Can a monitor 'bug out' a gpu?

[Ev1LrYu]

Hi TPU guys (and gals),

I am about to RMA a PowerColor HD 5670 (in wife's pc) and I just wanted to be sure I did my due diligence. I have clean-installed the OS, tried several different drivers (11.3- 11.6), but this thing keeps on giving flickering pixels during a crysis bench (ran @ high 1280x720 dx9/10), and eventually giving either a bsod or 'display driver stopped responding' error after 2-3 loops. Flickering and error also occurs with less demanding games like WarCraft 3. I used the card as a filler for about 2 weeks while I was waiting for my 5870 RMA without issues, symptoms started about a week after being transferred to her pc.

Around the same time I also got a used 22' monitor for her, and I was just curious if monitors could somehow affect a gpu. (I guess I could just swap our monitors to test, but have been busy as of late and I have already taken out the 5670)

Thanks in advance!

 

[happita]

Wait....so the 5670 was running in conjunction with the 22" monitor since you got them? Or you got the 5670, then a few days later got the monitor? Try to be as specific as possible. As I'm trying to understand the situation, I would almost certainly put my money on the 5670 being faulty.
However, answer this question for me. How many pixels are flickering and are they the same exact pixels in the same spots when you are running the Crysis benchmark? If they are the same pixels, then I would probably guess it's the monitor.

 

[digibucc]

well if the monitor works fine in 2d mode, and fine in 3d outside of the bench, then chances are the monitor's fine.

the card is more likely to cause the problem you mention on it's own, but the only way to really verify is to put the card back in and try another monitor.

i think it's a safe bet that it's the gpu though.

edit: well wait, i assume you are using the same monitor with a different card now? if it's fine there, it's fine.

 

[MRCL]

Pixel errors after some benchmark loops? Sounds a lot like overheating to me. Have you tinkered with the card in any way? Or is your ambient temperature very high? Is the fan on the card still alright? Is the power sufficient?

 

[Ev1LrYu]

Thanks for the replies.

@happita - i bought and installed the monitor a week after transferring the gpu. it was previously on a 19" LED, but I wasn't able to test any games at that time. The pixel error (which flashes black/white) happens on the same spots, BUT it scales according to the resolution. At first I thought they were deadpixels or something (when I ran @ native res 1920x1080), the 'blocks' got bigger when I turned the res down to 1280x720

@digbucc - I forgot to mention, it also gets bsod/errors while playing flash (ie youtube). I tried disabling HW acceleration (Firefox option), that didn't stop it. Same thing with playing MP4/AVI's using Mediaplayer 11/MPC

@mrcl - That's what I thought too, but running HWmonitor I see ~50c which doesn't sound bad. I took the side panel off and cooled with a desk fan just incase the temp sensor was wrong but it didn't help either.

 

[qubit]

Nah, no way your monitor could 'bug out' a graphics card. :shadedshu

You likely have a faulty card, like others have said on here.

 

[Ev1LrYu]

thanks, I just wanted to be sure. I was curious if maybe refresh-rate reporting or something of that sort could have made my gpu act funky.

Thanks again!