Weird video pixellation issue

[D!ABOL!C]

Hello there.

 

I'm having this weird video issue and I cannot figure out what exactly is causing the issue. Basically what happens is the computer will lockup and there will be these weird pixellation issues on the screen. The only way to get out of it is to forcefully reboot.

 

Troubleshooting steps: Clean Formats, Latest Drivers for Video, Memory Tests, Hard Drive tests (chkdsk)

 

It almost seems like a heat issue, which it may be, but I put a little desktop fan right on the side intake (side panel has fan) and the issue persists.

 

I'm kind of at a loss. The hardware will be 6yrs old minus the Video card in February. Any ideas on what the issue could be? I'm also attaching a picture of what the display looks like after it happens.

 

Here is my setup.

 

WIndows 8 OS, Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L, Nvidia 560 GTX TI, Power Supply is a PC Power & Cooling 600Watt.

 

Let me know if you need any more info.

 

Here is the screenshot

[FriendlyBully]

Your video card is the problem. I guarantee it. 

[+Zlip792 MVC]

If it constant then it is your GPU otherwise even latest WHQL nvidia driver for me with GTX 460 1 GB also cause hard lock and similar kind of issues like purple screen and garbage on screen.

[flynempire]

It could be the video card, could be heat issue. Never really seen this before.

Is the video card compatible with Windows 8? If not you should consider one that will be. Also driver issue could be a cause maybe a prior version could help? Sometimes the latest drivers have issues and the safe best is to roll back to previous with no issue.
 

Wow I have not seen that before. Seen monitors go black or have lines but not boxes like that

[D!ABOL!C]

If it constant then it is your GPU otherwise even latest WHQL nvidia driver for me with GTX 460 1 GB also cause hard lock and similar kind of issues like purple screen and garbage on screen.

 

It's not constant which is so strange. Basically how this particular incident happened was I started to watch this video, then I left my computer to go do something else. Then when I came back about half an hour later, i'm greeted with this. It does not do it everyday though. I shutdown my PC every night but the issue occurs perhaps 2 to 3 times a week.

 

 

It could be the video card, could be heat issue. Never really seen this before.

Is the video card compatible with Windows 8? If not you should consider one that will be. Also driver issue could be a cause maybe a prior version could help? Sometimes the latest drivers have issues and the safe best is to roll back to previous with no issue.

 

Wow I have not seen that before. Seen monitors go black or have lines but not boxes like that

 

I have heard that too, I believe it's the 320 series drivers have issues. Oddly enough, the reason I bought this card is because it was newer so I could play some newer games without issues. I believe the card is compatible, I bought it last summer and haven't had any real issues with it.

 

I'm trying to avoid throwing too much money at this because if I purchase any new hardware, I might as well just rebuild with newer hardware all around.

[flynempire]

I hear you. I don't like to throw money at the problem if I can help it. It does seem like a Video Card Issue though. The maker of the card should list if it is WHQL certified for Windows 8. If it is then you would be sure.

You could also have a card going bad. Unfortunately some hardware you buy can go bad quickly. See if you can try a different driver first and if that does not work can you check cooling?

 

Does the card have a fan or does it not have one? See if it gets hot in the machine after some time. If it does better cooling would help but there are several steps you can try. Again try a different driver and make sure it is WHQL certified or tested at least.

[+Zlip792 MVC]

It's not constant which is so strange. Basically how this particular incident happened was I started to watch this video, then I left my computer to go do something else. Then when I came back about half an hour later, i'm greeted with this. It does not do it everyday though. I shutdown my PC every night but the issue occurs perhaps 2 to 3 times a week.

 

 

Try 314.22 WHQL driver which is only works stable for me and tell me later back.

[HawkMan]

Graphics card or video cable(unless it's vga)

[D!ABOL!C]

I'll try the older driver and get back to you all. Thanks for the replies.

[theyarecomingforyou]

I had a similar thing when my video card failed (as a result of it overheating after I overclocked it). Hopefully it's not permanent, though in my case it was.

[D!ABOL!C]

I had a similar thing when my video card failed (as a result of it overheating after I overclocked it). Hopefully it's not permanent, though in my case it was.

 

I guess worse case is that I have a bad card. If it is, I consider myself to be incredibly lucky. I haven't had a major component fail on me in a very long time. I don't count Hard Drives in those, so I guess I had a good run.

[theyarecomingforyou]

I guess worse case is that I have a bad card. If it is, I consider myself to be incredibly lucky. I haven't had a major component fail on me in a very long time. I don't count Hard Drives in those, so I guess I had a good run.

Yeah, it sounds like you've been pretty lucky overall and it's still possible it's a driver issue rather than a failure. That type of distortion is usually caused by faulty memory on the GPU, which typically occurs due to overheating. It could be caused by poor ventilation, bad drivers (occasionally they set the wrong voltage or don't cool as expected) or simply the luck of the draw.

 

Best of luck with it.

[Andre S. Veteran]

This is video memory corruption. Check your gpu temperatures (GPU-Z), try the card in a different slot, of course make sure you're running the latest drivers. Usually though this means hardware failure and you need a new one. 

[flynempire]

Get back to us once you try the older driver. That may indeed work but it also seems like others are saying overheating. If you have a spare card lying around you can pop it in and install the driver.

