GTX 1060 very, very strange issue/problem

[alizalb]

Hi guys,

 

this will start as a usual problem, but trust me it isn't. Ok so it's about an Asus dual GTX 1060 3gb card. Problem is out of no reason the screen goes black and vents spin to higher RPM. This would happen anywhere from 30secs to 2min into web browsing or just hanging on the desktop. Sometimes it wouldn't pass the login screen. Nothing new here right, happened a lot of times. I have tried everything and I do mean everything. From different old and new drivers, different PC builds and different PSUs. Repasted and changed the thermal pad. Flashed GPU BIOS back and forth and nothing would help. Tried MSI afterburner and lowered memory and core clock while upping the power limit and temp limit. Always the same issue. Black screen and vents ramp up. Ok one change, while trying different BIOSes I eventually flashed back to the original BIOS and now the screen goes black, but the fans don't ramp up anymore.

 

Now the strange part. When I start the computer and pass the login screen and right after start Heaven benchmark GPU won't crash. The PC can benchmark endlessly. While benchmarking the temps stay reasonably low at 78-79C max. After I decide to turn off Heaven 1-2min after the screen goes black. This doesn't only happen with Heaven, it happens also with Apex Legends. If I manage to enter the game, I can play with no problems. The moment I exit the game the problem persists. Now even stranger thing is, if I start heaven right after boot and ALT+TAB to desktop, the screen won't go black. I'm writing this very post from the computer listening to Heaven soundtrack in the background.

 

Seems like the GPU must be under load (at least some) all the time to work properly. If it isn't it will crash. This is a new on for me and if anyone has some experience I would appreciate any help.

Cheers guys!

 

[alizalb]

Forgot to mention, in safe mode the card works without any problems.

[Waqas409]

3 minutes ago, alizalb said:

Forgot to mention, in safe mode the card works without any problems.

if it works in safe mode then its a driver issue.
Use DDU and do a clean driver installation. Use old drivers if possible. 

[ExplodingHeadGiraffe]

When the fans spin up and the screen goes black, does the PC restart itself back into the login screen?

You could check event viewer to see what might have caused it. Windows Key + R and then type "eventvwr.msc". Go to Windows Logs drop down menu on the left and right click on "System" and select "Filter Current Log". Click on the <All Event IDs> field and type "41, 6008, 1001" and see if any show up at the times when the GPU froze. 

[ExplodingHeadGiraffe]

I've also been having a similar problem on my 1060 6GB. Started somewhere within the past two weeks. Funny how OP also has similar problems. When the screen times out after 5 minutes, the screen turns off normally followed by the fans ramping up and the PC restarting back into the log-in screen. I have more info on my issues but I don't want to hijack OP's post considering the issues sound the same.

 

[HanZie82]

I had this too one time when i just got my 1060 6 GB.

After a clean windows install it was gone, i was also under the impression it was a driver issue then.

 

And yes certain actions made my (3) monitors go black for couple seconds and then come back. Sometimes just the 1 monitor or a weird resolution.

I dont remember where that was, but some log i could read out that display driver had crashed. (probably due to way to old drivers for me).

[ExplodingHeadGiraffe]

Not sure if this will help OP but I fixed my problem. Saw some suggestions like reseating the GPU so I gave it a shot and it fixed it. Prior to that I could make the PC crash consistently by setting the Screen shut off time to 1 minute and it would crash and restart every time. After reseating the GPU it never happened again. It might have been slightly dislodged after I bumped the desk where the PC was on while moving around some furniture a week or so ago. Hope that helps.

 

P.S. I've done a lot to no avail and the reseat fixed it. Did a DDU, and tried both old and new drivers. Uninstalled suspected Windows updates, didn't work, Removed all my GPU overclocks (OC'd but never ran hot above 70C). I also did sfc /scannow in CMD and found corrupted files but that was unrelated and only affected core system files and not GPU drivers since I got a separate BSOD because of that. 

[alizalb]

Thanks guys, but I guess you didn't read my post entirely. Using DDU, reseating my GPU and so on is something I described in my actions earlier and can't be the solution to my problem. Benji is most likely right and it's a faulty GPU, but the part where it works normally under load is interesting and there might be a solution somewhere in that. 

 

[ExplodingHeadGiraffe]

Yeah that is strange. Sorry I couldn't really help but I just wanted to share what did fix it for me since we both had somewhat similar problems in case someone else runs into the same thing. I could play Apex Legends all night with no issues but it would crash and restart the moment the screen turned off after being idle for 10 minutes. If you could, though, check the event viewer if there are any anomalies or Bug Check errors. Check my previous replies on how to go about it.