Black-ish Screen During Gameplay

I've been playing PoE since beta, the last few years of which were on this machine. Now, suddenly, when I try to play the game, I get a black screen after about a minute in game. After the screen shuts off, and then pops back on, I see a gray screen, but am unable to interact at all with my computer. Cannot alt+tab or atl+ctrl+del. Have to do a hard restart.

I have tried a complete fresh install (even deleted old files) and updating my video drivers, and the problem is not going away. I am basically unable to play this game at all. Other games play fine. It is only PoE.

Can someone please help me resolve?

My system specs:

16GB RAM
196GB free hard drive space
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 Ti OEM
3.6 GHz Processor
Win 7 64-bit
DirectX 11

Dxdiag (truncated a bit, but it was long):

------------------
System Information
------------------
Time of this report: 1/31/2018, 13:26:12
Machine name: JAL-PC
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601) Service Pack 1 (7601.win7sp1_ldr.171231-1547)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Alienware
System Model: Alienware X51 R2
BIOS: BIOS Date: 07/13/15 11:13:58 Ver: 04.06.05
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4790 CPU @ 3.60GHz (8 CPUs), ~3.6GHz
Memory: 16384MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 16300MB RAM
Page File: 4513MB used, 28086MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
User DPI Setting: Using System DPI
System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)
DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled
DxDiag Version: 6.01.7601.17514 64bit Unicode

------------
DxDiag Notes
------------
Display Tab 1: No problems found.
Sound Tab 1: No problems found.
Sound Tab 2: No problems found.
Sound Tab 3: No problems found.
Input Tab: No problems found.

--------------------
DirectX Debug Levels
--------------------
Direct3D: 0/4 (retail)
DirectDraw: 0/4 (retail)
DirectInput: 0/5 (retail)
DirectMusic: 0/5 (retail)
DirectPlay: 0/9 (retail)
DirectSound: 0/5 (retail)
DirectShow: 0/6 (retail)

---------------
Display Devices
---------------
Card name: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 Ti OEM
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type: GeForce GTX 760 Ti OEM
DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_1189&SUBSYS_107410DE&REV_A1
Display Memory: 1681 MB
Dedicated Memory: 1979 MB
Shared Memory: 3798 MB
Current Mode: 1920 x 1080 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor Name: Dell_ST2310_Analog
Monitor Model: DELL ST2310
Monitor Id: DELF01B
Native Mode: 1920 x 1080(p) (60.000Hz)
Output Type: HD15
Driver Name: nvd3dumx.dll,nvwgf2umx.dll,nvwgf2umx.dll,nvd3dum,nvwgf2um,nvwgf2um
Driver File Version: 23.21.0013.9077 (English)
Driver Version: 23.21.13.9077
DDI Version: 11
Driver Model: WDDM 1.1
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/Size: 1/23/2018 18:19:35, 18738544 bytes
WHQL Logo'd: Yes
WHQL Date Stamp:
Device Identifier: {D7B71E3E-52C9-11CF-1B50-79301BC2DA35}
Vendor ID: 0x10DE
Device ID: 0x1189
SubSys ID: 0x107410DE
Revision ID: 0x00A1
Driver Strong Name: oem140.inf:NVIDIA_Devices.NTamd64.6.1:Section053:23.21.13.9077:pci\ven_10de&dev_1189&subsys_107410de
Rank Of Driver: 00E60001

HWMonitor Log (Last saved right before the last crash, which this time only froze the program).

CPUID HWMonitor Report
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Binaries
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

HWMonitor version 1.3.4.0

Monitoring
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mainboard Model 0PGRP5 (0x0000019E - 0x005786A0)

LPCIO
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

LPCIO Vendor Fintek
LPCIO Model F71889A
LPCIO Vendor ID 0x1934
LPCIO Chip ID 0x1005
Config Mode I/O address 0x4E
Config Mode LDN 0x4
Config Mode registers
00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 0A 0B 0C 0D 0E 0F
00 FF FF 00 FF FF FF FF 04 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF
10 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF
20 10 05 31 19 34 00 00 90 00 00 C1 F0 10 08 00 00
30 01 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF
40 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF
50 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF
60 02 90 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF
70 00 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF
Register space LPC, base address = 0x0290


