Is My Videocard Dying? Pixelation and Artifacting

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Gamesterpheonix

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#1 Gamesterpheonix
Member since 2005 • 3676 Posts

So, I was playing Divinity 2 and suddenly the game freezes, starts flashing and then a flurry of pixel dots pepper the screen. The game crashes out and the system slows but the dots stayed right where they were flashing to new positions ever time i moved the mouse or changed to a new website. Im NOT using SLI, all drivers for the VC and MoBo are up to date and the temperatures were nominal - the dot pixels didnt go away even with the GPU fan at 100%. The computer only went back to normal only after I restarted the computer. I tested again with SC2 and Dirt 3 and no dots came. I havent tried Divinity 2 again but I will soon. Check out the pics and info below and let me know what you think.

My rig:

CPU: Q6600

RAM: 4GB

VC: XFX GTX 260 Core 216

Here are a few pictures of what I saw:

adf

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PcGaming

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#2 PcGaming
Member since 2008 • 160 Posts

This has happened to me before, usually my overclock was to high and was causing the problem. Restarting the pc and lowering the overclock worked for me.

Your card should be fine

Is it overclocked?

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Gamesterpheonix

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#3 Gamesterpheonix
Member since 2005 • 3676 Posts

This has happened to me before, usually my overclock was to high and was causing the problem. Restarting the pc and lowering the overclock worked for me.

Your card should be fine

Is it overclocked?

PcGaming
lol no, thats the thing. Everything is stock. The only thing I have going is MSI afterburner to get the fan up to 100%. If I get a free RMA should I take it? I think I might have to pay for shipping but would it be worth it?
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gameguy6700

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#4 gameguy6700
Member since 2004 • 12197 Posts

[QUOTE="PcGaming"]

This has happened to me before, usually my overclock was to high and was causing the problem. Restarting the pc and lowering the overclock worked for me.

Your card should be fine

Is it overclocked?

Gamesterpheonix

lol no, thats the thing. Everything is stock. The only thing I have going is MSI afterburner to get the fan up to 100%. If I get a free RMA should I take it? I think I might have to pay for shipping but would it be worth it?

If you can still RMA the GTX260 I'd do it. I don't think they make that thing anymore so if you tried to RMA it they'd probably comp you an upgrade. The artifacting is definitely a bad sign either way though. If it turns out just to be a one-time thing I would just chalk it up to a bug with the game, but if you start seeing it again (especially if it starts happening more frequently) then I would definitely RMA the card.

Try installing unigene heaven or 3Dmark11 and run them at max settings, fullscreen for awhile. That should make it artifact again pretty quickly if you've got a dying card.

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trastamad03

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#5 trastamad03
Member since 2006 • 4859 Posts
Do the artifacts appear during boot up, as in, when you press the power button and the mobo logo shows followed by stuff with dos then the windows loading screen? If yes, then it's dying :(
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Gamesterpheonix

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#6 Gamesterpheonix
Member since 2005 • 3676 Posts
[QUOTE="trastamad03"]Do the artifacts appear during boot up, as in, when you press the power button and the mobo logo shows followed by stuff with dos then the windows loading screen? If yes, then it's dying :(

Well, no, I ran all my other games normally yesterday. Tried to strain it in SC2 but I dont think that worked with the latest performance enhancements and I dont think Dirt 3 is that demanding. I also ran Divinity without issue for a few minutes before I decided to go to bed. BUT I feel like I should take the RMA if its free - just for the sake of making sure. Even if I dont have a computer for a week or two...:(
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trastamad03

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#7 trastamad03
Member since 2006 • 4859 Posts
[QUOTE="Gamesterpheonix"][QUOTE="trastamad03"]Do the artifacts appear during boot up, as in, when you press the power button and the mobo logo shows followed by stuff with dos then the windows loading screen? If yes, then it's dying :(

Well, no, I ran all my other games normally yesterday. Tried to strain it in SC2 but I dont think that worked with the latest performance enhancements and I dont think Dirt 3 is that demanding. I also ran Divinity without issue for a few minutes before I decided to go to bed. BUT I feel like I should take the RMA if its free - just for the sake of making sure. Even if I dont have a computer for a week or two...:(

Hm, before you RMA, maybe try a different monitor (or TV) and maybe try changing the cable ( the pins could be damaged). Speaking of pins, maybe the DVi plug on the gpu is damaged, switch to the second DVi plug... If none of these help out, then RMA away, better safe than sorry :) Hope it goes smoothly for you. GL
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andyroo08

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#8 andyroo08
Member since 2004 • 2082 Posts

I had a similar thing happen with a sapphire 6970. Was playing fear 3, then after quitting back to desktop the screen was 'peppered' with artifacts. They later dissapeared but returned the next day. Strangely they only seemed appear when the card idled and would come and go randomly. RMA'd the thing to be safe, just had to pay for shipping. So my advise would be to do the same.

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V4LENT1NE

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#9 V4LENT1NE
Member since 2006 • 12901 Posts
RMA it, artifacting is not a good sign.
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Gamesterpheonix

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#10 Gamesterpheonix
Member since 2005 • 3676 Posts
I think Ill go ahead and RMA it once they've responded to my message. I hate that I have to ship it but as long as I get my card back without issues and they dont charge me Im good.
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Gamesterpheonix

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#11 Gamesterpheonix
Member since 2005 • 3676 Posts
Just sent it in to XFX - I hope all goes well.