Probably colour banding issue

[Phillip Prozorov]

Hello there. This is my first time posting here, so I'm really sorry if I'm doing something wrong.
I need help with my problem: for some reasons my PC has started displaying colours not the way they're meant to be. As far as I know, it is called colour banding, for every gradient I see is shown like a bunch of solid stripes from one color to another. The problem is most noticable when it comes to PNG images of any kind, but I also noticed the same thing while playing games with a lot of dark shots (like Amnesia and BioShock) and using Steam - all the shades are totally separated from each other, so it looks like a 16-bit picture. Apart from that the image I get is pretty fine, and I can't complain about the graphics performance either.

My specs are:
OS - Windows 7 Ultimate x32
Motherboard - ASUS P5K SE
CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 @ 2.66 GHz
GPU - Gigabyte nVidia GeForce GTX480 1536 MB
RAM - 3 GB
Display - Acer V193W (using VGA cable with DVI adapter)

And that's pretty much what made me seek for the solution, but I had no luck finding it, so I've tried some stuff myself:
- Installing different version of nVidia display drivers (306.97, 310.70, 314.22, 320.49 and 326.80 beta);
- Updating my chipset drivers;
- Testing the image on Windows XP;
- Picking every single resolution my monitor supports;
- Changing color depth;
- Changing brightness and contract in the monitor settings;
- Using another display.

Moreover, I'm experiencing the same thing on my laptop with absolutely different specifications, so I'm concerned it's a software issue. Any ideas about how I can get rid of it?
Thanks.

P.S. Sorry for my English. 😛

 

[amogachi44]

Does anyone know??

 

[nukemaster]

I have still been unable to reproduce the issue, but lack the same card as you.

 

[amogachi44]

I have still been unable to reproduce the issue, but lack the same card as you.

Wait so your color banding went away?

 

[nukemaster]

NO. I was unable to make color banding happen(aside of some games that actually had it as a part of the game) in the first place. I do not have a GTX 4XX card for testing either.

Some games and even image formats may in fact have this color banding to begin with. I have never seen anything as extreme as the OP had.

 

[amogachi44]

NO. I was unable to make color banding happen(aside of some games that actually had it as a part of the game) in the first place. I do not have a GTX 4XX card for testing either.

Some games and even image formats may in fact have this color banding to begin with. I have never seen anything as extreme as the OP had.

For GuildWars 2 initially I had no banding underwater, then suddently one day it just appeared.

 

[nukemaster]

I was almost sure I did not see in when the game was release either, but with a game that has updates daily at times(I have even seen 2 updates in a single day from time to time). It is hard to pin down to your video card or just a developer bug.

I am going to say if it happens on AMD cards too it is a game issue.