Diagnose my problems

[Exuus]

No. . . . not those ones. My other ones - computer related problems. :)


I've been having a problem where my screen appears to be corrupted and I can't decide whether it's the graphics card or possibly the PSU causing it. I have a XFX 6800 GT.

It all started a couple of days ago - I was playing a game and noticed little white, blue or green dots appearing on the screen. Soon after this my computer froze entirely while browsing these very forums. Upon restarting I found the screen was totally corrupted - random lines and symbols, numbers and letters covered the screen.

I plugged in a very old Geforce card and I can now use the computer, but I still have a number of random lines and dots that appear if I move, resize or open windows. Along with this the screen will at times black out for a few seconds before coming back on. I made sure I'm using the correct drivers for this old card.

Upon looking at my hardware monitor I also found my PSU voltages are varying constantly by 0.5 to 1 volts. If memory serves me correctly it never used to fluctuate nearly as much as it is now - could this have something to do with my problems or is it purely a graphics card issue? I use an Antec 450 Watt PSU if thats of any use to know.

Any help at all would be appreciated.

[DAve]

Upon looking at my hardware monitor I also found my PSU voltages are varying constantly by 0.5 to 1 volts. If memory serves me correctly it never used to fluctuate nearly as much as it is now - could this have something to do with my problems or is it purely a graphics card issue?

Does your graphics card work in any other computer?

Are the voltages too high, or too low. Either is a problem, but too low is better than too high. Either way, unplug the PSU - it sounds dangerous.

It's possible that the cables are damaged in some way - can you use a different monitor cable or a different monitor to check?

It's also possible that you've got some residual drivers on your system. Boot into safe mode, clean them out using http://www.drivercleaner.net/

Clean all the graphics card drivers, especially.

Even better, boot into a linux liveCD. That way you'll be able to know whether it's windows being a bugger, the graphics card that's at fault or everything is OK.

[Exuus]

Ok, should I get a 600W or 700W tagan?

[YegaDoyai]

either is overkill for anything less than a dual cpu SLI rig

[Strings]

So in conclusion, I'd just go for a 600W one. Should see you through fine for the moment and for any future upgrades.

[YegaDoyai]

for his current pute I'd go for the 480

[CaNNoN_FoDDa]

If it's displaying characters and symbols that must mean it's a software-related issue, no? maybe do a virus scan? If it was hardware, i would expect it to just blow your monitor up or make funny colours..

Im running an XFX 6800 no probs with a tagan 480.

[Exuus]

It isn't a windows issue - it's doing it as soon as the computer starts up - including the BIOS.

I was just wondering about the PSU since I may go for an SLi rig.

[CaNNoN_FoDDa]

Yeah, that sucks.

What i meant was, that if it's displaying characters that suggests there is some kinda software involved, as hardware alone cant do that. Which leads back to your drivers or maybe bios

or maybe there is a ghost in your AI.