HELP! Not explained in any thread. What is this??!

[Batmaniii]

What is this? Worked fine the other day, nothing like this popped up.
Help please, using the best drivers for my card.. worked fine all other days, started today.

I cant see anything, I cant restart gw and start it up to look normal, restarting the computer works, but then after 10 minutes, the same. Help.
The computer has been formated just 2 days ago.




And if you wonder why I got command Dos up its becouse my ventrilo server is up.

[Kuldebar Valiturus]

You do have a lot running, but your video card is either over heating or going out, most likely.

So, first eliminate overheating from the equation, and see it it runs stable/without artifacts.

Are you overclocking? (BIOS or Video card)

Are you sure you are using the best drivers?

Power to Video card/CPU fans installed correctly?

EDIT: I had the same type of screen corruption when my nVidia card was dying, it went on for weeks, sometimes I could get the graphics back to normal by lowering the game's resolution and then gradually setting the resolution higher after the card was "heated up". But, the problem became more frequent as time went on. It affected all 3D apps like Guild Wars and WoW as well as certain high-res screensavers. Standard desktop apps worked fine as far as I could tell.

This doesn't mean 100 % that your card is hosed, so I suggested other things to rule out first.

If you have a used/old/spare card to swap out with your current card, that would be a great way to narrow the problem down.

[Tachyon]

I'd have to say that it looks as if your graphics card is about to go. Do you have a second one handy that you could try?

[Flapper McSparkles]

Overheating seems very likely, especially since you can boot and run for a little while before problems start.

The best way to see if overheating is the problem is to take off the side of your computer and place a big fan pointing into the case--the normal kind of fan you use to cool off with in the summer. This should cool the inside of the case enough that overheating should not occur, if it fixes the problem, you know something was overheating.

You should also check all the fans inside your case to make sure they are running properly, especially the one on your processor and the one on your video card.

[Tachyon]

Originally Posted by Flapper McSparkles

The best way to see if overheating is the problem is to take off the side of your computer and place a big fan pointing into the case--the normal kind of fan you use to cool off with in the summer. This should cool the inside of the case enough that overheating should not occur, if it fixes the problem, you know something was overheating.

Sorry, but that's just wrong! Taking the side panel off can increase temperatures by interfering with the airflow on certain set-ups. How do you know the OP's system hasn't got a nicely balanced airflow going? I know for a fact that if I remove my side panel it plays havoc with my airflow and my fans are spinning whilst doing sweet FA.

[Tarun]

Clean any dust from the graphics card. Also, does this issue occur in full screen mode?

[Kuldebar Valiturus]

I suspected overheating when I first had my graphics problem (cold bug), what was odd was that I had less issues when my system was running hot. So, upon booting up after a long shutdown, I would have many issues, and less if my PC had been "warmed" up. But, overall, my card was unreliable for game playing.

All this went away when I replaced my nVidia graphics card.

[Recon_Alpha]

Originally Posted by Azagoth

Sorry, but that's just wrong!

Sorry to inform you but that is proper procedure on checking temp/over heating problems.

Leaving the case side off and NOT providing extra airflow would mess up airflow but adding an external fan is the best way to check for overheating problems.

[Kuldebar Valiturus]

@ Recon_Alpha & Azagoth:

You are both, err, full of hot air!

Actually, both of you are right, so the question is to act accordingly.

Taking off the side of a case can disturb airflow, so extra, forceful cooling has to be introduced, usually via an electric fan.

The point: just opening up the case is not usually sufficient to cool possibly overheated components because the internal "weather cycle" of the case is disrupted.

[easyg]

Originally Posted by Azagoth

Sorry, but that's just wrong! Taking the side panel off can increase temperatures by interfering with the airflow on certain set-ups. How do you know the OP's system hasn't got a nicely balanced airflow going? I know for a fact that if I remove my side panel it plays havoc with my airflow and my fans are spinning whilst doing sweet FA.

Actually, taking off the side panel will almost always help to cool down the video card, unless there are fans attached to the side panel of course

ATX form factor cases were designed to provide maximum air flow to the CPU socket. They were never designed to direct airflow to expansion slots, and standard cases still don't do a good job at this except with the help of huge 120mm side-mounted bowers fans.

