GPU issues appear unexpectedly on a recent system while remaining stable on an older one
GPU issues appear unexpectedly on a recent system while remaining stable on an older one
I purchased a newer machine to upgrade my previous setup. Below are the specifications from both versions:
OLD:
- i5 750
- 320Gb HDD
- 8Gb DDR3 RAM
- Motherboard: ASRock P55DE3
- PSU: Corsair CX750
- GPU: Powercolor Devil R9 270X
NEWER (prebuilt Acer Aspire TC 780 UR1C):
- i5 7400
- 512Gb SSD NVMe
- 8Gb DDR4 RAM
- Motherboard: Acer Aspire TC-780
- PSU: Corsair CX750
- GPU: Powercolor Devil R9 270X
The issue is that the system frequently crashes when using the GPU, whether during gaming or casual browsing. This happens randomly, often between 20 to 30 minutes, sometimes as short as 5 minutes. I've tried several fixes:
- Reinstalled Windows from scratch.
- Installed Windows 10/11 from source.
- Updated drivers via Windows Update, Acer support site, and SDI.
- Used both old and current drivers.
- Ran the old operating system on the new hardware.
- Updated BIOS settings.
- Tested the previous machine—everything worked fine.
Based on this, it seems the PCIe connector might be the problem, even though it appears functional. According to CPU-Z, my new motherboard supports PCIe 2.0 at 5.0GT/s, while the old one supported PCIe 2.0 at 2.5GT/s. This suggests the newer model offers double the bandwidth, which should help.
I’m looking for ways to diagnose or resolve the PCIe bus issue without spending on a new GPU. If needed, I’ll opt for older or indie titles that run smoothly at 60fps using Intel HD Graphics.
A random crash unrelated to load suggests a memory management problem, possibly with RAM or how the board handles it. Because the newer machine probably uses one RAM stick, diagnosing it without extra RAM will be difficult. A memory test won’t help identify this issue.