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I have a very interesting problem and I have absolutely stressed myself out over it for the past few months...
This is all my gear im currently running if that helps you guys any.
Apple 23' HD Cinema Display
Shuttle ST20G5 AMD Socket 939 AMD Athlon 64 FX/Athlon 64/Sempron ATI XPRESS 200 Barebone - Retail
AMD Athlon 64 4000+ San Diego 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor Model ADA4000BNBOX - Retail
CORSAIR XMS 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model TWINX2048-3200PRO - Retail
Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 ST3300831AS 300GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM
SONY 16X Dual Layer DVD+/-RW, Model DRU800A - Retail
ATI Radeon X800XL PCI-Express 256mb
Creative Audigy 2 ZS
Alright, I probably used this computer with a 18 inch monitor for about 3 months before I had purchased the apple and everything ran fine. I could run pretty much any game at max resolution and not have any problems with it. I then bought the apple monitor and began to have problems.
When im in windows, the most common time my screen will flash and almost look like artifacts going through, sometimes it even just quick distorts the picture and goes back to normal. It doesnt stick; it just blinks fast and annoyingly. Sometimes a lot, sometimes not too much, its completely random when it happens. At one point I thought it was a heating issue, but the problem actually gets better as the computer is on longer. And it most commonly happens when I bring up a flash video. (Ford.com, VW.com any of those car demo's with the 360 angle views and what not, many other flash movies as well.) And the problem isnt just when I watch flash videos, it also happens just randomly and it does it A LOT when I just scroll my mouse through the start>programs menu.
Recently I tried 2 of the exact same x800xl video cards in my shuttle and it still does the same thing. I have an older shuttle with a 9800 pro 256mb in it and I ran it on that monitor for about 3 weeks, gaming, internet, email, chatting. Everything, and not once did I have a single flash. Someone at work told me it was because the apple monitor is Digital DVI and you need a true digital signal out of the video card for it to work. That being the case, why would the 9800 pro work flawlessly?
I can also run world of warcraft, call of duty 2, battlefield 2, and many others at full res and not have a single problem, ON the 23' display. The only time the artifacts happen are when im in windows. I have reformatted several times during this process so I dont believe its a virus or what not.
Just last night I went to a LAN with my old 18' monitor, gamed all night, surfed the net, and tried to get it to flash and it would not. The ONLY time my monitor will freak out with this problem is when im using my ST20G5, X800XL, and the 23' apple, IN windows.
Im very curious to what the solution to this problem is... could it be memory causing a video flicker and artifacts?.. Could it be the hardrive? Could it somehow be the motherboard? Perhaps the pci-xpress slot on the board. I have absolutely NO idea whats causing this, but im rather irritated. Give me some ideas, please.
In addition, just recently it hasnt been doing it as much, probably like 2-3 times an hour and it gets worse when I pull flash stuff up like I said, so its not as bad and I havent changed a thing. Im a technician at circuit city and Ive never seen anything like this. I was confident it was a video card or monitor problem but it is neither.
Take a stab.
-Eric.
This is all my gear im currently running if that helps you guys any.
Apple 23' HD Cinema Display
Shuttle ST20G5 AMD Socket 939 AMD Athlon 64 FX/Athlon 64/Sempron ATI XPRESS 200 Barebone - Retail
AMD Athlon 64 4000+ San Diego 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor Model ADA4000BNBOX - Retail
CORSAIR XMS 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model TWINX2048-3200PRO - Retail
Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 ST3300831AS 300GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM
SONY 16X Dual Layer DVD+/-RW, Model DRU800A - Retail
ATI Radeon X800XL PCI-Express 256mb
Creative Audigy 2 ZS
Alright, I probably used this computer with a 18 inch monitor for about 3 months before I had purchased the apple and everything ran fine. I could run pretty much any game at max resolution and not have any problems with it. I then bought the apple monitor and began to have problems.
When im in windows, the most common time my screen will flash and almost look like artifacts going through, sometimes it even just quick distorts the picture and goes back to normal. It doesnt stick; it just blinks fast and annoyingly. Sometimes a lot, sometimes not too much, its completely random when it happens. At one point I thought it was a heating issue, but the problem actually gets better as the computer is on longer. And it most commonly happens when I bring up a flash video. (Ford.com, VW.com any of those car demo's with the 360 angle views and what not, many other flash movies as well.) And the problem isnt just when I watch flash videos, it also happens just randomly and it does it A LOT when I just scroll my mouse through the start>programs menu.
Recently I tried 2 of the exact same x800xl video cards in my shuttle and it still does the same thing. I have an older shuttle with a 9800 pro 256mb in it and I ran it on that monitor for about 3 weeks, gaming, internet, email, chatting. Everything, and not once did I have a single flash. Someone at work told me it was because the apple monitor is Digital DVI and you need a true digital signal out of the video card for it to work. That being the case, why would the 9800 pro work flawlessly?
I can also run world of warcraft, call of duty 2, battlefield 2, and many others at full res and not have a single problem, ON the 23' display. The only time the artifacts happen are when im in windows. I have reformatted several times during this process so I dont believe its a virus or what not.
Just last night I went to a LAN with my old 18' monitor, gamed all night, surfed the net, and tried to get it to flash and it would not. The ONLY time my monitor will freak out with this problem is when im using my ST20G5, X800XL, and the 23' apple, IN windows.
Im very curious to what the solution to this problem is... could it be memory causing a video flicker and artifacts?.. Could it be the hardrive? Could it somehow be the motherboard? Perhaps the pci-xpress slot on the board. I have absolutely NO idea whats causing this, but im rather irritated. Give me some ideas, please.
In addition, just recently it hasnt been doing it as much, probably like 2-3 times an hour and it gets worse when I pull flash stuff up like I said, so its not as bad and I havent changed a thing. Im a technician at circuit city and Ive never seen anything like this. I was confident it was a video card or monitor problem but it is neither.
Take a stab.
-Eric.
