Hey everyone! I've been lurking around but decided to post since I could really use some help. My old laptop finally kicked the bucket after over a decade, so I upgraded to a new desktop (check out my parts list on PCPartPicker). I have to admit I'm not thrilled with my GPU choice because I couldn't find a 9070 XT at a decent price, so I'm currently on an NVIDIA card.
As a developer who needs a powerful CPU and a gamer at heart, I went with the Ryzen 9 9950X3D for its heavy CPU capabilities. Sadly, my excitement turned into a nightmare. My GPU intermittently outputs a signal to my display for just a few minutes before going dark. I've checked all the connections multiple times and even had to clean off some thermal paste that was a mess.
Now I'm plagued with all sorts of driver issues, including booting to a black screen with just a mouse cursor, which I had to fix by reinstalling Windows. Plus, my mouse won't work on boot unless I unplug it and plug it back in, and my CPU fans randomly ramp up to full speed while idling even though temperatures are normal.
I've done multiple clean installs of Windows, isolated my setup by not connecting to the internet to avoid messed-up drivers, and manually installed the latest drivers via USB. I can't afford repairs or to troubleshoot with new parts as I'm on a tight budget. Any suggestions on what I should do next?
1 Answer
It sounds like your GPU might be defective, especially if it showed up with thermal paste issues. I'd suggest returning it for a replacement. Until you do that, troubleshooting may not be very effective.
Haha, I didn't think of it like that! As this is my first build, I wasn't aware thermal paste issues were common. I was worried about my motherboard possibly being the cause of the issues and didn't want to RMA the GPU without confirming. You're probably right, though—time to focus on getting that GPU replaced. Thanks for the advice!