How to Tell If Your GPU Is Dying?

The graphics card is among the most expensive components in your computer, and, understandably, experiencing issues with it can be a significant problem. Having your GPU die may prevent you from enjoying your favorite games or, if the GPU is in an awful condition, you may not be able to load into Windows at all. In addition to all this, you may experience various crashes, which may occur just a few minutes after your computer starts. But how do you know if your GPU is dying and what could be the case of this?

Common Causes for GPU Failure

The graphics processing unit (GPU) may fail because of one or more factors. On very occasions, there is a single cause – usually, there are multiple contributing factors. Some of the most common reasons for GPU failure are:

• Overheat that was caused by risky overclocking or lack of proper cooling and airflow in the computer case.
• The cooling is not working well due to dust buildup.
• A faulty power unit may sometimes damage GPUs beyond repair.
• Incompatible drivers executed, which fail to manage card voltages and overclock levels properly.
• Extensive use of GPU-intensive software (e.g., heavy games or cryptocurrency mining utilities)

Your GPU May be Dying If…

1) Windows crashes and shows error messages related to a video signal

The crash may often be accompanied by a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD), but this is not always the case. Often, after the restart, your monitor may display a message saying that there is no signal to the GPU. If you manage to boot Windows, you may see a message related to your video card drivers crashing and being restored. These are all linked to GPU failure commonly.

2) Graphics problems while playing games

Sometimes the video card may operate smoothly while you are not putting it under heavy stress. However, as soon as you start a modern game, you may start experiencing various glitches such as distorted textures, flashing images or dots, messed up colors and others.

3) Your screen turns off for a few seconds regularly

This is a symptom that many users often overlook. It is usually a sign that the graphics card is starting to experience issues, which will only get worse as time goes by. The screen may appear to turn off for a few seconds randomly before turning back on. This behavior may often be accompanied by a Windows alert saying that your video card driver crashed unexpectedly and has been restarted. This might sometimes be a symptom of a faulty driver, but it also is likely to be a symptom of your GPU failing.