Sporadic shut-downs, want to confirm source before I RMA my GFX

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The last time I posted on here I had just finished building this desktop pc 7 + years ago. Time flies!

Anyways, i RMA'd my original graphics card as i got the 1-year extended lifetime warranty from EVGA and got a GTX260 to replace my old 8800 ultra.

Now i thought has been causing my random shut-downs and lack of display on reboot so i replaced it with my friends ancient ATI card he had spare but it just cut cut the mustard with AUTODESK inventor and solidworks so i tried to fix my GTX 260 by re-applying thermal past and reseating the heat sinks on the GPU.

This worked and my temps are now lower when idle (40-45) and get up to around 70-80 on load.

However i started getting the random shutdowns again and realized that i still can RMA this card if it is at fault.

I just came to clarify that it was my card and not anything else before i do an advanced RMA and pay collateral to get my replacement sent out immediately and then send out my faulty card when i receive the replacement (i then get the collateral back after a successful RMA).

If i do the advanced RMA and they find no fault with the card (or don't like my IM re-application) then i guess i need to pay for the replacement card and they keep the collateral which i cannot afford.

Here is the error i get on event viewer showing the shut-down with very little info.
The first page simply said "The system has rebooted without cleanly shutting down first. This error could be caused if the system stopped responding, crashed, or lost power unexpectedly."
Bp2ixRj.png



How can i confirm that it is the graphics causing the problem and not my PSU? When i used the other card it worked with no shut-downs - but that card used a-lot less power also.

Thanks in advance for any assistance!
 
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Depends on how old and which PSU you have, if it is decent then it more than likely is the GPU. Can you list all your specs please?
 
PSU is a 720W ENERMAX EIN720AWT

Ram is 4 X OCZ SLI-Ready Edition 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500)

CPU is a q6600 @ 2.4Ghz

Motherboard is an asus p5q deluxe

GFX is a GTX 260

The PSU is is about 7 years old, i gave it a little clean the other day when i cleaned my graphics card heatsinks.
 
Hi, about the RMA you do not need to worry! We do allow to change the TIM on the GPU, we would only void the warranty if you physically damaged the card during this. If the card is fine you can go for the advanced RMA, even if we test the card "OK" you can still keep the replacement and you will get the refund. We would also not just keep you collateral! In case there is a problem with the card we receive we will contact you again and if you can not afford to loose the payment we would then send you the "old" card back, you can send us the replacement and you will still get the collateral back but like stated, as long as the card is not physically damaged there is no problem
 
Did you already try to clean out the old driver with a third party tool like driver fusion and just download an install the latest version? This would rule out driver issues
 
Hi, about the RMA you do not need to worry! We do allow to change the TIM on the GPU, we would only void the warranty if you physically damaged the card during this. If the card is fine you can go for the advanced RMA, even if we test the card "OK" you can still keep the replacement and you will get the refund. We would also not just keep you collateral! In case there is a problem with the card we receive we will contact you again and if you can not afford to loose the payment we would then send you the "old" card back, you can send us the replacement and you will still get the collateral back but like stated, as long as the card is not physically damaged there is no problem

I was telling my brother last night about how amazed i am by your 10 year warranty! not to mention the approach to user maintenance as you stared in your post quoted above.
You have a customer for life!
Did you already try to clean out the old driver with a third party tool like driver fusion and just download an install the latest version? This would rule out driver issues
I have not, however i do have other operating systems that i can boot into (windows) and i remember noticing shutdowns while using linux also (though less frequent).

I think i will go for the advanced RMA and do it ASAP as i need to be up and running with my CAD software as soon as possible for some freelance work i am doing under contract.

Thanks for the info!

I did a memtest on my ram (only one pass) and it came back clear
 
if it does the same with different OS software should not be the issue. OK, just drop an email with the S/N of the product to [email protected] then we will open a RMA ticket and you can request the RMA. Please do also state that troubleshooting was already done here then support will skip this and open the RMA ticket right away.
 
I just showed this to my boss as i am a rep for his company on a similar forum but for our target consumer.

I showed him it as an example of fantastic customer service and support and as an example that going to extra mile (even if it might include a loss at points) ends up bringing lifetime customers.

I am certainly EVGA all the way - i'll pay a premium price for components in order to get this service if that's what is required
 
Also, can anyone can suggest an 8GB configuration of DDR2 ram (up to 1200) that i can get for < £60 ?
I looked on ebay but it seems i'm a little rusty in identifying the correct specs.
 
I can not make a suggestion about this but running 8Gig at that speed can be tricky. Most boards need already advanced RAM settings with 8Gig at 800MHz... Me personally made the best experience with 800MHz and CL4 timings, pretty fast but still stable and easy to setup.
Thanks for the laud, we always try our best!
 
Wow... that's seriously impressive service. I'd have thought changing the TIM would invalidate a warranty - glad to see I'm wrong, for once ;)
 
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