Graphics glitch - White pixels

[uguy15]

I just got Half-Life 2: Episode One. I'm getting a glitch where single white pixels apprear sporadically across the screen. I also get a glitch where textures sometimes get screwed up- some of the pixels get scrambled, espically on faces. I had this problem to a lesser extent with Half-Life 2- but it mainly hapenned when I used my flashlight, and was able to fix it by following the steps here.

I think it has something to do with the lighting, but I'm not sure what. I have an ATI All-in-Wonder 9800 Series graphics card. Any help is appreciated.

 

[arial]

Have you over clocked your video card? I've had this happen before when I over clocked my video card too much.

 

[giant384]

those white pixels and texture glitches are called artifacting. it happens when your card is overheating or dying. its possible that your thermal paste is depleted or you are not getting sufficient airflow throughout your case. another possiblitly is overclocking which will pump more voltage into the card causing higher temperatures. might want to check if there is dust buildup in your fans and clean it out. check all these out and report back with results.

 

[uguy15]

Based on what you said, my videocard is probably overheating (my computer has always been really, really hot) but it could also be dying (it's three years old, and has been sitting in my hot computer this whole time). I tried cleaning the dust out, but there wasn't that much on the fans and it didn't help the glitch.

I wasn't overclocking my videocard, but I followed the logic and tried underclocking it, and so far all the artificating seems to have gone away, and it's still running fine. It's been working out great, so this should be a good temporary solution until I can figure out how to get better airflow through my computer.

Thank you for the assistance. Much appreciated. :cheese: