Saturn04 Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 So two days ago, it suddenly started. When I started Skyrim and loaded a game, it would start flickering in a weird way; with the graphics glitching in all kinds of manners and sometimes the entire screen showing weird random colors and stuff (not ingame-graphics in a weird color; but random geometrical figures like you'd make them in Paint or so). Sometimes the screen also goes all black for a bit. It's really bad. Now, a few times, while force-quitting Skyrim, I have noticed a message (it disappears quickly) that tells me that the display driver "NVIDIA Windows Kernel Driver, Version xxxxx" (replace the x with the driver-version number) isn't responding and was restored. I did not change anything with my mods or installed or uninstalled any programs on my computer; besides updating trillian and firefox recently (though I've played without any problems since doing so; it didn't start until a few days after; so it's probably not because of that).Here's what I've already tried (in no particular order):Installing the newest driver-version Installing an older version of the driver Searching my harddisk and my registry for traces of bitcoin-mining malware Trying with disabled Antivirus Running with disabled hardware-acceleration in Firefox as well as with Firefox closed completely Running without trillian being running as well Running without the Steam-overlay (that I use because the regular screenshot-function stopped working properly long ago) Running the Windows program to check my C-drive for errors Installing a program to see if my GPU is overheating (it isn't; not at all actually) Opening my computer up and blowing all the dust out (despite having last time done so only a few weeks ago) Checked if something is looseI'm on a desktop computer; ASUS ROG CG8580; Windows 7 Home Premium (64bit); GPU is NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680; my system has 16GB RAM. CPU is from Intel; i7-3770K quadcore with 3.5 GHz.I really have no idea what the problem could be. My fiancée thinks it's probably the graphics card that starts failing and it might die soon. I really hope not! Granted; the computer isn't quite new anymore (I think I've bought it back in 2012). But still... I've never had any issues so far. Skyrim ran smooth. Oldrim btw (not SE).So... what do you think? Any ideas? Maybe helpful advice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RatB0Y68 Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 Do you know your story is almost word for word, detail for detail the exact same thing I went through with my first graphics card? Not only that even your rig was almost the same as mine. I had the same gpu and cpu as you, but in my case my gtx 680 was from EVGA and my i7-3770k is overclocked. That is why I can say, not with certainty, but with relative confidence that your GPU is on its way out. It's imminently going to kick the bucket. Soon, you'll start getting more black screens, eventually you will get a permanent black screen. You should look to buying a new card. Also, if it hasn't failed completely, have a look in device manager in the control panel, find your video card in the device list, it may tell you if there is a hardware problem. I remember when my card failed, I had to physically remove it, return to the backup Intel chip driver, boot up in safe mode and uninstall the Nvidia Drivers completely. I then reattached my GPU, but it was inactive (still using the intel chip). Looking at the device list a second time I noticed a big yellow warning sign next to the GPU icon, confirming that there was a hardware problem with the device. Admittedly this was a while ago, so I might have misremembered the order I did this, but it took some working out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saturn04 Posted February 16, 2018 Author Share Posted February 16, 2018 (edited) Aw, okay. I hope it won't make any problems to install a new card into a premade computer then. I've actually found a helpful video on youtube like half an hour ago; which recommended a program to completely uninstall all video card drivers. So I've done that; then rebooted and installed what an user in the nvidia-forums called "the last good driver" as a clean install and rebooted again. Sadly, it didn't fix my issue. So I'm afraid you and my fiancée might indeed both be right, and my GPU is going to depart from this world soon. Right now, the Device Manager actually claims that the GPU is working fine and without any problems. However; when I try playing Skyrim, I can see otherwise. Oh; in a video I've seen as well earlier, someone mentioned to change two settings in the NVIDIA control panel... performance to maximum and v-sync to off. But that hadn't helped... in fact, it made it so I already got glitches in Skyrim's main menu; and not just after loading a save xD. Edited February 16, 2018 by Saturn04 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saturn04 Posted February 16, 2018 Author Share Posted February 16, 2018 So, since I'm not that knowledgeable when it comes to GPU's... do you think the "Asus Expedition GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB" would be a suitable replacement? It's one of the cheaper options for "only" 240 bucks. And I assume it should be better than what I have currently... and I mean, I'd buy the exact same GPU as I have now if they would still make them, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMastersSon Posted February 17, 2018 Share Posted February 17, 2018 9. Installing a program to see if my GPU is overheating (it isn't; not at all actually) Most GPU sensors including Nvidia's don't tell you anything about a card's memory and other component temps. When you were cleaning out your computer with air, did you also remove your video card to check for dust around the fan(s) and inside the fan housing? If not you should, especially after several years. I'd try reseating the card anyway, check for dirt in the slot and clean the card's edge connectors with a pencil eraser while you're at it. The fact your glitches are worse after disabling VSync indicates an overheating problem imo. Have you checked your CPU temps during gaming as well as your 680? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RatB0Y68 Posted February 17, 2018 Share Posted February 17, 2018 Well as to replacements, I went for an MSI Geforce GTX 1080, so that's what I'd recommend, but I don't see why the 1050 wouldn't do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saturn04 Posted February 17, 2018 Author Share Posted February 17, 2018 (edited) 9. Installing a program to see if my GPU is overheating (it isn't; not at all actually)Most GPU sensors including Nvidia's don't tell you anything about a card's memory and other component temps. When you were cleaning out your computer with air, did you also remove your video card to check for dust around the fan(s) and inside the fan housing? If not you should, especially after several years. I'd try reseating the card anyway, check for dirt in the slot and clean the card's edge connectors with a pencil eraser while you're at it. The fact your glitches are worse after disabling VSync indicates an overheating problem imo. Have you checked your CPU temps during gaming as well as your 680? The CPU temperature doesn't go higher than it usually does/did from playin Skyrim. I'll try reseating the card tomorrow then. If it doesn't help, I will probably go and buy a new GPU in the afternoon. I did actually blow air into the fan of the GPU as well, though. Well as to replacements, I went for an MSI Geforce GTX 1080, so that's what I'd recommend, but I don't see why the 1050 wouldn't do. Well; I'm not exactly rich at the moment. And there's a difference between 240 bucks and 900+ bucks. From what I've found online, the 1050 Ti 4GB is a little bit better than the 680 while using way less power; so I think that should be fine. Edited February 17, 2018 by Saturn04 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saturn04 Posted February 17, 2018 Author Share Posted February 17, 2018 So... I've just taken the GPU out and made sure to properly dedust everything once more. There was still some dust inside the cooling part of the GPU; it's all out now. Unfortunately, that didn't fix the issue at all either. So I guess I'll have to go buy a new GPU this afternoon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iXenite Posted February 17, 2018 Share Posted February 17, 2018 So, since I'm not that knowledgeable when it comes to GPU's... do you think the "Asus Expedition GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB" would be a suitable replacement? It's one of the cheaper options for "only" 240 bucks. And I assume it should be better than what I have currently... and I mean, I'd buy the exact same GPU as I have now if they would still make them, lol. This video will show you how those two GPU's stack up against one another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saturn04 Posted February 17, 2018 Author Share Posted February 17, 2018 So, since I'm not that knowledgeable when it comes to GPU's... do you think the "Asus Expedition GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB" would be a suitable replacement? It's one of the cheaper options for "only" 240 bucks. And I assume it should be better than what I have currently... and I mean, I'd buy the exact same GPU as I have now if they would still make them, lol. This video will show you how those two GPU's stack up against one another. Thanks! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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