[GTX 770] PC crashed last night mid-game and GPU is now giving me Code 43. Is it time to finally move on?

[Swndlr]

Hey all,

 

As the title suggests here, I am in need of some guidance. Last night, I was gaming under normal circumstances when suddenly my PC froze up, the screen pixelated in a way I had not seen in my years of owning it, and once restarted, it had reverted to running on integrated graphics. I went to my device manager to find that my GPU was showing a Code 43 so I knew something had gone wrong in the instance of the crash. I went through the motions of doing clean driver installs and uninstalling the GPU, among some other somewhat helpless procedures to try to fix it, albeit with no luck. Articles I've come across have been of little help and have not resulted in a fix. I also came across some answers suggesting that it could be a power supply issue, but I would like to believe that is not the case, given I am using a quality unit that has not been displaying any issues in terms of power delivery, stability, etc.

 

Has anyone here had any luck with their own method to fixing this issue? I know the easy answer is to just throw away the ancient graphics card for literally anything newer, but it adequately serves all of my needs and performs well at 1080p in the games that I most commonly play. Now that I may have to finally consider getting a new GPU, what are some suggestions on the best value graphics cards right now in the ~$250 range? Could be new or used. I don't follow PC components as closely as I used to, so I am out of the loop as far as the go-to components at given price points. I understand the graphics card market is particularly hot right now, so I quickly looked to the used market, but I understand that there are a lot of risks when doing so, especially when it comes to finding one that hasn't been abused over its lifetime.

 

For reference, all specs in my signature below are what I am still running today. Thank you in advance for any help.

[Radium_Angel]

12 minutes ago, Swndlr said:

Code 43

Not a great sign.

If you are savvy enough, try a Linux Mint LIveUSB environment. If it picks up the GPU, then its still good, if it doesn't then yes, time for a new card.

13 minutes ago, Swndlr said:

I understand the graphics card market is particularly hot right now

Understatement of the year. Prices are insanity.

13 minutes ago, Swndlr said:

best value graphics cards right now in the ~$250 range?

Tricky, because I've seen 50$ cards (GTX 660) go for 250$+ which is weapons-grade lunacy, best advice I can give you is check local markets and grab what you can that is equal to a 770 at that price point.

[Helpful Tech Witch]

21 minutes ago, Swndlr said:

best value graphics cards right now in the ~$250 range?

A rx480 4gb that someone didn’t know how much it was worth.

 

tbh, you could get 150$ for that gpu, even if it is dead.

[Swndlr]

1 minute ago, Radium_Angel said:

Not a great sign.

If you are savvy enough, try a Linux Mint LIveUSB environment. If it picks up the GPU, then its still good, if it doesn't then yes, time for a new card.

Understatement of the year. Prices are insanity.

Tricky, because I've seen 50$ cards (GTX 660) go for 250$+ which is weapons-grade lunacy, best advice I can give you is check local markets and grab what you can that is equal to a 770 at that price point.

Hey man, thanks for this info. I appreciate the honesty even if it doesnt get my hopes up lol. Parting with this card will not be the end of the world, but obviously if I can fix it without spending any money, I figure why not.

 

If you told me from 5 years ago to try a Linux Mint LiveUSB environment, I'd probably be up to the task, but I have never heard of that before and I've lost quite a bit of PC savviness since I finished building this PC all those years ago.

 

In terms of used cards, I've been eyeing GTX 970s. They seem to be trading in the $225-$250 range on eBay and FB Marketplace. On paper, this card seems like a good proposition - considerably better performance than 770 and less power consumption. Looks like it would be a great fit for my needs of 1080p gaming and photo editing. Thoughts? I think, as mentioned above, the hard part will be finding one that I can trust hasn't been mined with, abused, etc.

[Swndlr]

2 minutes ago, HelpfulTechWizard said:

A rx480 4gb that someone didn’t know how much it was worth.

 

tbh, you could get 150$ for that gpu, even if it is dead.

I will search around for that card.

 

In terms of $150, are you referring to my potentially bricked 770 or a broken RX480?

[Helpful Tech Witch]

Just now, Swndlr said:

I will search around for that card.

 

In terms of $150, are you referring to my potentially bricked 770 or a broken RX480?

That 770.

even broken cards are worth a shit ton right now.

[Swndlr]

Just now, HelpfulTechWizard said:

That 770.

even broken cards are worth a shit ton right now.

Ahh, I see. I totally believe it too. So should I be suspect of seeing GTX 970s in the $250 range???

[Helpful Tech Witch]

3 minutes ago, Swndlr said:

you told me from 5 years ago to try a Linux Mint LiveUSB environment, I'd probably be up to the task, but I have never heard of that before and I've lost quite a bit of PC savviness since I finished building this PC all those years ago.

It actually wouldn’t be that hard,

you would just need Rufus (the program), a copy of the 64bit iso (mint), and a usb

 

[Helpful Tech Witch]

Just now, Swndlr said:

Ahh, I see. I totally believe it too. So should I be suspect of seeing GTX 970s in the $250 range???

