My PC keeps crashing after installing a new graphics card.

[qwcd]

Hey I hope someone can help me understand and fix the issue im having with my pc. Whenever I try to play games such as valorant, csgo, it takes two etc, I have this weird issue of it making what sounds like a sparking noise and then just crashing. It makes it extra weird that I can play GTA 5 at almost max settings without any issues other than tabbing in and out of the game which can cause a crash if I dont unpause quick enough. I dont know why its doing this but ive tried updating my motherboard BIOS and installing multiple different graphics drivers but nothing seems to work. If I could maybe receive some help with this issue that would be nice, all I wanna do is play games with friends but sadly I cant. 

 

My PC specs: 

• i5-2320
• GTX 980 afterburner
• Gigabyte H61M-DS2 DVI motherboard
• 2x8gb DDR3 RAM

[Spotty]

What sort of crash is it? The game closing? The system freezing? The computer turning off? Blue screen of death? Any error codes or warning messages shown?

 

The graphics card you bought might just be bad, one of the concerns with buying used parts. Have you been able to try the card on a different PC?

[qwcd]

3 minutes ago, Spotty said:

What sort of crash is it? The game closing? The system freezing? The computer turning off? Blue screen of death? Any error codes or warning messages shown?

 

The graphics card you bought might just be bad, one of the concerns with buying used parts. Have you been able to try the card on a different PC?

the whole screen just turns to one colour no error messages and the audio becomes super messed up and just buzzes, not any specific colour like blue or black its just random. It doesnt unfreeze or anything like that so I have to completely turn the PC on and off to use it again. I have not had the chance to try the card on another pc sadly, I feel as if it isnt the card itself but maybe an issue with the PSU. The sounds that come from the PC seem to be coming from the PSU itself and not the card. 

[merosomal]

What PSU are you using? Did you install the drivers for the new GPU? And what graphics card were you using before? If your old one was an AMD one, did you  fully uninstall the old ones? I'd start off with using Display Driver Uninstaller (Google it) and then install the Nvidia drivers again. 

[qwcd]

2 minutes ago, merosomal said:

What PSU are you using? Did you install the drivers for the new GPU? And what graphics card were you using before? If your old one was an AMD one, did you  fully uninstall the old ones? I'd start off with using Display Driver Uninstaller (Google it) and then install the Nvidia drivers again. 

This is the PSU I am using, no idea if it effects anything because I have no idea about PSUs: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/184379493450

Yes I installed the new drivers for the GPU, I tried quite a few to see if they would fix the issue. The graphics card I was using before was not an AMD card it was a GT710 so it is quite the step up in terms of performance (if the GPU actually works at some point). I did fully uninstall the old drivers with DDU but once again it didnt fix the issue sadly.

 

[merosomal]

 

8 minutes ago, qwcd said:

This is the PSU I am using, no idea if it effects anything because I have no idea about PSUs: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/184379493450

Yes I installed the new drivers for the GPU, I tried quite a few to see if they would fix the issue. The graphics card I was using before was not an AMD card it was a GT710 so it is quite the step up in terms of performance (if the GPU actually works at some point). I did fully uninstall the old drivers with DDU but once again it didnt fix the issue sadly.

 

That is not a quality power supply and likely could be the culprit here. And even if it isn't, it definitely should be replaced with a quality one asap. 

 

Generally speaking, if there's one thing you do not cheap out on in a computer, it is the power supply. For the moment I'd definitely go back to your old graphics card before you damage your new one permanently. When shopping for a new PSU try to stick to known brands like Corsair, EVGA, Cooler Master, NZXT, ThermalTake etc. Make sure it is at least 80 Plus Bronze certified, and with your beefy GTX 980, try and go for at least 500-600w. 

[LapsedMemory]

500W seems to be the bare minimum recommended power supply for this unit, and it's particularly sensitive to the total continuous power on the 12V rail.  Tom's Hardware forums state it needs 38A on the 12V line in order to function properly. 

 

 GTX 980 PSU Requirement Question | Tom's Hardware Forum (tomshardware.com)

 

It appears your power supply does not meet this specification, as the side plate label only has 22A on the +12V line.  Your old 710 was good with only 200W.  

 

You're going to want to pick up a newer, larger supply.  Never try to run a system with the minimum PSU spec'd in.

[qwcd]

1 minute ago, merosomal said:

 

That is not a quality power supply and likely could be the culprit here. And even if it isn't, it definitely should be replaced with a quality one asap. 

 

Generally speaking, if there's one thing you do not cheap out on in a computer, it is the power supply. For the moment I'd definitely go back to your old graphics card before you damage your new one permanently. When shopping for a new PSU try to stick to known brands like Corsair, EVGA, Cooler Master, NZXT, ThermalTake etc. Make sure it is at least 80 Plus Bronze certified, and with your beefy GTX 980, try and go for at least 500-600w. 

alright thank you, this pc was originally a prebuilt that my family bought for me and they dont know much about computers apart from my grandfather but of course it did need some heavy part replacements and looks like it still does to even function like a normal pc would. I'll see what I can find but if you do have any specific recommendations im more than welcome to take a look. Thanks for the help I appreciate it very much. 

