Artifacts in Games

[sreading]

Hi

I have a ATI Radeon X1950 Pro card. Ever since I bought it (9 months ago), I get loads and loads of artifacts in all games that I play. I can usually only play a game for a few minutes before the artfacts appear and then the PC finally crashes. This is the same on Vista as well as XP Pro SP2.

So I decided to take some snapshots of the games when the artifacts appeared. But when looking back at them, none of them had any artifacts showing.

Does anyone know why this would be?

Thanks in advance

Scott

[SK-1]

Originally Posted by sreading

Hi

I have a ATI Radeon X1950 Pro card. Ever since I bought it (9 months ago), I get loads and loads of artifacts in all games that I play. I can usually only play a game for a few minutes before the artfacts appear and then the PC finally crashes. This is the same on Vista as well as XP Pro SP2.

So I decided to take some snapshots of the games when the artifacts appeared. But when looking back at them, none of them had any artifacts showing.

Does anyone know why this would be?

Thanks in advance

Scott

Are you doing screenshots or are you actually using a camera?
Check to see if all your fans are spinning, even the one on your 1950.
What are the temps like on the card,..can you use a temp monitor?

[AsRock]

Clean the possible dust build up inside the heatsink near the fan too.

Clean other places to all vents on the system to there's probaly a load of build up of dust int he front of the case as well.

You could use a can of compressed air from your local game store unless you know a cheaper place. I use a compresser for the shortest time possible.

Remember to turn the whole computer off if not switch on the PSU unplug it.

As for having artifacts and not seeing them in a screeny is kinda odd. easy way to get a screenshot would be to hit printscreen when you see these articacts and close game and run MS Paint and paste and save it as a JPG.

[von kain]

i thing you have a thermal problem clock a little lower or if you haven't overclock see if there is any dust or fan problem



p.s. or clean you glasses or go to see a ophthalmologist <--- just kidding

[Urbklr]

It could be heat..or a underpowered PSU(i think) My old card did the same thing(it was x1950pro) I had it on my 420W and it did the same thing...what is your psu??

[sreading]

Thanks very much for the quick replys.


SK-1 - I am doing screenshots with a program called Fraps. I have 3 fans in the case as well as the

one on the graphics card and they are all running fine.The temperature on the card is usually around

45C when in Vista. When I go into a game, it goes up to no more than about 65C.

AsRock - The PC is relatively dust free. And there isnt any build up of dust in the fan of the

graphics card. I did a printscreen like you said, and sure enough, the artifacts showed up. Attached

is the picture.

von Kain - It has never been overclocked. I have tried lowering the core speed down quite a lot, but

no difference.

Urbklr911 - The PSU I am using is a Hiper 580W Type-M Black.

[driver66]

That looks to be a game or driver issue What driver version are you using?

[SK-1]

Originally Posted by sreading

Thanks very much for the quick replys.


SK-1 - I am doing screenshots with a program called Fraps. I have 3 fans in the case as well as the

one on the graphics card and they are all running fine.The temperature on the card is usually around

45C when in Vista. When I go into a game, it goes up to no more than about 65C.

AsRock - The PC is relatively dust free. And there isnt any build up of dust in the fan of the

graphics card. I did a printscreen like you said, and sure enough, the artifacts showed up. Attached

is the picture.

von Kain - It has never been overclocked. I have tried lowering the core speed down quite a lot, but

no difference.

Urbklr911 - The PSU I am using is a Hiper 580W Type-M Black.

That looks like tearing big time. I would do a visual inspection to see if the heatsink is making good contact to the ram chips.
Try another power lead from your PSU to your 1950.
This may need to be RMA'd.

[sreading]

I am using the latest Catalyst drivers, 7.9. The screenshot you see is happening in all the games that I try. I have RMA'd this card before as it is still under guarantee. They reckon that they tested it on several games and they all ran fine. I have installed this card under Xp as well as another PC, and still the same graphical glitches. I think they were fobbing me off.

As for the heatsink making contact with the Ram chips, I will try asap and let you know how I get on.

Once again, thanks for the replys

[sreading]

I have checked the heatsink and it seems ok. Reseated the power cables to the motherboard and gpu and still the same

[Flamingsupernova]

If you're overclocking, drop it back down, even underclock, see what happens. sounds like a heat issue though, has happened to me a few times.

[sreading]

Yes, I tried underclocking from 600 Core speed down to below 500 and still the same.

