Need Advice on PC Black screen/ GPU Driver Issue
Posted by Phase_33@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 9 comments
For the past couple of months, I’ve been experiencing a recurring issue with my PC.
When I play games like Battlefield or Rocket League and other games for about 2+ hours straight, everything runs normally. However, after I exit the game and leave the PC idle (with nothing running), the screen suddenly goes black and the fans ramp up to maximum speed. There is no BSOD. This sometimes also happens about 5 mins after I turn on the pc and starting a game. Like I turn on Apex and I just sit in the main menu then screen goes black.
Sometimes the PC will automatically restart, but other times it stays in this state and I have to hold the power button to shut it down manually before starting it again.
After rebooting, I run WhoCrashed and it reports a driver-related error (see attached screenshot).
Here are the troubleshooting steps I’ve already tried:
- Used DDU multiple times to completely remove and reinstall the GPU drivers
- Installed the latest NVIDIA drivers directly from the NVIDIA website / NVIDIA App
- Performed a full PSU power drain (unplugged the PSU and pressed power button for 30 secs then replugged power and DP in and turned pc on)
- Reseated the GPU
- Cleaned the PC (there is very little dust since I maintain it regularly)
My setup:
- Dual monitor configuration
- Primary monitor: PRISM+ X340 PRO (normally 180 Hz, currently reduced to 144 Hz / 120 Hz)
- Secondary monitor: Philips PHL 223V7 75 Hz (reduced to 50 Hz)
I don’t have many USB devices connected, but I do have an Elgato Stream Deck.
At this point I’m unsure what the cause could be. Could this be a Windows software issue, a driver problem, or possibly a failing GPU? or a PSU issue? BIOS issue? I’m also wondering if the ultrawide monitor or dual-monitor setup could be putting extra stress on the GPU.
AMD Ryzen 7 5700x
NVIDIA RTX 4070Ti
32 GB Ram
Thank you in advance.
| Crash dump file: | |
|---|---|
| Bugcheck code: | 0x116(0xFFFFE50D2AEEC010, 0xFFFFF8025D8A0440, 0xFFFFFFFFC000009A, 0x4) |
| Bugcheck name: | VIDEO_TDR_ERROR |
| Driver or module in which error occurred: | nvlddmkm.sys(nvlddmkm+1a20440) |
| File path: | nvlddmkm.sys |
| Description: | NVIDIA Windows Kernel Mode Driver, Version 595.71 |
| Product: | NVIDIA Windows Kernel Mode Driver, Version 595.71 |
| Company: | NVIDIA Corporation |
| Bug check description: | This indicates that an attempt to reset the display driver and recover from a timeout failed. |
| Analysis: | This is a video related crash. A third party driver was identified as the probable root cause of this system error.It is suggested you look for an update for the following driver:nvlddmkm.sys (NVIDIA Windows Kernel Mode Driver, Version 595.71 , NVIDIA Corporation). |
| Google query: | nvlddmkm NVIDIA Corporation VIDEO_TDR_ERROR |
RockMeHard84@reddit
I had a very similar issue - dual monitors at different refresh rates, random black screens, driver timeouts. In my case it's an AMD card, but the root cause was the same: Windows 11 struggling with mixed refresh rates.
You mentioned your monitors run at 144/120Hz and 50Hz right now - the fact that you already reduced them tells me you've been trying to work around this. What fixed it for me was a small tool I made called Refresh Sync. It detects all your monitors, shows which refresh rates they all support, and lets you sync them with one click. So instead of guessing which Hz combination works, you see it immediately. You can also restore your original settings later with one click.
It's €4.95 on Gumroad: https://bytebuilt.gumroad.com/l/jrwzzm
Not affiliated with anything - I literally built this for myself because I was tired of my screens going black. Worth a try before you start suspecting the GPU or PSU. Your crash dump says VIDEO_TDR_ERROR, which is exactly what mixed-Hz setups can trigger.
Aware-Evidence-5170@reddit
If it's not driver related then most of the time the case it's the physical connections. So double check the displayport or HDMI cable (try a different one if you have one), PCIe ribbon cable, and/or the 12 VHPWR cable.
Try unplugging and replugging the 12 VHPWR connector at both the GPU and the PSU side (It could be loose at either ends). Also try to make the cable as straight as possible near the connection points, any sharp kinks can cause this kind of instability. Re-plugging the 12 VHPWR cable solved my own black screen issues 2/3 times thus far (the most recent issue I encountered was pcie ribbon cable related).
There can be weird issues that only occurs when you run each display at different refresh rates. So until you get everything rock solid stable, it's a good idea to unplug one of the monitor for a while just to see if it solves things.
Phase_33@reddit (OP)
Back, I unplugged and replugged everything and it still happening. I’ll give it some more time maybe.
Exokiel@reddit
Did you ever get it to work? Having the same issue
Phase_33@reddit (OP)
Before these changes:
Notes:
Phase_33@reddit (OP)
I’ll try this out. Thank you
ouija_bh@reddit
Failing GPU.
deleted_by_reddit@reddit
[removed]
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