Hardware Monitors
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hardware monitor Fintek F71889A
Voltage 0 3.25 Volts [0xCB] (+3.3V)
Voltage 1 1.05 Volts [0x83] (CPU VCORE)
Voltage 2 1.66 Volts [0x68] (VIN2)
Voltage 3 1.38 Volts [0x75] (VIN3)
Voltage 4 4.96 Volts [0x76] (+5V)
Voltage 5 11.97 Volts [0x88] (+12V)
Voltage 6 2.21 Volts [0x8A] (VIN6)
Voltage 7 3.26 Volts [0xCC] (VSB3V)
Voltage 8 3.31 Volts [0xCF] (VBAT)
Temperature 0 73 degC (163 degF) [0x49] (TMPIN0)
Temperature 1 46 degC (114 degF) [0x2E] (TMPIN1)
Fan 0 968 RPM [0x60D] (FANIN0)
Fan 1 1094 RPM [0x55B] (FANIN1)
Fan 2 2773 RPM [0x21D] (FANIN2)
Fan PWM 0 11 pc [0x1D] (CPU)
Fan PWM 1 11 pc [0x1D] (System Fan 1)
Fan PWM 2 11 pc [0x1D] (System Fan 2)
Register space LPC, base address = 0x0290

00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 0A 0B 0C 0D 0E 0F
00 FF C3 00 01 01 FF FF 00 00 00 02 00 69 4C 00 30
10 00 00 00 00 00 00 06 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF
20 CB 83 68 75 76 88 8A CC CF FF FF FF FF 41 00 87
30 7A D7 FF FF FF FF C9 C8 75 85 FF FF FF FF FF 00
40 44 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
50 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 03 04 10 19 34 FF
60 00 22 00 00 FF FF 02 00 00 00 FF 0E 40 24 FF 08
70 FF FF 49 FF 2E FF 80 FF 49 00 49 49 49 00 00 00
80 FF FF 64 55 64 55 55 46 FF FF FF FF FF FF A8 FF
90 00 00 00 00 12 FF 00 FF 06 00 00 15 01 05 99 1A
A0 05 DD 02 37 01 0B 64 5D 46 41 00 05 20 25 C1 1D
B0 05 53 06 A6 00 FA 3B 39 37 2D 00 08 17 20 D0 1E
C0 02 1F 02 20 01 10 38 33 30 2D 00 03 07 10 30 1E
D0 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF
E0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 FF FF FF 00 00 01 00
F0 00 00 00 00 00 00 33 FF 03 B8 FF 00 FF 00 FF FF

Hardware monitor Intel I/O
Temperature 0 60 degC (140 degF) [0x3C] (GPU)
Clock Speed 0 599.86 MHz [0x257] (Graphics)

Hardware monitor NVIDIA NVAPI
Voltage 0 0.99 Volts [0x3DB] (GPU)
Power 0 34.63 pc (GPU)
Temperature 0 65 degC (149 degF) [0x41] (GPU)
Fan 0 1560 RPM [0x618] (GPU)
Fan PWM 0 39 pc [0x27] (FANPWMIN0)
Clock Speed 0 914.52 MHz [0x392] (Graphics)
Clock Speed 1 3004.68 MHz [0x392] (Memory)


Processors
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Number of sockets 1
Number of threads 8

APICs
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Socket 0
-- Core 0
-- Thread 0 0
-- Thread 1 1
-- Core 1
-- Thread 0 2
-- Thread 1 3
-- Core 2
-- Thread 0 4
-- Thread 1 5
-- Core 3
-- Thread 0 6
-- Thread 1 7

Timers
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ACPI timer 3.580 MHz
Perf timer 3.516 MHz
Sys timer 1.000 KHz


Processors Information
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Socket 1 ID = 0
Number of cores 4 (max 4)
Number of threads 8 (max 8)
Name Intel Core i7 4790
Codename Haswell
Specification Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4790 CPU @ 3.60GHz
Package (platform ID) Socket 1150 LGA (0x1)
CPUID 6.C.3
Extended CPUID 6.3C
Core Stepping C0
Technology 22 nm
TDP Limit 84.0 Watts
Tjmax 100.0 °C
Core Speed 3799.1 MHz
Multiplier x Bus Speed 38.0 x 100.0 MHz
Stock frequency 3600 MHz
Instructions sets MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, EM64T, VT-x, AES, AVX, AVX2, FMA3
L1 Data cache 4 x 32 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L1 Instruction cache 4 x 32 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L2 cache 4 x 256 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L3 cache 8 MBytes, 16-way set associative, 64-byte line size
Max CPUID level 0000000Dh
Max CPUID ext. level 80000008h
Cache descriptor Level 1, D, 32 KB, 2 thread(s)
Cache descriptor Level 1, I, 32 KB, 2 thread(s)
Cache descriptor Level 2, U, 256 KB, 2 thread(s)
Cache descriptor Level 3, U, 8 MB, 16 thread(s)
FID/VID Control yes


