Bad GPU, PSU or monitor?

[Travy_swole]

Hi all, I built my new PC back in February. Every know and then my monitor will randomly go black but the LED power button is still lit and the there's sound coming from my speakers and the keyboard and mouse work just fine. This mainly happens during games but it's definitely not an every day occurrence (rare actually) but it's still alarming. I was using the included DisplayPort cable included with my monitor (Asus V279Q 27") for about a couple of months but started noticing random strange artifacts so I instantly stopped using said cable and have used HDMI 2.0 sense as I discovered the DisplayPort cable isn't certified. The artifacts stopped instantly. I do however get these strange black screens every now and then as I said. My graphics drivers, BIOS and chipset drivers are all up to date. There's never any strange noise coming from my PC when this happens. Does this sound like the monitor is starting to go out or something worse like the GPU or PSU? The PC and monitor are always turned off and unplugged when not in use. The specs are as follow: 3700x EVGA RTX 2080 Super XC Ultra 32GB 3200mhz MSI x570 MPG Gaming Edge Wifi EVGA Supernova 1000W 80+ Gold PSU (complete overkill I know but it's all that was available at the time)

 

[Mr.Scott]

Sounds like driver crash to me.

 

[Jetster]

So the game keeps going but you get a black screen? Or the game stops when it happens ?

 

[Travy_swole]

Hey guys, thanks for the replies! And yes, the game will keep going and I hear sound as well as my mouse and keyboard responding normally. As I said, this isn't an every day occurrence but it's still alarming considering all this hardware isn't even a year old and there's no available GPU's anywhere lol. I noticed today I restarted my PC and as soon as I got to the windows 10 login screen (Windows 10) the screen went black but again the power LEad was still on as if the monitor was powered on. I simply the monitor off and right back on and it worked normally. I was playing Cyberpunk and Titanfall 2 for about 2-4 hours last night without issues so I don't get why this happens. I updated my bios and chipset last night but the problem has occurred before.

 

[biffzinker]

It could be the DisplayPort cable is faulty that’s causing the blank screen. Is it a certified cable you’re using?

Products Database - DisplayPort

www.displayport.org

 

[Travy_swole]

It could be the DisplayPort cable is faulty that’s causing the blank screen. Is it a certified cable you’re using?

Products Database - DisplayPort

www.displayport.org

Im currently using HDMI as the DP cable wasn't certified.

 

[Jetster]

Well a driver crash would stop the game. I'm guessing its hardware related

 

[biffzinker]

I'm guessing its hardware related

Would it be the monitor I’m wondering?

 

[Waldorf]

sounds like a bad port/cable.
use a different output on the gpu and if possible on the moni as well.
next swap the hdmi with a known working one (e. g. tv) and use the one from pc on the other device, this way you can see if its that or hw.
before you change anything, go to device manager, show hidden devices and remove/uninstall all monis, then shutdown win..

 

[Jetster]

Loose or cracked end on a Pcie power cable maybe

 

[Travy_swole]

I will try swapping the HDMI cable when I get home and update any findings, thank you all for your advice! From the sounds of it, my GPU and PSU should be fine right?

 

[Waldorf]

yeah, crashing hw especially when gpu looses power should at least freeze/crash the games.

 

[Travy_swole]

yeah, crashing hw especially when gpu looses power should at least freeze/crash the games.

That's a relief to hear! Replacing a $5-20 cable is easy compared to a $500-800 part! Thank you so much, I will update try a different cable and report back any findings! Thanks all and Happy Holidays!

 

[micropage7]

That's a relief to hear! Replacing a $5-20 cable is easy compared to a $500-800 part! Thank you so much, I will update try a different cable and report back any findings! Thanks all and Happy Holidays!

umm have you tried lowering your resolution, just to check since could be from your monitor too

 

[Waldorf]

? since the (used) resolution works to boot,
and even games are starting, unless something changes the resolution magically, that cant be it.

 

[Travy_swole]

Hello all, so I tried a different HDMI cable today and played Cyberpunk for about 1.5 hours with no issues. However, I started playing Titanfall 2 and was in a match when the monitor again went black but the led power light was still on. There was still sound and and I could hear gun shots as my pressed the mouse buttons. I simply turned off the monitor and turned it back on which fixed the problem. I'm starting to suspect the monitor is going bad. I'm running the monitor at the native resolution of 1080p 144hz. Does this sound like the monitor is going bad?

