I have a gtx 1660 super which turns off in the middle of doing something. I don’t get any output to my monitor and even restarting doesn’t solve the problem. It is quite random and very frustrating to say the least. The only solution I have now is to wait for an hour or so and restart - I’ll get display output if I’m lucky.
When the gpu stops, the motherboard debug led doesn’t light up. The led lights up only when I restart the PC.
Is there any way to check if the issue lies with the motherboard or the gpu without using another graphics card ?
(I dont have integrated graphics either, because I have an i5 10400f)
My motherboard is - MSI B460 M Pro VDH wifi
EDIT: Got a 4 month used rx 6600 for ~ $120 and now this problem no longer happens. it’s not a substantial upgrade from my 1660 Super but an upgrade nonetheless.
With those symptoms (dying under load and takes an hour to turn back on) I would put it at a 90% chance this is a thermal issue with the video card. Have you made sure the GPU fans spin when under load? If they aren’t spinning that’s going to be your problem. If they are, how dirty is the heat sink and has that ever been cleaned? If you have pets and live in a place with carpet or a smoker you will get buildup in the heat sink that can kill airflow. With this card only being ~4 years old at most, I wouldn’t expect the thermal paste to be an issue but it wouldn’t hurt to replace it.
If I understand correctly, you’re getting a sudden loss of signal to the monitor but the rest of your system remains powered on (fans, lights, maybe capslock is also still responsive).
An abrupt full system shutdown is often the result of a thermal or power problem. If a component (CPU, GPU) overheats or the power supply is asked to deliver more power than it is able to, everything will cut out.
Others are citing thermal issues and there is merit in checking your temperatures but that is not likely to be the case here because of what I just listed. I would also add that an overheated GPU will be able to power on again within minutes, not an hour, after the shutdown event.
Symptoms point to a likely defective GPU. The most common point of failure is the VRAM. You can find and run Nvidia MATS/MODS diagnostic software to test the card’s memory and confirm whether or not that is what’s happening.
Ultimately, troubleshooting is a matter of isolating problems and the best way to isolate a hardware issue is by substituting in supplemental hardware.
If you’re able to replicate the issue fairly quickly (e.g by running a benchmark program to force the card to drop out), you might start with the power supply since it’s usually the cheaper component to replace.
I got a different GPU (an rx 6600) and it works fine. Never had the display blacking out problem even once.
If it’s a problem with the VRAM, will my 1660 super be fixable ? I would like to give it to my younger sibling, if I can get it fixed.
Why do you say you need to wait an hour?
I can’t speak to what is common practice in pcbuilds but if time is a factor I expect the issue to be thermal, especially if it is working and then stops. Check everything that has to do with power and use any available method to check for hot components. Any experienced electronics hobbyist will usually just do touch tests on chips, electrolytic capacitors, and inductors if you have decent access to board level components. Most GPUs have all the stuff covered in nonsense cosmetics. You just need to touch something grounded so that you don’t have a static charge potential before touching board stuff.
I’m not saying this is your issue or anything, but it is common for through hole components that experience a lot of heat cycles eventually developing solder joint issues especially if the original manually soldered joint was bad. I would look for any power wire connection issue first.
The first rule of troubleshooting is “thou shalt check circuit ground.” If there is some kind of real delay, I would cause the issue, and then immediately probe between the card and motherboard ground to check that they are still connected. Then I would put a 10A rated multimeter in series with ground and check the current to the card before and during the fault. Don’t go down this path until people experienced with more pcbuilds chime in, this is just general electronics 101 type info.
