Guild Wars 2

Played since launch and have changed my graphics card 7 times in 2.5years already.

Everytime it dies off it says something like “nvidia driver stopped responding…” then more black screens then card fries.

Change graphics card and everything is ok again.

I suppose the massive world boss and the wvw zergs are responsible for my cards demise?

Power supplies and motherboards can cause GPUs to die. Proper cooling is also important.

No GPU from a valid manufacturer will ever “die” because of world bosses or wvw zergs, most systems will simply turn off when they reach excessive heat levels.

Set FPS to 30 and you´re good to go and everything is cooler and quieter.

BTW after loosing my 1st gfx card I would´ve taken a good hard look at this kitten case that is murdering them by not providing proper air flow.
After the 3rd I would´ve started watercooling the gorram things. Jeez.

It sounds like you`re super unlucky with your graphics cards or using some poor no-name PSU that is just few batteries glued together.

Yeah I am willing to put money on the fact you have a junk power supply.

i don’t know man, mine is premade from dell. it kept spoiling and the technician downgraded my graphics driver. then it lasted for a long time but as soon as i started to upgrade the driver to the latest, it starts to spoil again…

HawkMeister.4758:

BTW after loosing my 1st gfx card I would´ve taken a good hard look at this kitten case that is murdering them by not providing proper air flow.
After the 3rd I would´ve started watercooling the gorram things. Jeez.

This.
The case (and the cooling within) are the primary suspects here. Power supply would be a close second.

Zackie.8923:

i don’t know man, mine is premade from dell.

Ouch, man, i feel for you.

I dont know the dell`s build quality but it`s no way that game/driver would fry a GPU, worst thing that happens if GPU is too weak is that you get bad framerate. It`s most likely cooling/PSU problem.

Critical Lag.9075:

I dont know the dell`s build quality

It’s actually quite high, but meant for office workstations, not game rigs. Most of the cases i have seen just couldn’t handle the temperature even on moderate GPU usage of modestly good graphic cards. Not without installing additional heavy-duty cooling anyway (which dell doesn’t supply, you have to get that on your own).
Though usually dell bios would force a shutdown before reaching critical temperature levels.

I’d suggest looking at your hardware and investing in a cooling unit. There’s 0 reason GW2 would be killing your GPU’s, I’d instead look at whether you’re overclocking too much, running too hot, etc.

i guess i should stop using dell to play games, what should i use then? any recommendations besides self build?

Zackie.8923:

i guess i should stop using dell to play games, what should i use then? any recommendations besides self build?

There’s plenty of online retailers offering custom builds these days, heck you can even look at ebay for some good custom built systems.

Self build are best and cheapest. You can look some builds on hardware forums and then just order parts with build service (they`ll send you PC built with parts you have chosen).

Have you ever checked it’s temperatures in those 2.5 years?

Try using MSI Afterburner or something and see if it’s liek 90+ degrees.

Also update drivers, including motherboard ones. See if there’s any “!” icons in device manager.

This sounds like improper cooling with possible combination of lack of PSU supply.

maybe you should buy an AMD card.

I’ve found that Dell (and it’s subsidiary, Alienware) ship their PCs with incredibly deficient power supplies.

It’s worse now that they are using external PSUs in order to save on case size.

Zackie.8923:

i don’t know man, mine is premade from dell. it kept spoiling and the technician downgraded my graphics driver. then it lasted for a long time but as soon as i started to upgrade the driver to the latest, it starts to spoil again…

Dell PSU quality is miss or hit depending on what range it was at purchase.
An underpowered PSU of questionable quality can burn if its overloading and or subjected to too much heat.
Full specs?
Including the amperage and rail layout of your PSU. Its on the sticker on the side.

When u play games the cpu and gpu temp are going to be very high so most likely the video card was over heating b/c the case lacks the proper airflow.

There is nothing wrong with Dell, the game or what you are trying to do. You simply have a hardware fault, probably in motherboard or PSU that is frying your cards. It’s unlikely to be heat over so many cards but if you are concerned just download HWMonitor and check, it’s more likely to be voltage that’s wrong to your card.

if your dell warranty is up, you could buy a different casing and transfer your current components to there. the casing doesn’t need to be something extravagant but make sure it’s big enough so there’s ample space between components so that when one gets hot, the others don’t take the hit. casing fans are cheap. you could buy an extra 2 or 3 as long as your motherboard can take them, put it on where the casing allows them to for more airflow. try to make sure you are not using any application or bios setting that is overclocking the video card. if you need help in doing all this, you can ask your local shop guy or maybe even where you buy the casing.

