Strange random white blocks/pixels while gaming

Jul 29, 2009
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Hi,

When playing fallout 3 and some other games. With cirtain elements mainly blood on fallout 3 i am seeing many white blocks scattered around the screen. Some the size of a single pixel and some the size of the desktop recycle bin icon. They can appear randomly even when talking with npc's and i have also seen them in some other games.

I have a ATI 4890 XXX edition (900mhz) and this has only started happening in the salt few hours.

Example : http://img355.imageshack.us/img355/2402/boxesxe2.jpg

Is this hardware failing? is my 4890 dying?

Thank you
 

crisium

Platinum Member
Aug 19, 2001
2,643
615
136
Alt tab out of the game and check your GPU temps. Also please tell us your PSU total watts and amps on the 12v, just in case.

Either heat or death.
 
Jul 29, 2009
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Yep heat.... Just checked idle temps and they were around 60 (i hadnt gamed for a bout 1 hour) i set the CCC to default and it knocked the fan down to 23% iv put it up to 50 now like it was before. Ill see if the problem still exists.

Thanks
 

crisium

Platinum Member
Aug 19, 2001
2,643
615
136
Before you do that you could try under clocking your card. Try 850 clock and 975 (or less) memory. If it fixes it then you can decide between RMA or to stick with lower clocks, heh.

Tell us your Power Supply specs, just in case.
 

thilanliyan

Lifer
Jun 21, 2005
12,041
2,256
126
Knock down the memory speed and/or core speed and try again. I was getting the same thing with my 4870 in the Company of Heroes graphics test.

If it is doing this at stock speeds then you should RMA.
 

crisium

Platinum Member
Aug 19, 2001
2,643
615
136
Time for an RMA then.

How long has the card worked before you got these errors (days, weeks, etc). Maybe the low fan speeds did it in. For your next card make sure to keep the fan up so that your temps are sound. I've noticed that some coolers at there stock speeds just aren't cutting it.
 
Jul 29, 2009
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It started yesterday night.

Well all fan speeds were at default under CCC so it isnt my falut. But i will make sure to keep my new gpu cool in the future.

I have just sent an RMA request with the company i got it from. If they decline its off to XFX.

Just to clarifi it is definetly dying then? no chance it could be anything else?

Thanks for the help.
 

Cali21

Junior Member
Aug 11, 2009
11
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Have you tried installing a different driver? I have a 8800GT and at idle it's about 50c, during gaming it's up to around 65c I think.
 

flexy

Diamond Member
Sep 28, 2001
8,464
155
106
did you overclock the card? Looks like a hardware problem to me...RMA time.
 
Jul 29, 2009
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I have tried an older ATI driver with no look and the problem was still there. I still get these white pixels showing up on NPCs while they are being shot/have blood on them. My problem is i dont want to RMA and have my card sent back to me because they didnt find anything wrong with the card. I just ran 3D mark 06 and got a score of 15781 but i didnt see ANY visual defects or white pixels while in the whole 3d mark 06 (it ran perfect).

Surely if it was a hardware problem it sould show up atleast once on 3D mark. Right?

What do you think i should do... My card is ready to be sent but i cant help thinking i will be spending £20 of my money and the waiting period for nothing.

Please, what would you do? would you RMA?

The problem now only occures when blood is splatterd on an npc in fallout 3. I Did not change anything with the game ie. mods. The problem just one day appeared! Also the problem compleatly vanishes when HDR lighting has been turned off (but is shouldnt have to do that should i). Is the fact that the problem goes when either AA or HDR lighting effects are fully off suggesting that it is a malfunctioning video card. Could it be something else?

I really need another opinion.

Thank you

 

flexy

Diamond Member
Sep 28, 2001
8,464
155
106
>>
My problem is i dont want to RMA and have my card sent back to me because they didnt find anything wrong with the card. I just ran 3D mark 06 a...
>>

What a question. OF COURSE you want to RMA....your card is defective. Its a long time ago when i had my first X850XT....it artifacted ONLY in Doom since Doom used some (at this time) new shaders which made the card artifacting....with no such problems in other games.

Needless to say i sent the card back and described the problem "card throws artifacts in game XYZ".

gfxcards are very complex, and it can be that only certain parts are broken and not all games might utilize those, even if it works in 99 of 100 games it still means something is broken and you want a RMA...some problem which only affects the card if Pixelshader 2.0/3.0 is activated etc..etc.. I certainly would NOT want to sit on a broken card..thats what RMA is for.

Edit: Problem only appears when you use some odd mods???? Be aware that any dork can write a mod ..its only code..and the code might be wrong...so there IS a chance that its maybe really rather a mod problem and not the card?

I would run the card through an hour FURMARK and check...and then an hour OCCT 3.1 graphics test and test the card...and if its really only the mod then i would scrap that mod :)

 
Jul 29, 2009
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Iv uploaded a video of the problem...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...8&feature=channel_page

Does it look like a hardware problem?

I recently talked to some people in a fallout 3 forum and there are people who are having the same problem as me. About 4 people in the forum had the exact same problem but no one is able to fix it. Is it possible that all 5 of us have the EXACT same graphics card malfunction? 4 people have an ATI card and one had a nvidia.

Please, im in desprate need of some help.

Thank you
 

lavaheadache

Diamond Member
Jan 28, 2005
6,893
14
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if you can't repeat the issue on other games then i would say it is not the card... also you are running the game with mods right? that could be it too. have you tried running with out any mods?
 

Modular

Diamond Member
Jul 1, 2005
5,027
67
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Geez man, let's not make a mountain out of this molehill...it looks like a GPU/Memory error to me and many others. As others have said, RMA the card. That's the only option here.
 

Cali21

Junior Member
Aug 11, 2009
11
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If others had the same problem and different video cards, hopefully it is the card. Let us know when you get it back.
 

hdfxst

Senior member
May 13, 2009
851
3
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Maybe you should explain what you did to the card so people don't start thinking that the 4890's have a problem