GPU Stopped Working After 1 Year Of Use

[Towers_Flowers]

I bought a gtx 1080 ti about a year ago and it already has stopped working. 

I’m pretty new to pc building, but this has been very heartbreaking for me. For a while I’ve noticed problems with my PC build like fps lagging after long gaming sessions, games crashing, and more but these rarely happened so I thought I just had to change some configurations and update some drivers. It was until yesterday, that my computer worked fine; I was playing some games and after 20 minutes of playtime, my monitor suddenly stopped receiving output from the gpu and the screen went dark. It said there was no signal going into the monitor, but the computer was still on, running like it would normally do. My only choice was to shut off the PC from outside and try to turn it back on, as nothing else would work. After this, the computer turned back on and it seemed to work fine, I thought it was just a power outage since these happen very frequently where I live, and got back into a game. Around 10 minutes of playtime, it shut off again, this time the gpu fans ramped up to 100% or even more, judging by how loud they sounded, and stood like this until I shut my PC off.I reset my computer again, to try to see if it was the game or my PC but after trying another game with demanding graphics, it chrashed right back to the black screen, no signal. 

 

I’ve tried many things to fix it, first on software; I did a clean install of the newest nvidia drivers, I checked for corrupt files and fixed them using the command prompt, I checked for malware and viruses, but to no avail. The games still crashed after some gameplay time, sometimes even lasting as little as 20 seconds in the menu screen. 

 

Then, I checked my hardware; I ensured the 6+2 and 6 pin connectors were correctly latched into the gpu and to the psu, and even tried using two pci-e cables for each 6+2 connection, thinking it could be power related and since TI cards are very power consuming, it maybe wasn’t receiving enough. I tried cleaning dust off the PCB and the psu, and changing the connections from a multi socket, directly into the wall, but nothing seemed to work.

 

I’ve noticed many things about this issue over time; some times while using windows, a white led on the 1080 ti’s PCB will start ti flash (led 2). I googled it and what I understood is that this is related to an abnormal power flow. This problem will happen too, right after opening a game (I’m guessing since the graphics get more demanding, the gpu asks for more voltage, one that may be flowing abnormally) and after some time, back to the black screen. 

 

I tried to contact the gpu’s seller, but warranty has expired, and I’m not sure where I can send it to fix it, or even sell it for some money.

 I won’t take this decision not knowing if it is a problem of the psu, gpu, or its connection to the apartment’s power, and not having it pass through a voltage regulator / surge protector.

 

A few hours ago, I was using windows as usual, watching some videos, doing some work and it shut off again, this time with the loud gpu fan sound (it sometimes happens, sometimes doesn’t), so I really just don’t know how to fix this issue or diagnose it to know if I have to change / fix the psu, gpu, or just plug the main PC power into a voltage regulator.

 

Thanks in advance for all of your guy’s help. I’ve gotten many troubleshooting issues fixed and hope this one can be fixed too. 

 

The specs are listed below.

 

 

—————————————-

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/TowersFlowers/saved/9KDDcf

 

CPU: Intel Core i7 8700k

GPU: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1080 Ti

MOBO: NZXT Z370

AIO: Corsair Hydro h100i Platinum SE

CASE: NZXT h500i

PSU: NZXT E650

MEMORY: 4x8Gb DDR4 3200mHz Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro

STORAGE: Samsung 960 EVO 1TB Nvme m.2 Ssd

 

If I forgot anything, the pcpartpicker link is above.

 

[DakotaWebber]

4 minutes ago, Towers_Flowers said:

t said there was no signal going into the monitor, but the computer was still on, running like it would normally do.

Were the any sounds coming through when this happened?

 

4 minutes ago, Towers_Flowers said:

Around 10 minutes of playtime, it shut off again,

You said it went black screen, not shut off originally?

