Question My R7 250 turns off randomly

[vixeko_]

A few weeks ago while I was playing TF2 on my desktop PC, the screen suddenly went black and made a noise and stopped displaying an image.
I looked at the PC and it was still on since the fans and lights were still on except the GPU fan so there I could tell that the GPU turned off but the PC was still on
I forced the PC to turn off and turned it back on and everything started normally including the GPU so I decided to play tf2 again to see if it would happen again and it did but it only happened after a while
I used furmark to stress the GPU and see if it would happen again but it didn't.
For some reason it only happened when playing tf2 (although at the time I didn't try another game)
check the temperatures, the percentage of use and if the drives were updated and everything was correct
Check the thermal paste and it is in good condition (since it had been changed not long ago)
Since I didn't find anything wrong, I left everything like that and didn't do anything else.
but a few days ago for testing reasons I ran the 3dmark benchmark on the PC and it passed without problems so I thought it had been solved until a few minutes ago
I was using the PC normally but out of nowhere it happened again but this time I was only browsing in Firefox
The truth is I don't know what to do anymore and I wouldn't like to think that this GPU is on its last legs since it is the most powerful one I have for that PC and although I plan to buy a new one in the future I don't want to have to be left without a PC because of that since I don't have money for now
So I hope you can help me and I would really appreciate it.

My PC specifications:

• CPU: AMD FX-8120
• Mobo: ASUS M5A99X EVO R2.0
• RAM: 4 RAM memories of 4GB DDR3 at 1333mhz
• Storage: a 512GB ZADAK TWSS3 SSD in SATA 3
• GPU: XFX Radeon R7 250 Low Profile 1GB VRAM GDDR5
• PSU: 600w EVGA 80 plus

 

[burninatortech4]

Lots to unpack here:

A few weeks ago while I was playing TF2 on my desktop PC, the screen suddenly went black and made a noise and stopped displaying an image.

This doesn't tell us much.

I looked at the PC and it was still on since the fans and lights were still on except the GPU fan so there I could tell that the GPU turned off but the PC was still on

We still don't have enough information to know whether this is the GPU. It could also be a failing power supply. Is the PSU 10 years old as well?

I forced the PC to turn off and turned it back on and everything started normally including the GPU so I decided to play tf2 again to see if it would happen again and it did but it only happened after a while

Not sure what to make of "but it only happened after a while"

I used furmark to stress the GPU and see if it would happen again but it didn't.

This doesn't tell us much either.

I was using the PC normally but out of nowhere it happened again but this time I was only browsing in Firefox

This behavior sounds more like a failing power supply. There's no way to prove it without having spare parts to test (via process of elimination).

The truth is I don't know what to do anymore and I wouldn't like to think that this GPU is on its last legs

This is an extremely old PC. Throwing additional money at is a sunk cost. You could buy spare parts to try to figure out whats wrong but you'd be 100% better off using that money towards a brand new PC.

To put things in perspective. Your 125 watt FX 8120 is outperformed (handily) by an Intel N100 using only 6 watts. The integrated graphics on the N100 are 1.5x faster than the R7 250 for no additional power use. N100 PC's (with 16GB of DDR5) can be had from Amazon for $160 (admittedly I'm not sure where you're from).

I'm not recommending you get an N100 PC, specifically. I'm just trying to put things in perspective.

Do yourself a favor and don't spend a lot of time trying to "fix" this PC. Backup your data while you can and move on with your life.

 

[Leeea]

Not sure I agree on the power supply being the issue. Maybe take a moment to make sure the fan is still spinning and use one of those computer dust things to blow the dust out. Outdoors.

Nice case. Have not seen it, but you must be happy with it. Check to make sure all your case fans are still spinning.

You likely like your keyboard, mouse, and monitor.

Good starting point.

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I think you have a ram issue.

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Download your free copy of MemTest86 here for USB.

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As burninatortech4 pointed out, many of the parts in your system do not have a lot of monetary value. As such, this is more of a passion project for you right now.


However, unlike burniatortech4, I will point out atx is still atx, and well, a keyboard is a keyboard, a mouse is a mouse, a powersupply is a powersupply, a monitor is a monitor, and as long as the power supply is not the problem your not at a bad starting point for the next computer. That SSD is still working for you, so you don't need a new one right now.

If it was me, I would perhaps think about swap the mainboard + cpu + ram without even reinstalling the OS. Perhaps a 5600g*, a520m, and 16gig of ram. But each to their own. It is a roll of the dice on that PSU though. Still more expensive then the n100.


*if I did my math right, the 5600g should have a 2.3x faster iGPU then a r7 250 gpu. And a real gpu can be dropped in at some future point. 5600g should come with CPU cooler in the box.

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The integrated graphics on the N100 are 1.5x faster than the R7 250 for no additional power use.

I disagree, I think the integrated graphics on the N100 will be only about 3 percent faster then the r7 250 if the CPU was the same between the two. That said, yes, the n100 cpu is so much faster that actual performance would be much better.