 

[thesmokingman]

Hello all, so I tried a different HDMI cable today and played Cyberpunk for about 1.5 hours with no issues. However, I started playing Titanfall 2 and was in a match when the monitor again went black but the led power light was still on. There was still sound and and I could hear gun shots as my pressed the mouse buttons. I simply turned off the monitor and turned it back on which fixed the problem. I'm starting to suspect the monitor is going bad. I'm running the monitor at the native resolution of 1080p 144hz. Does this sound like the monitor is going bad?

It could be just the connection. With time the connectors corrode or pressure from the cable dangling can loosen the female connector that the cable plugs into. I had similar issues on display port on another rig, running triple panels. Replacing cables led to the same black screens. After a while I had the random idea to push the female port covering thingies together a lil bit making the port tighter. That idea is a lot cheaper than the prospect of randomly replacing panels. Thank goodness that fixed it, haven't had a complaint for a year or so.

 

[Travy_swole]

It could be just the connection. With time the connectors corrode or pressure from the cable dangling can loosen the female connector that the cable plugs into. I had similar issues on display port on another rig, running triple panels. Replacing cables led to the same black screens. After a while I had the random idea to push the female port covering thingies together a lil bit making the port tighter. That idea is a lot cheaper than the prospect of randomly replacing panels. Thank goodness that fixed it, haven't had a complaint for a year or so.

The outlets on the monitor? Maybe I'll try that! Thanks for the tip. So it doesn't sound like a hardware issue, and that my GPU, PSU are fine?

 

[thesmokingman]

The outlets on the monitor? Maybe I'll try that! Thanks for the tip. So it doesn't sound like a hardware issue, and that my GPU, PSU are fine?

It sounds like your other hw is fine.

 

[Travy_swole]

Sounds good, I will try perhaps tightening the HDMI outlet on the back of the monitor and report back. Out of curiosity I asked a Best Buy associate for their opinion and they said it sounds like my GPU is bad but I feel the whole computer would freeze up or I'd get crashes if the GPU was responsible.

 

[biffzinker]

If it was the GPU causing it Windows would be reporting the driver stopped responding, and recovered in the taskbar/system tray area if it is potentially related to a faulty card. Is there anything in the Event Viewer?

 

[Travy_swole]

If it was the GPU causing it Windows would be reporting the driver stopped responding, and recovered in the taskbar/system tray area if it is potentially related to a faulty card. Is there anything in the Event Viewer?

I checked event viewers and didn't see anything related to the display or GPU. I only noticed a couple of critical errors due to the system restarting before the fully shutting down but I doubt that has anything to do with it. Again when the screen goes black, my PC is still on and I hear the game running still. I should probably invest in a higher quality (verified DisplayPort cable) as I'm wondering if this is caused by running 144hz via HDMI.

 

[micropage7]

I checked event viewers and didn't see anything related to the display or GPU. I only noticed a couple of critical errors due to the system restarting before the fully shutting down but I doubt that has anything to do with it. Again when the screen goes black, my PC is still on and I hear the game running still. I should probably invest in a higher quality (verified DisplayPort cable) as I'm wondering if this is caused by running 144hz via HDMI.

so have you tried changing it, just to check?

 

[Chrispy_]

Try the monitor at 120Hz. Screen dropping out whilst everything else runs fine is usually a sync issue that indicates a fault with the display controller on the GPU (unlikely), a fault with the cable or port at either end, or a display controller failing on the monitor.

If you have another display to hand, it's worth using that for a day or two to eliminate the monitor from the equation.

 

[Travy_swole]

Hi guys! It's been awhile so I thought I'd give an update. I recently purchased a Vesa certified DisplayPort cable and reinstalled a fresh copy of Windows 10 on an NVME M.2 SSD. My monitor (ASUS V279Q is G-Sync compatible and I have it enabled in both Windows and the Nvidia control panel). I've been playing and browsing reddit without issues until tonight. I played Cyberpunk for about two hours, then was browsing Steam when my monitor suddenly went black (PC still on and the power LED on the monitor remained on). I turned the monitor and turned it back on which resolved the issue. I then checked Event Viewer and there was no errors showing for the time that this happened. I'm suspecting my monitor is the culprit or that I possibly hit the cable with my foot sometime that caused it to losen up. All my drivers and Windows is up to date. I wonder if this could have anything to do with the fact that when not in use, my computer and monitor are turned off and unplugged from the wall. Does this still sound like a hardware issue (Monitor, GPU or PSU)? Or maybe the fact that I'm using a Free-Sync monitor with an Nvidia GPU even though it's G-Sync compatible?