Gigabyte GTX 460 Possible Fault?

[Darklord2150]

I purchased a Gigabyte GTX460 1GB on 30th September after upgrading from an 8800GTX.

The card seemed fine for about a week when the card started having problems booting into Windows. It would mostly freeze at the Welcome screen but sometimes just after POST. I ran tests to rule out the CPU, PSU and the RAM. Eventually I put my 8800GTX in and the PC was able to boot into Windows everytime without any issues.

Convinced by now that the card was at fault I returned it to the store after Gigabyte advised me to return it for RMA. They kept the card for four weeks after which I was told that they could not find a fault with the card and they were returning that same card to me. They also sent proof to the store of the tests they carried out; the only test they carried out was a 24hr benchmark on the card.

After receiving the card I decided to test it again on my PC. This time it worked fine and showed none of the prior issues...until I shut down the PC. When I went to turn it on again the card refused to boot, freezing at the same points it did originally. I eventually tried moving the card to another PCI-E slot which worked initially but now has the same issues as before.

I have since had the opportunity to test my PC with a number of graphics cards such as:
- Zotac 8800GT 512MB
- MSI 8800GTX 768MB
- Gainward 9800GT 1GB
- A friend's Gigabyte GTX 460 1GB

All these cards work flawlessly on my PC. The only card that has any problems is my own GTX 460 yet Gigabyte still refuse to acknowledge that the card may be at fault. They suggested it might be the CPU or PSU. I have tested these cards on both a Coolermaster RealPower 1000W and a Corsair HX850W with the same results on both.

Is it even possible that there's something wrong with my PC that can ONLY affect one card or should i give the card back to Gigabyte for another RMA?

 

[Kelt]

Can you test the 460 in another PC?

 

[Ezyryder]

That is some good extensive testing you did there but I will recommend doing what KelticDaz recommends.

 

[Darklord2150]

I'm about to head out to test it on a friend's PC. The last time I tested the card on another PC it booted just fine but after about 5 mins on MSI Kombustor the card went to about 17fps and the core clock locked itself to 405MHz.

 

[Kelt]

I'm about to head out to test it on a friend's PC. The last time I tested the card on another PC it booted just fine but after about 5 mins on MSI Kombustor the card went to about 17fps and the core clock locked itself to 405MHz.

If you can, get video/photographic evidence of it failing, picture tells a thousand words, etc.

 

[Ezyryder]

Indeed, film it!!!

 

[Premises187]

Let us know how it goes.
I have a Gigabyte GTX460 OC 1GB being delivered to me.
Worryingly I've been reading quite a few user reviews describing the exact same problem as you.

 

[Dervious]

Since purchasing my Gigabyte GTX460 OC 1GB about a month ago, I`m still waiting to sort out a problem with it.

Long story short, it kept crashing after loading it for a minute or two under load. Card worked fine in 2 other PCs. I isolated the fault down to my Gigabyte motherboard, which they currently have. They report they have found no problems with the MB in their workshop. They`ve tested it with several other gfx cards, including a GTX460 OC.

Here`s the baffling part - I bought a cheap Gigabyte MB to use while my board was away. The gfx card works fine with this MB, and all the original components I was previously using, which still points to the MB being faulty.

 

[hlennie]

Hey try downloading msi afterburner and knocking the voltage a touch might sort your prob out

 

[Darklord2150]

I have had a chance to test it on my friend's PC. While it will boot into Windows most of the time (about 3 or 4 times so far it has frozen on the Windows boot screen) his PC has had the card freeze at random moments including:
- on the desktop
- on the Starcraft 2 main menu
- Metro 2033 main menu
- Metro 2033 gameplay
- while browsing this forum on Firefox

There has also been a few instances where the core clock has set itself to 405MHz. I am still testing the card on my friend's PC atm so I'll update here if there's any other issues found. I am also currently taking vids of each crash.