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Dragon Age graphics glitching help?

M

Meesterjojo

n00b
Joined
Oct 31, 2009
Messages
30
Howdy!

In another thread I detailed how I RMA'd my GTX 260 MCOCX and just (yesterday) received back from BFG a GTX 285 OCX. Cool. So I thought I'd hook up my 46" Samsung to it.

Everything was fine...to a point- Dragon Age wants to flash these...artifacts- almost angular black things that cut across the screen. They flash to fast it's crazy, but they don't stop.

Running at 1920x1080p, and I had even tried lowering the resolution waaaaaaaaaaay down from there with the same results.

Other games played have included Stalker, Fallout 3 (completely maxed), Oblivion, and The Void. The void heats up the GPU like no other, but no problems really. Even stalker had zero issues (other than heating up a bit). DAO is the only one to show these artifacts.

I thought, too, it might be heat related, so I it cool down, rebooted my system, and tried- same thing. Bummer.

Nvidia issue? Heat issue? What could I look for?

Advice- much thanks!
 
its not your card if other games dont show similar issues. you played these other games on the 46 inch tv aswell? possibly a driver issue with game. what are you using to see how hot your gpu is getting ? i would guess its isolated and be correcrted with drivers update perhaps.
 
Using the latest drivers from nvidia- 191.07 for Win7x64.

The highest temp recorded by GPU-Z was in the low 80s, like 81C-83C, so I see now. But the supposed operating range for this card is supposed to be 85C-87C on a heavy load (which maxed out 1920x1080p might do?).

Stalker was in that temp range also on the TV and no problems. Didn't even lag- stalker, which in my mind was always the ONE game that would lag. Fallout 3 maxed was around the low 70C's on a heavy load. I'm back on my normal 22" monitor now (bleh).

Also of possible interest with DAO was that it would occasionally freeze up, forcing me to open task manager, then tab back into the game. Even after I lowered the settings while hooked up to the TV. Back here on the 22" at 1680x1050 it's not a problem.
 
Ah, I've reproduced the error, and can keep doing so.

It's a heat issue- if the card goes over 87% artifacts appear. Odd, as it's really not that hot, but I checked the CPU and ram temps, both very normal. At one point my CPU spiked to 49 degrees, other than that...

So far I've set up my GPU fan for 65% and we'll see how that goes. Early in the day I toyed around with a huge shop fan to lower the temp inside the case as a whole. CPU wasn't really affected, GPU saw a max temp under extreme load of 72 degrees, over 15 degree drop from the above.

...unfortunately it's practical to run a shop fan (and the subsequent air compressor cleaning afterward).

Outside of watercooling, does anyone have any ideas to drop the 285 down 10 degrees? I know this is what was causing the artifacts in DAO now- 1920x1080 with maxed out graphics with the default fan speeds...

Thanks!
 
I see you've tried upping your GPU fan to 65%. Any reason why you wouldn't crank that fan up a little more?

You're obviously not concerned about noise if you're using a shop fan to compensate. :p

If your 'artifact' issues are solved when the temperature is at a more reasonable level, maybe you could look into purchasing an aftermarket heatsink/fan combo that could keep your card a little cooler than the stock HSF is able to.

It would save you from jumping into watercooling because you have to. You should only jump into watercooling if you want to.
 
dajet24 said:
Maximum GPU Temperature (in C) 105 C

thats directly off http://www.nvidia.com/object/product_geforce_gtx_285_us.html

so even if you are hitting these temps it shouldnt be a issue and you still seem to say it only happens in DAO and no other games can u not get the temp that high in another game?
Click to expand...


Sorry, I've reproduced the artifacts in STALKER and The Void. CPU is always under 50C, ram is fine.

So you think it's a bum card then? I just got this one as an RMA exchange from BFG, hmmm.

And as for an aftermarket cooler, ya, I was looking at the Accelero Xtreme GTX280 which can with a little effort work nicely on the 285. The install is hell, but the reports people are giving afterward are very, very encouraging.
 
well if it was a RMA exchange i would contact BFG again and see about changing it out. Dont put a aftermarket on because it will void your BFG warranty. if the same artifcats appear in all games then its probaly safe to say its the card.. u can always run to the store buy a card quick and test it out if u dont have the same issues return the card and haev BFG rma for ya again. If you do have the same issues then u know its somthign else.
 
Meesterjojo said:
Sorry, I've reproduced the artifacts in STALKER and The Void. CPU is always under 50C, ram is fine.

