Artifacts in games...

[Snakebyte]

Hi.
I was wondering if anyone could give me suggestions on how to get rid of these artifacts I've been seeing in several games. I think I've only had them in DirectX games. I have DX9c, but it happened with 9b as well.

P4 2.5GHz
1 GB RAM
GF4 Ti4200 128MB
XP Pro SP2 (also happened w/ SP1)

You can't tell very well from the screenshot, but the bright blinking pixels aren't all white; they are different colors on different objects.
I'm using the latest drivers for just about everything. I've gone through many nVidia drivers with the same problem. I do not overclock anything, and I don't think it's a heat issue as it shows up immediately in the games.

Any ideas?

 

[blackeye]

Your gpu may be running a bit hot.
Just for fun see if underclocking your gpu solves the problem.
That way you will know for sure if it is a heat problem or not.

And is that doom 3?

 

[FictiousWill]

Some wierd debugging mode in the doom3 engine?

I wonder if you'll have the same problem with the retail version...

 

[Asus]

That is a heat issue, more specificly the Graphics Chip (not the memory).

 

[blackeye]

The retail version is already at best buy. Go get one a lot pe ppl on the forums already have it.

 

[Snakebyte]

Your gpu may be running a bit hot.
Just for fun see if underclocking your gpu solves the problem.
That way you will know for sure if it is a heat problem or not.

And is that doom 3?

I tried underclocking significantly and the problem remained. And yes, it is Doom 3.

Some wierd debugging mode in the doom3 engine?

I wonder if you'll have the same problem with the retail version...

It IS the retail version, and like I said, it happens in other games too.

That is a heat issue, more specificly the Graphics Chip (not the memory).

Doesn't seem like it. Underclocking didn't fix it.
And as I said, it happens immediately and constantly in the games so I doubt it's a heat issue.

 

[blahblahblah]

Is your GPU fan still working?

 

[blackeye]

Does this happen in all games or just doom?

 

[Asus]

Carmack has commented on OCing. He said that since it uses parts of the chip that no other game has of yet, that it could have results like these that you normally don't get at that level of an Overclock. If it doesn't happen in any other game then I would bet this is it.
That really does look like the artifacting when OCing the core which causes errors. It could be that the chip is using functions that could cause errors.

Make sure you have AA/AF disabled, both ingame and in the control panel, so we can eliminate it as a cause.

I assume you have your drivers updated. I would wait til after Wed. and see if anyone with a GF4 also reports artifacts like that.

 

[blackeye]

well he said he doesnt overclock so I dont think that should be a problem.

 

[Snakebyte]

Please read my whole post!
As I stated, it happens in several games (Doom 3, Gunbound, and Far Cry to a lesser extent... those are a few I can think of off the top of my head). I am using the latest drivers, and I have tried it with/without AA and AF.

 

[blackeye]

You might have installed your drivers improperlly.
Did you uninstall the old drivers completely befor installing the new drivers?
I know ati has a program called catalyst remover and smart gart remover that does that for you but since you have nvidia I dont know what you would use. Look for something similar though. It might help.

 

[Asus]

Just how long have you had these artifacts?

 

[blackeye]

The only other things I can think of are.
-If you have a pci card or something right below the agp card move it to the bottem pci slot as it helps air flow.
-You might have set a couple options in the bios improperlly.
-Your power supply might not be consistant enough and is causing problems with the graphics.
-You videocard ram is just shoot and its time for a replacment or warranty.

 

[Snakebyte]

You might have installed your drivers improperlly.
Did you uninstall the old drivers completely befor installing the new drivers?
I know ati has a program called catalyst remover and smart gart remover that does that for you but since you have nvidia I dont know what you would use. Look for something similar though. It might help.

Yes, I have completely removed/reinstalled drivers.

Just how long have you had these artifacts?

I'm not quite sure, actually... for a while I had just been playing mostly CS and Gunbound. I had no problems in CS so I figured it was just a Gunbound bug. But after getting Far Cry and Doom 3 I realized it isn't. I think it had always happened in Gunbound, and I've had that for at least half a year.

The only other things I can think of are.
-If you have a pci card or something right below the agp card move it to the bottem pci slot as it helps air flow.
-You might have set a couple options in the bios improperlly.
-Your power supply might not be consistant enough and is causing problems with the graphics.
-You videocard ram is just shoot and its time for a replacment or warranty.

I will open up my case soon to see if I can find any problems. I doubt it's any BIOS settings, because I didn't build it myself and I've never had to change anything in the BIOS.
As for the other things, how would I be able to tell? :|

 

[blackeye]

I dont really know if there is a way to check if your memory is running as it should because I have never had to but im sure there is a way.
You should also check what your agp aperature size is in your bios.
Most people say it doesnt do anything in todays games but Its worth taking a look at.
Reas this

 

[Snakebyte]

Just opened it up, everything looked ok to me.
All fans working fine, plenty of airflow around gfx card.

I tried changing AGP aperature, no effect.

 

[Snakebyte]

Well, I finally fixed it.
You guys were right, had to underclock... from a default of 250/513 all the way down to 250/300. It looks much better now though!

Oh, and Doom 3 runs extremely smoothly for me @ 800x600 high-quality, and is even choppy, but playable, at 1024x768 high-quality... 1024x768 low-quality doesn't seem to improve performance very much, so i'll just stick to 800x600. From the little I've played, it looks great and is very scary already. Can't wait to play more!

Thanks for the help!

 

[blackeye]

Wow thats a huge difference in memory speed.

 

[Snakebyte]

Yeah... not sure if there is a problem with my card that makes it overheat easier or what, but it works fine now so I'm happy. Haven't noticed a performance loss after changing it either.

 

[Asus]

If it is under warrenty I would actually take it up with the manufacture if it doesn't run at stock speeds and you didn't cause it by OCing.

 

[Xenome]

Wtf you don't notice any performance speed change? lol :}

 

[Snakebyte]

I'm sure it's still under warranty but I'll probably be buying a new card soon anyway so I think I'll just ignore it...