EVGA gtx 980 thread [problems and solutions]

[Lonestar the Kilrathi]

PC specs:
Asus Maximus 4 extreme motherboard
i7 2600k CPU
8gb DDR3 1600 corsair
EVGA gtx 980
750w PSU
win 7/64

tl;dr: upgraded from EVGA gtx570 and began having many crashes to desktop (CTD) but more importantly many blue screens (BSOD). Either i have a bad video card or something else bad going on.

not tl;dr:
Titan fall plays fine and i've not had any bluescreens, but i had one after about 1/2 in Assassins Creed. In Star Citizen (SC) i sometimes make a full 20 minute match, sometimes only 3 mintues, sometimes BSOD in the hangar.

the original 344.11 drivers appeared to be worse than the 344.16 driver, and after a couple of SC patches and the new 344.16 Nvidea driver it's getting much more consistent high FPS in game. But the BSOD persists.

I have tried a clean install of the Video Drivers, and that hasn't helped. i realized a bit ago that after my last system refresh (wipe/install) i forgot to update my motherboard BIOS, so possibly using 3 year old BIOS may have been contributing. So now with a new BIOS i am about to try SC again and see if the BSOD is going to persist.

If it does my plan of attack should be either to
A) reinstall the gtx 57o and see if the BSOD goes away (ruling out the 344.16 software and placing blame on the hardware)
B) if that doesn't work start over with a fresh install of everything and try again?
C) Contact EVGA customer support i guess.
D) other option listed below

any suggestions on how to proceed if i blue screen again? i'll let everyone know if an updated BIOS fixes it.

 

[Madfish]

First of all you should try and analyze the bluescreen.

Here's a guide with pictures and stuff:
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Analyze-a-BSOD-Crash-Dump/?ALLSTEPS

Since you did an upgrade it shouldn't be a driver issue as the new card should've been supported by the driver already.
However, that latest drivers had a few hiccups (for my machines as well). Maybe it is a corrupted 9xx series driver upgrade. Make sure to reset all settings when reinstalling the driver.

 

[Annitias]

What is the BSOD code?

 

[Lonestar the Kilrathi]

What is the BSOD code?

that is a good question. i'm not sure how to read all of that. I will take madfish's advice if i have another BSOD after i've updated my bios here.
the good news is that i'm crashing to desktop now and i haven't had a BSOD now in a couple of games. but i'm getting a much more normal error message than before, which is good imo. i'm crossing my fingers that the BIOS update did something good.

 

[D3Mark]

Uh, how close is your computer to a wall? What I mean to say is that you need at least 6 inches of clearance of all the vents/opening on your computer for the inside to coll effectively. In my experience BSOD means over heating, which is bad. It could be any number of things.

EDIT: Also, try cleaning out the computer of all dust, that tends to gum up the works. Make sure all fans are running. What case are you using?

 

[Annitias]

Also. this is awesome for everyone to have handy: http://www.overclock.net/t/935829/the-overclockers-bsod-code-list

If it is overheating, that care has very poor airflow. The 980 sips power like a mid range card did last year. Most OEM case with a single fan could even handle the heat load (Not well, but could).

Try the 570 and see if it can run furmark or kombuster for 30 mins. If it can, it may be the 980.

 

[Lonestar the Kilrathi]

thank you all for the replies. this is all helpful information.

Uh, how close is your computer to a wall? What I mean to say is that you need at least 6 inches of clearance of all the vents/opening on your computer for the inside to coll effectively. In my experience BSOD means over heating, which is bad. It could be any number of things.

EDIT: Also, try cleaning out the computer of all dust, that tends to gum up the works. Make sure all fans are running. What case are you using?

i'm using this case

along with a coolermaster heatsink

i clean it pretty regularly and did a nice dusting when i installed the 980 there wasn't much, it's got fine mesh screens behind the grate in front of the fans.

interestingly enough i just played a full match. Started 20 seconds in and played it out all the way to the end of the round. Very little issue, just the occasional stuttering when ships spawn. No crash to the desktop and no BSOD. so i'm knocking on wood that the Motherboard BIOS just needed to be updated.

no jinxes.

 

[D3Mark]

Oh. Yeah, you won't have cooling issues... Ha... Yeah sounds like the MOBO needed to adjust to the new card is all.

 

[Lonestar the Kilrathi]

alright, looks like i did inadvertently fix things when i updated my BIOS. everything seems to be working great. i'm not surprised such a new card wouldn't work well with such an old bios. i guess.

but no more BSOD and actually no more CTD either. i just played for about an hour with no issues and was getting great FPS.
i was even able to stream again. if everything is stable now this is going to be a freaking awesome video card.

 

[Annitias]

Good to hear. Its odd but can sometimes be the BIOS. Enjoy the killer performance on that card!