Hardware Flashing Black Screen

[Anfroid]

I'm having a weird issue where just one of my 2 screens will randomly flash black for a split second.

Seems to be related to the GPU I believe, as it only happens when it isnt playing any type of media/game.

Tried different slots on the monitor, the gpu, and pci slot. as well as different cables and adapters.

Tried reinstalling a fresh copy of windows 10 and updating/downgrading graphic/audio drivers.

Using a GTX 980 ti. Issue just recently popped up.

Any other ideas?

 

[Kioku]

PSU. Itd be cheaper to replace the PSU and verify this before replacing the GPU.

 

[raystriker]

PSU. Itd be cheaper to replace the PSU and verify this before replacing the GPU.

Why PSU? OP said "as it only happens when it isnt playing any type of media/game.". So it doesn't make sense that the issue happens when the computer is not on high load.

Does a certain monitor flash regardless of the gpu output slot?

 

[Kioku]

Why PSU? OP said "as it only happens when it isnt playing any type of media/game.". So it doesn't make sense that the issue happens when the computer is not on high load.

Does a certain monitor flash regardless of the gpu output slot?

Have had a few odd issues like this where I'd try a number of things to no avail. Then I would try a different PSU. OP also stated they've tried a number of things short of replacing the GPU. It can't hurt.

 

[Originality]

Have you tried swapping the cables going into each monitor around to see if the issue is only on one monitor and not the other?

It could possibly be a bad monitor.

 

[ThoD]

I have seen such an issue happen a LOT of times, both on my PC and on others. The issue is neither the GPU, the PSU or anything hardware related. Check the entire house for electronics connected to outlets and it's VERY likely the flashing happens when one other device/machine switches modes (eg: standby to active or active to standby) such as a fridge turning on and off with the thermostat (when it switches between freezing and idle) or something similar. The last component to get power on a PC is the GPU since it's the lowest priority (priority of components powering on goes PSU→Motherboard→CPU→SATA/IDE devices→Disk Drives/USBs→RAM→PCI Express slots aka GPUs and added cards such as sound cards), so if some other device/machine in the house momentarily draws sudden power like most do when switching between modes (eg: fridges like I mentioned) and the power grid is almost at full capacity single-phase, less power will come out from the outlet to the PSU so to keep the computer running power from the GPU will be cut off for a moment (GPU memory stays on though so display isn't lost) until power grid's balance returns. If it is indeed caused by some other device connected, there's nothing to worry about, it doesn't hurt the PC at all even in the long run so don't worry too much about it. If you are unsure, simply borrow a UPS from somewhere and connect your PC to it, if flashing still occurs it's exactly what I said.

PS: For general reference, MOST electronics the moment they power on draw a LOT more power for a split second compared to how much they use up after they have powered on, so things like this can happen often on single-phase grids. It's a power safety option instead of letting the grid surge (which would cause power to go out completely) and is related to switchboards, not the PC, with PCs being made with that in mind, better to get a screen flash after all than lose all your work by sudden shutdown.

 

[Alexander1970]

Hello.

I have such an similar issue like ThoD described on an Toshiba LCD with an Wii on the Composite connection.Everytime when i switch the light on in the adjoining room the screen goes black for a second.But all other connections work.

 

[Originality]

If you’re suffering voltage droops or spikes like that when other devices on your circuit are triggered, you should seriously consider getting power conditioning for your more sensitive devices (computers, TV, etc). It is exactly that which can kill devices pretty quickly.

Sometimes all it takes is a power extension with a good surge protector, or even better if it’s a UPS.

 

[Anfroid]

PSU. Itd be cheaper to replace the PSU and verify this before replacing the GPU.

I'll give it a try tomorrow.

Have you tried swapping the cables going into each monitor around to see if the issue is only on one monitor and not the other?

It could possibly be a bad monitor.

Yup tried everything possible related to the cables.

I have seen such an issue happen a LOT of times, both on my PC and on others. The issue is neither the GPU, the PSU or anything hardware related. Check the entire house for electronics connected to outlets and it's VERY likely the flashing happens when one other device/machine switches modes (eg: standby to active or active to standby) such as a fridge turning on and off with the thermostat (when it switches between freezing and idle) or something similar. The last component to get power on a PC is the GPU since it's the lowest priority (priority of components powering on goes PSU→Motherboard→CPU→SATA/IDE devices→Disk Drives/USBs→RAM→PCI Express slots aka GPUs and added cards such as sound cards), so if some other device/machine in the house momentarily draws sudden power like most do when switching between modes (eg: fridges like I mentioned) and the power grid is almost at full capacity single-phase, less power will come out from the outlet to the PSU so to keep the computer running power from the GPU will be cut off for a moment (GPU memory stays on though so display isn't lost) until power grid's balance returns. If it is indeed caused by some other device connected, there's nothing to worry about, it doesn't hurt the PC at all even in the long run so don't worry too much about it. If you are unsure, simply borrow a UPS from somewhere and connect your PC to it, if flashing still occurs it's exactly what I said.

PS: For general reference, MOST electronics the moment they power on draw a LOT more power for a split second compared to how much they use up after they have powered on, so things like this can happen often on single-phase grids. It's a power safety option instead of letting the grid surge (which would cause power to go out completely) and is related to switchboards, not the PC, with PCs being made with that in mind, better to get a screen flash after all than lose all your work by sudden shutdown.

Doubt this is my issue, just recently did the electrical in the house and dont have nearly enough appliances for it to be an issue. But I will keep it consideration.

 

[ThoD]

I'll give it a try tomorrow.

Yup tried everything possible related to the cables.

Doubt this is my issue, just recently did the electrical in the house and dont have nearly enough appliances for it to be an issue. But I will keep it consideration.

In that case try this troubleshooting steps in any order and see what fixes the issue:
- Use a UPS to make sure it's not the outlet that has the issue
- Use a multimeter to check each pin on your PSU to make sure they give the power they are supposed to since PSUs deteriorate over time at a rate of about 2-4% per year especially if used for lots of hours (so a 500Watt PSU after 5 years could be giving like 410-430Watts or more/less depending on it's quality)
- Otherwise simply try using a same Wattage PSU that's newer to test whether it's a failing PSU that's the cause
- Use a GPU that has the same power consumption as the one you are using (hard to find similar power cards but if you can, it will show you whether it's the GPU that's failing or not). Don't use a GPU with less Wattage unless you've ruled out the PSU, as if it's not getting enough power, a weaker card can make it seem like it's a GPU issue, while a GPU with higher Wattage could go over the calculated total Wattage of the system, which won't help troubleshooting either
- Finally, try removing the BIOS battery and re-inserting it to reset all settings in case you've done any overclocks in the past to any component, in case the PC has gotten too old to retain proper function. I suggest only doing this if you've overclocked a component though (even if it's RAM or something irrelevant to GPU), if not and are on default power settings, then ignore this step and instead just use Windows's power management and see if those settings help any

Those are all the things I can think of right now, if anything else comes to mind, I'll post here. Let us know what you've tried and what worked/didn't work.