Monitor: no signal when gaming

[steve6]

Hi all, I've recently encountered a problem whilst gaming. The problem is that after a random period of time, or when I start a game my monitor will go black and display “no signal” then go completely black and I have to restart to get back to normal. I can still hear the sound from the game for about 30 seconds afterwards then it begins to loop.

I've tried the PC with my HD TV and it did the same thing. So I've ruled out it being an issue with the monitor.

I've also noticed that if I turn the monitor off, then turn it back on it displays “no signal”. The only way I can get the signal back is by switching between the monitors inputs (same thing with TV).

I've tried formatting and installing the latest drivers.

All the temperatures seem fine whilst under load.

I'm not sure if it's a problem with the graphics card, PSU or something else? I don't really want to spend £300 on a new graphics card, only to find out it's the PSU that's at fault, or vice versa.

Here's my set-up:

9800 GX2
Coolermaster Real Power 1000w Modular
x2 Raptor X 150GB Raid 0
OCZ 2GB DDR3 PC3-14400C8 1800MHz
Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 @ 3.3Ghz
Asus Maximus Extreme Intel X38
Windows XP Pro

Any help will be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[MeatLoaf]

Welcome to the forums

Have you tried the other DVI port of the GFX card? Is the problem limited to a single game or does it happen in all of them?

Other than that id recommend trying a different card if you can.

EDIT : Also try setting your system back to stock to see if thats the cause of the problems.

 

[despotofmidnor]

I used to get that with UT3. It didnt used to happen then it started. for some reason it couldn't do it with two monitors pluged in, but it ran fine with just one :-s Was only that game too.
Another thing might be that the game is causing to much of a power draw durring that perticular game and the kettle plug might not be able to deliver. I know it sounds odd but my system wouldnt boot properly when i built it and i was trouble shooting for ages, i moved my pc and then out of shear lazyness used a different plug that was lying around and it now works fine.
Just throwing some ideas out there, i dont know much about pcs

 

[steve6]

Thanks, I tried the other DVI port and there was no signal at all.

I only really play World of Warcraft these days so I hadn't tested it with any other games. I figured that if the problem was still present after a format it was most probably a hardware problem, as the system had been running fine up until last week and WoW works fine on my laptop.

Anyway, I took your advise and installed CoD: WaW and played for around 30 minutes without any problems. I turned the PC off and thought I'd give it another try, however the PC would not boot up at all this time. I got a series of system beeps (1 long and 3 short) and all the system fans was on full. A quick google revealed that the beep code is a video error.

I also tried to reset CMOS to no avail. So, now more than ever I'm convinced that my graphics card is dead.

The graphics card in question is the only one I have.

What do you guys think?

Oh, I also forgot to mention that I experienced random loss of signal while playing videos too.

 

[JTrickle]

.....kettle plug might not be able to deliver. I know it sounds odd but my system wouldnt boot properly when i built it and i was trouble shooting for ages, i moved my pc and then out of shear lazyness used a different plug that was lying around and it now works fine.

Dude, that had nothing to do with the 3000W plug.

 

[Lemons_Mufc]

try running at a different resolution, happened to me when used a TV

 

[linktoinsanity]

Dude, that had nothing to do with the 3000W plug.

DUDE! He said that he used a different plug after moving his PC, so I don't know what your going on about.

(There's something about the word dude that I really hate!)

@ OP: Sounds like your graphics card man. Try and find a cheap one (Look in the MM) to test it out.

 

[Plec]

The ibm standard beeps that most boards use:

One Long Beep, Three Short Beeps = Video Problem

So it looks like you have a Gfx problem (in whatever guise) - whether that's due to the card, the slot, the psu or something else is another matter.

I would check the power supply to your gfx card is fitted properly and also try re-sitting the card in its slot as it may have become loose.

If none of these work - you're going to have to source a different card to try, as suggetsed by LinktoInsanity, as that's your best test for ruling in/out the gfx card as the problem.

Good luck.

 

[steve6]

Just a quick update to say I bought a new graphics card and it seems to have totally fixed the problem. Thanks for the help.