Big green dot artifacts on 3 different cards

[adamsteenfeldt]

Hi

I bought a Gigabyte GTX560ti-SO-950 rev2 and it kept freezing and the in game meshes would get messed up. I RMA'd it and the second identical card started getting green dots flash up on screen. This happened in Metro 2033, Fallout NV and Mafia 2. The dots were about a centimeter/half inch in diameter. I RMA'd it again but the shop said that I was the only one having any problems with that card. They also said the first card I returned was fine. Now... you guessed it... the third card has green dots too.... How many RMAs does a man go through before he starts randomly stabbing people? Does anyone know what else could be causing this if it's not faulty cards?

Specs are...

CPU i5 2500k
RAM Kingston 8gb 1600mhz
MB Gigabyte Z68X-UD3H-B3
HDD WD 1002FAEX
PSU Seasonic X850
Windows 7 Home 64 sp1

I have the latest drivers and bios too and it's all at factory clocks.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[borisof007]

OH BOY SEASONIC PSU, /barf

Have you tried this card in another computer? If it's not doing the same thing there then you know you have another issue. Most people that have complained of this issue is a result of overclocking too much or bad VRAM on the video card. However, because you've RMA'd twice and it's still happening, I doubt it's your card.

Try it another computer with an adequate power supply, if it works there, then I'd maybe guess your PSU isn't supplying enough juice or it's not working right.

 

[adamsteenfeldt]

Wait , what?!?! is Seasonic not good? I just mortgaged the house for it. I read reviews and they all raved about it. It's the same PSU as the Corsair AX850, same gooey centre at least.

I actually bought the PSU to fix the problem so it happened on my old Silverstoned 560W too.

 

[techguy911]

Chances are your power supply is the problem only other thing that can cause this is a corrupt video driver or directx needs to be re-installed.

I would completely un-install current video card driver and re-install the newest ones then install directx and make sure you have all the updates.

Also incorrect bios settings or bios problems can cause this sometimes updating your bios may fix the problem.

 

[adamsteenfeldt]

Yeah I did all of that. I even went into safe mode and did a complete uninstall of the drivers and deleted all nvidia folders and then reinstalled. The bios is shiny and new too. It's running at all factory bios settings except for AHCI (ACHI, AICH... whatever that HDD setting is).

Maybe DirectX, I'll look into that, I assume it can be downloaded. I've always relied on games to install that for me.

 

[adamsteenfeldt]

Ok I don't know how to uninstall DirectX and when I try to install over the top it just says I have the latest.

I just underclocked the VRAM to 4000 and it works fine. Does that mean it is the card at fault? Factory clock is 4580.

 

[Kamab]

Ok I don't know how to uninstall DirectX and when I try to install over the top it just says I have the latest.

I just underclocked the VRAM to 4000 and it works fine. Does that mean it is the card at fault? Factory clock is 4580.

Most likely, yes. Sounds like you've gotten pretty unlucky.

 

[borisof007]

3 cards in a row sounds VERY unlikely. I'd still try that card in another system at regular clock speeds to be sure.

 

[adamsteenfeldt]

I don't know anyone with a machine that will run it properly. I could put my new PSU in their machine but then I'm not eliminating the PSU as a variable. I'll try it anyway though.

Any thoughts on formatting and reinstalling windows? Would that be a waste of time?

 

[Kamab]

If you've already replaced the PSU, than the only other culprits left are:

Mobo,
GPU,
software/drivers.

Sounds like you've somewhat eliminated software already, which leaves your GPU and mobo (pcie slots?).

 

[adamsteenfeldt]

Good question. I had something strange happen with my pcie slots, it was running the 16 at 8. I put on the new bios and that went away though. GPU-Z is where i found that out. I was running my old reference GTX260 in this rig for a while with no problems at all but I guess that doesn't 100% rule out the MoBo.

The only other thing in a pcie slot is a wireless network card. It's in a 1x slot.

Is Gigabyte a budget brand? Is that where I went wrong? I notice there are typos on the post screen and that doesn't exactly instill confidence.

 

[Kamab]

I usually stick with ASUS /Asrock boards. Gigabyte is known to make pretty reliable boards so you might have gotten unlucky, if that actually is the problem.

 

[adamsteenfeldt]

I'm wondering if it's a bad batch of cards as they all have sequential serial numbers.

I just formatted and reinstalled windows but no luck.

 

[borisof007]

Gigabyte's a very good brand, especially for motherboards. It COULD have been a batch of bad cards, however unlikely but it is possible. I'd say you might be preeeetty unlucky.

 

[adamsteenfeldt]

I have an update... One of the faulty cards is running in my old computer (core2 quad 2.66, 4gb 1066mhz ram, asus p5kr mobo) and it has the exact same problem.

Looks like bad luck after all. Now do I go for a forth card or would I just be punishing myself?

On a different note.... why did you barf when I said seasonic boris? I can still get my money back if you know something I don't.

 

[borisof007]

return the card, ask for a different brand (e.g. Asus vs Gigabyte), just in case. Also, in regards to the PSU comment, I was half joking so no worries. Seasonic PSU's used to have a bad rap, but they're alright. I would have tried to go with a Corsair, OCZ, Thermaltake, or Silverstone. Those brands are definitely proven to be a bit more stable and reliable.

 

[adamsteenfeldt]

I think there are two branches of seasonic. One that makes budget PSUs and the other that makes PSUs for other big companies like Corsair. I read that the internals of this one is exactly the same as the Corsair AX850 and that they make the AX850. Please don't quote me on this though.

The shop that sold me the graphics cards is going to get a new batch in and they told me to hang onto the two I have until they do. If I get a bad one from the new batch then you'll probably hear about the incident on the news.

Side note... I just SLi them and ran Metro 2033 1920x1200 max settings and got 48fps avg. Now I'm going to have to buy a second one... damn curiosity!!!

 

[adamsteenfeldt]

Best answer selected by adamsteenfeldt.