Is my new graphics card (GTX 1060) defective?

faune · Sep 7, 2016

Hi,

Recently, I upgraded my GPU from a Gigabyte Radeon HD 5770 1GB to an EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 SC. I uninstalled all the old ATI drivers and then ran Treexy : Driver Fusion (the free version) just to ensure there was nothing left. I installed the new GPU and installed the drivers from EVGAs site.

First of all the card is amazing. I was able to play both Battlefield 4 and Battlefield 1 Open Beta on Ultra settings.

I just noticed a few days ago that when I click the mouse wheel and drag to scroll down while I'm in an internet browser I see some pixelated screen tearing in the bottom 1/4 of my browser (On FireFox and Chrome). I tried disabling Hardware acceleration, smooth scrolling and turning v-sync to adaptive, but none of that has worked so far. I also removed the card and cleaned the PCI slot with compressed air and tried another mouse and DVI cable.

I also noticed that only some walls of buildings flicker slightly in the Battlefield 1 Beta at point C in the conquest map. This may be a beta related issue and not related to my GPU though.

I've heard that flickering in games and tearing could be hardware related... or is this some settings / driver issue?

Any help is much appreciated!

System:

Monitor: Dell U2412Mb (1920x1200)
Processor: Intel Core i5 3470 @ 3.2GHz
CPU Cooling: Noctua NH-U12P SE2
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V LX2
System memory: G.Skill Ares 8 GB DDR3 1600
SSD: Samsung 850 EVO Series MZ-75E1T0 1TB (Primary)
SSD: Samsung 830 Series 64GB SSD
HDD: WD CB WD5000AAKX SATA III 500 GB
GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 SC 6GB
PSU: SeaSonic M12II 620 W
Case: Cooler Master 335 Elite (with CM exhaust fan)
Intake Fan: Noctua NF-F12 PWM
Mouse: Razer Abyssus
OS: Windows 10 Home (64 bit)

Thank you!

faune · Sep 7, 2016

Is there any more information I can provide to help determine what the issue is?

faune · Sep 9, 2016

Is it worth trying a fresh install of windows? Or is that just a waste of time and effort?

TehPenguin · Sep 9, 2016

Have you overclocked your memory? I had similar issues when I had an unstable overclock. Reverted the changes and it all came back to normal.

If you didn't then it's possible your VRAM is having issues.

RobCrezz · Sep 9, 2016

If you are getting artifacting I would return that card for a new one.

Btw, install drivers direct from nvidia.com, not evga.

faune · Sep 11, 2016

Thanks for the replies guys!

@TehPenguin no i didn't overclock my GPU, memory or CPU.

@RobCrezz No real artifact-ing more like screen tearing with pixelated lines in the bottom 1/3 -1/4 of the screen.

So the guys at the EVGA forum and Tech support hotline told me it's likely a driver issue since I upgraded to windows 10 from windows 7 and I had other drivers previously installed which I tried to clean... They told me to do a clean install of Windows 10.

It took a while and a bit of a hassle...backing things up and all... but it looks like the screen tearing is gone now that I did the clean install over the weekend. I installed the drivers from Nvidia's site this time around.

I still have to test it in a game, as I'm still downloading Battlefield 4... But I did do a 3DMark test and got a slightly higher score than before the clean install.

I hope it works without any issues when I get around to testing BF4.

Many thanks!

TehPenguin · Sep 11, 2016

Good it worked for you. In the future do not burden yourself with reinstalling windows. Just use DDU to uninstall GPU Drivers without touching anything else.

faune · Sep 12, 2016

Thanks @TehPenguin!

OK so I finally tried BF4 and I was able to play on ultra settings with over 60 FPS. The only thing I noticed while playing were what looked to be "refresh lines", occasionally, but in the same place where the screen tearing in the browsers was occurring i.e. the bottom 1/3 - 1/4 of the screen only.

I changed v-sync from "use the 3D application setting" to "adaptive" this made the "refresh lines" slightly less of an occurrence and my avg FPS looked as if it went up.

Additionally, Today I purchased a Display port cable which I used when this happened. Interestingly I turned my comp off and when out for some errands. When I came back and tried to boot up it wouldn't. Luckily I remembered that I added a DP cable. Sure enough when I pulled it out of the GPU the computer powered on. I tried the 2nd DP cable socket on my 1060 and the same result, after powering off it would not power back on.

Due to this I have since reverted to my DVI and I don't have the power on issues. However I am still experiencing the same issue with the "refresh lines" in the game I see occasionally when jumping, panning to look side to side & running on tile textured roof tops.

