GTX 980 issue?

[Runt.]

I recently got a used GTX 980 (7/13) here and I was able to play a game or two of Heroes Of The Storm at max settings. However on the 3rd day of having the GTX 980 and trying to play Heroes Of The Storm, my gameplay started getting choppy but I think I was able to finish the game off and restart my PC in hopes of fixing the choppiness. The choppiness did go away but maybe half-way through the next game my computer shuts down with my PSU (Enermax EIN720AWT 720W) having its LED indicator turn red and beep twice. Ever since then I am unable to play Heroes Of The Storm. I can load the game up but once I get a match going my computer would shutdown like before.

I set my CPU back to stock @ 2.66GHz.
I set my 16GB RAM @ 1066MHz.
I disconnected all my hard drives except for one SSD (Intel 80GB SSD).
I did a fresh install of Windows 8.1 and Nvidia drivers.
I did a fresh install of Heroes Of The Storm.

Before I had the GTX 980, I was using a GTX 760, and before that an HD5870.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Ali Man]

If it shuts down only on load and not on idle, then it's probably your PSU not taking the load.

 

[Rav3n]

I would also suggest a faulty PSU, or a dirty power signal going into the PSU.

 

[Runt.]

If it shuts down only on load and not on idle, then it's probably your PSU not taking the load.

Yes, it only shuts down under load. But I don't have this issue when I use my GTX 760. I thought the GTX 760 and GTX 980 share the same power requirements so that is why I was thinking its not the PSU. I am currently using the GTX 760 now. I think I've had this PSU since 2009 if that matters.

 

[Rav3n]

Yes, it only shuts down under load. But I don't have this issue when I use my GTX 760. I thought the GTX 760 and GTX 980 share the same power requirements so that is why I was thinking its not the PSU. I am currently using the GTX 760 now. I think I've had this PSU since 2009 if that matters.

The 980 has a higher wattage draw, by a decent margin. I would consider replacing the PSU

 

[misterbobby]

Yes, it only shuts down under load. But I don't have this issue when I use my GTX 760. I thought the GTX 760 and GTX 980 share the same power requirements so that is why I was thinking its not the PSU. I am currently using the GTX 760 now. I think I've had this PSU since 2009 if that matters.

You fell for the marketing as a 980 uses more power than a 760. The ONLY reason the 980 has a 165 watt TDP is so they could claim 2x performance per watt gain in some games. Even the reference 980 is using about 30 watts more than a reference 760. A non reference 980 can be using another 30-40 watts on top of that.

Anyway are you playing any other games? Maybe I missed something but all I see is one game mentioned and it seems odd to go through all the steps you did but not even try playing another game.

 

[Runt.]

The 980 has a higher wattage draw, by a decent margin. I would consider replacing the PSU

Yeah I'm leaning towards that even more so now. What PSU would you recommend for the PC I have in my sig and a GTX 980.

 

[Runt.]

You fell for the marketing as a 980 uses more power than a 760. The ONLY reason the 980 has a 165 watt TDP is so they could claim 2x performance per watt gain in some games. Even the reference 980 is using about 30 watts more than a reference 760. A non reference 980 can be using another 30-40 watts on top of that.

Anyway are you playing any other games? Maybe I missed something but all I see is one game mentioned and it seems odd to go through all the steps you did but not even try playing another game.

Yeah I definitely fell for it because that's why I bit on the GTX 980 instead of getting a GTX 780 or GTX 780 Ti earlier. I specifically have the EVGA GTX 980 Superclocked 04G-P4-2982-K.

I did try other games like Watch Dogs and Hearthstone prior to the issue happening. Even since it happened I focused on Heroes Of The Storm to try to recreate the issue while lowering the load on the PSU by removing all non-essential components and software.

 

[Ali Man]

Yeah I'm leaning towards that even more so now. What PSU would you recommend for the PC I have in my sig and a GTX 980.

Well it depends on how efficient you want your PSU to be.

