graphics card issues

[Elessar Telrunya]

So last night my graphics card started giving me some problems. Everything is still rendering just fine, but there's also some static coming through and occasional lines across the screen. I've checked that everything inside my computer case is clean and updated the drivers, but the problem persists. My dad is of the opinion that it's about to die on me (every time this has happened to him, he's had to replace the graphics card shortly thereafter). I just wanted to check the peanut gallery here in case anyone had other ideas I might check.

This is my current graphics card for reference. It's almost two years old.

[Soul Sojourner]

Most likely will persist or die. Tested monitor? Tried separate OS/installation to rule out software conflicts?

Good airflow, not over-overclocking, using a UPS?

I know many a video card die (normally half-die. Persistent problems occur but card usually still functional, albeit, not well.) due to no UPS, or worse no surge protection at all.

All good? Possibly bad luck, at least it wasn't a much shorter lifespan.

[420]

I agree with HellMasterHell's assessment.

Throbble's nVidia 9800 GTX crapped out a couple years ago after many years of use. Certain games ran fine, other games, like Diablo 3, gave her the rainbow static. It's pretty common for high end video cards to crap out after a few years, especially if they were first generation. (ie when the card gpu tech was brand new as opposed to a later, smaller remake after the tech had been optimized)

Anyway, I doubt it's a problem with anything else in your system. You can always switch out the video card with one from another computer if there is one handy just to be sure.

-420

[Elessar Telrunya]

Yes to all except the UPS. Haven't had money to spare on one. Thanks for the input. I just ordered a new card. It should be here later this week, and then I can get back to playing Child of Light.

[Soul Sojourner]

Yes to all except the UPS. Haven't had money to spare on one. Thanks for the input. I just ordered a new card. It should be here later this week, and then I can get back to playing Child of Light.

Have you ever heard the saying, "you can't afford not to?" A UPS is generally one of the things that saying is meant for. For a bargain PC it might not be worth it, but it is essential for any PC you put down real money on.  You can fetch a good UPS for somewhere between $150-200 probably cheaper; it's going to depend on the quality, brand, and how much wattage you need/want. Surge protectors are great for protecting your electronics from power surges, but what about power outages and power dips? Of course there are other factors, but it's pretty common to not find out what killed your card; better to be safe than sorry I say.

Grats on the new card, I hope it was an upgrade at least. Most likely you got some bad luck card death on the last one. It is as 420 says though, and if you didn't buy new tech then hopefully you'll have a longer lasting card this time around.

[Elessar Telrunya]

Got an interesting new problem: My DVI-D ports don't seem to be transmitting display data to my monitor. I have one on my graphics card and on my mobo, but neither will work. I finally got a display back by using the D-Sub port. I already swapped out the cable, so I know that's not the problem. Any ideas?

edit: also, this was a pretty spontaneous problem. I haven't introduced any new parts lately. I finished watching a movie one night, shut down, and the next morning my display wasn't working.

[420]

Got an interesting new problem: My DVI-D ports don't seem to be transmitting display data to my monitor. I have one on my graphics card and on my mobo, but neither will work. I finally got a display back by using the D-Sub port. I already swapped out the cable, so I know that's not the problem. Any ideas?

edit: also, this was a pretty spontaneous problem. I haven't introduced any new parts lately. I finished watching a movie one night, shut down, and the next morning my display wasn't working.

So, all the hardware/software worked one day and not the next without any updates? I would first think it was a hardware problem (video or otherwise).

-420

[Soul Sojourner]

I had the exact same shit happen to me awhile back. Watched some shit, everything was good, went to bed, woke up, turned shit back on, no display. For me, using the other port solved my issue though.

Was there a thunderstorm? (:O)

If not, my idea would be disconnect monitor from everything, blow out it's ports with a can of air or w/e and leave it sit for at least 30 minutes, but if you got other things to do, leave it as long as you're willing to and then re-connect, see what happens.

I once had a tv do some wonky shit due to, presumably, static electricity. Stopped working, and couldn't get it to display shit, tried again and again day after day but nothing, so I unplugged that shit, left it for a day, plugged it back in and it worked. *shrug*

As a bonus, I'd do the same to your comp, no power for a bit. Might reset something. Computers are fickle that way.

[Elessar Telrunya]

Yeah pretty sudden. We've had a bunch of thunderstorms lately, but I don't think we had any that night. I'm actually wondering if the problem is the monitor's port. I'll see if any of the above helps...

[Mo]

I'm guessing it worked then stopped working?  Or did it never work?