Artifacts are bad - Hardware & Software

I just built this computer almost a year ago and has been working fine until now. Since the start of March, I've been getting random artifacts on my computer. The first time I noticed it happened while playing Modern Warfare 2. The next few times was during bootup and after login process. [IMG]http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/7355/img6752f.jpg[/IMG] [I]*Video coming soon![/I] [QUOTE]My Specs: Processor: Intel Core i7 CPU 920 @ 2.67GHz Memory: Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1066Mhz (3x2GB) Hard Drive: 70 + 250 + 500 = 820 GB (1TB External) [B]Video Card: NVIDIA EVGA GTX 280[/B] Monitor: Acer AL2216W 22" Widescreen Sound Card: SB X-Fi Xtreme Audio Speakers: 5.1 Logitech Z-5500 Surround Sound Keyboard: Logitech MX-3200 Wireless Mouse: Logitech G7 Wireless Operating System: Windows 7 Pro 64-bit Motherboard: ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 [B]Power Supply: Seasonic M12 700 Watt[/B] Other: Some fans and peripherals [/QUOTE]So I decided to talk to EVGA about this issue and they've given me a few things to test for: [QUOTE]Answered By Stephan K (3/27/2010 2:55:13 PM): Nathan, The symptoms that you describe seem to point to artifacting. For that there could be a few common problems that we could test for. 1. The power supply could be failing or is not sufficient. To verify this problem, please test with a more powerful power supply. You could also verify voltage by using a motherboard monitor tool such as Eleet (if it is a EVGA X58, or P55) to check the voltage of the 12v rail when you are using a game. it should be between 11.9 and 12.30v. 2. The Drivers could be corrupted, and need to be reinstalled. Please go into safe mode using F8 before the windows loading screen. Then, please go into add / remove programs and select "Nvidia drivers". In the popup windows select uninstall graphics drivers only. RESTART the computer. Install the latest drivers from our website found at: [URL]http://www.nvidia.com/Download/Find.aspx?lang=en-us[/URL] 3. The LCD or monitor cables are broken or are partially unplugged. For this unplug all yours connections between your monitor and the video card and plug them back in, if they have the the screws make sure they are screwed in securely. 4. The system memory could be deffective and maybe causing errors. To test this please remove all but one memory module from your computer while the computer is off, and see if the system acts up on only one module. 5. Lastly the graphical memory could be defective. If this is the case, Please use a benchmark if you are able to get into windows that tests the graphical memory, such as ATI tool. If you are not able to use the card in windows, please let us know and we will be able to assist you in starting a RMA if the product is still in warranty. Thanks EVGA Support[/QUOTE]Well I've done everything on that list and more, but the problem still persists! Although the artifacts hasn't shown up while any extensive 3D gaming is going on. I have no idea what could be causing the problem, but I have a reason to believe my PSU is not strong enough or faulty... I've come to this idea because recently my computer has been deciding to randomly shut off (without bootdown process). I've come here for your opinions and help. I've decided to invest in a stronger PSU possibly an 850 Watt, but the problem is I know nothing of PSU's... I've been searching on Newegg, and found these two: [B]Antec TPQ-850 850W[/B] [URL]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371009[/URL] [URL="http://www.newegg.com/Product/ImageGallery.aspx?CurImage=17-371-009-S01&SCList=17-371-009-S01%2c17-371-009-S02%2c17-371-009-S03%2c17-371-009-S04%2c17-371-009-S05%2c17-371-009-S06%2c17-371-009-S07%2c17-371-009-S08%2c17-371-009-S09&S7ImageFlag=2&Item=N82E16817371009&Depa=0&WaterMark=1&Description=Antec%20TPQ-850%20850W%20Continuous%20Power%20ATX12V%20%2f%20EPS12V%20SLI%20Certified%20CrossFire%20Ready%2080%20PLUS%20BRONZE%20Certified%20Modular%20Active%20PFC%20%22compatible%20with%20Core%20i7%2fCore%20i5%22%20Power%20Supply"][IMG]http://images17.newegg.com/is/image/newegg/17-371-009-S01?$S180W$[/IMG][/URL] [B]Thermaltake W0319RU 850W[/B] [URL]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153106[/URL] [URL="http://www.newegg.com/Product/ImageGallery.aspx?CurImage=17-153-106-TS&ISList=17-153-106-S99%2c17-153-106-S02%2c17-153-106-S03%2c17-153-106-S04%2c17-153-106-S05%2c17-153-106-S06%2c17-153-106-S07&S7ImageFlag=1&Item=N82E16817153106&Depa=0&WaterMark=1&Description=Thermaltake%20W0319RU%20850W%20ATX%2012V%202.2%20SLI%20Ready%20CrossFire%20Certified%2080%20PLUS%20Certified%20Modular%20Active%20PFC%20Power%20Supply"][IMG]http://images17.newegg.com/is/image/newegg/17-153-106-TS?$S180W$[/IMG][/URL] Could someone help me understand the basics on PSU's and point me in the right direction? Possibly help me with my artifacts problem too? [editline]10:55AM[/editline] Thanks!

