artifacting problem...plz help

[uvabrett]

I have a cyberpowerinc.com computer. So far, I've gone through an Nvidia 5900 and a 5950, now I have a 6800 gt. I've even had my motherboard replaced. Anyways, down to the problem. I get artifacting all over my screen, regardless of what I'm doing. When I play games however, it gets much worse. Not only do I get static all over the screen, but random objects pop up in the frames. Sometimes the computer will become unstable during the games that require more performance and completely crash. Even when im not doing anything too graphics oriented, like just typing in Word or browsing a web page, my computer will lock up for about 3 seconds, my screen will flash off and on, and then all of a sudden, my computer is no longer locked up. I've tried reformatting multiple times, I've even flashed the BIOS. One time, I switched some parts with a friend. My video card worked in his, and his in mine. And then I plugged my video card back into mine, and magically, it worked fine. That lasted about a month. And that's where I am now. The problem is reoccurring. I've also tried to reconnect the video card multiple times, reassuring the connection is fine. No dice. I don't think it's overheating either. My cpu temp is never higher than 90-95 F, and my GPU core temp is never higher than 57-58 C. Can anyone please help me...this has been going on steadily for about 7 months, and nothing seems permanent. Also, I'm not incredibly computer savvy, so you might have to explain anything complicated.

Specs:
Win XP Home SP2
Asus P4C800
P4 2.6
1 gig ddr 400
Nvidia 6800 gt 256
some off brand 500W PSU

 

[LiLithTecH]

Since you have tried multiple Video cards and motherboards, and you
still have the issue, its time to look at what is common in issue.

RAM, probably the most likely cause to the freezing and artifacting.

Hardware Driver corruption (you did not state if you have done a fresh OS install).

Have you checked the EVENT LOG to find out if there is any clues?



Welcome to the Forums.

 

[uvabrett]

I have done a fresh OS install, multiple times. When i said reformatting, I meant reformatting + fresh install of Windows. So that would include installing all new drivers.

I actually tried MemTest86 last night, and it got thru the first test, and paused at the second test for some reason. It did not give me an error, and the cursor was still blinking. So I'm not sure if that means something is wrong with my RAM or not.

I don't know what the EVENT LOG is.

If it's not my RAM, I'm thinking it might be a compatibility issue? Does anyone have the same mobo + video card?

 

[uvabrett]

I just ran the MS memory test and received no errors after 14 passes. I'm pretty sure it's not the RAM. I think it's got to be one of these:

1) PSU causing hardware damage

2) I've heard the fan on the 6800 GT isnt very good - could cause overheating (although I've never seen my GPU core temp above 57 C)

3) Motherboard is possibly damaged

Besides that, I'm not sure what it could be.

Also, when running the MS mem test, I still received artifacting, which is prior to windows. This means that the issue could not be driver/software related, but must be a hardware problem.

Are there any tests I could run to isolate the problem. I guess I could try swapping parts again.

 

[LiLithTecH]

What type of ram and in what configuration is it in?
(make\brand, size, etc...)

 

[stevty2889]

Your "off brand" 500w PSU could also be the problem. Generic PSU's can cause all kinds of issues

 

[Fern]

Read through this thread HERE. Check your fastwrite setting (try it off), AGP Aperature setting and look at the 2D/3D clock speeds as mentioned in the thread. Maybe something here that worked for others will also work for you.

Good Luck with it.

Fern

 

[uvabrett]

Well, I just ordered an Antec True 550W PSU, should be here by friday. But listen to this, I switched my video card into my old computer (P4 2.0, 512 ram, win xp) and my video card worked perfectly. So I took the mx400 32 mb card out of my old system and put it into the one I use now, specs are in the first post, and it worked fine. That alone is weird as hell to me. But it gets even weirder, I put my nvidia 6800 gt back into my system, and everything is working fine again. So once again (this is the 2nd time), just switching the parts into another system and back into the original has fixed it. Last time I did this, it worked for a month. The only changes I made to my new system during that process was to uninstall SP2, but immediately after I did that, I was still having the same problems. So I doubt that's it.

So even tho it seems impossible, my system could be overheating, even tho the temps never get too high. Either that, or my no name brand PSU sucks and is causing problems randomly.

Does this make any sense?

 

[uvabrett]

Also, I cannot find fastwrite in BIOS. Could it be listed under another name? And which tab might I find it under? Thanks guys.

 

[LiLithTecH]

Originally posted by: uvabrett
Also, I cannot find fastwrite in BIOS. Could it be listed under another name? And which tab might I find it under? Thanks guys.

Your board does not support disabling fastwrite.

It does support overclocking, which may very well be the cause of your problems.
If the AGP/PCI Frequency setting is to high, whether by manually setting or having
it set to AUTO, it would effect the video display as you described.

To check the EVENT LOG, go to:
Start \ Settings \ Control Panel \ Administrative Tools \ Event Viewer

 

[uvabrett]

Well, the error started happening the 20th or 21st, so I checked all errors and warnings around and a day prior to those dates and found nothing.

I've never seen a computer have such random problems with no apparent cause or solution. I'm confused.