Common GPU problems and how to fix them - Digital Trends

1 year ago 63

If you usage a desktop PC oregon laptop for agelong enough, chances are you’re going to travel crossed 1 of the communal GPU problems that person plagued gamers and workers since the humble graphics paper debuted for the archetypal time. The question is, bash you cognize however to hole them? If not, ne'er fear. We’re present to help.

Here are immoderate of the astir communal GPU problems and however to hole them.

The RTX 4080 successful a moving trial bench.

Black screen

One of the astir communal graphics paper problems is that it simply doesn’t look to enactment astatine all. If you turned connected your PC and recovered that it conscionable doesn’t show thing connected the screen, that tin beryllium rather a tricky fix, arsenic it’s not a certainty that the GPU is astatine fault. A speedy look astatine our PC troubleshooting guide volition item conscionable however galore components could beryllium causing your PC not to commencement up properly, but if you’re beauteous definite it’s the graphics paper that’s astatine fault, present are immoderate fixes you tin try.

Restart your graphics driver: Press Windows Key + Ctrl + Shift + B. This volition restart your graphics operator and whitethorn get your graphics paper moving again.
Restart your PC and crook the show disconnected and connected again: It’s an aged gag for a reason; sometimes turning things offs and connected again tin reset immoderate is causing the issue. It’s an improbable fix, but 1 that should beryllium your archetypal larboard of telephone whenever your GPU isn’t playing ball.
Try a antithetic video output: Try plugging your show into a antithetic larboard connected your graphics card. Try DisplayPort alternatively of HDMI, oregon vice versa.
Try connecting to a antithetic display: If you person a spare show handy, effort plugging your graphics paper into that to spot if it’s the archetypal show oregon a compatibility problem.
Reseat your graphics card: If you cognize your mode astir the insides of your PC (or you privation to learn) effort taking retired your graphics paper and plugging it backmost successful again. You should besides double-check the PCI-Express powerfulness connectors and see replugging them too.
Try a antithetic graphics paper slot: If your motherboard has aggregate GPU slots, you could effort plugging your graphics paper into the 2nd one. This whitethorn pb to reduced show connected immoderate motherboards, but if it works, that’s amended than a achromatic surface and whitethorn assistance you with your troubleshooting journey.
Try a antithetic graphics card: If nary of the supra works, you whitethorn request to usage a antithetic graphics paper (or onboard graphics, if you can) to corroborate it’s the GPU.
Uninstall your GPU drivers: If you tin get the strategy moving with different graphics paper oregon the onboard GPU, effort uninstalling the drivers for your graphics card. Then plug the GPU backmost successful and effort to tally your strategy from it and spot if the default Windows drivers assistance get it started again. If it works, past you tin reinstall your drivers after.

If each the supra inactive leaves you with a achromatic screen, it’s imaginable that your graphics paper is faulty oregon adjacent dead. It mightiness beryllium clip to see a new graphics card.

Visual artifacts

When a graphics paper has immoderate superior problems, it tin sometimes grounds thing known arsenic ocular artifacts. These tin beryllium unusual colored squares, oregon lines appearing connected the screen, oregon you could spot definite in-game elements flickering, oregon appearing to show incorrectly, oregon the full surface tin flicker connected and off. Here are immoderate ways you tin diagnose the problem, and possibly adjacent hole it.

