Monitor is blinking at me! weird

[hartski]

Funny subject but serious problem. My monitor just started blinking at me. It goes black let's say every 20 seconds in 5 minutes then it stops for 30 minutes and then starts blinking again...sometimes it blinks completely on random times...However it only blinks when I'm in a game...never when I'm just on my desktop surfing the web or watching DivX etc. I currently play Warcraft 3, Counter-Strike and The Thing and my monitor blinks in all of them so it's not the games. Could it be the videocard though. But I suspect the motherboard coz it only started happening after I changed to a new motherboard

my system specs are:

HP L1520 LCD Monitor connected via DVI (old)
AMD AXP 2200+ (new, upgraded from 1800+)
Gigabyte 7VRXP (new, upgraded from Abit KR7A)
ATI Radeon 8500 64MB running on Catalyst 2.2 (old)

I also found a difference in settings on my Abit BIOS that is enabled on my Giagabyte mobo. The AGP fastwrite and another setting is enabled for AGP. Another problem too is when I run 3dmark 2001 SE my computer restarts at I think one of the lest 5 tests which is at like 80% of the testing progress. I really think it's the mobo! But please help too...thanks!!!

 

[Crashman]

It could be a bad refresh rate (out of range for your monitor). Of course, I suspect your power supply with the 3D-Mark problem, it's the most likely culprit.

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[hartski]

I have always used 72Hz for my LCD's resolution...that's like since December 2001. Could it be the motherboard? Like I said the AGP fastwrite is enabled unlike on my old Abit mobo it wasn't. How come there is an issue with the PS? I have 300W PS, isn't it enough for the AXP 2200+? Hmmm...I am using a Thermaltake Volcano 7+ but I connected the power for it directly to my motherboard, do you think that is causing a problem too?

anyway thanks for the help...I will try first using 60Hz then if the problem still persists I will turn disable all AGP settings. I'll also reroute the power of the HSF to the 4 pin PS connectors...thanks again and more help is greatly appreciated...btw I know in CRT monitors 60Hz sucks as refresh rate, would it matter on an LCD monitor if eyestrain will be taken into consideration?

"I was killing the Dread Lord so my Priestess of the Moon can do her starfall but alas my monitor blinked and the bastard demon is gone!"

 

[Crashman]

Well, the AGP slot gets it's power from the same line as the CPU and the RAM. A lot of times, upgrading a system that is already close to the edge will cause problems when you use the 3D features of the video card. That's because the video card consumes more power in 3D mode, and that can be just enough to cause the CPU voltage to drop below it's operational minimums, resulting in instantaneous reboot.

<font color=blue>You're posting in a forum with class. It may be third class, but it's still class!</font color=blue>

 

[hartski]

so you mean I should get a new PS that is greater than 300W or just reroute the power of the HSF from the mobo to the PS supply connectors itself.

 

[Crashman]

Doubt that doing anything with the fan would have much effect, 12v is a different rail. Not all 300W power supplies are created equal, either.

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[hartski]

I have a "future power" brand of PS. Also I rerouted the connector from the mobo to the PS...so safe to say the mobo is safe of being drained of power by the HSF. The refresh rate is now at the lowest and native of 60Hz...I turned of all optimizations for the AGP slot which is the fail-safe setting...It has to be the mobo...after only switching to that mobo did this problem happen...Imma contact the dealer asap! can;t stand a blinking monitor!

although it only blinks when I'm in any game? what is that trying to say?

 

[hartski]

here are the results...instead of trying to use a diffrent monitor which is a CRT I tried switching from Digital mode to Analog mode on my LCD monitor...and gee wiz it enver blinked...even after 3 hours of gaming!

it prolly been the Digital mode that was damaged when I spiked it...but does anyone think it's the motherboard? I will get the replacement for my old Abit motherboard and I can compare but I don't wanna risk f'ing up my CPU and vidcard so I guess if Analog mode works I'll stick with it for now...