my desktop screen and games started artifacting

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Blessa Jul 7, 2014 @ 12:48pm

this is brand new, i have no idea what's going on. anytime i click and drag to select things, i see some rectangler articafts on the screen, what's wrong?

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Showing 1-12 of 12 comments

Crypto Carlos Jul 7, 2014 @ 12:53pm

This usually occurs when a GPU is dying/almost dead. You could try re-installing/updaring your GPU drivers but generally when you're seeing artifacts while your GPU clocks are low just sitting on the desktop it means there is some damage to the GPU. I would try RMAing your video card if it's still under warranty, if not, you'll need to replace it.

Last edited by Crypto Carlos; Jul 7, 2014 @ 12:54pm

Bad 💀 Motha Jul 7, 2014 @ 12:55pm

Drag selection window?
http://res1.windows.microsoft.com/resbox/en/windows%20vista/main/4fa58ff8-c87a-42fe-a057-57ee6b14cfcd_14.png

Blessa Jul 7, 2014 @ 12:56pm

Originally posted by yellowblanka:
This usually occurs when a GPU is dying/almost dead. You could try re-installing/updaring your GPU drivers but generally when you're seeing artifacts while your GPU clocks are low just sitting on the desktop it means there is some damage to the GPU. I would try RMAing your video card if it's still under warranty, if not, you'll need to replace it.

i just got the card rma'ed about 6 months ago, and i haven't actually spent any time playing any games, because i just got internet last night.

Crypto Carlos Jul 7, 2014 @ 12:56pm

Originally posted by Bad-Motha:
Drag selection window?
http://res1.windows.microsoft.com/resbox/en/windows%20vista/main/4fa58ff8-c87a-42fe-a057-57ee6b14cfcd_14.png

I would hope TC knows the difference between the opaque selection rectangle and artifacts.

Blessa Jul 7, 2014 @ 12:57pm

i just restarted my computer and the weird artifact things just stopped.

Crypto Carlos Jul 7, 2014 @ 12:58pm

Originally posted by Blessa:
Originally posted by yellowblanka:
This usually occurs when a GPU is dying/almost dead. You could try re-installing/updaring your GPU drivers but generally when you're seeing artifacts while your GPU clocks are low just sitting on the desktop it means there is some damage to the GPU. I would try RMAing your video card if it's still under warranty, if not, you'll need to replace it.
i just got the card rma'ed about 6 months ago, and i haven't actually spent any time playing any games, because i just got internet last night.

Well, it is unlikely that you'd be sent two bad/dying cards, but it happens. I had a string of 2/3 bad GeForce 7950's some years ago, thankfully EVGA offers lifetime warranties on their products. It could also be a failing power supply, but typically that causes either lower than expected performance in games, or blackscreens/reboots.

Last edited by Crypto Carlos; Jul 7, 2014 @ 1:00pm

Crypto Carlos Jul 7, 2014 @ 12:59pm

Originally posted by Blessa:
i just restarted my computer and the weird artifact things just stopped.

That doesn't necessarily mean anything, you just wiped out what was in system RAM/VRAM but there very well still could be a problem. I'd suggest running a GPU intensive benchmark for a period of time while checking temps/keeping an eye out for artifacting. You could also try checking out if your system RAM is in working order by running somrthing like MemTestX86

Bad 💀 Motha Jul 7, 2014 @ 1:00pm

Yea artifacting; RMA the GPU
Try Clean Driver Install first, then put the GPU under load (like Unigine Heaven in a loop) and see how it does. Could be overheating too, but perhaps not at the point to cause system instability with regards to driver crashing and such. So monitor your CPU/GPU temps.

Last edited by Bad 💀 Motha; Jul 7, 2014 @ 1:01pm

Joker Jul 7, 2014 @ 1:07pm

The only time I seen artifacting was right before a GPU died. My current card has never artifacted through several drivers. Sometimes a beta driver can cause image distortion in games. I never use beta drivers.