# My monitor is showing Green dots.



## Joseph Shield (Jul 21, 2005)

After installing a new Gainward 6800 GT card i found everything worked prefectly but 2 days later i installed a new game and the display started to show green dots flickering on icons and background. At a lower refresh rate the problem intensifies. Is this my monitor or a reaction to the new graphics card?


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## Raggedtoad (Mar 13, 2005)

Sounds like artifacting of some sort to me. Check to make sure the fan on the card is working correctly. Make sure it has good air flow (IE: there are no huge ribbon cables bumping up against the heatsink). Also, try turning off your computer and removing and reseating the card, making sure that little latch at the end of the AGP port is down all the way. Make sure you have the latest drivers from Nvidia. Post back and tell me if any of those things help!


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## Joseph Shield (Jul 21, 2005)

Just reseated the card and made sure the fans working. There is no difference. Also note that even in safe mode i suffer the same problems. I have the latest drivers from Nvidia. Could it be to do with my refresh rate on my monitor?


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## UncleMacro (Jan 26, 2005)

Does the problem appear in a screenshot or is it only visible on the monitor?


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## Joseph Shield (Jul 21, 2005)

Tried to screen shot it at a lower refresh rate but when i switched back to normal refresh rate it changed so i assume it is only on the monitor.


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## UncleMacro (Jan 26, 2005)

If the artifacts don't show up in saved screenshots (save some to be sure) then you probably have some kind of DAC output problem. I've seen people with that problem but I can't recall anyone resolving it. The few instances I've seen have been bad hardware. It's probably worth checking that your power supply voltages are okay (instructions here). But if the artifacts are on output rather than in the video RAM itself then I don't know what you could do about it. Since it happens in safe mode it has nothing to do with drivers. The only software which could affect it would be the video card's BIOS and the motherboard BIOS. You could flash those but I doubt it would have any effect. It's probably worth the effort to try the video card in another computer just to show that the problems go with the video card rather than anything else.


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## Joseph Shield (Jul 21, 2005)

The problem also stays when i reinstall my old card a geforce fx5500. the power supply is suitable for the card according to the manufacturers stats. I will have to find another computer to try the card in but i still dont think its that. Why do i have more display problems at a lower refresh rate?


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## UncleMacro (Jan 26, 2005)

> The problem also stays when i reinstall my old card a geforce fx5500.


That changes everything. If both video cards are doing it then it's not the DAC output on your new card. I'd take a careful look at your power supply voltages. An FX5500 doesn't suck up much power so it would have to be pretty bad to cause it. The other thing to try is to swap in a different monitor.


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## Joseph Shield (Jul 21, 2005)

Unfortuatly i dont have another monitor to hand but will have to borrow one from someone. My power supply is only DC output: 300W which is what is required i believe.


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## UncleMacro (Jan 26, 2005)

You can't just go by the wattage on a power supply. I've seen endless cases of people whose supplies claimed to provide enough power and then the power supply didn't actually deliver. And it's not just the wattage: it's how many amps it delivers on each rail. Running a 6800GT on a good 300 watt power supply is probably okay as long as it has a strong 12 volt rail but lots of supposedly 300 watt supplies couldn't handle it. I'd definitely fire up MBM or your motherboard utility (instructions) to check your voltages. If the problem is happening with both video cards then the power supply is a possible cause along with the monitor.


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## Joseph Shield (Jul 21, 2005)

Hmm. i think you may be right. EVEREST reads my typical power as only 80-100W with maximum only 150W. you reckon this could be the cause of the dodgy display?


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## UncleMacro (Jan 26, 2005)

It sounds like you're not looking in the right place iin Everest. On my machine you click the "+" to the left of "Computer" in the list on the left and then click "Sensor" in the sublist which opens up. The voltage values are what you need to check.


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## Joseph Shield (Jul 21, 2005)

they are 3.31 5.5 and 12.16V. Is that normal?


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## UncleMacro (Jan 26, 2005)

5.5 volts is way off. The 5 volt rail is supposed to be +-5% which means 4.75 to 5.25. Your other ones are just fine. The only problem is that you can't always trust the motherboard voltage ratings. The only way to be sure is to use a volt meter. If it's really 5.5 volts then I would replace the power supply even if it's not causing your monitor problem. Unfortunately when it comes to power supplies there's no way to be 100% sure that the PSU is the problem without swapping in a new one. If I was running a 6800GT I wouldn't try to use a 300 watt supply anyway unless I knew it was a very high-quality supply with a powerful 12 volt rail.

