Tiny dots all over monitor/in games.

[Coligeon]

Hey all, I'm running on an Msi K7T266 motherboard with a Visiontek GTS-V video card. I'm running on the 2832 driver. My problem has to do with image quality. On my desktop and in games, I get a whole bunch of little flickering "stars" that are everywhere. They are tiny, colorful dots that don't go away. I've tried numerous solutions, but nothing to avail. Updating video drivers, monitor drivers, uninstalling drivers, shutting down programs, and changing the refresh rate on the monitor. Nothing. If you don't quite understand my problem, I can send you a picture from in a game. Thank you very much.

 

[Mingon]

you video card memory is either overheating or unable to run at the speed it is set at. try using powerstrip to decrease the speed and see if that helps

 

[Actaeon]

Yep, overheated. Either, get better cooling. Don't overclock your card, or if its running stock, underclock it.

Good luck.

 

[Coligeon]

Really? Hmmmm. Well, the card has never been overclocked, and it used to not do this until recently. I will give that program a try though, thank you.

 

[Mem]

It`s also possible the memory is going faulty on the card,so you could try RMA for a replacement if it`s under warranty still.

 

[Buk]

I read a post somewhere about drivers and the GF chips (can't remember where;<) ). The heart of the article was that newer drivers seemed to be optimized for newer cards and it suggested that drivers for GF2 cards should be 23.00 or earlier. Yes, I know the newer drivers are faster, but try 22.80 and see if the problem is still there.

 

[Coligeon]

Wow, you guys were right. I pulled out the case and lef the side off for a while and the "stars" were gone. I don't understand how all of a sudden though this happened. I never overclocked the card or my CPU. Anyway, so how much should I go on this Powerstrip program? Unless I just have to leave case out...How much performace would deteriate from taking away the temperature? Thank you for helping me solve this problem.

 

[Mem]

You could try adding some case fans and even add a fan above the video card and clear any dust from the fan on the video card.It does sound like your case is getting too warm so extra cooling from fans etc should help.

 

[Coligeon]

Thanks for the advice mem. The video card has an onboard fan, I don't know how much it is helping though lol. I also have two case fans. One incoming and one in the back outgoing. I have no other places for fans. Is there any way I could mod the case? I have no experiance in this area unfortunately. Once again, thank you for all your time.

 

[bobdobolina]

Just a quick thing to mention, and not meaning insult at all. It is the summer.... temps go up and things get messy. I had no A/C last year and couldn't run my o/c'd rig anymore. I had to reset to defaults for a week until it got cooler in my house. Took me a few days of struggle to finally clue in that it was damn hot and that was causing all my problems... but I am a dumbass. haha

Bob.

 

[Coligeon]

That is indeed a good point to bring up. I live in Arizona, so you make the call ^_^.

 

[OnionGulch]

Playing 3D games on my computer on a hot summer afternoon ( 90-100 degrees in Yakima Wash.) would eventually lock up the computer. Play the same game in the morning when still cool out, no problem. Have a new swamp cooler, not a problem this year!

Chuck from Onion Gulch

 

[Mem]

Another option is you could always mod the left side (looking from the front)of your case put a side blow hole fan in there.

 

[Actaeon]

Problem solved

All in a days work at Anandtech BBS eh?

 

[Coligeon]

Yeah, no kidding. Thanks again for helping me solve the problem. Its great to have a reliable source of computer information here ^_^.

 

[Barrei]

Your not overclocked so that shouldn't happen even on a hot day, RMA your card.