Dark Hero + 3080 + 5950x = graphics crashes? I don't know what to check for!

[edplaysdrums]

Dark Hero, 5950x, 128gb 3200 Corsair, ROG Strix 850W, TUF OC 3080

I've been having this problem since first building this PC:

Whilst gaming the game will randomly freeze & crash to desktop. Very occasionally I'll get the same thing outside a game whilst working - desktop freezes for a couple of seconds, the output to my second screen will go dead (can reactivate it by replugging HDMI), and then everything carries on as normal.

For all these crashes I get the same report in Event Viewer: "Display driver nvlddmkm stopped responding and has successfully recovered."

The same thing happens with a 3080 or a 3090 so I'm pretty sure it's not a graphics card issue.
I've run a lot of memory tests so I'm also sure the ram is fine.
I've also done a lot of CPU/ram torture tests and never had any errors.

The one thing I've noticed is that a crash is more likely in a game that stresses the GPU: Cyberpunk is far more likely to crash than a 2d platformer, for example.

Could this be a power issue? A motherboard issue? I don't really know what to test for anymore, so I was hoping someone here would have some ideas...

Thanks!

[D_BRASCO]

I have a similar system with a 3090FE, but my power supply is 1200 watts. I've not experienced any driver failures and I have been playing Cyberpunk 2077

Have you tried to use the Hotfix driver?

Nvidia GeForce Hotfix Driver 461.51

[Dan69]

Have you tried a DDU, updated your GPU Bios?

Whats your PSU?

[edplaysdrums]

I have a similar system with a 3090FE, but my power supply is 1200 watts. I've not experienced any driver failures and I have been playing Cyberpunk 2077

Have you tried to use the Hotfix driver?

Nvidia GeForce Hotfix Driver 461.51

I was still on 461.41 so will try the hotfix and report back, thanks.

[edplaysdrums]

Have you tried a DDU, updated your GPU Bios?

Whats your PSU?

I DDU whenever I update the drivers. I thought I was on the latest Bios but I ran the bios update just to be sure. It said it updated but looking in the NVidia control panel it doesn't seem like the bios version has changed. We'll see what happens though!

PSU is an 850W Asus Strix

[D_BRASCO]

Hardware Unboxed just released a YouTube video referencing his own system using the ASUS ROG Stix 850 power supply shutting down if he uses the CPU heavily and plays a game. Maybe it's a power supply problem.

[edplaysdrums]

Hardware Unboxed just released a YouTube video referencing his own system using the ASUS ROG Stix 850 power supply shutting down if he uses the CPU heavily and plays a game. Maybe it's a power supply problem.

I've updated the vbios and drivers as suggested and still getting the same issue, so seems increasingly unlikely that it's a gpu problem and might be a psu issue as you're suggesting. I don't have another psu to swap out for testing, are there any diagnostic tools I can run to monitor the power output from the psu, or maybe monitor what's going on with the graphics card just before it craps out? I only have the one event in Event Viewer that corresponds with the error and it doesn't really give much to go on....

[HK-47]

Are you using a riser cable for the GPU ?

[edplaysdrums]

Are you using a riser cable for the GPU ?

Hi, I'm embarrassed that I had to look that up! But no I'm not using one.

[HK-47]

Have you tried to run the PCIE slot the GPU is in at GEN 3 instead of auto? I have to run like this because the riser cable I have installed or i get the same kind of issues as you. That why I asked about the riser cable. Im wondering if maybe your CPU has issues with GEN 4 even though you aren't using a riser cable. Anyways something to try.