GPU Problem. 8800m GTX. Help please.

Hello everybody,

Im having some issues with my 8800 gtx and was hoping you could help me pin point what is wrong with it. Which part is fried, if any.

Now...to let you know what I have already tried:

*I opened the case and cleaned the heatsinks, fans and everything else. The temperature did decreased a little.

*Did a few stress tests on the Memory/CPU to rule them out (Memtest86 and Primus95)


What is happening now is that whenever I start a game or even 3Dmark06, the screen goes black, and even tho I cant see, I still hear the sounds. It happens only when I strain the GPU.

I was thinking maybe it could be a power problem. Maybe a issue with the AC adapter. Can you tell me anyway I can rule that out?

And with this discription, do you have any guess on which part of the card is fried, if any?

 

Does it do the same thing when you are on battery only?

*Edit: If you want to be 100% sure that it's the video card another trick is to start the computer with the integrated graphics card. To do this you can either boot up the computer like normal and press fn+f7 (and reboot when it asks) or you can hold the right click on the touch pad for 5 seconds while the power is off. This will turn on the computer and boot it using the integrated GM965 video card.

Another few things I'd try:

-Monitor temps when u start stressing the 8800; determine if overheating is the problem. Let us know what your temps are right before it goes black.

-Uninstall your nvidia drivers and try a different one. The new 186.03 drivers are available at Nvidia.com

 

Ill try it in battery mode, but I don't expect a different result.

The temperature is not that high, cause there is no time to make it hot. The screen goes black as soon as I try to display any kind of 3D graphic. Like, it goes black the instant the 3dmark06 loading screen ends.

Im pretty sure its the VGA. I am using the integrated card right now and its just fine.

Also, i already tried ALL the drivers. From 165 to 186 which is the one I am currently using.

It is the video card for sure, I was just wondering if anyone can help me pinpoint which part of the VGA is fried or whatever is causing the problem, so I can try to fix it myself, cause even tho it is still under warranty, I live in another country and it is not so easy to send it to AW. So if there is any chance I could fix it, I would try.

 

No new ideas?

 

have you updated the graphics driver?

 

When the gpu is under too much stress the screen will go black, usually it will flicker once or twice and stay like that until u manually shut the game off. You should see a notice on your taskbar that says your display adapter has failed or something along those lines.

I get this problem alot when I push up the clocks on my card, recently the tolerance for higher clocks has gone down quite a bit. Heat is not the reason, that's all I really know. I hope I helped a little.

 

If you went through it with an Alienware Tech and they figured out it was the GPU they would send you a replacement without the need to send the machine in. I would highly advise you do this since you are still within warranty.

 

Before you do anything, try to uninstall the graphics driver and reinstall it. The AW tech will make you do the same thing when you call them up.