Gaming rig...help with client computer with vid card issues.

[YeOldeStonecat]

Built a lot of higher end gaming rigs many years ago, but I'm over 15 years "out of touch" with current hardware.
So a new client down here, her husband likes to game, he has been having issues with his...sorta getting old rig. MSI 270sli mobo, has a pair of Asus Geforce RTX (Dual-GTX1050ti-04g-vs) cards in it.

Sometimes the computer boots up the desktop fine....other times....not. I remove a card...it tends to boot up a little more reliably...swap cards....one card seems to more frequently prevent bootup. But even with the first card in..it's not 100% bootup. Seems like it fails to complete bootup when bootup is switching out of the VGA mode.

Pull both cards..and pop the HDMI cable into the integrated video..and she boots up 100% of the time just fine,

Uninstalled the nVidia software, downloaded and installed the latest...installed using the "fully remove all prior drivers" option....still gave me the symptoms.

Looking closely at the back of the video card that was on top...looks like something like soda splashed on it from behind the tower. The lower video card had a little bit of splash marks. Although to me, doesn't look like enough to cause issues..but...there they are.

Wondering what vid card would be a good single card replacement. I don't want to sink much money into this, he's an old game server guy in his later years, this gaming rig is older too, an i7 4 core 7th gen CPU, 32 gigs of RAM. Thermaltake 740w PS. Want to economically nurse it along for the rest of the summer for him, allow him to backup his stuff, game for a while, do what he has to do to recover his Steam account that he lost his password to, and...we can build a new gaming rig in another 6 months.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Also, wondering if the SLI mode causes issues when you remove one card.
I am running the nVidia software removal tool now, I'll try putting just 1x card in after this....hopefully any SLI setting is "gone" from the removal tool cleanup.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

And...if purchasing a vid card for his current hardware (has a pair of PCIe 3.0 x16 slots)....a card that is a good upgrade now, yet...would work fine in brand new hardware say next fall.

 

[Philippe]

Test the RAM, only to be sure. Random crashes are often RAM related...

 

[Sky-Knight]

GTX1050s? Are you sure that's not 1080ti?

If they are 1050s, they're too cheap to care... replace it with a single 4060 for a HUGE upgrade.

But if it's a dual 1080, that performance is dual 3060 level today, so a 4060 would be a bit of a downgrade on performance, but an upgrade on features for $400.

The issue you're having is:
1.) Defective Power Supply.
2.) Defective RAM on main board.
3.) Defective GPU.


And those are in order of likelihood.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Yup, two of these cards...

 

[Markverhyden]

not booting up completely? Meaning it hangs, crashes, etc? I'd try booting a linux distro just 4 grains. 1050's were released like 10 year ago. Thats like the Middle Age's in computer hardware. Have you tried the cards in another machine. The fact that it boots fine with onboard video further indicates those old cards might be the culprit.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Yeah I've tried booting up quite a few times with various combinations of the two nVidia cards....both in...horrible reliability to boot up. One at a time in, swapping 1 at a time, it's not as crash prone booting up. Without any nVidia card....using just the onboard...she boots up pretty much every time.

When it "crashes"...if an nVidia card is in, the monitor will show the initial POST, the MSI setup screen...and then start the Windows dotted circles...but then the monitor goes dark...and after a bit...the light on the monitor goes from green to amber. Only way out is a hard power cycle.
Right now she's on like the 6th successful bootup out of 6 tries, on the built in video, both nVidia cards removed. Running Prime 95 for the past hour.

These SLI motherboards, poking around the setup utility, I don't see options to enable SLI, or not. Guess it's just "automatic".
In this new small branch office I just opened last year, I don't have spare parts like we had in our main office up in CT...so no extra video cards to test.

I'm leaning towards "it's not the RAM"...due to it booting up just fine and dandy without either single or both nVidia cards in.
Power supply...could be....if it's pushed by trying to power a vid card or two.
The vid card(s) themselves...I'd accept that 1 would fail. I have a hard time believing both would fail. Wondering why it won't run with just a single one in.
Motherboard itself....possibly...but I've rarely seen a system board go. I did reset to defaults.

 

[frase]

Have you spoken to the customer about the splashes that you have found?
Are you using your monitor or the customers as it could be refresh rate issue on the monitor/cable itself?
Check the Debug LED's on the board to verify the sequence as well.

 

[Sky-Knight]

SLI on a 50 series card... that's... dumb. Not sure who thought that was a good idea, but it's dumb.

I would run a memory test on the machine to validate the RAM, then replace the PSU and the GPU with a 4060 and walk away.

5060 launch has been pushed to May, that's another possibility depending on pricing.