To my knowledge, GW2 also pulls power from the CPU (not GPU) for much of its graphics processing, this was one of the things I found interesting about the game.

This game should have absolutely 0 reasons why the Graphics card would be burning out.All games pull from the GPU in some capacity, and its all an even amount depending on the games settings. As others have said:
1. Power Supply
2. Air Flow
3. Dust
4. Overclocking (seriously this is the biggest, stupidest thing someone can do to their computer, minuscule gain over massive loss in sustainability)

Classic things are:

Environment & Location:

1. High ambient temp (room temperature),
2. High humidity
3. wrong location for the case (in a cabinet/closet so air cannot move freely or be refreshed)
4. PC in (direct) sunlight, especially black cases (case temps can reach 50-80 celsius causing serious overheating.
5. placement on a carpet (if you have a bottom fan it will not do anything, some PSU’s are bottom mounted, and suck air from below/ low back… if they do not get cooled (well) you will have a decent heater in your PC…

Physical:

1. Case too small: not allowing the air to move freely
2. Loose wires obstructing the case, blocked fans, fans incapable of turning due to loose wires/ other objects, disconnected fans (you might have put in a HDD or SSD and forgot to reconnect the wire, or you might have needed the power connector (splitters cost 2 euros?)
3. Wrong fan placement overpressure is preferred at all times: more fan capacity blowing in then out. excess air will vent out)
4. fans obstructed by other peripheral cards e.g. audio, tv, network
5. bad PSU (unstable or just a bit off, or just to low capacity.)
6. Bad Motherboard (/ CMOS and so on…)
7. Motherboards Voltage Regulator fried, damaged or corrupt…

User & Maintenance:

1. excessive OC-ing or factory OC-ed with ambient high temps at your location
2. Oc-ed in winter/morning/night tthen overheating during mid day.
3. Drivers, auto overclocking by drivers.
4. DUST, lot of dust, clogged fans, clogged fiters, a resident spider / other bugs
5. dust build up around your pc (if you have dust shields/filters and they are dirty clean ’m… OFTEN if needed, I blow ’m clean about once every 1 or 2 weeks, and vaccum the case (bi-)monthly
6. Dust inside your GPU cards cooling solution (classic with Nvidia cards with stock coolers), they need to be blown out -carefully- about once a month, else dust builds up on the cooling ridges. be careful and if possible hold a vaccumcleaner near the back of your pc. Hold it close, but not against the case.
7. non stock drivers/ flashed ROM….
8. changed fan regulation due to excessive noise….(well if they make noise they’re working as fast as possible, so something is really hot, so if turned down….)

Some small remarks about maintanance:
You can use a can of compressed air as long as you hold it the right way up, as the air is very cold it can cause condensation, especially on humid days, so when cleaning it is wise to turn the power off. area’s as bottom of case/ underneath case can bbe cleaned with a vacuumcleaner, if you have carpet and want to put a PC ontop of it, make sure you place some board/plastic (preferably a cutting board, not cardboard.) so the fans do not get clogged by your carpet or you have static electicity build up between the carpet and your fast rotating fan. if you have a bottom fan and no dust shield I’d get one…

General remark:
The fact newer mid and high GPU and CPU solutions work -optimally, as stated by Intel/AMD Nvidia- on 80+ degrees celsius, also means your exhaust from the cards and case will warm a small area till it’s eventually 80+ degrees changing the ambient temperature for the PC from 18-25 celsius to eventually 80 , killing your PC in the process, I expect the PC to overheat at 38-45 Clesius…. which is easily obtainable in a closet, cupboard or very close to a wall, or with papers blocking some fans..
A PC should auto turn off but all your components easily allow 95 C nowadays… which is no real problem as long as your PC can cooldown afterwards… and it cannot in an enclosed space…

I saw at a fiend’s place once:
His parents have a nice glass cupboard and they had a nice black PC in it, each day around 5 the PC would just stop, which was purely an overheating question, as the sun would come from behind some houses and heat the PC in the cabinet, and a few minutes later the sun vanished between houses again…

Own experience:
I myself nearly fried a PC by leaving it in the sun. I had replaced some hardware and was checking, was called away and the sun turned, eventually shining directly at the case, which was hot enough to boil/fry eggs on… CPU-Z reported 105 degrees celsius at 106 it went auto off… I live in the Netherlands, (sea climate…) not in spain or other mediterranian countries where ambient tems will be higher during the summer. Black surfaces will get hot in direct sunlight, also in spring, or winter.

