So I think my video card died...

[Transient]

A few months ago my heat sink crapped out, but my PC survived. I went to get it replaced and the owner of the mom and pop store said it was probably only a matter of time until the processor went, just out of strain from overheating so badly. Well, I thought that day had come just this week, as games were making my PC crash. It's been happening more and more frequently to the point where even when not in games sometimes the PC crashes.

I know it's not overheating. I can't tell what was making the PC crash because the screen never displayed a consistent image when crashing. Sometimes it's a black screen, then a crash. Sometimes I get magenta/yellow/white streaks that are kind of diagonal, then a crash (sound still playing normally). Sometimes the PC completely locks up and the sound glitches and then the PC resets.

I figured I was fucked, but just earlier tonight I tried replacing the video card with a backup. 'Lo and behold, no crashes! Crappy resolution and framerate, but no crashes at all. So what do you think? Did the video card just crap out of its own accord, or was it in response to my motherboard being affected by that long ago overheating? Am I running the risk of fucking up my current vid card?

I'm about to buy Fury's spare video card off of him to get back to playing games, but I'd like to get as much input as possible before speding money. I'm sure Fury wants me to STFU and pay him, hehe.

[losCHUNK]

sucks dude

had the same thing happen to me just before christmas, my card was on its way out for a lil while before it popped it clogs... when i took it back to the bloke he said it was from overheating and the processor had a burn spot on it so that was going to die aswell... i had no idea how much of an issue this was, i always thought my PC wasnt running at that high a temp..

anyway, got a new chip and card but guess what, unless i open my window it still restarts my comp after a few mins in game...

[Oblivi0.on]

its the video card. get furys'

[Fury]

its the video card. get furys'

[Oblivi0.on]

i was going to suggest taking the time to actually change some settings so during random reboots you can check hardware codes and shit...but if you are getting crashes with colors on the screen and another video card fixes that, then its the card.

[[WYD]SoM]

my bro's 9800pro died last week, he was getting lockups/random reboots n such..

after he looked at the hsf he had a ball of dust the size of duhards bicep, his GPU was ok, but one of the memory chips was burnt all over..

sucks tho T

[Transient]

It's not the video card. The PC restarted itself just recently not in game, even with the new card. It was odd, too. When DOS came up, I got glitchy white lines running through it and it wouldn't boot up (kind of the size of the blinking cursor at the command prompt, but all over the place trickling like rain almost). Then when it DID boot up, at the logon screen it restarted and refused to reboot again. Another time I got dull giant pixelly odd colors and it wrapped around the screen in vertical looping motions.

Then I swapped in my new video card that I thought was the problem, and no more reboots (so far, haven't played a game). So weird...

I also noticed that every once in a while I get a "Network Cable is Unplugged" popup in the system tray, even though I never had a cable plugged into the port it's checking in the first place. The notice doesn't stay up, just comes and goes...

I think my motherboard is fuxored. :/

[Grudge]

Or your memory.

[Transient]

How would I find out if it's the memory? I mean, ideally I'd just swap in another stick or two, but don't I run the risk of fucking up anything else I put in there? I was even paranoid about putting in another video card in the off chance I fried it...

[Grudge]

Well, there is a risk. There is memory testing software out there, but from what I've heard it's not really reliable, so the best way to make sure is to put another set of of sticks in there.

[Transient]

So it's a crap shoot? Maybe I should have that mom and pop store dude come take a look at it...

Goddamnit, now I think I smell burning, and I can't tell if it's coming from the PC or not. It's prolly just the heater, but now I'm paranoid...
Hmm, the power supply smells funny...

[Grudge]

Random crashes with different symptoms like that can almost be anything - a bad memory stick, a faulty capacitor on the motherboard, a burned out or dust-filled PSU putting out fluctuating voltages and a number of other things. I guess it's a matter of trial and error - replace one component at a time until it works.

Take it to the computer shop and tell them to test it, or if they won't - borrow stuff from your friends and test it yourself. If you break their stuff, offer to pay for it, though I don't think the risk is very high.

[Tormentius]

Well, there is a risk. There is memory testing software out there, but from what I've heard it's not really reliable, so the best way to make sure is to put another set of of sticks in there.

Memtest works pretty well. I've found it will usually point out bad RAM within a couple hours of testing. In this instance I'm leaning towards tho mobo being shot though.

[Transient]

*clickity click*

I'll give that a try, much thanks!

[Tormentius]

*clickity click*

I'll give that a try, much thanks!

You're welcome. Let us know how it turns out.

[Transient]

Well, I'm posting from a different computer right now, if that gives you an idea of where I stand...

I started Memtest and got halfway through before the PC crashed in a pixelly video screen. Restarted, and as soon as I got back to windows, loaded Memtest again. Not even 1% through and it crashed. This time I heard an audible 'pop!' from the speakers and could smell an acrid smell. I don't think I saw smoke (could have been my mind playing tricks on me), but I definitely smelled an acidic-metal smell. I'm afraid to take the case off.

I think it's safe to say it's not the memory. My guess now is processor/motherboard, but since I run the risk of frying another processor if I replace it and it's not the issue, I think I'll just replace both. FFS, why me? :icon27:

*goes to look in his case*

[Transient]

Ok, I couldn't SEE anything burnt, but after turning the PC on again, it only took 1 minute before I smelled that acrid smoke again. Processor?

Fuck.

[Tormentius]

CPU or a capacitor on the mobo I'd say.

[[WYD]SoM]

check if the mobo has any popped capacitors

[Transient]

What exactly would I be looking for visually as far as a popped capacitor? They're those metal cylinders, aye? I'm hardware illiterate by and large.

[Ryoki]

Order a new 3000 watt sensing capacitator, my guess is yours burned a circuit at a critical moment...

[Grudge]

Yeah, most likely a capacitor on the mobo.

[SplishSplash]

In my experience it's usually the graphics card that's broken when funky colors appear.

[Transient]

OK, I've checked a few things since last night. I checked the capacitors and none are bad (I also can boot up to windows, so it's not like any of them died). I also swapped out my video card and still get errors, so it's not that. I'm going to try taking out a stick of RAM and see if maybe my memory is the problem.

By the way, my guess is it's the processor, because it's charred black from the heatsink failing a few months ago.

edit: not the memory

[Tormentius]

OK, I've checked a few things since last night. I checked the capacitors and none are bad (I also can boot up to windows, so it's not like any of them died). I also swapped out my video card and still get errors, so it's not that. I'm going to try taking out a stick of RAM and see if maybe my memory is the problem.

By the way, my guess is it's the processor, because it's charred black from the heatsink failing a few months ago.

edit: not the memory

FFS, yeah if its charred I'd almost guarantee its the CPU...