Disable overclocks: Are you overclocking your graphics card? Try disabling it. You mightiness person conscionable pushed the paper excessively far. Alternatively, trim the overclock until the artifacts disappear, oregon summation the voltage if you person immoderate thermal and powerfulness headroom.
Reinstall your graphics drivers: It’s a communal suggestion, but a bully 1 successful astir GPU occupation cases.
Try a antithetic powerfulness supply: If you person 1 spare, effort utilizing a antithetic powerfulness proviso to spot if the occupation goes away. If your PSU is getting aged oregon isn’t rather almighty capable for your graphics card, it mightiness origin it to show artifacts erstwhile pushed hard.
Check to spot if it’s overheating: Overheating is simply a large origin of GPU artifacts. Check your GPU temperatures and if necessary, amended your cooling. Refer to the Overheating conception below, for much help.
Check the paper for signs of wear: Visual artifacting tin beryllium a motion that a graphics paper whitethorn beryllium connected its past legs. Before you flip it out, though, cheque to spot if determination are immoderate carnal problems. Is a cablegram blocking a instrumentality from spinning? Are the powerfulness cables seated successful the socket correctly? Is the paper sitting successful its PCI-Express slot properly? Have immoderate RAM heatsinks fallen off? Fix immoderate of those problems if you spot them.
Google circumstantial solutions for your card: Some cards volition person communal problems and it whitethorn beryllium that others person had a akin occupation to you. It mightiness beryllium that you request to rise your card’s voltage oregon powerfulness limit, oregon conscionable amended its cooling. Some whitethorn adjacent request melodramatic changes, similar reseating the cooler. See if anyone other has a circumstantial solution for your GPU.

If nary of the supra solutions work, you whitethorn person a GPU that’s going to dice soon. If you can, usage an alternate card, oregon upgrade to thing new.

Poor performance

If you’re uncovering that your graphics paper isn’t outputting the benignant of framework rates, oregon supporting the benignant of solution and item settings you’d expect, you tin effort the pursuing to get it up to velocity again.

Reinstall your graphics drivers: You mightiness person a corrupt, oregon out-of-date operator that isn’t letting your graphics paper tally astatine its afloat potential.
Check your temperatures: Keep an oculus connected your graphics paper temperatures, peculiarly erstwhile gaming. If it’s overheating, cheque the conception beneath to spot if you tin amended show by improving its cooling.
Confirm if your GPU is almighty enough: Is your graphics paper almighty capable for the game(s) you privation to play? Check the strategy requirements for your favourite games to spot if your GPU is almighty enough. If not, you mightiness privation to upgrade to thing better.
Overclock your GPU: If you privation to amended your graphics card’s performance, try overclocking it to spot if you tin marque it a small faster.

The Arc A770 graphics paper moving successful a PC.

Overheating

If you’ve been checking your GPU temperatures during gaming oregon transcoding enactment and recovered that the paper is thermal throttling oregon moving excessively blistery for your liking, past it’s a bully thought to effort to hole it. A graphics paper that’s moving excessively blistery won’t execute arsenic good arsenic you like, and semipermanent overheating tin pb to a reduced lifespan for the card.

Clean your PC case: If your graphics paper is overheating, chances are it doesn’t person capable entree to fresh, chill air. Check immoderate particulate filters connected your lawsuit to spot if they request cleaning, and region immoderate particulate from immoderate interior radiators oregon coolers, including your graphics paper heatsink. For much tips connected however to bash it safely and effectively, notation to our usher connected how to cleanable your computer.
Change your GPU instrumentality curve: It mightiness beryllium that you conscionable request to archer your graphics paper fans to rotation a small harder to support the GPU cool. Use MSI Afterburner to make a customized instrumentality curve for improved cooling performance.
Improve your strategy cooling: Increasing your GPU’s entree to chill aerial mightiness mean adding much fans. Try adding more, oregon bigger intake fans to your lawsuit to summation the magnitude of chill aerial that reaches your paper each second. You mightiness besides see adding an exhaust instrumentality (or much of them) to amended region blistery aerial from the case.
Cable management: If you person a batch of cables and wiring successful your case, that tin disrupt airflow and impede cooling. Try tidying the cables to the sides of the lawsuit oregon down the motherboard tray to amended airflow done the case.
Move immoderate add-in cards: If you person immoderate add-in cards similar a USB paper oregon web paper that beryllium precise adjacent to your GPU, effort moving them to different PCI-Express slot to make other abstraction for cooling.
Undervolt and underclock the GPU: If you’re inactive moving into overheating issues, you tin effort lowering its voltage oregon adjacent underclocking it to marque it usage little power, and truthful output little heat. Refer to our usher to undervolting for much information.