Gpu or pcie lane problem?

[MrRaffi]

Hey guys, i'm facing this problem where my pc always restarts itself randomly. Sometimes it doesn't crash for hours & sometimes crashes a few minutes in after log on. It's been going on since February when i build this pc up with almost everything new except the gpu & ram. A few times i noticed when my gpu is under load, in gtav or bf4, huge explosions & heavy screen activity, it will crash & restart. Even crashed while watching youtube or surfing the web. Games video settings were not in high settings as my gpu couldn't handle it. It was on medium/low in gtav & bf4. Gpu temps at around 69deg c to 70 deg c++ under load & 51 deg c on idle. So i searched the forums here for a possible fix so i could use my pc smoothly until i upgrade my gpu or even after i upgraded my gpu, i hope i still won't encounter the problems. I tried one method from somewhere in this forum where you had to stress test the drivers. Stress tested it & on the log on screen, my screen froze with fuzzy artifacts across the screen. Kinda like when you over-overclocked your gpu & crashed kind of image. My gpu isn't overclocked. From there i uninstall the gpu drivers from the 15.4 beta driver & installed the 14.5 driver. Still crashes & restarts after that, randomly. Shutdown my pc & I opened up my case to double check if anything came loose inside & pressed my gfx card firmly & it started my pc up! Just by pressing on the gfx card it switches on & if i let go, my pc switches off! Whut!? Sometimes when i swing open my case door it switches on when after it crashes & switches off if i swing close the case door. Any ideas why? Going crazy with this , blew most of my annual bonus for this. 😞 Do hope it's the gfx card giving problems & not the motherboard!

Windows 7 Home Premium
Asus Rog MAXIMUS VII Ranger
Intel i7 4790k
Hyper X fury 16 gb 8x2 rams
Sapphire HD6870
Corsair Force LX 128 gb ssd
Corsair RM 650 psu
Corsair H100i
Corsair Graphite 730t Case

[Nate152]

Hello MrRaffi and welcome

That's strange your pc comes on by touching your gpu or opening the side panel. Do you have the 6850 secured with a screw in the pci slot?

[Ntwlf]

Hi MrRaffi,

The intermittent operation of your pc, when you move/press/wiggle components, as well as jarring (moving of case door, etc) strongly indicates a pinched wire or wires, a loose or bad connection within a wire plug-in, or worse case scenario a bad solder joint on a circuit board (I'm leaning towards mobo in this situation, but it can be ruled out by trying a different gpu to see if problem persists).

My suggestion would be to slowly disassemble your entire pc, closely examining every wire (harness/cable) for being pinched in its routing. It could be as simple as the case (front switches/led's) wires caught/pinched between a stand-off and the backside of motherboard creating a short to ground. This requires removing the mobo as well. Also make sure the case front panel wires aren't caught anywhere in their routing back to mobo. Because if they are pulled tight around/against a sharp edge, the edge can cut through the insulation and make contact with the wire strands inside.

I hope this helps.

[Korth]

Electrical failure, open circuit or ground fault. I'm guessing the mobo is improperly secured and grounded. Or one of your ATX power cables (or even your power switch) has a loose, intermittent connection. This can also be a problem with an all-plastic PC chassis (or even a metal one covered with thick nonconductive powder-coat).

You can reseat the HD6870 into its slot, firmly, and use a proper metal backplate screw. A real metal screw, not some clicky plastic tool-free gimmick.

Your PSU might also need to be firmly (re)secured into the metal chassis. No vibration-damping rubber/gel absorbers or whatever.

You can screw a ground connector (something like this) onto a motherboard standoff, wired (and somehow affixed) to directly contact your PSU's metal chassis.

Your problem might actually be improperly seated DIMMs. Never hurts to check.

Worst case - your mobo has cracked traces or solder points somewhere. If nothing else works, thoroughly examine every trace and every solder point (on both sides) ... and, even so, any damage or flaws hidden within inner layers cannot be visually detected.

[MrRaffi]

Thanks for the replies guys. The 6870 is screwed on the case pci slot with the supplied metal thumbscrew from the case & its locked with the mobo. I will dismantle everything & reinstall it back again. Hopefully i messed up something minor during the first build.