# my computer is having a seizure



## bretto_18 (Jun 18, 2008)

i was on a forum i frequent last night and all of a sudden my screen starts to go wonky. there was no bang or sound at all, my computer was normal temperature. so i was like uh, something must've gone wrong with my monitor. 

when i take a screenshot nothing weird shows up in it, so i'll try to explain it here. when running a high resolution there are these weird horizontal waves that shake the screen. at lower resolutuion (800x600) the waves are a lot smaller and more compact, so its easier to read text, and gives me less of a headache.

you'd think it was something wrong with my monitor, but i tried another one and the same thing happened. the next logical thing i thought was my video card, so i updated the drivers, but its still the same (maybe even a little bit worse but probaly not, and i can't really tell). my card is pretty crappy, its an ati radeon xpress 200 series, and it's integrated into my motherboard or something, so i'm not sure if i can remove it (maybe i'm wrong)

i've had my the desktop for about 3 years or so, never had a problem like this at all


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

can you borrow a video card to try in it


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## bretto_18 (Jun 18, 2008)

i can try that i guess, but right now i have an "onboard" video card, so wouldnt i have to take that out somehow before putting in the other one?

ps. i downloaded a program called speedfan, and it looks like something's really hot..









is that my videocard, and would that be what's causing the problem?


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## bretto_18 (Jun 18, 2008)

k i read up on how to disable my onboard card, nevermind that. i might buy a cheap video card (i have another computer but it has an onboard card as well) in the next few days.. hopefully they will take the new one back if that doesn't fix the problem

but if anyone else has any ideas please post em


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

see what this gives you
http://pc-wizard-2008.en.softonic.com/
what
video card
cpu
m/board
power supply
brand
wattage
are you running

check your tempretures and voltages in the bios and post them


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## bretto_18 (Jun 18, 2008)

i guess i should add that even when the computer is booting up i have the same problem. for example, looking in the BIOS settings, i still get the shaky screen. if it was my video card that was the problem would it still affect this or just when windows loads?

edit: sorry dai, didn't see your last post.. i will check those stats right now


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## bretto_18 (Jun 18, 2008)

here's those stats:

video card: ATI Xpress 200
cpu: AMD Athlon 64 3500+
m/board: micro-star ms-7184 -------not sure if this is the right name
power supply: hipro hp-p3527f3
brand: computer brand? emachines
wattage: 300w max power supply

bios temps:
34/31 celcius

the only voltages i found were for the fans, and they seemed to be working fine:
they were something like 15/8/3 for high/med/low
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dunno if those are the stats you wanted, but i did my best


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

emachines is enough
the psu needs to be supplying 26amps on the 12v+ line


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## bretto_18 (Jun 18, 2008)

so how do i find how many amps are being supplied on the 12v+ line? can i find that info in BIOS somehow, or do i get a meter to test it?

and does this sound like a power supply issue rather than a video card issue now?

also, what's the answer to this question:
"when the computer is booting up i have the same problem. for example, looking in the BIOS settings, i still get the shaky screen. if it was my video card that was the problem would it still affect this or just when windows loads?"


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

take the side off the computer and look at the label on the side of the psu


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## bretto_18 (Jun 18, 2008)

not sure if i'm looking in the right spot, but..

+12v _ /16A

is what it says, except where i have the underscore there's some symbol

that's the only 12 i could find on the side besides a -12v


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

yes that's the one nowhere near enough for pcie
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004&Tpk=corsair+550w


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## bretto_18 (Jun 18, 2008)

odd, though.. i've had the computer for about 3 years and never had a problem with the power supply. what would go wrong with it that would all of a sudden cause my screen to shake constantly?

do you think that new power supply should fix the problem or that i should upgrade my power supply regardless?


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

it needs upgrading and then see where you stand


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