I have that Antec PSU and it's worked great for me. Absolutely no complaints.

1:Wrong forum. 2:It is very unlikely that it is your psu. The wattage of your cpu is great it is just a crappy brand. 3:Download Furmark and Video Card Stability Test and let them run for a while/perform a test. Furmark has an option that draws a graph of your gpu temperature, Run it for 10 minutes and post the graph here. This problem could be caused by overheating.

[QUOTE=taipan;21077304]1:Wrong forum. 2:It is very unlikely that it is your psu. The wattage of your cpu is great it is just a crappy brand. 3:Download Furmark and Video Card Stability Test and let them run for a while/perform a test. Furmark has an option that draws a graph of your gpu temperature, Run it for 10 minutes and post the graph here. This problem could be caused by overheating.[/QUOTE] 1. Sorry, but I believe this is both a technical issue and a PC Building, so I could not place it in both. 2. Why would my computer randomly shut off then without bootdown, and I got this PSU for free and nothing beats that. 3. I've ran Furmark and various benchmarks multiple times, but I will update with the graph. I talked to EVGA about this recently, because I thought it was overheating, but they said it can go up to 105C and mine was around 91C. It [U]can't[/U] be an overheating issue, because I turn my computer off for the night and come home from school, turn on PC, and artifacts show up (after over [B]12 hours[/B] of almost no power). btw, thanks for the fast reply! Getting that graph now.

91C is pretty hot..

[QUOTE=Bullet100;21077384]1. Sorry, but I believe this is both a technical issue and a PC Building, so I could not place it in both. 2. Why would my computer randomly shut off then without bootdown, and I got this PSU for free and nothing beats that. 3. I've ran Furmark and various benchmarks multiple times, but I will update with the graph. I talked to EVGA about this recently, because I thought it was overheating, but they said it can go up to 105C and mine was around 91C. It [U]can't[/U] be an overheating issue, because I turn my computer off for the night and come home from school, turn on PC, and artifacts show up (after over [B]12 hours[/B] of almost no power). btw, thanks for the fast reply! Getting that graph now.[/QUOTE] 91 is very hot. Yes they can operate at that temp but it will shorten its lifespan. Auto shutdown occurs at 105C. Since your gpu also produces artifacts when it is just starting up it probably wont be a heat issue. But it won't harm to check. (unless the card was alreaddy damaged by previous heat)

[QUOTE=taipan;21077471]91 is very hot. Yes they can operate at that temp but it will shorten its lifespan. Auto shutdown occurs at 105C. Since your gpu also produces artifacts when it is just starting up it probably wont be a heat issue. But it won't harm to check. (unless the card was alreaddy damaged by previous heat)[/QUOTE] Good point...I never thought about that... Lets see what the results say. Started at 62C and up to 80C in a matter of a minute D: [editline]11:10AM[/editline] haha fan speed just shot up (I can hear it) [editline]11:11AM[/editline] Is there a program that can log temperatures in a graph while I'm playing a game?

[QUOTE=Bullet100;21077491]Good point...I never thought about that... Lets see what the results say. Started at 62C and up to 80C in a matter of a minute D: [editline]11:10AM[/editline] haha fan speed just shot up (I can hear it) [editline]11:11AM[/editline] Is there a program that can log temperatures in a graph while I'm playing a game?[/QUOTE] CPUID HW monitor. It logs the max,min temp and displays the current temp. (not a graph)

I performed a short test with two Furmark versions... Version 1.7 This was a dumbed down, not fullscreen 1024x768 4X AA stability test [URL=http://img138.imageshack.us/i/furmark000001a.jpg/][IMG]http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/5476/furmark000001a.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Version 1.8 Now when I performed the test here, I did it at 1680x1050 not fullscreen 4X stability test, and my computer locked up with a brown screen... D: [editline]11:23AM[/editline] I'll try 1.8 again

Congratulations, it's probably overheating. Open your case and clear [b]all[/b] fans of dust, preferably with a can of compressed air but a vacuum will do.

[QUOTE=Nilus;21077774]Congratulations, it's probably overheating. Open your case and clear [B]all[/B] fans of dust, preferably with a can of compressed air but a vacuum will do.[/QUOTE] Yeah I guess this is the issue...I'll notify EVGA about this. Also, I've already cleared out all the dust the first time I noticed this problem. Do you guys still think I should upgrade my PSU? It's pretty old and used.

Dangerous or not, that artifact looks fucking cool. Oh and since it's been a year, you should probably clean your computer from dust if you haven't already done so. EDIT: Well, shit.

Take the side off the case and use a desk fan to force some cool air in there to try bringing the temperature down. 91 degrees is hawt.

That Temperature seems fine. (85) About every video card I ownded go to that temperature. (6600gt/7600gt/HD4870) And Ati has its fan sweetspot at 85 degrees by default.