Any more thoughts?

Thanks

TehPenguin · Sep 12, 2016

Huh. Can you try a different monitor?

I'll play some BF4 today to see what FPS I am getting. I have a 1060, too. I'll report back later.

TehPenguin · Sep 12, 2016

Played two domination rounds, everything set to ultra, 125% render scale, 75 FOV and I get around 100 FPS 90 low, 130 high.

faune · Sep 12, 2016

Wow! so I'm getting in the 60's to 80's range (when looking at perfoverlay.drawfps 1) with occasional spikes above that with the nvidia optimizer which basically sets everything to ultra. WTF?

TehPenguin · Sep 12, 2016

I used Afterburner FPS log so I don't have to look at FPS while playing. But it was just Domination. I am sure that a large conquest map would be more demanding but I just had not have enough time to play a conquest game.

faune · Sep 12, 2016

I usually try playing large conquest maps

Can I use afterbuner with and EVGA card?

My main question is though at this point, do I need to consider RMA / return and exchange for a new card or is this purely a driver / software issue?

TehPenguin · Sep 13, 2016

You can use afterburner with any card AFAIK. I have a faster CPU&ram so you might not get the same FPS values. But yeah, with all the previous issues you mentioned I'd consider RMA. Try to test it on a different monitor though.

faune · Sep 13, 2016

I'm gonna test another DVI or HDMI monitor later today (I don't have access to an extra one with display port). Thanks

Still, I thought that a 1060 should be able to easily handle BF4 on ultra with way more than 60-77 FPS

Whats weird is when I was playing the Battlefield 1 Beta I think I was getting more FPS (before the Beta update towards the end)... and game play seemed smoother... but now since the beta is closed I can't compare.

TehPenguin · Sep 13, 2016

I think the BF1 Beta ran pretty much the same. I remember seeing 100fps on average in the corner. Didn't test it like I did BF4, though.

TehPenguin · Sep 13, 2016

You're also playing at a higher resolution than I am. 1920x1200 vs 1920x1080 so there's also a small performance bumper there for you, in comparison to my values.

faune · Sep 13, 2016

I brought home a second monitor with an HDMI connection and hooked it up, loaded up battlefield and the "refresh lines" were occurring occasionally in the same place.

So I took it back to the store I got it at and they said they are going to check it at their lab. Hopefully, I'll get a replacement soon

I will keep you posted.

TehPenguin · Sep 13, 2016

Hopefully you'll get a working card soon!

faune · Sep 14, 2016

They guy at the repair lab called me today and said that after 3 hours of stress testing ... nada... he said he would continue a bit more... so it looks like they are just going to give it back to me. I have know problem with this if the card is fine. But after all the uninstalling and reinstalling, swapping monitors etc... I was still seeing the occasional refresh lines in the game... I guess I could live with it... It's just frustrating

TehPenguin · Sep 14, 2016

You tested two different monitors with many different cables.
You've got a quality PSU... Maybe a busted PCIe slot?

faune · Sep 15, 2016

Hmmmm you maybe right... How would I know/ test that?

TehPenguin · Sep 15, 2016

Ah, jsut checked. Your motherboard only has one PCIe x16, the other ones being x4. It's not good if the x16 is busted but it'll be enough to test if it is.

Plug your GPU into the other full length slot, reinstall drivers and run some benchmarks.
WARNING: you will notice significant FPS drops. PCIe 2.0 x4 isn't enough for the 1060.
BUT! You can test if the liens are still there.

If you get crappy frames but all other artefacts are gone then try cleaning your blue PCIe slot and see if it helps. If it doesn't help and you have no problems, other than bad fps, on the black one then that's probably the culprit.

faune · Sep 18, 2016

So the lines weren't appearing in the benchmarks, only in BF 4. Yes, the FPS on my original tests were not stellar but I know that the benchmarks are supposed to be heavy tests. my relative score was decent compared to other similar builds though.

Should I try playing BF4 from the second PCIe 2.0 slot?

Also on my Mobo is states that the other slot is: "1 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (x4 mode, black)" is the x4 mode only if in Crossfire/ SLI? or in general?

https://www.asus.com/uk/Motherboards/P8Z77V_LX2/specifications/

Thanks.

TehPenguin · Sep 18, 2016

It means it's a full length PCIe slot but the actual pins support only x4 mode = less bandwidth.

So yeah, if the lines were only in BF4 do it and run the practice range so you don't mess up your KDR with low FPS ^^
Do test the practice range before switching PCIe slots.

Is my new graphics card (GTX 1060) defective?

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