WTB: nVidia 980 for m17x R4

Looking to buy nVidia 980 for my m17x R4 because my current card is malfunctioning. Preferably a new card cause I like that kinda thing but I am not totally closed to the idea of a used one either. I live in Belgium so hopefully shipping is not too much of an issue.


Current Issue:
Intermittently (at least once per day, sometimes more & repeatedly) screen goes blank with only backlight on. I have tested this in a few ways:

1. Pressing power button resulted in the 'Log Off'sound and PC shutdown normally.

2. Had music playing (in Gom Player) and waited for black screen - I was still able to pause/unpause the music and all three keys (Num, Scroll & Caps Lock) still toggled the respective LEDs on and off. Was also able to shutdown normally.

3. Removed the nVidia card and booted using only Inegrated graphics card: have not had the black screen yet (circa 3 weeks and counting testing this)

4. I even installed a new SSD with a fresh install of Windows 7 and PC still behaves the same way.


At first I assumed an LCD issue but it performs normally on integrated graphics so it was either the Motherboard or Graphics card. I guess it could be the connector on the Motherboard side but I think likely (hopefully) not.

Would be most appreciative of any advice/experience with my current predicament.

 

have you tried running the dell diagnostics tool?
select it from the boot options menu

 

I have run the Dell Diagnostics twice now, the full length version that took over an hour. To my utter amazement the results come back showing no errors at all. Then of course it continues to work for the next few hours as normal but then, as always, it eventually gives the same black, backlit screen. Now since removing the nVidia card it runs like a dream (no games of course though with integrated card).

I will, for the sake of my sanity, install the card and run it again. I will post back with the results.

- FYI, the black backlight screen sometimes even has shown during post/startup too. A couple times I even had 8 beeps error code at system boot too which lead me to believe it was the LCD but apparently not.

 

Diagnostic ran perfectly and gave good results. I noticed that the Video Fan was on zero RPM at the start of the test but then later it had circa 1700RPM and it also had a good result from the test. When I pressed 'No'to run the extended test I immediately got my black screen. Powered off and started as normal and the second I saw my desktop I was again greeted with the black screen.
Could this be a simple GPU Fan Issue causing the card to switch off at a certain temperature? that would be most nice having to only replace the Fan.

I have photos of screens if needed.

-thanks again for input

 

i hope you mean a 980M and not a 980 cos the cards for the 980 definitely don't fit!

 

Yes definitely mean 980M I currently have a 675M but seeing as it looks like it's dead I guess it's a good time to upgrade if possible.

 

upgrade wise. i would suggest wait & see how it goes with the new nvidia/amd gpus.

if the system reaches 100deg c screen will go black as you described. it happened to me once but that was some time ago (for some reason my fans did not start up and i was in a game)
but i cant imagine this being it as your laptop should not get so hot so quickly. And you should hear the fans

do you use HWinfo 64 to measure temps?
what temp does it happen at?

 

You could always pick up a FirePro M6000 while you wait since it may be a while before mobile Pascal is here. The M6000 can be had for about $80 on eBay. It's not as fast as the 675M. Or... just get the 980M. There is a used one for sale in the marketplace for $600.

http://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Nvidia-GTX-675M-vs-AMD-FirePro-M6000/m8829vsm7770

 

I'm also selling a 780M for 300 + shipping if you're interested....double the performance and vram of the 675M

 

To me it feels like an overheating issue because it works fine after a week or so on non-use. Then once it occurs it likely occurs again soon after, eventually resulting in it happening right before POST even. I did also notice that during the Dell diagnostic the speed of the GPU fan was 0 RPM for most of the test and only kicked in towards the end. Would you say this behaviour is normal during a Diagnostic test, or does this also point to Fan issue perhaps? (or even the heatsink/thermal paste gone bad?)

I will install it again and see if I can save a log file while it happens. I have mostly used GPUz but will give HWinfo 64 a good try at is looks much further in-depth.

 

Yes it is normal, the fan reading always lags a little bit. 675M is a direct rebadge of the GTX 580M, which was known to be a junk card. You can try to use liquid flux + heatgun to revive it, but it is most likely dead. They like to die frequently, quite surprised yours lasted this long.

 

GPU fan was 0 RPM for most of the test and only kicked in towards the end. Would you say this behaviour is normal during a Diagnostic test, or does this also point to Fan issue perhaps?

did it actually pass the GPU fan check?

GPU fan on mine goes to 4700 at the start then settles & during GPU fan check up to 4700 again.

the behavior of your does not seem right i would imagine it is a fan issue & to replace the fan

but i don't know what state your gpu is in/damage caused cant imagine it being to good for it but as @Raidriar says they are know the GTX675m/580m are known for overheating issues

hwinfo 64 you can for a fan speed / set a custom curve
http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...e-in-benchmark-with-on-screen-display.655138/
an excellent guide on hwinfo64 by @Mr. Fox a little outdated thou on the settings but other wise great & if you use rainmeter there are desktop graphs & such or there are gadgets that work with it