Personally, I'd be more concerned about the massive amounts of dust that will enter the case with the side panel off than about the disruption to proper airflow.

[divinechancellor]

They look like artifacts:
http://www.playtool.com/pages/artifacts/artifacts.html

[Commander Ryker]

Wow, this is great. I'm having the same problem on my computer, but not knowing what it was, I disconnected it and hooked up my old computer. I will hook it back up tomorrow and see if it's working ok. I know that in either case, I'll need a new card. Mine is nvidia as well.

[jecht2]

This happened alot to me several years ago when playing freelancer. It turned out that my Video card had died. Once I replaced it, the problem was fixed.

[Kuldebar Valiturus]

Generally speaking, when you start seeing "artifacts" like the screenshot above, it's a sign your graphics card is on its last leg and a replacement is in order.

Of course, since decent video cards aren't the cheapest investment for most of us, it pays to be as sure as possible before replacing a card. Not all of us have spare cards for trouble-shooting, but we can do a few things:

-cease and desist any overclocking on your computer or video card, put everything to normal or default

-verify/confirm video card drivers are not corrupt/incomplete install

-remove and re-seat video card in computer after a dust elimination (dust balls accumulate in the cards fans and clump on components, etc.)

My old nVidia FX 5900 gave up the ghost, and I replaced it with an Radeon X1300, so I don't have an uber system, but an adequate one.

[FlameoutAlchemist]

I might be reopening the fight, but just my experience as a fellow tech - Opening the side doesn't immediately kill the airflow if there's something like a fan blowing in it. You have to really watch, though, because this will increase the amount of dust flowing into the PC components, and THAT can cause overheating down the road.

Wasn't there a thread not too long ago saying something about Nvidia cards having compatibility issues and that the fix was to download the latest Nvidia drivers? If not, that is definitely an option to try as there's no cost and could save a lot of time.

Originally Posted by easyg

ATX form factor cases were designed to provide maximum air flow to the CPU socket

I'm not disputing you on this one, but I find it funny that they'd say that a case that maximizes airflow to the CPU would park the CPU right underneath a power supply that spits the air down on top of it. Fortunately I have an outtake fan nearby or I'd have a cripsy-fried piece of metal sitting in my tower.

[Enko]

Originally Posted by easyg

ATX form factor cases were designed to provide maximum air flow to the CPU socket.

Not really since the ATX form factor was designed a long time ago before heat was a major problem. Passive heat sinks with no fans in the computer was common. BTX might have helped remedy the problem but it never caught on since all the mobo makers would've had to redesign everything.

[Mushroom]

Originally Posted by easyg

ATX form factor cases were designed to provide maximum air flow to the CPU socket.

This was true, in 1995. That is when the ATX platform was first released by Intel. However, by 2000 the ATX was showing it's age. Most cases of that era (and sadly a large number sold today) either had no extra fans, or they were placed in locations where they did very little good.

BTX was released 4 years ago to try and help things. The CPU was moved to the front of the case, and other components were moved so the hottest things were in the front. However, the form factor was a failure. Only a year after it was released, Intel dropped it.

It is true that a properly cooled case is far cooler with the sides closed. Opening the sides only helps if you have a case that lacks proper cooling.

One thing I constantly tell people is to not go cheap when buying their case. Make sure it has a high enough wattage power supply, and sufficient cooling for the processor and accessories they plan on useing.

And if you want to be sure you are not overheating, spend an extra $30 or so for a temperature panel with at least 3-4 temperature probes. Place 1 in the CPU heatsink, one on the Graphics Card heatsink, and the last two either in the Chipset Heatsink and/or alongside the hard drive.

In a properly cooled case, these temperatures should normally run within 20 degrees (F) of your ambient room temperature at idle. If any of these components are running hotter, you want to install supplimental cooling to bring it back down. You also want to add more cooling if your ambient room temperature averages above 85 degrees (F).

[Livingston]

My screen did that once during the New Year event. It was awesome. ^_^

I got heaps of screenshots in different poses and combat situations. I wasn't really worried about it though as once I was done, I rebooted and it was gone. I have since got a new computer as an upgrade.

Livingston