fails to work then download and reinstall Direct X from microsofts web updater.

as for cpu temps case dosent have THAT much impact cpu cooler does, if your on a stock AMD cooler it could be heat related, if your home has high ambient temps.

**PoleCat** · April 28, 2011, 12:14 AM

Well that temp shouldn't be a problem (a little back of the envelope math says it's between 60-70C - might have forgotten to carry a one though).

This is what I find as odd and out-of-order though:

While running games (Dragon Age II, World of Tanks, Victoria 2) my display will suddenly (though seldomly) shut off, leaving the monitor black. My first reaction was "

ing video card", but the power switch also stops working and I have to turn it off by turning off the PSU from the back.

So let me get this straight. You've tried to shut the system off from the front switch by pressing it for ~5 seconds and nothing happens (the ATX standard)? The only recourse to shut down the system is by flipping the switch on the PSU? That's not normal.

I have a few questions if you could please answer. Did you build that system yourself or did someone else build it? Was it professionally built or by a "friend" of yours? How computer literate are you?

The reason I ask is because you have two seemingly unrelated problems on this system and I wonder at the quality of the build.

The front switch not working would make me think that something inside is not installed properly. On the other hand Crazyeyesreaper hit the more logical solution for the graphics dying.

A few last questions - does the system stall in this manner using any other more mundane programs? Can you use the front switch to kill the system outside of this error?

Good luck!

**Kassandros** · April 28, 2011, 02:07 AM

Yup that's what it does. It's really weirding me out.

I did built it myself. It's my fourth system and I'm fairly literate. I don't want to say I'm awesome at building systems or anything, but I've never had any problems in the past except for DoA parts. Anyway it should be a fairly sturdy rig.

Let me open it up and check the connectors and I'll try the power switch again.

Also I'll redownload drivers / directx and whatnot and let you all know

Thanks guys!

**Kassandros** · May 25, 2011, 03:43 PM

Okay so here's an update

I ran WoW for a week or so with no problems, but frankly I didn't build my machine to play such an outdated game xD. The moment I swapped to New Vegas, the problem started right back up.

The power switch does kill the computer when not having the error (fans still going, motherboard lights still going, blank display).

I'm using a stock AMD cooler and would like to upgrade, but I'm not sure what I need / what is a good unit. All the really highly rated ones on newegg seem like they're pretty cheap junk.

Argh! lol

**Crazyeyesreaper** · May 25, 2011, 05:05 PM

coolermaster hyper 212+ grab 2x replacment fans make sure to read reviews on the damn fans look for something around 1500-1800rpm and greater then 65CFM the reason i say 2 is because for best results with the hyper you want 2 fans of the same speed

http://www.provantage.com/cooler-mas...p~7COOL077.htm $24

its cheap and with 2 fans will cool your CPU without issue. its the best bang for buck cooler you can buy.

**Kassandros** · May 25, 2011, 07:26 PM

Cool. I actually went out to get one and, though they didn't have that exact one, I did buy a Zalman that's rated pretty well on newegg for $40.

However, now my idle temps are quite a bit higher than with my stock heatsink (now they're between 38 and ~41C whereas before they were in the low 30s). I read somewhere that it will lower after a couple of weeks (something with the thermal paste).

Does that sound right?

Edit: Actually it's fluctuating between 38 and 48 when I'm just dicking around online. Arrrrrrrgh! I should have just bought a PC. This is the most problematic build I've ever done lol.

**atraps** · May 26, 2011, 05:54 PM

Originally Posted by Kassandros

Cool. I actually went out to get one and, though they didn't have that exact one, I did buy a Zalman that's rated pretty well on newegg for $40.

However, now my idle temps are quite a bit higher than with my stock heatsink (now they're between 38 and ~41C whereas before they were in the low 30s). I read somewhere that it will lower after a couple of weeks (something with the thermal paste).

Does that sound right?

Edit: Actually it's fluctuating between 38 and 48 when I'm just dicking around online. Arrrrrrrgh! I should have just bought a PC. This is the most problematic build I've ever done lol.

Try re-seating the heatsink. The temps should be lower than stock.

**Kassandros** · May 27, 2011, 04:38 PM

Yup, I did that and it works like a charm. It idles at 28C and during a heavy load the max it hit was 43C

So it didn't fix the problem, but I have it narrowed down I think. To the best of my knowledge the display only crashes when I'm running both a game and iTunes at the same time. The game could be something heavy like Shogun on max settings or something lol like WoW. If iTunes is running at the same time, it'll crash.

Any ideas?

(thanks for being so helpful btw guys! I don't even post on tech forums anymore, I just come here

)

**PoleCat** · May 28, 2011, 12:45 AM

Originally Posted by Kassandros

Yup, I did that and it works like a charm. It idles at 28C and during a heavy load the max it hit was 43C

So it didn't fix the problem, but I have it narrowed down I think. To the best of my knowledge the display only crashes when I'm running both a game and iTunes at the same time. The game could be something heavy like Shogun on max settings or something lol like WoW. If iTunes is running at the same time, it'll crash.

Any ideas?

(thanks for being so helpful btw guys! I don't even post on tech forums anymore, I just come here

)

It's been awhile (half a year at least) but I saw a post related to this with M2 as the main problem. It was a real pain of a bug. Essentially the user was reporting crashes like you. If I remember correctly irishron locked it down to iTunes and had the user uninstall it - afterward M2 worked like a charm. Can you backup your tunes and uninstall the iTunes client and give that a try? It may be the cause of all your problems.

I do vaguely remember seeing some other sites reporting this as well with other PC software. Let us know if it helps. Good luck!

EDIT: I found the thread I was referring to. Here it is. The best post on the matter came at #87 - here it is:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

Hope this helps. Good luck!

**PoleCat** · May 29, 2011, 06:29 PM

The lights on your motherboard should not be blinking - they should remain on and steady at all times. I'll look up some webpage to explain why in a bit. But from your last post you have definitely given me the idea that something isn't correct with your power. Whether it's the PSU, overload by peripherals or a bad connection remains to be seen.

Question - do you have a lot of external hardware connected to that system? Like printers and such? Good luck!

**Kassandros** · May 31, 2011, 07:16 PM

On this MoBo the lights flash

They're like lights on a speaker, they go up and down while it works.

I have nothing connected to it actually, except the obvious peripherals (keyboard, mouse, speakers, etc...). No printer or anything.

**PoleCat** · May 31, 2011, 11:59 PM

Originally Posted by Kassandros

On this MoBo the lights flash

They're like lights on a speaker, they go up and down while it works.

I have nothing connected to it actually, except the obvious peripherals (keyboard, mouse, speakers, etc...). No printer or anything.

Are you sure that there isn't an LED that is meant to be static? You have an MSI board - My experience is that they all have a power LED that indicates steady power. I could be wrong though and have no experience with your board.

**PGeo36** · June 01, 2011, 05:56 PM

Are your ram voltages and timings set correctly? I had a similar problem about a month ago and fixed it by manually setting the ram settings in the bios.