It is difficult to determine if your display problem is indeed related to the graphics card and not just a damaged cable, a dusty port, or a corrupted driver. We will first list symptoms that resemble a faulty graphics card.
Even if you experience these symptoms, it is not necessary to immediately replace the graphics card.
Display problem: this is the main sign that something is wrong!
- Changes on the screen, parts disappear, colors darken, squares or lines suddenly appear.
- These are artifacts, usually a sign of a defective graphics card.
Often associated with the sudden crash of your video game in the middle of a session or the infamous Blue Screen of Death, the blue screen that signals a fatal error to the computer.
In general, your screen is not functioning properly.
- Loud noise: your graphics card fan suddenly starts running at full speed for no reason? It's more than concerning and a good sign that something is not right with your card.
- Total restart: your system is unstable and constantly shuts down and restarts for no reason. The causes can be numerous, but if it happens more often when your graphics card is being used, it could be a sign...
Since most of these problems can be related to the screen and not just your graphics card, the easiest way to make sure is to isolate one of the elements for testing.
Connect your screen to another computer, a laptop, and check if it works well; this is the simplest solution.
If your problem is with a laptop, it complicates things as it is not possible to separate the two elements...
In this case, the ultimate solution is to use stress tests for the graphics card.
These software are harmless to the card, even though they push it to its limits to test its stability.
You can easily find them on the internet, with the most popular being FurMark, OCCT, and AIDA64.
A good way to see if your card is stable and functional.
Note: If your graphics card is indeed faulty, it's not a reason to discard it, especially for a laptop since they are inseparable.
Find our guide on repairing a graphics card through a complete hardware reboot.