I'd suggest an X-750 or X-850 Seasonic to be great for your case.

 

[Ruoh]

If you disconnected those spinner drives, you could probably limp along.

 

[Araxie]

since nobody asked OP, have you checked the temperatures and clock rates of core and vRAM?. a faulty blower can make the card just overheat..

 

[Runt.]

If you disconnected those spinner drives, you could probably limp along.

I did disconnect all drives but the OS drive and still have the issue.

 

[Runt.]

since nobody asked OP, have you checked the temperatures and clock rates of core and vRAM?. a faulty blower can make the card just overheat..

I used hwmonitor and when it worked the max temp on the GPU was 81C playing Heroes Of The Storm at max settings but it also said max clock was 540MHz. After my first instance of the issue, I used EVGA Precision software and it showed 1240MHz for its base clock but I no longer could play the game without the PC shutting off. How do I check the temps on the vRAM?

 

[Araxie]

are you using OSD to monitoring? that would be the best option to see in real time clocks.. EVGA precision have a included OSD tool that allow monitoring in real time, also MSI Afterburner are recommended for that task with much better options for OSD.

 

[Runt.]

are you using OSD to monitoring? that would be the best option to see in real time clocks.. EVGA precision have a included OSD tool that allow monitoring in real time, also MSI Afterburner are recommended for that task with much better options for OSD.

No I am not using an OSD.

 

[Araxie]

No I am not using an OSD.

that's the first thing to check bud, Clocks and temps.. and there's not better way to test than OSD in real time.. so you see how its the behavior of the card when the stutter and choppy behavior start..

 

[Runt.]

that's the first thing to check bud, Clocks and temps.. and there's not better way to test than OSD in real time.. so you see how its the behavior of the card when the stutter and choppy behavior start..

Well that's the thing, it doesn't stutter or get choppy, it only happened once. I can load into Windows desktop, I can load Heroes Of The Storm but when I load into a game/match my PC would shut down and definitely when I'm in a match.

 

[Araxie]

can you test with another game? a stress test/Benchmark would also be good, Unigine Valley/heaven, 3Dmark11/13 can also help. but a complete shut down point as mentioned above to faulty PSU, you can also check your UPS and/or Surge Protector. have you another machine or friend where you can test that GPU?

 

[Armenius]

If you figure it out, let us know. The same thing happens on my machine when I play Titan Quest and now Path of Exile with a Titan X (new from manufacturer). I thought I had resolved the issue (you can see what I posted here in the Motherboard and Power Supply forums), but it popped up again in the past week when I got back into PoE. I tested with 3 different power supplies, tested individual RAM sticks, reset BIOS... the whole shebang and my machine is still having issues with these particular games. Everything else I do runs perfectly fine.

I think my next step is to take the PC out of the equation and test the power quality in my home.

 

[primetime]

my PSU (Enermax EIN720AWT 720W) having its LED indicator turn red and beep twice.

This is an overcurrent alarm is it not? Heck this fact in itself makes me believe the supply is either failing or your equipment is pulling too much power. If you could plug the system into an outlet metter it would be nice to see the actual power draw from the pc before the protection circuit kicks in again.

Is the power supply still under warranty? How long has it been used? Another thing you could try is underclocking your gpu to lower its power draw. Maybe drop the gpu clock 100mhz to see if it helps. We just don't know if your gpu is over drawing current or if the power supply is failing. If you could pick up another supply local, even best buy or microcenter you would be able to tell whether the supply is bad or if the used card you bought is going bad and drawing more power than its supposed to. While you're at it pick up an outlet metter.

The choppiness you got while playing could very well have been the gpu throttling. What's causing it is what we need to find out. Could just be an unstable gpu overclock but with it triggering the protection on your power supply, we can't say for sure without swapping parts. IF you still have issue with a new temporary replacement power supply then you purchased a bad card in my opinion. If a new supply fixes it then your power supply is going bad, simply as that.

