Overlapping frames

Lian

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Im not sure if the title of this post is the correct wording for my problem, but its the closest thing i could think of.

Basically i bought Starwars Force Unleashed 2. I noticed some overlapping frames, in the cinematic and in game. Its almost like the last 1/3rd of my screen has to catch up with the top 2/3rds of my screen when rendering graphics. Its not the first time i noticed this. It happens in Heaven Benchmark and some other games as well. Have never noticed it in WoW, Starcraft 2 and Civ V. Only FPS games. Its also not SOOO BAD that i cant play the games. Just kinda annoying.

[edit] in Heaven Benchmark its doesn't happen as often as in Starwars FU2 but when the scenes change and the scenes fade into the darkness u can clearly see something isn't right, its not smooth as it was with my GTS250. Its jittering and almost as if the scene doesn't fade out evenly.

I used to use the Catalyst 10.10d(e?) drivers for my card, then got the 10.12. Was hoping it would sort itself out in 10.12 but it didn't.

Card is not overclocked, have done some "slight" overclocking on it but never pushed it to its limits or anything and this was happening since day 1 when i bought it. Temps on card is normally around 75ish digrees depending on the game and when benched it gets to about 83digrees max.

Never ever happened on my previous GTS 250.

I bought my 6870 and sloted it in my MIS G31 mobo. Later upgraded my mobo to a Gigabyte P43 mobo. Made no diffs.

Anyone else know of this, is it a faulty card or is it normal (???)? OR could it be something to do with Windows 7 x64 or what?
I's fairly sure the card must be faulty, but even if i get a reply to this post to confirm this, how do i prove it if i want to return the card and get a new one?

Oh and for those who don't always bother to read the full article clearly, i have a Gigabyte 6870 as in my sig :)

[edit] also v-sync doesn't fix it, happens with it on and off.
 

Lian

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I have a performance preset and a quality preset in CCC. No diffs which one i use. Although there's not many options to choose from other than AA and such which I don't think it the problem as i have have most of my settings on Application Controlled.

I haven't tried removing the OC on my CPU. Will give it a try, somehow don't think it will change anything but no harm giving it a go.

[edit] Removed CPU OC, made no diffs.
 

4745454b

Titan
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From what I know the fan speed should also change in the different profiles so if it was a heat issue it should have been gone away. I couldn't remember which one changes the fan, so I suggested both.

If a CPU clock is unstable it can lead to wacky things happening. Removing OCs should be the first trouble shooting thing to do when you have something odd going on.

So assuming its something with the card, I'd try replacing. Borrow a friends card to make sure the problem goes away. If if does, RMA the card or buy a new one.
 
You may want to try turning on VSYNC in the game options. It somewhat sounds like screen tearing from having a frame rate higher than your monitor supports. Ex: over 60FPS when the monitors refresh rate is 60Hz (1Hz=1Frame), so the maximum amount of frames a 60Hz monitor can display is 60, anything higher and the image usually starts tearing (one part of the image is refreshed before the other)
 

Lian

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[edit] Removed CPU OC, made no diffs.

Also, the profiles (Presets) i created myself. With minor differences in the 3D Gaming Settings in CCC. It doesnt effect fan speeds unless the preset includes changes i might have made in AMD Overdrive, which i didnt. I also have MSI Afterburner and I can see what speed the cards fan runs at.
 

Lian

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[edit] also v-sync doesn't fix it, happens with it on and off.
 

Lian

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I'm beginning to think i have a faulty card. Going to try and get a game where i can take a screenie and hope it captures the overlapping frames. Hopefully that should be enough for a card swop :(
 

Lian

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Seems I made a breakthrough. When running Heaven Bench it ONLY HAPPENS in fullscreen mode. When I untick the fullscreen switch it doesn't tear and runs as smooth as a babies bottom... Could it be my monitor? or the D-Sub to DVI converter causing this? My monitor doesn't have HDMI or DVI.

Also I took a few screenies with Fraps, they where perfect. Not at all the way it looks on the screen itself...

Think I need to hook up my PC to our TV via HDMI and see if it makes a diff.

WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?!?! :(
 

4745454b

Titan
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Been a long day, I might not remember this correctly.

If you see it on the screen but it doesn't show up in screen shots then its happening AFTER the screen was rendered. Could be an issue with the monitor, cable, adapter, or a setting between the card and monitor. I'd try a different monitor first.
 

Lian

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I agree with you. Im off to work now but when I get back ill setup my PC with my 40" LCD TV via HDMI.
 

Lian

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Happens even when a game and/or benchmark is running at 30 FPS. I wont say i tried V-Sync on all the games but its a habit of mine to always switch v-sync on when I first enter a game and fiddle with the Video Settings.
 


Don't dismiss v-sync with due to low FPS. Tearing happens at all FPS. When the card updates the video buffer, if it takes place during the screen being updated, it causes a tear. There is nothing other than v-sync to stop this from happening, even at low FPS.
 

Lian

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It happens even with v-sync on. I know why everyone is hammering on v-sync. Its the logical explanation. But unfortunately, its not the solution :(. If it was I wouldn't be writing this post and my problem wouldn't have persisted through the last 2 months of owning this card. I really tried everything, other than change my monitor and swapping cables / converters (d-sub to dvi).

And lets say for arguments sake that for some reason my PC refuzed to switch v-sync on through CCC or in game. This might have been the problem, other than the fact this actually happens in Windows 7 after the login screen. After I enter my password and the screen phases black and then onto my desktop. I can see the tearing then.
 

Lian

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It only happens when the screen phases to and from black after the login screen, and every time i relog / restart. Doesn't happen anywhere else in Windows 7. And I run a single 22" LCD @ 1620x1050.
 

Lian

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I moved my PC to my TV via HDMI. Made no difference. So that rules out the DVI to D-Sub converter, my LCD and the VGA cable. Still saw the screen tearing in Heaven and Starwars FU2.

Ill phone the retailer I bought my card from and see what they can do. Hopefully they find a definite fault with my card and replace it. Otherwise if they wont replace the card then I guess ill wait for the Nvidia 560 and sell my ATI 6870.