Bizarre video problem with multiple machines - Bad luck or something else?

[danyal711]

Hi,

I am having a weird problem that I am hoping someone can help me with. My primary machine for the longest time has been a Dell Dimension 4600. One day it randomly started having major video issues. Every now and then it screen would get yellow jagged lines horizontally across it. You could still use the computer and the yellow lines were opaque so they wouldnt block anything, but obviously it was annoying to use. I determined that it was probably a heat issue and tried switching the heatsync on the Radeon 9800 Pro that is in the comp. This worked for a short while but soon after the lines came back. At this point I bought a used Radeon 9800 from Ebay and swapped out my card. The new card worked for a few days at which point it too started giving me very similar troubles. Not yellow lines, but artifacts all over especially on black backgrounds. Any other color would work ok ish (still some artifacts) but black backgrounds made artifacts all over the screen so it would be totally unreadable.

So I figured ok something major is wrong with the machine, time for a new box. At this point I bought a "scratch & dent" Dell XPS. Intel I7, ATI HD 4800... Booted the machine for the first time, got into windows vista, everything seemed fine. Didn't want vista + my old machine had a WD Raptor 160GB so figured I would format that drive and throw Windows 7 on it. Put the Raptor in (no other changes to the new system), booted it, and got artifacts AGAIN. Similar in type I would say as what I was getting on the old machine.

WTF is going on. Could my Raptor HD somehow be responsible for the artifacts? I disconnected the drive and put the old HD back however the artifacts remain. Could the drive have permanently damaged something? Is that even possible for SATA to affect the video card? Or do I just have really bad luck and should send back the "scratch and dent".

 

[Lothar]

Have you checked the display or the video cable? Similar problems on 3 different configurations leads me to believe that the issue is with the display.

 

[danyal711]

Tried 2 different displays with diff cables. Also I should mention, when the raptor was plugged in, the keyboard etc powered on and off and the fans went loud -> quiet a few times as if it was power cycling. At this point there was no video. Then video came on and it was screwed up. If I disconnect the drive it boots immediately. Same if I connect another drive.

 

[Dangman]

Are you seeing the artifacts within windows or even from the BIOs screen itself?
What PSUs are you using?

 

[obobski]

if you hadn't done the XPS, I would say its the Radeon boards, 9's tend to do that with age (I've had a pair of 9600's and a 9700 die this way (the 9700 will fluctuate working to not working, as your first card did, seems to be no rhyme or reason for it either), seen many 9800's do the same over the years)

I however, have not heard of the HD 4800's doing this (or anything since the Radeon 9 for that matter)

so in addition to danny's questions:
- VGA or DVI connection? (possible ground loop/interference issue)
- test the new HD 4800 on another system? (might just be really bad luck getting a bummed XPS to replace a bummed 9800 (that itself was replacing a bummed 9800))
- test some other card in the Dimension?

when you say "same if I connect another drive", you mean things are jacked up if its the Raptor or anything else? or only if its the Raptor?