GPU Issues?

[Icarus_got_high]

I have just built my first system (specs below) and I am having an issue which I suspect is related to the GPU.

Basically the whole system performs fine on the most demanding games I have to throw at it, decent frame rate, no stuttering or anything but then after a while I get a crash to a grey/colored screen with vertical light grey lines down it and I can't interact with anything. I can still hear whatever sounds were going on at the time of the crash but there is no way for me to get out of it, I have to hard reset my PC. Only seems to happen if I'm really pushing it though.

I suspect this is an issue with the GPU but do you guys think anything else could be to blame? I have tried to keep an eye on the temps it's getting to as I though it might be related to that but they seem reasonable (mid 70°C's under heavy load).

I was planning on rma'ing the GPU but just thought I'd see if i should be considering anything else as well/instead.

Thanks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor
Motherboard: Asus Z97M-PLUS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 280X 3GB DirectCU II Video Card
Case: Corsair 350D Window MicroATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: Corsair RM 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN881ND 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter

 

[PP Mguire]

Download MSI Afterburner (if you don't already have it) and run Kombustor to see how hot the GPU is getting.

Download Coretemp standalone and Prime95. Run Prime for 10 minutes to get a good solid load temp on your CPU.

Report back with load temps.

Prime95 (64bit) - 25.11 Download - EXTREME Overclocking
http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/php/download.php?id=3

 

[Icarus_got_high]

Ok, so coretemp crashes my system (a quick google search indicates I'm not the only one) so I used HWmonitor instead.

Ran Prime 95 (using the max. heat option) for 20 mins and the max temp was 80°C, no problems.

Using Kombustor, I ran for about 5-6 mins, last temp I saw was 88°C (it might have reached 89-90°; I looked away from my screen) and then I got the grey screen crash.

I guess that kind of backs up what I was thinking as I'm pretty sure it shouldn't just crash like that at those temps (hot as they are).

Should I be concerned about those CPU temps? At the moment I'm just using the stock cooler as I don't plan on OC'ing for a while.

 

[PP Mguire]

Ehhhh it could potentially be an issue, but unless you're doing transcoding or whatever you'll never see a complete 100% CPU usage scenario.

And yup, the card would be the issue. Did this happen with the fan at 100%? Considering you have a DCUII card temps really shouldn't reach that high.

 

[Icarus_got_high]

Yeah with the fans at 100%. I'll try my luck with a different card.

Out of interest what temps should I be expecting out of it when running Kombustor? I haven't really found much online about what to expect but I know Kombustor pushes it really hard. Is mid-high 70°C's more than what you'd expect in a more realistic (but demanding) scenario like say playing Tomb Raider on ultra?

Should I have to look at upgrading my case cooling? I didn't really think I would with just running things at stock at the moment.

Thanks.

 

[PP Mguire]

Your temps are technically fine. The fact that you're having some issues without the card being hot means it could be faulty.