Possible Faulty GTX 660 Issue

Question

Hello all. Two years ago I bought this alienware X-51, specs are: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-3450 @ 3.10 GHz8GB RAM64 BitModel: Andromeda-R5Nvidia GTX 660My first two months were going smoothly, it ran fast with no issues, warm up times after boots were somewhat slow but I could handle it.2 months later, an issue with my sound had appeared out of nowhere, whenever I play modern games they seem to make a 'crackling/popping' noise through my TV. I got technical help and I switched to Realtek instead of Nvidia  drivers. and it fixed my problem. While trying to fix this problem I decided to update my card to the latest drivers. Soon after, another problem came in. This issue was much worse, on every game/program including Internet Explorer the computer would freeze and, to make it worse, a loud buzzing noise would appear which adjusted itself to the Pitch to whatever program was making a sound. I have tried the following... Reinstalled DriversRolling back to older driversReducing Clock speedsCleaning out C: driveCleaning my PC of dust (Which worked for about 1 month and two weeks)Changing USB portsChanging HDMI slotsMany more which I cannot even rememberI am left with two options:1) Try removing Nvidia 3D Viewing Driver and HD Audio Driver.2) Swapping out my GTX 660 For a GTX 960The Problem is that I don't want to risk £150 for a possible solution that might not work.So my main question is. Will replacing my card for a better one work? Any help would be appreciated Many Thanks,Jason (BTW, my card ran out of warranty)

Jason45PC · Accepted Answer

I fixed my issue by replacing my old GTX 660 with a 960...

Alienware - Rodrigo · Answer

Hi,

This may have something to do with the game requirements, especially if they are new games. Make sure you meet all of the requirements for the newer games that you are trying to play. We do not support the Nvidia GTX 960 card with the Alienware X51 R1 system, so I cannot confirm if it will function properly.

You could also try an Alien Respawn to make sure the problem is not software related. This will take your system back to factory settings so make sure you back up your information first. Click here for a link that explains how to do an Alien Respawn system recovery.

Jason45PC · Answer

Hi, thank you for the reply...

I have met the games requirements and it should work, I mentioned in my first post that I fixed the first sound only issue, but the second issue can happen anywhere, including web browsing...
I ran a GPU stress test and it failed the test, with a BSOD saying the error "nvlddmkm" had appeared.

I went on amazon and I found a review saying a person with an Alienware R1 managed to fit a GTX 960 in it and that it worked perfectly. I am going to try the Alien Respawn technique later...

Alienware - Rodrigo · Answer

Thank you for confirming this. Let us know how it goes with the Alien Respawn procedure.

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