Question What would cause my GPU to cause flickering and how can I fix it?

[TsundereCrush]

I have a Radeon RX 580 8GB OC Armour Edition GPU that I used for about 5 years now. I noticed that I get constant flickering dots and squares on my screen and it gets worse depending on GPU load. In my browser for instance, I would only get flickering here and there, but with an intensive game it would get horrendous to the point where I can't see anything on screen anymore. I noticed when I don't use any drivers or GPU performance, the screen is completely fine. I tried using the newest driver, an older driver and even a custom community driver, but the problem still persisted, but when I uninstalled a driver every time, I would not have any issues anymore at the cost of not being able to use my GPU for its performance.

Almost all the games crash when I try to run them and when I do a stress test, my GPU driver immediately crashes. I also noticed that I would get 100% GPU utilization at very low clock speeds meaning my GPU does not want to go over a certain threshold anymore. I tried a fresh Windows installation, tried different HDMI cables, used different HDMI ports on the GPU, tried switching monitors, but I still had the issue. I came to the conclusion that it is most likely a GPU hardware issue, because I took my GPU to a friend's house who has the same GPU as me. He put my GPU in his PC but swapping out his, the Radeon driver automatically installed and then he started getting flickering colours on his screen too. Is there something specific that would cause this issue and is there anything I can do by trying to fix it? I am hoping that the GPU did not reach the end of its life and that I can still get some life out of it.

My PC specs:
Motherboard - Asus B550-Plus Tuf Gaming Edition
GPU - MSI Radeon RX 580 OC Armor Edition
CPU - Ryzen 5 3500
RAM - 16GB 2666Mhz
OS - Windows 10

 

[Ralston18]

What PSU is installed in your computer?

Make, model, wattage, age, condition (original to build, new, refurbished, used)? History of heavy gaming use?

Same question for your friend's computer.

However if the problem followed the GPU the problem is likely within the GPU.

Barring your friend's PSU being underpowered, old, etc...

Are you able to put his GPU into your computer. Although that may be a bit risky if your computer, and specifically the PSU, is faulty for some reason.

Have you tried the GPU without any OC?

On both computers look in Reliability History/Monitor. Any error codes, warnings, or even informational events that match?

Your computer would likely have a longer history of such errors while his computer would have a shorter history begininng when the GPU was tested in his computer.

Easy to check and worth a look.

 

[TsundereCrush]

What PSU is installed in your computer?

Make, model, wattage, age, condition (original to build, new, refurbished, used)? History of heavy gaming use?

Same question for your friend's computer.

However if the problem followed the GPU the problem is likely within the GPU.

Barring your friend's PSU being underpowered, old, etc...

Are you able to put his GPU into your computer. Although that may be a bit risky if your computer, and specifically the PSU, is faulty for some reason.

Have you tried the GPU without any OC?

On both computers look in Reliability History/Monitor. Any error codes, warnings, or even informational events that match?

Your computer would likely have a longer history of such errors while his computer would have a shorter history begininng when the GPU was tested in his computer.

Easy to check and worth a look.

I know I have a 700W non-modular PSU, but I am not exactly sure about the make. Mine looks like the WJCoolman from what I see online, but I will make sure later.



I have used the PSU since I got the GPU, so it is also about 5 years old. I have never overclocked my GPU or did mining, but I did play all sorts of games, from low demanding to very demanding AAA games.



I don't know about my friend's PSU and haven't tried using his GPU yet, but I will ask him.



I also did extra research about my problem and it looks like the exact problem I am facing is called 'artifacting'.

 

[drivinfast247]

I know I have a 700W non-modular PSU, but I am not exactly sure about the make. Mine looks like the WJCoolman from what I see online, but I will make sure later.



I have used the PSU since I got the GPU, so it is also about 5 years old. I have never overclocked my GPU or did mining, but I did play all sorts of games, from low demanding to very demanding AAA games.



I don't know about my friend's PSU and haven't tried using his GPU yet, but I will ask him.



I also did extra research about my problem and it looks like the exact problem I am facing is called 'artifacting'.

The VRAM on the GPU is failing.

 

[Ralston18]

FYI:

https://www.linkedin.com/advice/0/what-signs-vrm-failure-degradation-your-pc-skills-pc-building

Try using HWiNFO to delve into the details.

Some specific details may prove helpful.

 

[mc_spaceman]

the msi armour's were known for bad vram failures, typically caused from overheating issues.

have you ever unmounted the heatsync in the 5 years; to re-do the thermal pads and paste on the ram and processing chip? the dots and blocks are kind of a tell tale sign that the vram is in fact failing, i would start trying to find a replacement soon.

the 580 draws at a regular load about 190w of power, and upwards of 550w at peak load. i think you may have been under-powering it for quite some time, which in turn could have damaged the components. i would recommend upgrading to at least an 850w psu at minimum, semi or full modular so that it i forward compatible for a potential future build