[LapsedMemory]

4 minutes ago, qwcd said:

alright thank you, this pc was originally a prebuilt that my family bought for me and they dont know much about computers apart from my grandfather but of course it did need some heavy part replacements and looks like it still does to even function like a normal pc would. I'll see what I can find but if you do have any specific recommendations im more than welcome to take a look. Thanks for the help I appreciate it very much. 

Something like this should work:

https://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Bronze-Power-Supply-100-Ba-0600-K1/dp/B08BNRGWXZ/

 

Just verify it's got all the plugs you need.  

[qwcd]

33 minutes ago, LapsedMemory said:

Something like this should work:

https://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Bronze-Power-Supply-100-Ba-0600-K1/dp/B08BNRGWXZ/

 

Just verify it's got all the plugs you need.  

sorry for such a late reply but this PSU seems good for me just only one issue, its a US plug and im based in the UK

[Spotty]

45 minutes ago, qwcd said:

This is the PSU I am using, no idea if it effects anything because I have no idea about PSUs: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/184379493450

Yeah, that power supply is garbage and would definitely cause issues. As @LapsedMemory mentioned it's only rated up to 22A on the 12V rail (264W), and that's being generous assuming the label on those power supplies can be trusted. I'm betting the voltage on 12V rail is dropping considerably under load which is probably what is causing the system/GPU to crash.

 

The GTX 980 requires two PCIe connectors, how are you powering off that power supply which lacks PCIe connectors? SATA or Molex to PCIe adapters? Those can be a fire hazard, especially with a cheap power supply like that one. You should remove the graphics card from the system and use the integrated CPU graphics until you replace the PSU.

[qwcd]

Uh Im really bad with power supply stuff so im not sure which is which to be honest but I know its a 2x4 pin to 6 pin PCIe adapters. I'll send an image below of the exact ones that I have. 

[Spotty]

2 minutes ago, qwcd said:

sorry for such a late reply but this PSU seems good for me just only one issue, its a US plug and im based in the UK

The power cable is replaceable and you can swap it out with any other power cable, but yeah it's definitely better to buy locally if you can.

 

Have a look for PSUs like the Cooler Master MWE, EVGA BA/BQ/BR, Corsair CV/CX. They're normally pretty affordable budget PSUs. Avoid cheap stuff from Aerocool, Deepcool, EVGA N1/W1, Thermaltake Smart/Litepower.

 

Amazon has this listed for 40 Pounds, but I can't tell if the 15 pound shipping it's showing me is cause it's trying to calculate shipping to me in Australia.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cooler-Master-White-v2-Power-Supply/dp/B0825KW9BJ

 

You can get some better PSUs if you're okay with spending over 50 pounds, but those listed above should work fine for your system.

[qwcd]

4 minutes ago, Spotty said:

The power cable is replaceable and you can swap it out with any other power cable, but yeah it's definitely better to buy locally if you can.

 

Have a look for PSUs like the Cooler Master MWE, EVGA BA/BQ/BR, Corsair CV/CX. They're normally pretty affordable budget PSUs. Avoid cheap stuff from Aerocool, Deepcool, EVGA N1/W1, Thermaltake Smart/Litepower.

 

Amazon has this listed for 40 Pounds, but I can't tell if the 15 pound shipping it's showing me is cause it's trying to calculate shipping to me in Australia.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cooler-Master-White-v2-Power-Supply/dp/B0825KW9BJ

 

You can get some better PSUs if you're okay with spending over 50 pounds, but those listed above should work fine for your system.

should I get the bronze 230V or the white 230V? or is either okay because I dont mind buying either I just need to know if there is one that is more preferable than the other. Also yes the £15 shipping is just because of your location.

[Spotty]

2 minutes ago, qwcd said:

should I get the bronze 230V or the white 230V? or is either okay because I dont mind buying either I just need to know if there is one that is more preferable than the other. Also yes the £15 shipping is just because of your location.

The bronze version is slightly more power efficient. Amazon isn't showing me a price for the bronze 230V version though so I'm not sure how much it costs, so I can't say whether or not it's worth the additional cost.

[qwcd]

17 minutes ago, Spotty said:

The bronze version is slightly more power efficient. Amazon isn't showing me a price for the bronze 230V version though so I'm not sure how much it costs, so I can't say whether or not it's worth the additional cost.

strangely enough it costs less by only £0.08

[LapsedMemory]

56 minutes ago, qwcd said:

sorry for such a late reply but this PSU seems good for me just only one issue, its a US plug and im based in the UK

The cable you currently plug into your PC from you wall will fit into this power supply as well.  The power supply has it's own universal standard plug specifically for this reason.

 

 

 

 

 

[Spotty]

21 minutes ago, qwcd said:

strangely enough it costs less by only £0.08

Either is fine, but if they're the same price may as well get the slightly more power efficient Bronze one.

[qwcd]

sorry for the insanely late reply but good news my pc works fine now after buying and installing the power supply. thank you so much for the help