[QUOTE=taipan;21077916]That Temperature seems fine. (85) About every video card I ownded go to that temperature. (6600gt/7600gt/HD4870) And Ati has its fan sweetspot at 85 degrees by default.[/QUOTE] Yeah, but this was a dumbed down 1024x768 low level test... Not the full 1680x1050 8X AA fullscreen test. I was using an older version. Also, the temperature went from 62 to 80 in a minute... I'm working on getting a newer and more accurate test result (newer version 1.8) I also contacted EVGA.

[QUOTE=benjgvps;21077835]Take the side off the case and use a desk fan to force some cool air in there to try bringing the temperature down. 91 degrees is hawt.[/QUOTE] and blow a fuckton of dust into the whole system

[QUOTE=benjgvps;21077835]Take the side off the case and use a desk fan to force some cool air in there to try bringing the temperature down. 91 degrees is hawt.[/QUOTE] That won't work very well....especially while I'm playing a game! xD [editline]11:46AM[/editline] [B]also, I've already dusted out my computer!!![/B] [editline]11:55AM[/editline] Well it didn't crash this time and here are the results: [URL="http://img186.imageshack.us/i/furmark000000.jpg/"][IMG]http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/7436/furmark000000.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Still not maxed out though. The beginning went from 50 to 80 in a minute, but it leveled out at 85... [URL="http://img373.imageshack.us/i/cpuid1.png/"][IMG]http://img373.imageshack.us/img373/1410/cpuid1.th.png[/IMG][/URL]

I would get a can of compressed air and put that straw onto the nozzle and blow directly into the GPU where the fan blows and clear the dust out forcefully. I did this with my 9800GTX and dropped my temps by 10c. It now never goes past 65c while I idle at 41c. I do it about every 2 weeks. It's worth a shot.

[QUOTE=Bullet100;21078010]Yeah, but this was a dumbed down 1024x768 low level test... Not the full 1680x1050 8X AA fullscreen test. I was using an older version. Also, the temperature went from 62 to 80 in a minute... I'm working on getting a newer and more accurate test result (newer version 1.8) I also contacted EVGA.[/QUOTE] Your fans are designed to keep your GPU at 85 degrees. So I doubt you will get any higher then 90 on any test.

If you have any proper cooling at all, you should not be getting above 70C. Dusting is necessary. Clean out your PC, do some cable management, get a PCI slot fan. I have a shitty $5 PCI slot fan that's worked great for years and my GPU rarely goes past 65C. When I crank the GPU fan up to 100%, it's max is around 51-52C.

[QUOTE=Protocol7;21083338]If you have any proper cooling at all, you should not be getting above 70C. Dusting is necessary. Clean out your PC, do some cable management, get a PCI slot fan. I have a shitty $5 PCI slot fan that's worked great for years and my GPU rarely goes past 65C. When I crank the GPU fan up to 100%, it's max is around 51-52C.[/QUOTE] Gpu's are designed to be quiet. So 85 is good according to ATI and Nvidia, since they try to keep their cards at these temperatures.

[QUOTE=ClaBrendon;21082131]I would get a can of compressed air and put that straw onto the nozzle and blow directly into the GPU where the fan blows and clear the dust out forcefully. I did this with my 9800GTX and dropped my temps by 10c. It now never goes past 65c while I idle at 41c. I do it about every 2 weeks. It's worth a shot.[/QUOTE] it's brand new and I did that. [editline]10:44AM[/editline] [QUOTE=taipan;21083256]Your fans are designed to keep your GPU at 85 degrees. So I doubt you will get any higher then 90 on any test.[/QUOTE] It went to 91C when I first bought it, but it doesn't do it anymore... [editline]10:44AM[/editline] [QUOTE=Protocol7;21083338]If you have any proper cooling at all, you should not be getting above 70C. Dusting is necessary. Clean out your PC, do some cable management, get a PCI slot fan. I have a shitty $5 PCI slot fan that's worked great for years and my GPU rarely goes past 65C. When I crank the GPU fan up to 100%, it's max is around 51-52C.[/QUOTE] Already do, and already have one. [editline]10:45AM[/editline] [QUOTE=taipan;21096988]Gpu's are designed to be quiet. So 85 is good according to ATI and Nvidia, since they try to keep their cards at these temperatures.[/QUOTE] My card is always quiet, but this is the first time I've ever heard my fan freak out this much before!

[QUOTE=taipan;21077304]1:Wrong forum. 2:It is very unlikely that it is your psu. The wattage of your cpu is great it is just a crappy brand. 3:Download Furmark and Video Card Stability Test and let them run for a while/perform a test. Furmark has an option that draws a graph of your gpu temperature, Run it for 10 minutes and post the graph here. This problem could be caused by overheating.[/QUOTE] Seasonic PSU's are good. In fact, they manufacture all of Corsair's PSU's and Corsair just rebrands them.