 

[primetime]

If you figure it out, let us know. The same thing happens on my machine when I play Titan Quest and now Path of Exile with a Titan X (new from manufacturer). I thought I had resolved the issue (you can see what I posted here in the Motherboard and Power Supply forums), but it popped up again in the past week when I got back into PoE. I tested with 3 different power supplies, tested individual RAM sticks, reset BIOS... the whole shebang and my machine is still having issues with these particular games. Everything else I do runs perfectly fine.

I think my next step is to take the PC out of the equation and test the power quality in my home.

I doubt you guys have the exact same issue...so it be better to have a separate thread

 

[Runt.]

This is an overcurrent alarm is it not? Heck this fact in itself makes me believe the supply is either failing or your equipment is pulling too much power. If you could plug the system into an outlet metter it would be nice to see the actual power draw from the pc before the protection circuit kicks in again.

Is the power supply still under warranty? How long has it been used? Another thing you could try is underclocking your gpu to lower its power draw. Maybe drop the gpu clock 100mhz to see if it helps. We just don't know if your gpu is over drawing current or if the power supply is failing. If you could pick up another supply local, even best buy or microcenter you would be able to tell whether the supply is bad or if the used card you bought is going bad and drawing more power than its supposed to. While you're at it pick up an outlet metter.

The choppiness you got while playing could very well have been the gpu throttling. What's causing it is what we need to find out. Could just be an unstable gpu overclock but with it triggering the protection on your power supply, we can't say for sure without swapping parts. IF you still have issue with a new temporary replacement power supply then you purchased a bad card in my opinion. If a new supply fixes it then your power supply is going bad, simply as that.

Yeah my PSU is 6+ years old and has three 12V rails split into 28A, 28A, and 30A with a combined amperage of 56A. I did lower the base clock from 1240MHz to 1000MHz but did not disable boost or lower voltage. When I had an HD5870 about 4+ years ago I had to downclock it to 1000MHz for it to work most of the time with an occasional freeze-up or BSOD. I gave it to my cousin and he has yet to mention any issues running the HD5870 on his rig so I'm hoping its the PSU since I ordered a new one.

 

[Logan321]

Your PS has 2 6 pin pcie and 1 8 pin, correct? Have you tried swapping to the other 6 pin cable? Your cpu and video card might be on the same 12v rail. Look for a psu with a single 12v rail if you end up replacing it.

 

[Runt.]

Your PS has 2 6 pin pcie and 1 8 pin, correct? Have you tried swapping to the other 6 pin cable? Your cpu and video card might be on the same 12v rail. Look for a psu with a single 12v rail if you end up replacing it.

Yes, I have two 6-pin and one 8-pin PCIE connectors. I have tried swapping in the 8-pin in place of the 6-pin and it wouldn't even boot up so the dedicated 6-pins worked best which loaded into Windows and normal use but not under heavy load. I ended up purchasing a new PSU with a single 12V rail with 70.8A. It is the EVGA 220-G2-850-XR, and it should be arriving tomorrow. I am hoping it works out.

 

[primetime]

JonnyGURU Recommended Award 9.9 out of 10 and a 10 year warranty....well you did buy a dam nice one this time

 

[Runt.]

If you figure it out, let us know. The same thing happens on my machine when I play Titan Quest and now Path of Exile with a Titan X (new from manufacturer). I thought I had resolved the issue (you can see what I posted here in the Motherboard and Power Supply forums), but it popped up again in the past week when I got back into PoE. I tested with 3 different power supplies, tested individual RAM sticks, reset BIOS... the whole shebang and my machine is still having issues with these particular games. Everything else I do runs perfectly fine.

I think my next step is to take the PC out of the equation and test the power quality in my home.

Since you requested for an update, I got my EVGA 220-G2-0850-XR last week and I have been able to play my Heroes Of The Storm game with the GTX 980 at max settings and all components in my sig installed. So far so good, and I'm hoping it stays that way.