Does this mean my video card is overheating?? If not, what is it??

[domino66]

I've got a really strange problem, which I'll try to document here briefly.

Sometimes when I have a lot of resource-intensive programs running (there's one in particular that seems to set it off, which I'm told is particularly resource intensive, but it's also happened when there's just a lot of other programs running), the display on my dual flat-panel monitors goes absolutely haywire. I'll post a screenshot below, but the best way I can describe it is try to imagine an etch-a-sketch on which you draw a picture...and then you shake it just a little so that the general forms and colors are still discernable, but the image is all just a bit 'shaken' up and distorted. I have to reboot every time, the images are too distorted to continue. Regardless, the strangest (?) part is that a reboot returns everything back to normal...one would think that if it were some serious hardware problem, the screen would ALWAYS be distorted...but rebooting 'fixes' it (at least until it happens again).

I called Matrox (maker of my video card) and they suggested just updating the drivers, which I did the other day, but the problem is as bad as ever. Here's a screenshot, as you can see, everything is seriously seriously warped:

Alright, don't know how to upload the image, so I'll just link to its URL:

www.zbasic.com/vwacky.jpg

I read something on some forum that said that certain video cards are simply too powerful for some computers. It's true that I did buy a real cheap computer (very entry level HP for $450 or so) , but then upgraded it to 2Gig of RAM, and put in a Matrox dual-DVI Millenium P650 video card. Is it possible that it's simply too much for my cheapie computer? When the distortion happens, I've reached down to feel the back of my computer, and it doesn't really feel any hotter than normal...then again, I don't know all that much about computers / tech stuff.

Anyone have any idea what this problem could be? Or what I can do to fix it?

 

[151528]

I see you like Texas hold'em.
Got no idea whats going wrong there, try borrrowing some hardware from a mate and see how it runs, thats all I can think of.

 

[thilanliyan]

If you can get your hands on another video card (preferably another Matrox) then you can test to see if it's actually the video card or maybe the monitor or something.

 

[Overclocked412]

It clearly is the video card, since if it was the monitor your screenshot would be clear. That sure doesn't look like a pic taken with a camera. And since the computer doesn't "record" so to speak what the monitor looks like - that screenshot would have looked clear when you rebooted. And since it is distorted to us - It's a graphics card problem. Did you upgrade the power supply on your system? That could very well be the culprit. Sound likely since you installed two quite power hungry upgrades. And if it isn't getting enough juice it wont work correctly. It jives even more so since it happens when your computer is working hardest (drawing the most power). I've seen this situation before (with high end gaming cards) trying to run on stock dell , emachine, etc. powersupplys. Good luck..

 

[domino66]

Thanks very much -- at least reassuring that you've seen/heard something similar.

I agree with everything you said about the screenshot, and why it has to be a graphics card problem...b/c if it was just a monitor/display problem, the screenshot would be clear.

 

[Mavrick007]

If you've tried other drivers and you still get the problem, I would say that the graphics card is toast.

It's probably not a heat issue, it could be the psu, but I would say it is one of the components on the card that died or is broken. Almost a bit like you might see if it was overclocked too high, or perhaps the voltage regulator is dead. Whatever the case, I would send this in for an RMA if it's still under warranty.

 

[Maxspeed996]

If the slot on your motherboard accept's the type of card you are plugging into it. And you power supply is sufficient. Then there is no such thing as a video card too powerful for a computer...either it works or it doesn't.
if you plug in a brand new X1900xtx into an el-cheap-o pc , and the power supply is enough and you have the correct PCI xpress slot , it will work.

Like overclocked said , since this is a "Screenshot" this is your computers hardware taking a "snapshot" of the image that the hardware is rendering. This tells me either your video card is bad , or this is possibly a loose connection...although , I've never seen a loose connection do anything other than just flip you monitor off, because either it has full signal , or it does not.

Check the card , make sure the heat sink is seated properly , and the fan is running if it has one equipped. A good tool would be an infrared thermometer. So you can direct a beam onto the back of the card to measure temps to see what you are looking at. In all honesty , I've seen some of the newer "budget boxes" from HP, and they are tight on space inside. Airflow kinda sucks , so putting in something that may have a loose heatsink , or a faulty fan would just be waiting to go bad.
Good luck!

 

[akugami]

Aside from the graphical problems the computer still runs normally right? At least as far as you are able to tell considering the graphics blurring. A graphics card that is very powerful is wasted when it's coupled with a weak CPU because the CPU is a bottleneck for performance that's all. It should not ever affect stability. One thing that can happen is that a computer built for lower spec parts may not be able to cope with the power draw on a high end card which can cause abnormalities.