-edit-
Components will deteriorate after initial overheating suffering cumulative damage, mostly noticable in HDD’s and other moving parts, fans also suffer from excessive wear due to overheating.
GPU’s and CPU’s will get slower due to detiroration when overclocking as higher voltages damage the internal micro-circuitry. (Hope i spelled it ok…)

wow thanks guys , great help .

my psu is a Dell d460AD model, it says 460W max power?

i assume thats enough for gtx 560 ti, i don’t overclock or anything, not sure if there are programs auto overclocking though.

i guess i gotta go clean up the graphics card over the weekend.

Zackie.8923:

wow thanks guys , great help .

my psu is a Dell d460AD model, it says 460W max power?

i assume thats enough for gtx 560 ti, i don’t overclock or anything, not sure if there are programs auto overclocking though.

i guess i gotta go clean up the graphics card over the weekend.

Pure number is not enough to measure the ACTUAL output of a PSU.

As I said earlier, there is a sticker on the PSU with all the most relevant info needed.

See PaxTheGreatOne’s post for a comprehensive list of things to check when your PC is experiencing overheating. Specific to dust:

Dust accumulation is among the top physical causes (not within the circuitry itself) of issues with a system’s hardware, because PC’s are very sensitive to heating/cooling issues. In my own case, I experienced repeated incidents last September with my desktop rebooting unexpectedly in the middle of a GW2 session. It wasn’t until I opened the case that I saw why; the insides were literally caked with dust. I had to go down to my local computer shop, buy a can of compressed air and give the innards a thorough blowing-out. Ever since, I’ve made sure to check my computer’s insides every couple of months.

Underpowered/cheapo PS’es are another primary cause of a desktop’s components failing to work properly, and one I’ve experienced a couple of occasions in my time. You need to make sure, always, that your PS has enough oomph to handle all the internal components you want to put in your desktop case, and that it has good cooling.

TL:DR – if you’re having overheating problems with your desktop, ALWAYS make sure to open up your case and check for dust accumulation first thing. And ALWAYS have a can of compressed air on hand. Which reminds me, my own can is about exhausted, I need to go get a new one today.

a problem like that can be tricky to figure out . i used " CPUID HWMonitor " program to view the voltages and temps and some other things going on in my PC .

after i put a gaming card in my dell that was designed to be an office computer i had some over heating issues .
it shut it self off . like a protection .
it happened a few times . nothing was burned out , or ruined .

my solution was to make some changes to the air flow into and out of the case .

the case it self is on the small side , so i had some limited options .
i installed vented pci slot covers . i replaced the stock cpu cooler with one that allows the fan to sit in a way so it pulls the air in from the front of the case and pushes the air out the back of the case .
i also went a little crazy and cut a space in the front of the case for an extra fan to force some air movement into the case .

in the photo the darker blue numbers you see are temp readings in celsius .
the brighter number is fan speed of the front installed fan in rpms . the knobs there allow me to change the fan speed manually .

i had wanted to put all 4 of the system fans on the controller but the bios dosn’t like it and booting requires me to press a button to try to get the system to ignore the “error” . it was more convenient in the end to just let the bios control them .

works great !

460Watt…, if you ever added something to your Dell you could indeed be having an underpowered system, bad maintenance (read: dust,) will also add more load.

It could be dangerous, not only can voltage be unstable and thereby killing your graphics solution, your PSU and all your other components will suffer and potentially burn, . (either the fuse or the complete PSU will die) fiuse is replaceable, but would be ill advised as it doesn’t cure the source of the problem.

Dips in voltage are compensated by amperage surges which are -Very Bad-.

Agreeing with TheFool below, check it.

