Getting artifacts but not sure if it's the GPU ?

C

Crys

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May 20, 2012
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Hello guys,

I am sorry if this is the wrong subsection to post this but I'm really not sure which section would be most appropriate.

On my 2nd computer I am running a ATi Radeon HD 4870 and I am suspecting it is starting to die but before I waste cash on a new GPU I would like to confirm that it's actually the GPU that is causing the artifacts I am getting.


  • Since about 1 month I am getting these text distortions. I only found it to happen on YouTube so far. The text often returns to normal after scrolling up and down a bit or when i move my mouse over the text, and then in turn some other text patches on the monitor get distorted which were previously fine. [Pic1] [Pic2]

  • I am also getting heavy artifacts in YouTube videos, but not always. Yesterday it worked the whole day until the evening, then they got weird again. [Pic]
So I got these two artifacts since about 1 month, but the problems are getting worse because today, 3 new artifacts came up:
  • When I watch a video directly on my PC (not internet), on some videos I get the same artifacts as on YouTube videos, and on others I get white dots which are at least 4 pixels big. They flicker across the whole video and when I pause the video they stop where they are and when I resume the vid they continue flickering everywhere. When I resize the video into a window, the white dots are only in the video window and not on the rest of the monitor. [Pic]

  • When I start up PhotoFiltre (picture editing program), I get single green pixels all over the grey editing area, but only there. Funny thing, I also get them when I watch the screenshot I took, so the particular color seems to trigger it or something. [Pic] (because of the image compression they look a bit different than on my PC, they actually are clear green pixels)

  • When I play Assassin's Creed 4 I get vertical streaks in the water which jump from place to place, I could play this game yesterday just fine, it started happening today. Usually I would think it's a game bug but with all these other artifacts I am getting I think it might be my PC. But I have other games installed where this doesn't happen. [Pic]

Like I said I suspect that it's my graphics card which starts to give up the ghost, but because these artifacts are so weird and specific (only some websites, only some videos, etc) I am not sure and before I spend money on a new graphics card I would like you guys to confirm that. Do you have any idea if it could be something else other than the GPU? Or can you confirm that it's the GPU causing this? FYI I am running the latest ATi Drivers on Windows 7.


All of a sudden now I also get the text distortion in this field where I am typing this post, but not on the rest of the forum, sigh ...
 
I don't know why but I think it could be a monitor problem. But start with the basics.


  • Open the cover and see if the fan is spinning on the video card.
  • Remove and re-seat the video card. (While it is out, inspect the heat sink and fan for dust. Clean if needed.)
  • If the card is overclocked, reset to defaults.
  • Try a different monitor cable.
  • Try a different monitor.
If none of that helps it is probably the video card. Swap in a known good one and see if the problem goes away.

.
 
Maybe I should have said this but updating the graphics driver was the first thing I tried, no change. I also uninstalled the video card and removed all dust from it. The fan is spinning and can spin through the whole range. The card is not OCed and has been working fine for over 5 years.

I think it is very unlikely that the monitor is faulty. As for the cable, I have no other DVI cable available that I could try, only ancient VGA cables but my card has no output for that.
 
OmgitsSexyChase said:
Update graphics driver
Click to expand...
Unless there's a documented fix in the release notes, updating the driver is probably not going to pay any dividends. Always check the release notes first, before assuming that a new driver may provide a fix: a driver update can just as easily break something that's working as it fixes something that isn't.

I don't know what the failure rate of DV cables is. I'd assume that a functional cable either begins its life non-functional or it doesn't: I'm not sure what else there is to go wrong with it besides physical damage or, in copper cabling, oxidation.

Can you test the card in another system?
 
Start Basics make sure everything is connected properly. Update driver with a clean installation. maybe if you have on-board graphics try it and see if you still get it even when not using your G card. All else fails looks like a RMA is in your future....that's my 2 cents.
 
If it was the monitor/cable, would the glitches show up on Prnt Scrn?
I had an artifacting LG monitor some years ago and my screenshots looked fine.

The giant artifacts in AC4 definitely don't seem like a monitor problem.
 
TaintedSquirrel said:
If it was the monitor/cable, would the glitches show up on Prnt Scrn?
I had an artifacting LG monitor some years ago and my screenshots looked fine.

The giant artifacts in AC4 definitely don't seem like a monitor problem.
Click to expand...

I never even thought about that :eek: but you are right. A monitor problem would not show up in a screen print. Could be "tin whiskers" though. Perhaps giving the card a bake would help.

See this link. Since the card seems like it might be on it's last legs anyway it might be worth a shot.
.
 
Last edited:
wonderfield said:
Unless there's a documented fix in the release notes, updating the driver is probably not going to pay any dividends. Always check the release notes first, before assuming that a new driver may provide a fix: a driver update can just as easily break something that's working as it fixes something that isn't.

I don't know what the failure rate of DV cables is. I'd assume that a functional cable either begins its life non-functional or it doesn't: I'm not sure what else there is to go wrong with it besides physical damage or, in copper cabling, oxidation.

Can you test the card in another system?
Click to expand...

Updating a graphics driver can't hurt, and some of the okder driver are know to have this provlem, I've had it myself
 
I bought a new graphics card and all artifacts are gone. Thanks for your help, guys.
 
Did anything change recently? I was getting a ton of problems after I enabled rapid mode on my samsung SSD. Turned that off and no more issues. Heat can also cause odd things to crop up.
 
In my experience, artifacts that can be seen in more than one instance/program are always GPU related.
 
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