TUF 3070 OC 8G Performance under Stress Test Evaluate system behavior when operating at maximum capacity.
TUF 3070 OC 8G Performance under Stress Test Evaluate system behavior when operating at maximum capacity.
Hey there. I'm really puzzled by this situation and reaching out for any guidance possible. My setup includes two distinct configurations: an i7 8700K with Gigabyte Z370XP SLI (1.0) and a TUF 3070 8G/32GB RAM, paired with a Seasonic Focus GX 850w NVMe/HDD setup. On the other hand, I have an i5 8400 with Gigabyte P67A-UD4-B3 and a TUF 3070 8G/16GB RAM, using a Seasonic Focus GX 850w SATA SSD/HDD combo. The 3070s were purchased from a former miner around 2022 at a reasonable price. He mentioned he bought them late, so they were still new and not heavily used. They had some dust buildup but weren’t overly stressed.
I spent over an hour testing both systems on a spare old bench, and everything ran smoothly—no problems at all. I upgraded both to the Seasonic 850s because we experienced occasional crashes in games. Before that, they were drawing around 600W/650W each, so it seemed like we were near the PSU limits, and the GPUs were showing brief overdraws. We’re using reputable 850s now.
However, the issue persists—especially now. There are two main problems: a full-screen blackout that feels like a GPU disconnect, followed by a "disconnect" sound from Windows. Audio apps still function, but the game freezes. Occasionally I hear a crashing noise or a disconnect. The game itself throws driver errors and quits abruptly. We’ve been playing Overwatch lately, which is usually stable, but in recent days it’s been crashing up to 4-6 times per session. We usually quit when someone gets banned for leaving games.
I can reliably trigger crashes by stressing the system with Furmark, especially when I use the CPU burner. My tests showed stable temps (83/104 on cards under load, 65-80 on CPUs, 40-70 elsewhere), but nothing near red levels. A side issue is that my second monitor stops connecting as soon as Windows loads. I have to unplug and plug it back in for it to appear.
Troubleshooting steps I’ve tried:
- DDU drivers (both machines)
- Downgrade drivers
- Update Windows, run `sfc /scannow`, `DISM /online /restore-health`
- Check cables and sense pins
- Use a second PCIe power cable to GPUs
- Disable XMP
- Reset BIOS
- Upgrade to Windows 11 (though I’m not sure if that helps)
- Consider other fixes like reseating cards, repasting components, or upgrading RAM
I’ve attached logs from Event Log showing various errors during crashes. The Desktop Windows Manager (dwm.exe) issues led me to think about a Windows upgrade. I’m open to suggestions but am hesitant since Asus support isn’t the most reliable option, and I don’t have original parts.
Any advice or overlooked details would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
VRAM overflow issues? Check forums for RTX 3070 audio problems. OpenGL troubleshooting threads available. DDU, power draw concerns, thermal management, and driver errors all discussed. Reddit and Microsoft support posts provide additional insights. A lot of research has been done on this topic.