GPU or Logic Board Issue?

[moodswingwhiskey]

hello all,

new to the forum. here's my situation that i'm hoping someone can shed some light on.

yesterday i was running premiere pro cc 2017 on my mid-2010 mac pro. suddenly, the monitor goes blank and computer reboots on its own. when it came up again, i saw nothing but vertical stripes across the screen. it's been that way ever since.

prior to going south, it was a bit glitchy transitioning between crossfades in premiere.

i unplugged and replugged the monitor back in. tried to use the install dvd to run a diagnosis myself, but the dvd drive won't open when i push the eject key on the keyboard. this is making me think something more serious is going on aside from the graphics card. maybe the logic board?

i took it to an apple store tonight, but they couldn't run a diagnostic either because nothing happened when he booted up holding down one of the keys (sorry, can't remember which one). he seemed pretty certain it is the graphics card, but i have my doubts because of the dvd drive not being responsive. it doesn't really sound like the computer is doing a full boot up when i start it.

a new card would run me about $400. he said the logic board would be around $600.

i'm sorry i don't have any details about my system. other than it's a stock mid-2010 with 2 1TB drives pro running OS 10.10 (might even be 10.11). 6GB of RAM.

seems possible i pushed the system too hard running premiere. but it was a barebones project with one video and audio track.

 

[casperes1996]

seems possible i pushed the system too hard running premiere. but it was a barebones project with one video and audio track.

There should be no such thing. First off, it's marketed as a pro machine. Second, if it were to get too hot or whatever, it has safeguards built in to avoid damage. So anything that happens is not because of pushing too hard in a specific instance, and it's meant to be able to handle what you throw at it.
Isn't the GPU a part of the logic board though?

 

[moodswingwhiskey]

Isn't the GPU a part of the logic board though?

*blushes* my naïveté is showing. i've been doing some cursory research into possible causes and may have mixed up my terminology.

essentially it's a question of whether it's a "simpler" problem with my video card vs. something more involved like the logic board. or maybe something else, which is why i'm asking here. just curious if anyone else has encountered this and what the problem/resolution ended up being.

good to hear that "pushing something too hard" isn't a possibility. although i recall reading something to that effect, which is why i mentioned it. proves the point of don't believe everything you read. i can understand incompatibility issues, but not a full breakdown of a system because it's an outdated system for certain software.

 

[h9826790]

1) I agree that's highly likely GPU failure

2) The whole computer's function can be affected if the GPU is failed due to unknown error is generated (including unresponsive super drive)

3) I recommend you get your own graphic card but not pay Apple to do so. For Premiere, GTX 680, HD7950 (R9 280), HD7970 (R9 280X) are all good choices. You can flash this card to give you the boot screen. If you don't need the boot screen, these card are running OOTB with native driver.

4) The chance of having logic board failure is much much lower than GPU failure in cMP.
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Isn't the GPU a part of the logic board though?

Definitely NOT true on the Mac Pro 2010. It use this kind of "Standard" graphic card.

 

[casperes1996]

*blushes* my naïveté is showing. i've been doing some cursory research into possible causes and may have mixed up my terminology.

No, but my point was more that it'd be easier for Apple to change the entire logic board regardless of what the issue is. They don't do component level repairs. When my 2011's GPU died, I got a new logic board.

good to hear that "pushing something too hard" isn't a possibility. although i recall reading something to that effect, which is why i mentioned it. proves the point of don't believe everything you read. i can understand incompatibility issues, but not a full breakdown of a system because it's an outdated system for certain software.

It can be incompatible, slow, or just behave weirdly, but it's not going to damage anything. It can however cause a lot of heat, using intensive software, which will lower the longevity of hardware. Heat kills electronics basically. It bumps up the level of wear you'd otherwise see with a system over time. However, all operations are within specifications, otherwise the computer will kill the software itself, or in extreme cases, reboot automatically to make sure no overheating occurs. You can't go above what the hardware was tested for handling
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Definitely NOT true on the Mac Pro 2010. It use this kind of "Standard" graphic card.

**** me, i thought we were talking MacBook Pro here. I must've misread something, haha

 

[orph]

what GPU do you have at the mo?

might be worth checking to see if it's full of dust as that may overheat it.

 

[pastrychef]

If I had to guess, it would be GPU. Try borrowing a compatible Nvidia video card to swap in and see if it will run normally.