Zackie.8923:

wow thanks guys , great help .

my psu is a Dell d460AD model, it says 460W max power?

i assume thats enough for gtx 560 ti, i don’t overclock or anything, not sure if there are programs auto overclocking though.

i guess i gotta go clean up the graphics card over the weekend.

Your GPU requires at least 500-550W in terms of system power.

http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-560ti/specifications

It’s your psu. Trust me. I went through 4 cards myself only to find out my psu was under volting the card. Make sure your 12v rail is at a solid 12.6 ish. If it’s fluctioating a lot, (not a solid 12.xx) it’s confirmed. Change the psu. You can check your voltage in your bios.

GW2 heats up my pc too.

Games that heat up my PC and make the fans loud.
Guild Wars 2, Saint’s Row 3 & 4, Dying Light

Games that play fine without any loud fans ruining the fun.
Shadow of Mordor, Sleeping Dogs: DE, Evil Within, RE:Revelations 2

I have a feeling it’s cpu intensive games that do it. As I have an amd fx 8350 and those can get pretty hot.

I had a dell years ago, marketed as a “Gaming computer”.

One day I decided to go out and grab a new video card, took it all apart and found out that I had a 25$ motherboard and a 350 watt PSU, which wasn’t even enough for the current set up I had.

Looks like aside from what they list as selling features, they fill it with junk components and hope you don’t ever open up the system to find out what you actually bought.

Yes.

First thing that went on my pre – assembled PC was the very cheap PSU,it didnt even last a month..They tend to scrimp on the PSU till you customize the build to a better one for $$$$.
There are loads of firms that do custom builds if you do not want to build your own since its a very competitive industry.
500watts+ is advisable for a PSU

As others say, it is near on certainy that an inadequate PSU is the problem here.

so… i am thinking of getting this , advisable?

http://www.scan.co.uk/3xs/configurator/custom-gaming-pc-uk-3xsgamer20i

Intel Core i7 4790, 3.6GHz Quad Core with HT
Asus Z97-P, Intel Z97 Chipset
8GB Corsair Vengeance Pro 2133MHz
4GB EVGA GTX 970 Superclocked ACX
1TB Seagate 7200rpm HDD
Microsoft Windows 8.1 64bit & 3 Year Premium Warranty
LN60300 550W Corsair VS, None-Modular, 80PLUS – Any Single Graphics Card

Zackie.8923:

so… i am thinking of getting this , advisable?

http://www.scan.co.uk/3xs/configurator/custom-gaming-pc-uk-3xsgamer20i

Intel Core i7 4790, 3.6GHz Quad Core with HT
Asus Z97-P, Intel Z97 Chipset
8GB Corsair Vengeance Pro 2133MHz
4GB EVGA GTX 970 Superclocked ACX
1TB Seagate 7200rpm HDD
Microsoft Windows 8.1 64bit & 3 Year Premium Warranty
LN60300 550W Corsair VS, None-Modular, 80PLUS – Any Single Graphics Card

Few PERSONAL notes before from someone whose done this for a while.

Don;t get a 500 PSU. Always overshoot way ahead in case you want to add a second graphics card or change the parts out. New parts come out., stuff changes, your needs change. Graphics cards die, you switch to one with higher consumption etc. The cost to switch ahead is cheaper than switching after.

I have a z77 build similar to that, but even on a single card i ran a 750w. If you get the I series(hx750i) it comes with power and volt monitoring software to show you what power you;re actually drawing and using etc etc and is a great tool.

A side recommendation if you have the cash, 120gb SSD for the OS install. You’ll thank me later.. Worst case, try to find a hybrid HDD and run off that, the increase will be better still

Ram speed isn’t all that important at that level for what you do. If you;re spending more on your ram, you can drop the speed to like 1400-1600mhz and allocate the funds else.

Same with the i5. Unless you’re actually going to take advantage of the i7, the i5 will be plenty for gaming, and save you a bit to spend elsewhere.

IMPORTANT: Do your own cooling, and learn the different types(e.g: push pull) etc. Learn what your case can handle and cool appropriately.

ALWAYS overkill on your power supply. Graphics cards suck power and AMD cards more then Nvidia but you can never go wrong with higher wattage.