[Namslas90]

Whats your refresh rate, maybe lower it a notch.
Also check this thread for Hotfix;
http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=40833

[AsRock]

You tryed resitting the v card make sure there's no dust in the slot for the v card ?..

[Widjaja]

I think the GPU's memory has shat itself due to overheating.
Could try another driver too.
I recommend 7.6.
What brand is it?

What bus type is this card AGP or PCI-E?

Enter your system specs in the User CP.

[joinmeindeath417]

If they said they tested it and it works on other games ...uh show them those screen shots and throw the card at there face and say "give me a new card this is shot"

smile and wait...and walk out happy

customers are ALWAYS right...remember that

[Random Murderer]

Originally Posted by Widjaja

I think the GPU's memory has shat itself due to overheating.
Could try another driver too.
I recommend 7.6.
What brand is it?

What bus type is this card AGP or PCI-E?

Enter your system specs in the User CP.

yes, 7.6's seem to work best for the 1950pro's...

[sreading]

Hi Everyone

I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and everyone of you for all the comments of help. Even though I have tried them all, unfortunately, my card is still knackered. I will be pursuing a replacement a bit more aggressively this time from the supplier.

Once again, many thanks

Scott

[=TFM=Melvin]

I have a similar problem with the X1950 Pro but only when in Crossfire mode. I've posted elsewhere: http://forums.techpowerup.com/showth...881#post494881

Here is the situation:
My PC specs are linked on the left of the message. My PC system uses only qualified equipment from ATI's Crossfire Certified component lists. My PC BIOS, Operating System, and motherboard all have the latest updates. I have two LCD monitors hooked up to one of the X1950 Pro for non-Crossfire work. I have selected all defaults in CCC, (including Catalyst AI at Standard). Resolution is set to 1280x1024, 32-bit. When I switch to Crossfire mode, I just check the Enable Crossfire box, click YES to the pop-up notice and then click Apply and then OK.

When I start Half Life 2, it crashes to desktop during startup. After I reboot, games will start but they all have horrible screen tearing; this includes, but is not limited to, Half-Life 2, Team Fortress 2 and Day of Defeat: Source. There is also a problem with Battlefield 2 and others, but I'm getting the idea that it's not game related and I just need help with my setup. Could someone help?

[=TFM=Melvin]

Well, I have a workaround for my problem with Crossfire on two X1950pro. Just fallback to Catalyst 7.9, (the current version is 7.10), and my problem with Crossfire goes away. I guess they broke something going to version 7.10. Maybe it will show up on the next Release Notes since I filed a report with ATI Catalyst Crew Feedback. (I won't hold my breath.)

ATI support was very helpful in my case. If you haven't already, sign-up at http://support.ati.com/ics/support/d...asp?deptID=894 and then file a ticket for support.

[Random Murderer]

Originally Posted by =TFM=Melvin

Well, I have a workaround for my problem with Crossfire on two X1950pro. Just fallback to Catalyst 7.9, (the current version is 7.10), and my problem with Crossfire goes away. I guess they broke something going to version 7.10. Maybe it will show up on the next Release Notes since I filed a report with ATI Catalyst Crew Feedback. (I won't hold my breath.)

ATI support was very helpful in my case. If you haven't already, sign-up at http://support.ati.com/ics/support/d...asp?deptID=894 and then file a ticket for support.

just another reason for me not to go to the 7.10's. thanks for the heads up.

[=TFM=Melvin]

BTW, at that other thread I posted with people with Crossfire problems with a X1950pro, one of the guys said he discovered his problem was that neither of the two boards he had (one Sapphire and one HIS) had the Crossfire chip installed!!! That's really weird. Let the buyer beware, I guess.

[tkpenalty]

Originally Posted by sreading

Hi

I have a ATI Radeon X1950 Pro card. Ever since I bought it (9 months ago), I get loads and loads of artifacts in all games that I play. I can usually only play a game for a few minutes before the artfacts appear and then the PC finally crashes. This is the same on Vista as well as XP Pro SP2.

So I decided to take some snapshots of the games when the artifacts appeared. But when looking back at them, none of them had any artifacts showing.

Does anyone know why this would be?

Thanks in advance

Scott

Well I suggest you download ATI Tool and run "Scan for artifacts" then report to us the temperatures of the graphics card. Is it only dying in one game? This might suggest something about the driver set you are using.

Anyway, please give us more specs of your computer, its sorta impossible to diagnose the problem if we don't know what your PC's specs are. CPU, PSU, etc. PCI-E? or AGP?