Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 crashing computer. What could the issue be?

Hello guys. I've recently bought a new computer. It came with the Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 video card. I haven't had any issues with it at all, up until the point that I launched some games on Steam. It seems as though the video card has trouble running higher end games, such as BioShock Infinite. The games run without issues at first. There are no glitches at all. Then, at random times my monitor will black out and my computer will restart itself. This can range from 1 minute to 10 minutes from a launch of a game. What could be causing this issue? Any help would be appreciated. :)

Sounds like the computer might not be getting enough power. What size power supply unit does it have in it?

Concur with Blackrose that you are probably experiencing a power-related issue.

You might also make sure the case vents are clean and not clogged with dust and debris, and that all the cooling fan(s) are clean and operating properly.

rbmorse said:

Concur with Blackrose that you are probably experiencing a power-related issue.

You might also make sure the case vents are clean and not clogged with dust and debris, and that all the cooling fan(s) are clean and operating properly.

On a new computer? That would suck.

According to eVGA, the reference GTX 970 draws 170w, and they recommend a 500W PSU minimum. (They don't specify an amperage requirement at +12V, unfortunately.)

170w at 12v...about 14 amps or so. Should be well within the capability of a 500w PSU, even a cheap, highly cost-engineered, price-leader unit procured from uncertain origins.

I wasn't kidding about checking the vents. I had a system come in with a piece of styrofoam packing material was covering the air intake on the PSU.

Had another in a floor standing case with the PSU air intake on the bottom. That system was placed on a carpeted floor. Owner removed the casters from the bottom of the case so the top would better match up with some other piece of furniture, but dutifully replace them when they brought the machine in so "it would be just like it was when they bought it." Took a site visit to discover the real problem.

Plop, I know it doesn't make you feel any better but my 970 runs those games, from Steam without any problem. Is your monitor new as well? I say that because I had an issue similar to what your experiencing and it turned out to be a faulty monitor. It would even bring down my other monitors. I replaced it and I haven't had a problem since.

Thank you all for the replies. :) I'm sorry for being late with mine. I wasn't able to get on the computer at all. It started going in a reboot loop and would shutdown on its own, randomly. I had to contact HP directly and have now sent it to them for repair. That in itself, took about a whole day talking to multiple people and being transferred around. Supposedly, it should take 1-2 weeks for whatever the issue is, to be fixed. The computer is very new. As in, it has only been in use for 2 weeks. The monitor however, is at least 1+ years old. It is also made by HP. I don't think there should be an issue with debris and all, considering it was basically sealed. It looks more like a hardware issue. But, hopefully when the computer does come back, the issue indeed will be fixed.

Sometimes sending it back is the best way to deal with things like that. Let us know when you get it back what they found. It may help someone else.