I would never go under 650 Watts. I would recommend 750 and more.

I always go the build my own route rather then those packaged up computers from dell and other providers but I can understand why people go that way but a robust power supply is something you can never go wrong with. Look for more even if card manufacturers and the like suggest you do not need it.

ALWAYS overkill on your power supply. Graphics cards suck power and AMD cards more then Nvidia but you can never go wrong with higher wattage.

I would never go under 650 Watts. I would recommend 750 and more. (high quality power supplies ARE key look for the best here no compromise for price)

I always go the build my own route rather then those packaged up computers from dell and other providers but I can understand why people go that route but a robust power supply is something you can never go wrong with. Look for more even if card manufacturers and the like suggest you do not need it.

I just invested in a Thermaltake 750W power supply. My new pc should be built soon.

A lot of good tips here.

One thing to always keep in mind……high temperatures are maybe the most common cause of component failure.

Most people have plenty of fans. What you want is a positive air flow that is filtered. If its not filtered, you are just blowing in air along with dust that will accumulate on everything.

You don’t even need an exhaust fan. Just blow in plenty of filtered air and it will keep everything cool and clean. The positive air flow will also keep all the nooks and crannies free from dust because it will blow it out, not in.

Your computer will last at least one year longer

I’ve been wrecking PC components for some time.If anyone is a disaster around technology that would be me.But over the years I found that its best to stick to reputable manufacturers. I found some of the cheaper brands tend to overclock lower end cards and call them something better.As for PSU’s you can’t have to much overhead on watts.Just enough ,I find ,is not good enough because the equipment draws as much power as it needs and if the watts aren’t their, things will overheat..As for cooling your system you need to remember Heat Rises. Unfortunately most cases have front to back air flow which I never understood.So I like to have a much top exit as I can for airflow even if I have to make it myself.Plus larger fans <bigger the better because you don’t need as many to move air and they’re not as noisy.
So now as long as I don’t mess around to much My builds are lasting years instead of months. Knock on wood.

This game kills your Processor not the GPU.

Mokk.2397:

I’ve been wrecking PC components for some time.If anyone is a disaster around technology that would be me.But over the years I found that its best to stick to reputable manufacturers. I found some of the cheaper brands tend to overclock lower end cards and call them something better.As for PSU’s you can’t have to much overhead on watts.Just enough ,I find ,is not good enough because the equipment draws as much power as it needs and if the watts aren’t their, things will overheat..As for cooling your system you need to remember Heat Rises. Unfortunately most cases have front to back air flow which I never understood.So I like to have a much top exit as I can for airflow even if I have to make it myself.Plus larger fans <bigger the better because you don’t need as many to move air and they’re not as noisy.
So now as long as I don’t mess around to much My builds are lasting years instead of months. Knock on wood.

this is actually one of most sensible non meta tech posts i’ve read in this forum. i agree on the heat rising part. that’s why when i buy casings, i make sure they have holes located on top that’s usually dedicated for cooling systems even if i do not have any intentions of attaching a cooling system into it. sometimes i just screw in another fan for outtake airflow on top instead.

backflow makes sense if you’ve got an intake in front but that’s kinda rare these days.

http://powersupplycalculator.net/

I have a gaming PC with a i7 3930k with 8 sticks DDR3, 2 GTX 780’s and SSD/3 HDD, gaming mouse/kb, several USB peripherals,
I need 700 watts according to the calculator too boot, actually it is a slight bit more , but ok.
The calculator also informs based on continous load (24/7) too avoid making the PSU HOT, and consequently making more noise for cooling and advises -ME- a 1000 wat PSU to keep noise and deterioration of the PSU down and the PSU stable.

I actually have a 1200+ watt, certified PSU I was planning for space to upgrade. So I’m safe.

There is quite a difference between
the actual value to boot (start) a computer and keep it running for an hour or 2 (Dell) OR the actual value when gaming when GPU and CPU is under heavy load, for several hours a day (gamer/power user). My PC is on 24/7 being used for gaming 4-10 hours a day, and online for other purposes requiring lighter load during the rest of the day. But I ssometimes rrenderr vid’s, those programs use 100% CPU and GPU…

I never skimped on PSUs or cooling and I never had un unstable PC except my first, which was a 386 SX-25 which was my only prebuilt PC… all others were, self build or built to specification.