Turbo Mode supported, enabled
Max non-turbo ratio 36x
Max turbo ratio 40x
Max efficiency ratio 8x
O/C bins none
Ratio 1 core 40x
Ratio 2 cores 40x
Ratio 3 cores 39x
Ratio 4 cores 38x
IA Voltage Mode PCU adaptive
IA Voltage Offset 0 mV
GT Voltage Mode PCU adaptive
GT Voltage Offset 0 mV
LLC/Ring Voltage Mode PCU adaptive
LLC/Ring Voltage Offset 0 mV
Agent Voltage Mode PCU adaptive
Agent Voltage Offset 0 mV
TDP Level 84.0 W @ 36x

Temperature 0 67 degC (152 degF) (Package)
Temperature 1 64 degC (147 degF) (Core #0)
Temperature 2 63 degC (145 degF) (Core #1)
Temperature 3 62 degC (143 degF) (Core #2)
Temperature 4 70 degC (158 degF) (Core #3)
Voltage 0 1.15 Volts (VID)
Voltage 1 +0.00 Volts (IA Offset)
Voltage 2 +0.00 Volts (GT Offset)
Voltage 3 +0.00 Volts (LLC/Ring Offset)
Voltage 4 +0.00 Volts (System Agent Offset)
Power 00 32.87 W (Package)
Power 01 23.28 W (IA Cores)
Power 02 0.00 W (GT)
Power 03 7.57 W (Uncore)
Power 04 2.01 W (DRAM)
Clock Speed 0 3799.11 MHz (Core #0)
Clock Speed 1 3799.11 MHz (Core #1)
Clock Speed 2 3799.11 MHz (Core #2)
Clock Speed 3 3899.09 MHz (Core #3)
Core 0 max ratio 40.0 (effective 40.0)
Core 1 max ratio 40.0 (effective 40.0)
Core 2 max ratio 40.0 (effective 40.0)
Core 3 max ratio 40.0 (effective 40.0)

Updating - cleaning out temp files and defragging my disk drives has had no effect on my situation. I still cannot play the game.

Lil help?

When I had similar issues, it was my graphics card going bad.

having a similar issue, I would like an update on your situation.
and let me know if you had a solution worth exploring.
thanks in advance.

Hi Hattoriii,

I saw different scenarios about this cases related to "black screen" or "gray screen" while gaming.

Have you checked your GPU temp. ?

Make sure that your computer is set as "High Performance" and also your GPU is not set as power saving mode. Set it to Maximum Performance.
Try with MSI Afterburn (or your GPU vendor software) setting up the Fan Speed to 85% and validate playing the game.

The most common case for NVIDIA GPUs is the "nvlddmkm.sys" stopped responding and has recovered is related to GPU Temps or PSU. Rarely but saw some cases that the BGA was damaged.

I had an issue with a EVGA GTX 970 with similar (black screen and sometimes gray screen), first try was replacing my EVGA PSU 600W to a Corsair 650W, then I had changed my firmware GPU speed to work on 80%, it resolved.

@TreeheadWoodfist

I can see that your PSU is not a problem according with HW Monitor information.

I would like to suggest to setup your FANS to Maximum Performance if it's not a "watercooled" setup (You have an I7 4790, right?):

"Fan 0 968 RPM [0x60D] (FANIN0) <<<<
Fan 1 1094 RPM [0x55B] (FANIN1) <<<<
Fan 2 2773 RPM [0x21D] (FANIN2)"


Also, set your GPU Fan Speed as described above for Hattoriii in 85%.
It will make a little bit noise, but this is only testing purposes.


Thanks,
Assen

Got a replacement video card.

Got a replacement motherboard.

(These are both brand new)

Still problems. But I got an error code this time - unfortunately, my problems sound exactly like this guy:

https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/2044409/page/1#p15105830

"

AssenVIK wrote:

@TreeheadWoodfist

I can see that your PSU is not a problem according with HW Monitor information.

I would like to suggest to setup your FANS to Maximum Performance if it's not a "watercooled" setup (You have an I7 4790, right?):

"Fan 0 968 RPM [0x60D] (FANIN0) <<<<
Fan 1 1094 RPM [0x55B] (FANIN1) <<<<
Fan 2 2773 RPM [0x21D] (FANIN2)"


Also, set your GPU Fan Speed as described above for Hattoriii in 85%.
It will make a little bit noise, but this is only testing purposes.


Thanks,
Assen

I really have no idea what any of this means.

Can you tell me more specifically what you'd like me to do and why?