My computer has been used regularly for about four or five years, and the crashes only began recently after I reinstalled Windows. It has crashed while doing several tasks, most recently while using Steam's TV mode. I used DDU to remove the old graphics drivers and installed the latest NVIDIA driver, but that did not resolve the problem. I have also checked for overheating before, and the temperatures appeared normal. The system uses a GTX 1650 without an external power cable, an Intel Core i5-10400F, and a Medion HK350-14PP power supply rated at 250 W total, with 204 W available on the 12 V rail. Some crashes have produced hardware error codes 117, 1B8, 141, and 116. Device Manager says the display adapter is working normally. Is the graphics card probably failing, or are there other steps I should try before replacing it?
3 Answers
The error codes point toward a graphics driver timeout or GPU-related crash, but they do not prove that the card itself is dead. Check Windows Reliability Monitor and Event Viewer for the exact failure details, then install the motherboard chipset drivers as well as the graphics driver. Device Manager reporting that the card is working only means Windows can communicate with it at that moment; it does not rule out crashes under load. Also test with the GPU at stock settings, check temperatures while gaming, and reseat the card if possible.
Code 116 generally indicates a graphics timeout or failure to recover the display driver, and 117 is also commonly associated with a GPU driver timeout. That makes the graphics card or its driver worth investigating, but software and other hardware can produce the same symptoms. Try reducing GPU clocks slightly or testing an older known-stable driver, and see whether the crashes occur in a clean boot. If the problem remains with chipset drivers installed and another GPU works reliably in the same system, then replacing the 1650 becomes much more likely.
Before buying another GTX 1650, try to isolate whether the issue follows the GPU. Run a memory test, check the system drive, and test the computer with another graphics card if you can borrow one. A clean driver installation is useful, but crashes after a Windows reinstall can also come from missing chipset drivers, unstable RAM, a damaged Windows installation, or a failing power supply. Your 250 W supply is not automatically too weak for a GTX 1650, but its age and condition matter, especially if it is an older prebuilt-system unit.
I had only reinstalled the NVIDIA driver so far, so I’ll install the chipset drivers and check Reliability Monitor. The 117 error appeared several times, while 116 happened when I was looking through Device Manager.