So you think it's a bum card then? I just got this one as an RMA exchange from BFG, hmmm.

And as for an aftermarket cooler, ya, I was looking at the Accelero Xtreme GTX280 which can with a little effort work nicely on the 285. The install is hell, but the reports people are giving afterward are very, very encouraging.
Click to expand...

Watch out for the VRM temps with that cooler. There is a large thread at TPU that has some good solutions for that cooler.
 
Well setting the fan to 90% keeps it in the upper 60s/low 70s. So can't complain there. However, the fan keeps slowing down over time- back to it's default of 40%.

Hmmm so RMA or seek cooling solution given the above?
 
Try forcing fan speed with rivatuner, I know there have been some issues with using the fanspeed settings in the nvidia control panel on Vista.
 
Meesterjojo said:
Well setting the fan to 90% keeps it in the upper 60s/low 70s. So can't complain there. However, the fan keeps slowing down over time- back to it's default of 40%.

Hmmm so RMA or seek cooling solution given the above?
Click to expand...

Sounds like your using 191.07. Your not the only one having that issue.
 
So others are having the fan speed lower down with the latest drivers, eh? Lame.

I am using Rivatuner to adjust the fan. No worries, heh. Right now I'm trying to figure out why Stalker Complete 2009 is causing a system shutdown when my 'old' GTX 260 simply crashed the gave and gave me an error box.

Aaaaahhh!
 
Meesterjojo said:
So others are having the fan speed lower down with the latest drivers, eh? Lame.

I am using Rivatuner to adjust the fan. No worries, heh. Right now I'm trying to figure out why Stalker Complete 2009 is causing a system shutdown when my 'old' GTX 260 simply crashed the gave and gave me an error box.

Aaaaahhh!
Click to expand...

Once again give a different driver set a shot. Try 186.18, it's a known solid driver.
 
BababooeyHTJ said:
Once again give a different driver set a shot. Try 186.18, it's a known solid driver.
Click to expand...


Will do and update. I've narrowed down a few other kinks with my system, namely my old Audigy4 card. The onboard HD audio from my Asus is better.

Thanks!
 
Update: Rolled back to 186.18, same effect- system shut down.

So far I've removed my Audigy4, ran several passes of memtest86+ (all passed), stress tested my CPU. Hehe oy.
 
The fan profiles NVidia use are crap, I have the same problem with my GTX260.
It stays at 40% fan speed until the card starts to bake which is no good for overclocks or pre overclocked cards with the standard cooler.
The cooling design is specced to run the cards at default clocks up to very high temps, not OC ones like yours.

If your card has the default cooler and your room is quite warm or you are clocked higher than base speeds (you are) that will be a major part of why 40% fan speed isnt enough.
Some cards run a bit cooler and some people have cooler rooms or better case cooling so can get away with it.
(also using VSync reduces the graphics workload in some games/resolutions and this makes the card run cooler)
The easiest solution is to just turn the fan speed up when gaming.
Alternatively get an aftermarket cooler as you mentioned, they are damn expensive for these cards though!
I run my fan at 55% to 70% when gaming, 55% is very quiet, 70% is a bit noisy but bearable.
 
Meesterjojo said:
Update: Rolled back to 186.18, same effect- system shut down.

So far I've removed my Audigy4, ran several passes of memtest86+ (all passed), stress tested my CPU. Hehe oy.
Click to expand...

Try a Prime 95 custom test with

min fft size = 8
max fft size = 4096
memory to use = (all of your available ram)

This will stress your northbridge hard.
 
King Icewind said:
I believe that some of the graphic issues were addressed in the recently released patch for DA. I would try it to see if it fixes the problem.

http://www.fileplanet.com/207104/200000/fileinfo/Dragon-Age:-Origins-Patch-v1.01a
Click to expand...

Well the problems with DAO I now know are related to my gpu going up to 87C at 1920x1080p. In theory it shouldn't be a problem, but in practice...eh...

I ran the memory tests, finally able to get my ram up to 78C (I'm telling you, I keep 'em cool) no issues.

heat issue with GPU aside (since I just use rivatuner to set fan to 90%, then recheck it every 30 mins), stalker complete 2009 issue forcing system shut downs...seems like a PSU issue to me.

I've got 3 spare PSU's not being used, old modular ones, won't power the whole system, but will power the video card easily. Hmmm!
 
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