5 minutes ago, Towers_Flowers said:

this time the gpu fans ramped up to 100% or even more, j

This can happen with a reset, not an indication of GPU failing

6 minutes ago, Towers_Flowers said:

if it was the game or my PC but after trying another game with demanding graphics, it chrashed right back to the black screen, no signal. 

Youre giving two stories here, one where it goes to black screen no signal and one where it shuts off??

 

I would start with looking into the power supply however before the graphics card as its alot cheaper if you want to try it as a replacement, otherwise if it wasnt your gpu and you bought another youre stuck with two

[Towers_Flowers]

18 minutes ago, DakotaWebber said:

Were the any sounds coming through when this happened?

 

You said it went black screen, not shut off originally?

This can happen with a reset, not an indication of GPU failing

Youre giving two stories here, one where it goes to black screen no signal and one where it shuts off??

 

I would start with looking into the power supply however before the graphics card as its alot cheaper if you want to try it as a replacement, otherwise if it wasnt your gpu and you bought another youre stuck with two

Sorry, when I said shut off, I meant screen went black without signal again.

 

There was no sound when the screen went dark.

 

Yeah getting a psu to test it sounds reasonable, could I try using integrated graphics to see if something like this happens, knowing the screen went dark even out of game? Could it help to see if it’s a gpu or psu issue?

 

Thanks!

[Towers_Flowers]

12 minutes ago, DutchGuyTom said:

What PSU are you using (name and model) and what 1080 ti model do you have?

They’re on the pcpartpicker link, I’m not too sure about the exact model but the psu is an Nzxt E650 and the gpu is a Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1080 ti Gaming OC 11GB, It’s white and it has a three fan body

[Towers_Flowers]

9 hours ago, DutchGuyTom said:

Apologies! I guess it is too late in the night for me and I am just not paying full attention. Yes, that's a good PSU so I don't think it would be at fault, except to say that you've mentioned you experience a lot of power outages, which can damage electronics. 

 

That GPU model apparently has some shoddy cooling for VRMs (link). Though, you should always take customer feedback and anecdotes with a kilogram of salt. Have you tried overclocking this GPU? 

 

Definitely try the integrated graphics. If you experience no issues, that doesn't mean it is the GPU necessarily (because it could be the power supply providing shoddy power to the GPU) but it would be good to definitively narrow it down to the PSU and GPU. 

 

If you have other PCIE power cables (though, they're likely fine) and other PCIE power outlets on your PSU, you should try those too. 

 

If you can borrow a PSU (doesn't even need to be a great one), that would be ideal before you buy something. Otherwise ask your local PC store for help and see if they're willing to let you return a PSU after testing should it not be what you need.

I tried integrated graphics but not really sure how it worked so got no input, changed back to the gpu, turned it on, and less than 10 seconds into windows, the screen went black. Could this be the psu not giving enough power to the gpu? Could this be the gpu being faulty? I’m so confused now, maybe my best bet is to borrow a psu knowing I won’t even last 10 seconds in windows.

[Towers_Flowers]

1 minute ago, Towers_Flowers said:

I tried integrated graphics but not really sure how it worked so got no input, changed back to the gpu, turned it on, and less than 10 seconds into windows, the screen went black. Could this be the psu not giving enough power to the gpu? Could this be the gpu being faulty? I’m so confused now, maybe my best bet is to borrow a psu knowing I won’t even last 10 seconds in windows.

I’ve also noticed something that might help, my monitor has been taking so long to turn on to windows, pc stays running with a black screen for about 20 sec before receiving input.

[Towers_Flowers]

3 minutes ago, DutchGuyTom said:

To use the iGPU, you will have to connect the HDMI cable to the motherboard outlet rather than the GPU's.

 

To be honest. It sounds like the GPU may be faulty but it is still possible that it is your PSU.

Yeah, I did that with DisplayPort, got no input. I think I’ll probably try borrowing a psu to see if it is the gpu or psu. I don’t really know what else to do. Can’t benchmark or check anything really.