Graphical issue in every game.

[pixiejmcc]

Hi,

I'm getting a graphical issue in pretty well every game I play lately. I have a gig of RAM and a 7 series geforce card. And normally that's been enough for everything but the latest games. It should certainly be plenty for Civ 4 and until lately it has been.

Around 30 minutes into a game I'll start to get random dark shapes often eminating from a moving object in the game, often the shape will stretch right across the screen. Or sometimes there'll be small pixelated areas. The game is always playable, but its really annoying and I always restart.

I just updated my graphics driver to the very latest, that didn't do the trick and I'm fresh out of ideas .

I'm worried its faulty RAM and that would just make me despair, because me and RAM have a shaky history.

 

[Ghost Ranger]

Try taking a screenshot of the glitches, and if they don't show up, it could mean your monitor is the culprit. Another thing I would do is clean out the case of dust if you haven't done so in awhile. Also, make sure there is nothing that could be causing the computer to overheat (things like walls, overclocking, etc.)

 

[kuukkeli]

Around 30 minutes into a game I'll start to get random dark shapes often eminating from a moving object in the game, often the shape will stretch right across the screen. Or sometimes there'll be small pixelated areas. The game is always playable, but its really annoying and I always restart.

From the description I'd suspect an overheating graphics card. Unless the chip is actually damaged cleaning the dust off the fan and heatsink should help. Also if the dust has got into your graphics card I'm sure rest of the computer wouldn't mind a little cleaning

 

[pixiejmcc]

I've tried having a little clean, but I'm wary and not sure I'm doing avery good job. The heat sink is on the processor?

Is there a way to verify the card is overheating and if it is and cleaning continues to not help, is there a way for me to 'under clock' it?

Cheers for your help.

 

[Ghost Ranger]

1) Download GPU-Z
2) Run it
3) Click the "Sensors tab"
4) Press the little camera in the upper right corner.
5) Upload the screen shot. (be sure to take note of the URL)
6) Tick the box at the bottom of the screen (just in case).
7) Launch a game, and play until the glitches appear.
8) Alt+Tab to GPU-Z while playing.
9) Take another screen shot of the "Sensors" tab.
10) Post links to screens here.
Optional: It may be helpful to post a screen of the "Graphics Card" tab too.

 

[kuukkeli]

Instead of the above you could try HWMonitor. In addition to current temps it shows both min and max as well so there's no need for Alt+Tabbing (which is good because it tends to crash some games).

 

[FriendlyFire]

I've tried having a little clean, but I'm wary and not sure I'm doing avery good job. The heat sink is on the processor?

Is there a way to verify the card is overheating and if it is and cleaning continues to not help, is there a way for me to 'under clock' it?

Cheers for your help.

If your CPU is overheating chances are the OS is unstable, i.e high end games and apps will dump you back to desktop or freeze.

Your GPU is probably overheating you can underclock it using software. but i would recommend simply adding in a cheapish PCI FAN or wireup your own using a 6cm Fan over the GPU.

they look like this and you can pick up one for under $5

 

[BCampbell]

Another vote for video card. Does your motherboard have onboard video? You could try uninstalling the video card, removing it entirely, rebooting with onboard video, then reinstalling the card.

 

[Macha]

This was the start of a graphics card failure for me when I had the same problem.

 

[pixiejmcc]

Is that max temp uber high?

I'll no doubt want a new gfx card some time soon anyway. Should I bite the bullet and get a new one? Mind you I've had this less than eighteen months (though admittedly it gets rather a lot of use >.<).

 

[kuukkeli]

Is that max temp uber high?

That temp should still be okay for that card. I can't think of anything but the GPU causing such artifacts so maybe memory modules or power intake of the card gets too hot (the temp shown is the actual GPU). Is it possible for you to try it on another computer to be sure it's a GPU problem?

 

[pixiejmcc]

That temp should still be okay for that card. I can't think of anything but the GPU causing such artifacts so maybe memory modules or power intake of the card gets too hot (the temp shown is the actual GPU). Is it possible for you to try it on another computer to be sure it's a GPU problem?

Could be tricky, but I'll see if it can be done. If it is the problem you describe, will that mean I need a replacement?

 

[kuukkeli]

Could be tricky, but I'll see if it can be done. If it is the problem you describe, will that mean I need a replacement?

Let's put it this way. If I've understood your problem correctly I'm pretty sure that it's caused by somehow malfunctioning GPU. Maybe, just maybe, an insufficient power supply could do something like that too and back in the day VIA chipsets caused similar problems with nVidia cards (I don't know if they ever fixed it - I always stayed away from VIA anyway).

 

[pixiejmcc]

Let's put it this way. If I've understood your problem correctly I'm pretty sure that it's caused by somehow malfunctioning GPU. Maybe, just maybe, an insufficient power supply could do something like that too and back in the day VIA chipsets caused similar problems with nVidia cards (I don't know if they ever fixed it - I always stayed away from VIA anyway).

I have a 550w thermaltake power supply so that shouldn't be a problem.