You could try running a game while watching your voltages and see if any of them change. If you voltages change very much then that suggests a bad power supply.


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## Joseph Shield (Jul 21, 2005)

But is that the source of my problems or just hindering me in a different way as i could run doom 3 with absoloutly no problems 2 days ago. Ah its 5.05 V.


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## UncleMacro (Jan 26, 2005)

> Ah its 5.05 V.


Oh... I was just thinking "I wonder if he miscopied it and it's really 5.05 volts?" I must be psychic.

Everything has a time to die. When it comes to electronics components, an especially good time to start sliding into the abyss is when they're really hot. That can happen to a power supply if you push it past its limit for too long. Something has changed in your system and you're just going to have to swap components until you find it.

The one software thing you could do is a system restore to a couple of days ago back when it was working in the off chance that some kind of software has affected it.


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## Joseph Shield (Jul 21, 2005)

Already done the system restore from a while back with no change. actually worse as back then as the display options had a lower refresh and the screen was unreadable. it seems odd that one day it was fine then i boot up try to install a game and the screen goes really funny. Computers are so frustrating.


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## UncleMacro (Jan 26, 2005)

Well... Everything's got to die sometime. It looks like your only option is to swap power supplies and monitors to try to find the culprit. While you're at it you might as well run MemTest86 and Prime95 to make sure your RAM and CPU are okay under stress. I doubt they're responsible but it's easier than swapping parts.


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## Joseph Shield (Jul 21, 2005)

Thanks will try another monitor but the one i got i only had since december same as the PSU. If they are knackered then they under warranty.


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## Joseph Shield (Jul 21, 2005)

So after all of you have read this can someone tell me why the problem is worse at a lower refresh rate?


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## Raggedtoad (Mar 13, 2005)

Well, good to know UncleMacro has been taking care of business. I'm back from a night on the town, so I would like to throw in my 10 cents. If I had to guess, I'd say that the monitor is the problem, especially since changing the refresh rate worsens the situation. Also, I'd say it is the monitor and not the graphics card because if the graphics card was causing the problem, it would have probably happened immediately after installation, and it would not happen with a different card, which it does. My guess as to why changing the refresh rate worsens the problem is because there is something messed up inside the monitor. Changing the refresh rate changes how fast the CRT guns are shot at the inside of your screen. This could mean that the green gun (as opposed to the red or blue ones) has gone haywire and is placing the wrong pixels in the wrong places. Slowing down this process probably just causes these misplaced pixels to be placed more often. Just a guess, though...

I also agree with UncleMacro in that you should replace your weak PSU with a better one even if it isn't currently causing problems. I know, I know, why fix it if it isn't broken? Trust me, though, I have had an underpowered PSU before and it took me forever to figure out what that electronic buzzing inside the computer was...

Finally, I'm surprised nobody has asked you this yet, but what kind of monitor do you have???


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## Joseph Shield (Jul 21, 2005)

I am useing a 17" TFT monitor by Fujisu-Siemems i believe. The code is EM-170 if that helps.


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## Raggedtoad (Mar 13, 2005)

Wait, is this an LCD (flat panel) monitor???


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## Joseph Shield (Jul 21, 2005)

The monitor is an LCD monitor yes. I have just changed monitors and the problem is solved. I have contacted the supplier and they will bring me a new one . Thanks for the help guys.


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## Raggedtoad (Mar 13, 2005)

Thought it was the monitor from the start. Nice to know we were some help!


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## Mack303 (Aug 29, 2009)

Just wanted to add my 2 cents. I had the same problem happen to me... I freaked! I was all over these threads. After a while, it turned out it was only a loose cord on my monitor from toting from the last lan party. HAHA :laugh:


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## bocaJwho (Aug 20, 2011)

Mack303 said:


> Just wanted to add my 2 cents. I had the same problem happen to me... I freaked! I was all over these threads. After a while, it turned out it was only a loose cord on my monitor from toting from the last lan party. HAHA :laugh:


This

I know this is a very old post, but I had a nearly identical problem to Mack 303. The solution:

*Tighten the cable connecting to the monitor* 

I felt so dumb - I have a 3x SLI set-up, so I had to go through every graphics card individually, and I was really panicking because none of them were working. I was about ready to start checking the system memory, but first I decided to make sure the monitor was OK. Turns out the DVI cable was just a little loose.

You might have a more complex problem, but this is such an easy check, it's worth taking 30 seconds to try. I registered an account just so I could share this with people.


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## swayzak_master (Jul 13, 2008)

man you saved my day... i was very worried and i am thinking that i played GTA TLAD all this time with those green dots flashing on my screen..


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