Xfire Causing GTX280 VRAM Errors. >_<

[Caddyshack]

I'm running a GTX280 and was getting some strange crashes that I've aptly named the SSOD (Skittles Screen of Death).

Something rather recent I discovered after having problems for over a week. My computer screen would turn into this (http://yfrog.com/4jexamplepj)(Image sourced from WoW forums with someone else having the same issue). While playing WoW, Borderlands, and pretty much everything but CS:S.

I tried out a lot of things like replacing the thermal paste on my video card (which was needed, it was all dried out) because I thought it was over heating even though HWMonitor read better than optimal temps. I also ran Prime95 stress test on all my hardware with negative results. I ran a CHKDISK, memory test, and virus scan, reinstalled to older versions of my drivers, plugged the card into a different rail on my PSU, etc. Basically this took a lot of process of elimination to figure out that it wasn't a hardware or driver issue but rather a program I thought wouldn't have anything to do with it.

I woke up this morning, turned on my computer and decided to not run Xfire. So far all day today I've had zero crashes due to VRAM errors with all of my games that I play on a regular basis. Not sure if anyone else has had this issue but if your getting this kind of crash don't run Xfire and see if it works. I was almost to the point of just chucking my card in the trash and buying an HD5770, but if not running xfire works then I'll keep trucking with what I have.

I've made a post on the Xfire tech support forums so they know about it, but I don't ever plan on running xfire again.

[chaud]

I don't see how Xfire could have anything to do with it. That screen is almost always from overheating, driver problems, or a dying card.

[Caddyshack]

Well it's been 2 days now since I stopped using Xfire and none of my games have crashed like that since. So considering all the other shit that I tried, it's kind of obvious that was the problem.

Like I said, it was VRAM error. Could have easily been caused by Xfire since it's not designed for people with dual monitors and puts an overlay on your games for the whole in-game chat and live broadcasting feature.

I've never had temp issues with my card at all. I keep HWMonitor running almost constantly while I have my computer on to keep an eye on stuff like temps, voltages, and fan speeds. That way I can see if a fan is dieing and need to replace it before it dies and suddenly something overheats and dies. :P