is my gpu bad?

[Ser Superior001]

hi, yesterday i got issues with my monitor: screen flickering, a sky blue screen and a red screen etc, i changed my monitor for another second hand and their cables (power and vga/dvi), i deleted the driver with DDU and same, then i was watching youtube without driver installed for like 40 minutes then i downloaded again the drivers from the official nvidia drivers website and installed the 581.42 mmm and looks like the issue was fixed (but i installed that driver before and wasnt fixed) i really dont get whats wrong, already tested 1 ram module and same, today i cleaned the gpu from dust, some guys tells me that the issue can be the pci express port1, so today i am using the pci express port 2. What is the most stable driver for my gtx 750 ti 2gb?, the first time i installed the 581.42 some weeks ago it was perfect, i think i won some fps, but now a bit slower, do the pci express 1 gives you more speed/performance? i got 3 of them.

 

im using the second pci express in mobo it is the azus 97 pro gamer

[Sanedish]

PCI slots usually are like this:

> First = Primary

      --> Full Gen(whatever)x16 bandwidth

> Anything else: cuts down on bandwidth as usually used for peripherals, but most are either x4 or 8. Look up your motherboard for more details.

 

Drivers:

Try booting into a fresh copy of windows and use that for a while with the currently working drivers. If the issue goes away, check back on your primary install. If they return there it's your windows, if they return on the fresh OS your card likely has issues. 

[PDifolco]

Well your GPU is like 12 years old, dying won't come unexpected at that age...

[SpookyCitrus]

There is also a newer driver available. However, if no matter what you have done from the list you posted above you are still getting these random screens and crashing I'd say the Vram is going out on your card. It isn't really a surprise though that card has lived a long life. You can easily find an upgrade from a 750Ti for pretty inexpensive these days.

[Ser Superior001]

1 hour ago, Sanedish said:

PCI slots usually are like this:

> First = Primary

      --> Full Gen(whatever)x16 bandwidth

> Anything else: cuts down on bandwidth as usually used for peripherals, but most are either x4 or 8. Look up your motherboard for more details.

 

Drivers:

Try booting into a fresh copy of windows and use that for a while with the currently working drivers. If the issue goes away, check back on your primary install. If they return there it's your windows, if they return on the fresh OS your card likely has issues. 

 

If I don't forget it I'll come around and edit the Reply to be more in-depth and well formatted. On mobile right now :((. 

cant use another windows 10 copy, it is already registered in the mobo its OEM

[Ser Superior001]

20 minutes ago, PDifolco said:

Well your GPU is like 12 years old, dying won't come unexpected at that age...

bought september 23? 2016

[Ser Superior001]

17 minutes ago, SpookyCitrus said:

There is also a newer driver available. However, if no matter what you have done from the list you posted above you are still getting these random screens and crashing I'd say the Vram is going out on your card. It isn't really a surprise though that card has lived a long life. You can easily find an upgrade from a 750Ti for pretty inexpensive these days.

mmmmmmmmmm since 2016 i bought it mmmmm, what do you mean with vram going out?

[PDifolco]

35 minutes ago, xXAXONXx said:

bought september 23? 2016

Was already discontinued/old gen, got my 780 early 2014 and 900 series released late 2014...Anyway your card is ancient  

[Ser Superior001]

4 hours ago, PDifolco said:

Was already discontinued/old gen, got my 780 early 2014 and 900 series released late 2014...Anyway your card is ancient  

whats that ROPa/TMUs in teh picture

[Eigenvektor]

6 hours ago, xXAXONXx said:

cant use another windows 10 copy, it is already registered in the mobo its OEM

A fresh copy means reinstalling Windows. Which is fine/possible, since you have a license associated with the machine.

 

1 hour ago, xXAXONXx said:

whats that ROPa/TMUs in teh picture

Number of Raster Operation Pipelines/Processors (ROPs) and number of Texture Mapping Units (TMUs) the card has.

 

But they aren't comparable across generations. A 12 year old card's ROPs and TMUs will be much slower than the ones found on a modern card. So even if the numbers are the same, the modern card will be much faster.

[SpookyCitrus]

17 hours ago, xXAXONXx said:

mmmmmmmmmm since 2016 i bought it mmmmm, what do you mean with vram going out?

Graphics cards have video memory(Vram) it's what is advertised when a card is 2GB, 4GB, 6G, 8GB, etc. It's the storage and storage buffer for all graphical tasks ran through it. Game textures, videos, images, etc. The actual video memory on the card can fail. With a card that old being used for so long especially if you play on it a lot, the Vram can fail or wear out. Could also be overheating if the card has never been repasted or had thermal pads refreshed. Though that isn't really worth doing on a 700 series card. You can find a new GPU for less than $100 that would be better than that 750Ti. However, if you're running an H97 motherboard with a 4th Generation intel processor, that system is old enough you're at the point of just buying or building a new computer would be more beneficial and save you money in the long run. You're past the point of limping that old of a system along, 4th generation doesn't support Windows 11, or have tpm 2.0 or secure boot, most newer games are requiring those features now. Even older games are being updated to where they are necessary features. 

 

I'd say you have two options for this system. You can spend around $100 to $200 on a newer model of GPU to get another year if even that out of the computer, then you'll have to end up replacing most if not all of the components in upgrades to continue using the computer.

 

Or you can put some money into building or buying a new computer, or building a budget computer using newer used hardware that is still currently supported. This would be the better option in the long run.

 

I wouldn't think this would be really all that surprising or hard to hear. You've used a system for well past the normal lifespan of a gaming PC and the lifespan of the components in it. Stuff going out at this age is pretty common. You can't expect something like a computer to last forever. 

[MadAnt250]

Try an old known working driver from like last year, some people have been having issues with newer Nvidia drivers.

 

 

[Ser Superior001]

On 10/22/2025 at 4:09 PM, MadAnt250 said:

Try an old known working driver from like last year, some people have been having issues with newer Nvidia drivers.

 

 

with the gtx 750ti?

[MadAnt250]

13 hours ago, xXAXONXx said:

with the gtx 750ti?

That's the GPU you are using, either it works or it's borked.

[Ser Superior001]

10 hours ago, MadAnt250 said:

That's the GPU you are using, either it works or it's borked.

mmm poeple have issues with newest nvidia drivers?, with the 700/900/10 series right

[MadAnt250]

13 hours ago, xXAXONXx said:

mmm poeple have issues with newest nvidia drivers?, with the 700/900/10 series right

Mostly with the RTX cards, but it could be possible with the older gpus. With they way things have been going and the stuff people have been reporting, I would be cautious with drivers for the older supported cards too, but that's just me.