Setup: 
 
EVGA RTX3080 FTW3 Ultra, i9-9900K, 850W Plat Seasonic PSU, 16GB RAM, 1 TB SSD, monitor is a 34" Ultrawide (AW3418DW). Windows 10.
 
Issue: 
 
dwm.exe (Desktop Window Manager) is faulting on all games. Result is a black screen (monitor displays no signal detected) and requires a hard restart. More detail below.
 
Troubleshooting:
Replace the DP cable.
Checked a second monitor.
Cleaned and reseated the GPU (I also removed the vertical mount kit, figuring maybe the riser died)
Checked BIOS for weird settings - all good
Checked for update for BIOS - on most current version
Booted into safe mode minimal with no net connection, and DDU'd the drivers. Reinstalled 3 different versions (DDUing each time) of nVidia drivers - same issue.
Lost my temper and went and had a beer while watching Gordon Ramsay rip deluded cooks to shreds.
Did some intensive googling, which led me to....
Scanning the system files from powershell and letting it repair errors - no improvement
Reinstall windows - did not fix
 
What happened:
First detail I guess, is that this is an RMA card. My first died after 8 months. This one is less than 6 weeks old.
 
What happened: I was waiting to play Diablo 2 Resurrected (server queued), and alt-tabbed and fired up Heroes of Might and Magic 3 in the background to kill time. [EDIT: I was playing for maybe 20 mins when... ] Screen suddenly went black, the GPU fans shot to 100% instantly (and frightened the **** out of me, I had no IDEA they could get that loud), and I had to hard reboot.
 
When I rebooted, things got weird. All my desktop icons were gone, and I couldn't open any settings or anything - it was like they were on some virtual desktop in a parallel dimension that I couldn't get to. Scratched my head for a while, contemplated losing my temper again, and just rebooted (I could access the start menu). Icons are now back, and I can open the normal dialogues again. That's when I started the steps to troubleshoot.
 
Event viewer in Windows shows me that dwm is crashing, with the following event log:
Faulting application name: dwm.exe, version: 10.0.19041.746, time stamp: 0x6be51595 Faulting module name: KERNELBASE.dll, version: 10.0.19041.1202, time stamp: 0xc9db1934 Exception code: 0xe0464645 Fault offset: 0x000000000010be3e Faulting process id: 0x574 Faulting application start time: 0x01d7c5fc36977ce3 Faulting application path: C:\WINDOWS\system32\dwm.exe Faulting module path: C:\WINDOWS\System32\KERNELBASE.dll Report Id: 64c90b89-4d0b-417a-9e90-2e04a1219938 Faulting package full name: Faulting package-relative application ID:
 
Anyone got any other ideas? If I have to RMA a second time, I really am gonna get mad. Between the shipping cost and the wait AND that another card has failed, I am not in the mood to be understanding.
 
Thanks for any and all advice

This is a difficult option for me, as I don't know anyone with a PC that can power the card. I mean, I'll try.
 
What I can do is swap in an old GTX950 and see if that gives me any trouble. I'll update the post when I try this.
 
If it's another RMA, I'm going to be fairly ragey, I have to say...... :/

Sounds like a super nasty power crash.  If you've already done a fresh windows install, next (or previous) step is bios - switch to the other bios on the GPU and try a MB bios reset or even reflash.
 
Is the machine fully configured for Rebar bios use? Has X1 and the firmware update been run? Recently?

Istaria
 

kevinc313
Sounds like a super nasty power crash.  If you've already done a fresh windows install, next (or previous) step is bios - switch to the other bios on the GPU and try a MB bios reset or even reflash.
 
Is the machine fully configured for Rebar bios use? Has X1 and the firmware update been run? Recently?

I may need some instructions on this. It's beyond my level of expertise. 100% willing to give it a try tho!
 
Thank you guys so far!

- EVGA Precision X1, gpu software.  If you run the most recent version, you may get a firmware update.  You have run it before...?
 
- There is a switch on the GPU of the normal and OC bios.  They are the same except for fan speeds.  With the PC off, switch it.
 
- Most MB's have a CMOS / bios reset jumper pin pair or pull battery.  Follow your MB manual.  You will lose ALL settings.  Can also try reflashing, see manual.
 
- Resizable-Bar is the current setup for these cards, there are several settings with the MB, OS drive has to be GPT, need the GPU bios.  There are detailed threads.

Sajin
You could have the card checked at a local pc shop. If you test with another gpu it would be best to test with one that draws the same amount of power as yours.

This, and testing your card in another known-working PC with PSU capable of powering your GPU.
Get the Precision X1 firmware check and update completed (it's automatically offered at program launch, if available)
 
Couple other things to check.
- Try to run the GPU in a second slot, if possible.
- reseat all power cables, particularly those at your PSU, if modular.
- Use 3 separate GPU power cables from PSU, remove any daisy-chain.
- Undervolt the GPU, or run with power slider in Precision X1 limited to something like 80%.  See if it does OK.  Try lower settings as needed.
- Visually check if the fans on the GPU spin up under load.

Istaria
Some more steps completed:
 
- Installed the card to other slots - same issue
 
- Installed X1 and updated the card firmware
 
- Set the power slider to 80% in X1
 
- Disassembled machine and reseated all power cables at both PSU and peripheral end. No daisy chaining - PSU has enough cables to keep them seperate
 
None of the above has solved it. I opened a ticket with EVGA tech support and the response was to test the card in another machine. This is my next step, but it's my last one before RMA.
 
I'm kind of furious about the quality of these cards. The more I research potential solutions, the more I see complaints about failure in the FTW3 cards.

You really should try the bios stuff, it is part of the normal troubleshoot process, especially after a hard shutdown/crash.  Bios can get corrupted.