Random spots with XFX 6950 1GB

[anthonysales]

I just built my PC today, and noticed something that only happens with Windows. After installing the latest drivers from AMD, i noticed that I'd get random spots on my display. They would appear looking like dead pixels on my monitor, and they'd move from one place to another. They go away for a minute, but after a while, I'd see them on my desktop while browsing the net. I thought there was something wrong with either my monitor or my video card, but when I run on Linux, everything seems fine. Anyone run in to the same problem with the AMD Radeon drivers? Those spots get so annoying. Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[anthonysales]

Btw, I tried downgrading from the 11.3 to the 11.2 drivers, and I still get the annoying spots.

 

[anthonysales]

another thing, I'm running on Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit, Asus P8P67 Pro, XFX 6950 1GB, 8GB Corsair Vengeance 9-9-9-24 (1600) and an i7 2600K. Everything is still running at stock. i haven't overclocked anything yet.

 

[swifty_morgan]

What power supply ?

 

[anthonysales]

My power supply is a Corsair AX850. The spots seem to have gotten worse. When I turned on my PC and booted into windows, i saw a whole lot of them now. They're just random colored spots. I tried playing the demo of Dragon Age II last night, but didn't see any problems with the picture quality. It only happens while I'm just on the desktop.

 

[swifty_morgan]

Last time I had issues with "spots" the card was going bad. However, go into the CCC and make everything point to the "let application decide" and deselect all the "extras".....morph filtering/open GL triple buffering, etc. filter set to standard.

I have the 2gig version of that card ( the black one ) and the same power supply with lesser hardware and have no problems.

If you continue to have problems you might have to think about RMA. ........ check monitor refresh rate too.

 

[swifty_morgan]

Try the other PCI-E slot and also try Windows Update. Might pick up something VGA related there>

 

[anthonysales]

will do. Thanks swifty..

 

[anthonysales]

I'm really hoping that it's just a software issue though. I don't want to have to wait for them to ship me another card from TigerDirect. When I uninstall the drivers, the display seems fine. And also, when I'm running Linux with the Radeon driver, everything seems to be fine too.

 

[anthonysales]

So I tried calling XFX tech support and they asked me if I only get the spots when my card starts up pretty cold and if they only appear in 2D. I said yes because that's just what happens. The XFX tech told me turn "Burn it in" for about an hour using FurMark. So far so good. After burning the card in for a while, I haven't had any spots on my screen.

 

[anthonysales]

I spoke too soon. The spots returned after the temps on my card went down to the 50s.

 

[swifty_morgan]

Sounds crazy. If you had the card for less than 30 days you may be able to swap it from the place of purchase. If not I'd seriously think about sending it to XFX...........

 

[anthonysales]

Yeah. I just got it yesterday. I just called the XFX tech again and told him about it. He said to run the test longer than an hour. Possibly overnight. He said that they had a few cards that had the same issue, and they just burned them in. After that, the spots never came back. I've been running Furark for the past hour and a half to burn it in even more. The tech said to get the temps up to about 90 degrees, but my temps won't go that high. Highest it's gone has been 87. I'm guessing it's because my case looks so empty. Hahaha! I was thinking of overclocking the card just a little bit to push the temps up, but since I've never overclocked anything, I'm afraid I might fry my card.

 

[swifty_morgan]

Over clocking is mostly over rated. You'll only get a handful of extra FPS at the expense of more heat and extra stress on you components.

 

[anthonysales]

I guess I'll continue to run it at stock speeds then. How's your 2GB version? Do you run 3 displays with it? If I do have to return this card to TigerDirect, I was thinking of just getting the 2GB version. I may want to try running eyefinity with a few games once i get my other monitors.

 

[swifty_morgan]

I may never will run 3 monitors off it. I bought it because my 1gig cards couldn't keep up with some stuff and also have plans to crossfire later this year. Then I'll move on to a system upgrade possibly early next year and bring these cards over. Gotta wait to see what AMD brings to the table.

This was a replacement for a 2gig Palit GTX560. The card got so hot that it would spit and sputter making gaming a drag. Although this card does get hot under stress it is leaps and bounds over the 560 as far as performance goes. ( I'll never buy another Palit card as long as I live )

I think the most demanding game I tried with both cards was Metro 2033. It handled it with absolutely no problems @ 1920x1200 with EVERYTHING maxed out and not a stutter. Couldn't max out with the 560 and had to lower settings and it still wouldn't play the game right.

If you're going to run 3 monitors the extra memory will help a lot. If TG will let you swap the cards I don't know. A phone call vs e-mails is always a better way to communicate. I CALLED newegg and the transition was painless. I only got stuck paying the original shipping fee not the restock fee or return shipping. If I did it over the net I don't think I could have gotten a better deal. I can live with that. newegg's the best. I try not to shop anywhere else.