Tbh, probably, but you might be in a better part of the market. Look at user reviews if you can for the seller, buy only through a protected payment platform (if they insist on not, don't buy it), and spend only as much as you are ok with losing.
FB marketplace and Ebay both have payment protection if you pay through them, and you would be able to probably get a refund for the card on the grounds of being scammed

[Swndlr]

10 minutes ago, HelpfulTechWizard said:

It actually wouldn’t be that hard,

you would just need Rufus (the program), a copy of the 64bit iso (mint), and a usb

 

It doesn't sound too complicated, but honestly I think it might be more trouble and frustration for me than it may be worth. I've already kinda fixated myself on searching for a replacement, to give you an idea of where I'm at lol.

6 minutes ago, HelpfulTechWizard said:

Tbh, probably, but you might be in a better part of the market. Look at user reviews if you can for the seller, buy only through a protected payment platform (if they insist on not, don't buy it), and spend only as much as you are ok with losing.
FB marketplace and Ebay both have payment protection if you pay through them, and you would be able to probably get a refund for the card on the grounds of being scammed

Good to know, I've been searching pretty much exclusively through eBay and FB. I am in the northern NJ area. What that means in terms of the quality of the market, I have no idea, but yeah.

When reaching out to sellers, would it be worthwhile to ask for recent performance benchmark results in programs to validate the strength of the card?

[Helpful Tech Witch]

7 minutes ago, Swndlr said:

It doesn't sound too complicated, but honestly I think it might be more trouble and frustration for me than it may be worth. I've already kinda fixated myself on searching for a replacement, to give you an idea of where I'm at lol.

Good to know, I've been searching pretty much exclusively through eBay and FB. I am in the northern NJ area. What that means in terms of the quality of the market, I have no idea, but yeah.

When reaching out to sellers, would it be worthwhile to ask for recent performance benchmark results in programs to validate the strength of the card?

That, and of possible you can get video proof of the benchmarks being run, and that they are done on that card

[Radium_Angel]

21 minutes ago, Swndlr said:

the hard part will be finding one that I can trust hasn't been mined with, abused, etc.

Easiest way to test the card (if it's a local person) is to bring your entire rig, plug the card in, and run something like Heaven Benchmark. If it doesn't crash, it's likely fine.

 

[Swndlr]

2 minutes ago, HelpfulTechWizard said:

That, and of possible you can get video proof of the benchmarks being run, and that they are done on that card

Good. I will be asking sellers if they are willing to do this for me. If not, I think it is safe to assume that they are hiding something.

[Swndlr]

2 minutes ago, Radium_Angel said:

Easiest way to test the card (if it's a local person) is to bring your entire rig, plug the card in, and run something like Heaven Benchmark. If it doesn't crash, it's likely fine.

 

Makes me wish I had an ITX PC hahaha. I think the most feasible option for me at the moment is requesting that sellers provide video proof of the card running the benchmark prior to me driving out to them, given that the drive may be >1hr in some cases, depending on the seller's location.

[Swndlr]

15 hours ago, Radium_Angel said:

Easiest way to test the card (if it's a local person) is to bring your entire rig, plug the card in, and run something like Heaven Benchmark. If it doesn't crash, it's likely fine.

 

 

15 hours ago, HelpfulTechWizard said:

That, and of possible you can get video proof of the benchmarks being run, and that they are done on that card

Hey you two,

 

Since you guys offered me some guidance earlier, I feel it would only be right for me to give you an update.

 

As I made this thread, I was also browsing Facebook marketplace to see if anyone was selling a well-priced GTX 970 nearby. Someone close (enough) to me had listed one for $150 less than 24 hours prior, and I messaged him asking if he would put it in his PC and send some Heaven benchmarks and other screenshots of proof that it was working and in good order. He quickly got back to me and did just that, and he seemed extremely trustworthy so I made an afternoon trip out to his place and bought it. I now have it in my system running and am enjoying the benefits over the 770, which I may just donate to a friend who is up to seeing if they can revive it, or if not then I may just sell it as is if someone out there is in search of a parts card.

 

All in all, I spent most of the afternoon in the car in traffic going to and from Long Island, but I did manage to replace my GPU quickly and for a great price, can't complain.

 

Thank you both.

[Middcore]

Nvidia just announced they're dropping driver support for Kepler cards like the 770, so I think the time was right for an update.

[Swndlr]

30 minutes ago, Middcore said:

Nvidia just announced they're dropping driver support for Kepler cards like the 770, so I think the time was right for an update.

Damn. I didn't see that news. Thanks for the heads up. That is kind of unfortunate because for such an old card, it was still doing basically everything I needed it to do even if it was starting to show its age. But you're right, I think it was time to let it go. This new card opens the door for new games that I don't think my 770 would have been able to run that well and for $150, I think it was a good move. Not to mention, it is considerably quieter and more efficient.