Graphics Card Problem, Driver Problem, or Other? Please Help.

[A_HungryPanda]

Description of Issue: For the past several months I have been struggling from an issue where the picture on my monitors shift, fizz up, or become different colors. I have tried everything people from many forums have instructed me to do, but with no luck or as a temporary fix. Around the end of July I removed the SSD boot drive and used my HDD's as my boot and storage drive. I had no problems for a month, but as of September 9, 2014 at around 8:00 pm I have again encountered this issue I have been struggling with for months. The only option I have not done is buy a new graphics card. I currently use an MSI Twin Frozr II R6870. I am willing to spend the money on a new graphics card, new OS disk, or new HDD or SSD. Although, I'd rather not. Money is kinda tight.

Anything relevant helps!!! Thanks!!!

Here is a link to pictures of my screen and the problem I'm having. Everything problem shows other than the color change. http://imgur.com/a/dpEfA

 

[Thelps]

What Resolution is your desktop set to? It's possible it's set to a resolution that your monitor is not compatible with. try various resolutions to see if this corrects the problem.

Download GPU-Z or MSI Afterburner and monitor your GPU temperatures to ensure the card is not overheating.

Open your PC case and ensure the card is sat firmly in its PCI-E x16 slot, not at an angle. Ensure the Power Connector(s) are securely attached. Press down firmly on the top of the card to ensure it is correctly seated.

Remove your Monitor cable and ensure there is no dust/debris on either the cable connector's pins or the Graphics Card's monitor-input pins. Do the same at the monitor's end if the cable is detachable from the monitor.

Ensure your drivers are fully up to date by checking AMD's website for the latest, non-Beta drivers.

 

[A_HungryPanda]

Thank you for responding. The resolution has always been 1920x1080. Well in my case 5760x1080 (eyefinity is off). I've had my rig since maybe 2011 or 2012. i never had any problems till early this year. I check all my components every two week while I'm doing my dust clean up and everything seems fine. I take my computer and one - two monitors with me when i go over to lan party, friends house, etc. So I'm guessing the monitors are fine as well. I always update the drivers when i get the notification or i get a pop up about it.

 

[A_HungryPanda]

The problem also happens when I am doing little activities such as watching a youtube video or just browsing through reddit

 

[Thelps]

Does the problem occur when your Graphics Card is set to Disabled in Device Manager?

Go to Device Manager, right click your GPU (Under Display Adapters) and select Disable. Reboot and see if the problem still occurs.

If at all possible, try the card in an entirely different rig to see if the problem recurs there. That will rule out a software / driver problem and let us know if the card itself is faulty.

GPUs usually croak as a result of excessive heat buildup / inadequate cooling during operation. It's also possible they can suffer from static shock when handled by someone who isn't earthed and carrying a static charge (similar to the the shock effect you get if you rub a balloon on your hair then touch a metal doorknob - however it takes hundreds of times less than this charge to damage an electronic component). It's also possible there may be a small piece of grit / dust on the card that is forming a cross-connection causing the blur effect you've shown.

 

[A_HungryPanda]

So when the card is enabled, if im only browsing the web or watching youtube the problem only occurs after a couple hours. After disabling the card for a couple hours I haven't seen the problem. I did trade cards with my brother for a couple hours as well and we didn't see a problem on his computer.

 

[Thelps]

If you use screen-capture software while experiencing symptoms do you see the problem reproduced in the image files there?

If not then the problem is almost definitely with your monitor cable, cable connectors at either end (male and female) or the monitor itself. Either that or there's damage / debris / interference on the Graphics Card's PCB (Printed Circuit Board) which is, as far as my knowledge extends, indicative of a dead card - if it's physical damage.

If you did notice the problem reproduced in image files then it's a software issue, which isn't really my area of expertise. I noticed you're running a torrent program on your desktop which is a notorious source of viruses / trojans / malicious programs (frequently embedded in files). If your hardware, when tested in other machines, doesn't demonstrate problems, this would be one of the most obvious sources of file corruption.

Did you try your monitor with your brother's rig, using the same cable and Graphics Card?

You'll need to ensure the card has been running on your brother's PC for at least as long as it took to show errors on your own computer for an effective diagnosis of a problem on your PC.