AMD Radeon RX 7600 is team red's equivalent in this space. It's a bit cheaper too.

My larger concern is, does this rig support Win11? If not... he's in for replacement anyway.

 

[Porthos]

My larger concern is, does this rig support Win11? If not... he's in for replacement anyway.

i7 4 core 7th gen CPU

Nope

 

[fincoder]

What's the CPU model exactly? Just wondering if it has onboard graphics. Running for a bit without a graphics card (or with a spare) would ensure the cards are the problem.

 

[Markverhyden]

I'm leaning towards "it's not the RAM"...due to it booting up just fine and dandy without either single or both nVidia cards in.
Power supply...could be....if it's pushed by trying to power a vid card or two.
The vid card(s) themselves...I'd accept that 1 would fail. I have a hard time believing both would fail. Wondering why it won't run with just a single one in.
Motherboard itself....possibly...but I've rarely seen a system board go. I did reset to defaults.

No all failures are catastrophic. I'd bet that better than 50% are of the gremlin type. You know there's a problem but you just can't put you hand on it. Years ago, before I knew or understood the difference, I bought the lowest priced consumer routers. While it took a few years all of those failed after 2-3 years. Mind you I was running my servers out of the house so plenty of traffic. Failure modes were all similar. The router starts hanging, including really slow speeds. Only solution was to power cycle it. Just keeps on happening. Replace and all is great.

If it was me I'd, after discussing with customer, buy one new card. Better one obviously. Works then install the second one and Bob's your Uncle.

 

[Sky-Knight]

Nope

I missed that detail... and yes, if the unit is not Windows 11 viable, no further investment makes sense.

Replace it with a unit that has a 4060 or equivalent in it.

Something like this: https://www.ibuypower.com/store/rdy-scale-004

 

[frase]

I missed that detail... and yes, if the unit is not Windows 11 viable, no further investment makes sense.

Replace it with a unit that has a 4060 or equivalent in it.

Something like this: https://www.ibuypower.com/store/rdy-scale-004

3080 would do better than a 4060 IMHO.

 

[Sky-Knight]

3080 would do better than a 4060 IMHO.

Of course it would, it also costs twice as much, and is no longer for sale new.

Now if you want the roll the dice on a used card, knock yourself out. For me? I only deal in new components, GPU in particular.

 

[frase]

Of course it would, it also costs twice as much, and is no longer for sale new.

Now if you want the roll the dice on a used card, knock yourself out. For me? I only deal in new components, GPU in particular.

Fair play.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

My intention is not to go for a new computer now. I'm just "gently helping him out" more so as a favor to a good client. He needs time on his current computer...to prepare things. Goal is to get a card that will work in his current system...and take that investment (the new vid card)...and when it comes time for his "new computer" later this summer....move that card over.

He seems to play mostly many variations of Half Life, and I see some Far Cry version on there also.

I'll also see what his budget is for now....he seemed to agree to a "mid range" card.

 

[Metanis]

Does your office in CT have an old used GPU laying around? Otherwise you don't really have palatable options. Because if you put a new decent GPU in the old rig you're likely to also need to put in a new power supply to deal with it. And now you're approaching half the cost of a brand new system.

 

[Sky-Knight]

My intention is not to go for a new computer now. I'm just "gently helping him out" more so as a favor to a good client. He needs time on his current computer...to prepare things. Goal is to get a card that will work in his current system...and take that investment (the new vid card)...and when it comes time for his "new computer" later this summer....move that card over.

He seems to play mostly many variations of Half Life, and I see some Far Cry version on there also.

I'll also see what his budget is for now....he seemed to agree to a "mid range" card.

Then he gets a 4060, I've got two of those for my small boys they work perfectly for everything they've thrown at them so far.

I've got a 4070ti Super in this rig, and my oldest's. These cards have the memory volume to play with LLMs locally, which is what they're for. They are certainly a MUCH larger investment.

And I'll continue to point out team red's option of a Radeon RX 7600, it's quite comparable to the 4060, but has a lower price point. You do lose out on some features, but if gaming is the only goal it should do fine.

A couple final notes, we are 1 month away from the 5060's launch... waiting may be a good idea too. I still think the primary failure you're fighting is the PSU, he'll need a decent one of those for the new rig as well. Go get a Seasonic 850W, it's $150, and will probably outlive all of us. The issue you're describing sounds like ye olde "lights on but no one home" problem associated with the 3.3v rail going low during post. Those tend to be intermittent, until they aren't. If this assumption is true, a PSU will light up the current cards and free you from risking the new GPU in the old main board. If the PSU gives you fits later, best warranty on the shelf.