Almost every Nvidia-based card I have owned, approx. 6 of them, have eventually died on me within a couple of years. Never had an AMD/ATI, die on me yet, not a one. I have a Radeon x700 (2004) in an old machine that still works just fine. I will never buy Nvidia again.

Out of the current MMOs I play, I have to say that GW2 pushes the my GPU and CPU the most. Everything runs much hotter for longer. Running hotter over very long periods is definitely going to shorten the life of these components. I know when it is time to clean the vents, or repaste because the computer will cut out while playing GW2.

Zackie.8923:

so… i am thinking of getting this , advisable?

http://www.scan.co.uk/3xs/configurator/custom-gaming-pc-uk-3xsgamer20i

Intel Core i7 4790, 3.6GHz Quad Core with HT
Asus Z97-P, Intel Z97 Chipset
8GB Corsair Vengeance Pro 2133MHz
4GB EVGA GTX 970 Superclocked ACX
1TB Seagate 7200rpm HDD
Microsoft Windows 8.1 64bit & 3 Year Premium Warranty
LN60300 550W Corsair VS, None-Modular, 80PLUS – Any Single Graphics Card

a personal note, avoid asus like the plague.
i have gone through 4 computers with asus build in and they simply lower the overall quality and constantly block the computer flow.
drivers that never work as intended, improper use of power flow, crashing all the time, shutting down for absolutely no reason and the list go’s on.

ether go for MSI or ASROCK, they never fail and all the drivers are from the official chipset manufacture. (like the vid card, asus uses it’s own driver but is outdated all the time, i used an nvidia card and when i switched to MSI the card worked perfectly on the official driver of nvidia.)
i know there are ppl who swear with asus but i never had any good experience with them, i build my computers my self so if anything goes wrong i know how to detect the problem.

I just received the case and some components for a new build for a friend. I’ll be buying a Corsair Professional Series AX760i 760 Watt power supply this weekend for the build. It’s pricey but well worth it. Especially when you consider how much one could spend on replacement parts. For you OP, it was all the replacement video cards. Making the extra initial cost well worth it.

For the person above, I never has an Asus board fail on me yet. I just purchased on for the new build too.

For game settings, I always recommend using the 60 fps frame limiter too. I see no reason for going above that. Having it limited saves electricity and reduces heat. Which both reduces wear on internal parts.

sorudo.9054:

Zackie.8923:

so… i am thinking of getting this , advisable?

http://www.scan.co.uk/3xs/configurator/custom-gaming-pc-uk-3xsgamer20i

Intel Core i7 4790, 3.6GHz Quad Core with HT
Asus Z97-P, Intel Z97 Chipset
8GB Corsair Vengeance Pro 2133MHz
4GB EVGA GTX 970 Superclocked ACX
1TB Seagate 7200rpm HDD
Microsoft Windows 8.1 64bit & 3 Year Premium Warranty
LN60300 550W Corsair VS, None-Modular, 80PLUS – Any Single Graphics Card

a personal note, avoid asus like the plague.
i have gone through 4 computers with asus build in and they simply lower the overall quality and constantly block the computer flow.
drivers that never work as intended, improper use of power flow, crashing all the time, shutting down for absolutely no reason and the list go’s on.

ether go for MSI or ASROCK, they never fail and all the drivers are from the official chipset manufacture. (like the vid card, asus uses it’s own driver but is outdated all the time, i used an nvidia card and when i switched to MSI the card worked perfectly on the official driver of nvidia.)
i know there are ppl who swear with asus but i never had any good experience with them, i build my computers my self so if anything goes wrong i know how to detect the problem.

As someone who’s bought asus parts for years, asus is one of the top quality manufacturers and top quality service in the industry. I use nothing BUT asus. Just because you had a few bad parts does not mean the entire company is crap.

Companies sell MILLIONS of parts, and maybe one particular model just didn’t do well, yes that happens, but assuming an entire company is bad will only hurt you. Companies are not error free, and constantly make complex electronic parts i could never hope to fully understand, so by god if a few of them come out wrong in the millions upon millions that they sell, its understandable.

MSi is still an ok brand, azrock is.. ok but asus is still top of the line. Highly recommended