 

If nothing were to happen with that card then yes it is the existing video card. Also check for dust in the machine. Dust is notorious for chocking components and overheating them. I carry a leaf blower for customers and blow out all the dust when I see to much in their machines. May be extreme but it works.

I just dealt with a machine 2 weeks ago that once it was turned off I placed my hand in the middle of the case and that sucker was hot. Cant say enough about good cooling and proper ventilation!

[flynempire]

By the way you are lucky. I have built machines for myself where everything lasted for awhile but eventually they go. Had two Antec towers from 2004 last me until last year and then did not work any more.

[D!ABOL!C]

I will try the driver tonight and see what happens.

 

In the meantime, any recommendations on a replacement for gtx560 ti? The main game I play is TF2 and perhaps Borderlands 2 and Mass Effect 3.  My previous card was an 8800GTS (G92) and it was not powerful enough. I open to Nvidia or ATI, but I'd like to put a cap at $150. I'll probably purchase from Newegg or Amazon if the price is cheaper.

 

My mobo model is up top and the CPU is a Core2Duo E6750 and my monitor resolution is 1680x1050, so I won't need anything beefy. Thanks again for the assistance.

[Starbuck84]

This is either a heat issue or a video memory failure. I've seen this way to many times during my "i-couldn't-care-less-and-overclock" -times. My guess would be bad video memory, you see these dots almost creating a pattern accross the screen, typical for corrupt video memory.

 

No-cost solution: try cleaing out your case / removing all the dust and check your heat spreader on your videocard to see if everything is seated properly, nothing may be loose.

 

No-cost solution 2: try another videocard if possible and do the same tasks and see if your system will lock up again like it does now. I bet it won't.

 

No-cost solution 3: try running a temperature meter all the time, something like hwinfo64 or something, so you can check the temps of your videocard up until the point it freezes.

 

Hope this helps?

[Luc2k]

I will try the driver tonight and see what happens.

 

In the meantime, any recommendations on a replacement for gtx560 ti? The main game I play is TF2 and perhaps Borderlands 2 and Mass Effect 3.  My previous card was an 8800GTS (G92) and it was not powerful enough. I open to Nvidia or ATI, but I'd like to put a cap at $150. I'll probably purchase from Newegg or Amazon if the price is cheaper.

 

My mobo model is up top and the CPU is a Core2Duo E6750 and my monitor resolution is 1680x1050, so I won't need anything beefy. Thanks again for the assistance.

Isn't it still under warranty? Try that if the various solutions in the thread don't help.

[Andre S. Veteran]

I will try the driver tonight and see what happens.

 

In the meantime, any recommendations on a replacement for gtx560 ti? The main game I play is TF2 and perhaps Borderlands 2 and Mass Effect 3.  My previous card was an 8800GTS (G92) and it was not powerful enough. I open to Nvidia or ATI, but I'd like to put a cap at $150. I'll probably purchase from Newegg or Amazon if the price is cheaper.

Either a GTX 650 Ti or R7 260X would be good choices in that price range. Neither are vastly more powerful than your current card (actually they're slower in some cases), so it's kinda wasted money. Make sure you try the various solutions proposed to you in this thread, this could simply be some dust preventing airflow or shorting the card.

[D!ABOL!C]

Try 314.22 WHQL driver which is only works stable for me and tell me later back.

 

Downloading and installing this driver now. I'll give it a go and see what's up.

 

I may try the RMA route as well, just have to dig up the receipt.

[+Zlip792 MVC]

Downloading and installing this driver now. I'll give it a go and see what's up.

 

I may try the RMA route as well, just have to dig up the receipt.

 

I suggest before going for RMA, give this driver a try.

[D!ABOL!C]

I suggest before going for RMA, give this driver a try.

 

I went ahead and processed the RMA, I have 30 days to send it in. I'm just going to run my computer 24/7 until it crashes. I may still send it in, I mean using an older driver is fine as a temporary fix, but it kind of sucks having to gimp my system.

[D!ABOL!C]

This is video memory corruption. Check your gpu temperatures (GPU-Z), try the card in a different slot, of course make sure you're running the latest drivers. Usually though this means hardware failure and you need a new one. 

 

To address the heat issue, I ran GPU-Z and right now, idling it's at 34C which seems pretty cool, although this is idling. I'm currently downloading Borderlands 2 from Steam and will test it out. When I played Borderlands, it would do similar to the screenshot in the OP when playing the game. We'll see how it goes with the older drivers.

[D!ABOL!C]

So I installed the old driver 314.22 and I have not had a lock up issue or any pixellation. I played about 1/2 an hour of Borderlands 2 with no issues where I did have issues previously. I also played about 1 hour of Team Fortress 2 and did not get the lockup that usually happens when I have played.

 

I will continue testing but the old driver seems to be doing it.

 

My question now is, do I send the card in anyway, or is this just crappy drivers by Nvidia? It sucks that I have to use an old driver, but fortunately the games I play perform fine.

[Andre S. Veteran]

The GTX560Ti is fully supported by the latest drivers. If you're forced to run an old one then something's wrong with the card. Have you attempted to take the card out, dust it and reseat it? Try it in a different PCI-E slot as well.