# [SOLVED] Weird colored pixels on my screen



## Fizban140

This morning my computer started doing some strange stuff, when I was looking at a web page it looked like it was artifacting sort of, yellow green and red pixels were sort of blocked together on random parts of the screen. 

I turned my computer off, felt the heatsink on my card and it wasn't hot at all. I replaced the VGA cable with a DVI cable and still had the same problem. Later it got even worse, the screen kept going black then turning back on a little later with the weird pixels.

I turned my computer off and reseated my graphics card and then turned it back on (it still wasn't hot) and it hasn't turned off since. All that has happened so far is some yellow pixels on my desktop that won't go away (only the desktop so far). 

Could this be artifacting? I use to have a problem with my video card overheating but I got a PCI slot fan and that fixed the problem.

Oh I am almost forgot system specs.
I have Windows XP, 3200+ 64 AMD proc, BFGtech 6800 video card, 2 gigs of RAM.


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## dai

*Re: Weird colored pixels on my screen*

you left the most important spec out
the power supply
it sounds like the ram on your video card is on it's way out


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## Fizban140

*Re: Weird colored pixels on my screen*

420 watt Thermaltake, and if it is my video card then I don't think I will ever buy a BFGTech again, it only lasted 2 years.


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## dai

*Re: Weird colored pixels on my screen*

when you run underpowered it causes heat this heat can destroy the ram and eventually the psu will give up and go and can take most of the computer with it
if you are running pcie it does not supply enough amps on the 12v+ line 
it barely supplies enough to run an agp card


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## Fizban140

*Re: Weird colored pixels on my screen*



dai said:


> when you run underpowered it causes heat this heat can destroy the ram and eventually the psu will give up and go and can take most of the computer with it
> if you are running pcie it does not supply enough amps on the 12v+ line
> it barely supplies enough to run an agp card


Well thankfully it is AGP, I originally bought it for my Radeon 9800 (I think that was it). Would you reccomend getting a new PSU or should I wait this one out?


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## dai

*Re: Weird colored pixels on my screen*

it is a low quality supply only the toughpower are classed as quality
check your voltages and tempretures in the bios to see if they are within spec
see if a friend will try the card in their computer to see if it is the card


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## Fizban140

*Re: Weird colored pixels on my screen*

How do you know if a PSU is low quality or high quality?

This is what was on my hardware monitor screen in BIOS

CPU fan speed 0 RPM (its spinning though)
NB Fan speed 5265 RPM
Sys Temp 31C/87F
CPU Temp 42C/107F
Vcore 1.34V
+3.3V 3V
+12.0V 11.61V
+5.0V 5V
Battery 2.96V
+5VSB 5.02V


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## jb_

*Re: Weird colored pixels on my screen*

Artifacts are usually the memory on the card failing. Don't blame the brand of the card either, they're virtually all made in the same factory, you'll probably even find that card has Hynix or Samsung memory. You could try underclocking the memory and see if it improves.

It may also be your monitor failing though, LCDs tend to do weird things sometimes, hard to tell by your description though.


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## Fizban140

*Re: Weird colored pixels on my screen*

Well it is doing it again, weird colored dots all over the screen and the monitor keeps turning off it seems to be getting worse so I think I will have to buy a new PSU and video card.


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## Fizban140

*Re: Weird colored pixels on my screen*

Here is a screenshot of my desktop.


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## 1 g0t 0wn3d

*Re: Weird colored pixels on my screen*



Fizban140 said:


> How do you know if a PSU is low quality or high quality?
> 
> This is what was on my hardware monitor screen in BIOS
> 
> CPU fan speed 0 RPM (its spinning though)
> NB Fan speed 5265 RPM
> Sys Temp 31C/87F
> CPU Temp 42C/107F
> Vcore 1.34V
> +3.3V 3V
> +12.0V 11.61V
> +5.0V 5V
> Battery 2.96V
> +5VSB 5.02V



Yep thats dieing, and the lines are ether caused by the power supply or bad video ram (caused by the powewr suppply)


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## dai

*Re: Weird colored pixels on my screen*

your 12v line is close to being out of spec
http://www.techsupportforum.com/f210/power-supply-information-and-selection-192217.html


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## Fizban140

*Re: Weird colored pixels on my screen*

Well that is depressing, thanks for the info though. Any recomendations on a PSU? Maybe something that I can use in a new computer I plan on building sometimes in the next year. Just to get an idea of how many watts I would need, how much would an average medium to high end computer with SLI/crossfire need?

I was looking at some of the recommended ones and they are about $200 which seems like a ton of money for a PSU, so I was thinking maybe I should just get a cheaper one that would be good enough for now until I make a new computer.


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## jb_

*Re: Weird colored pixels on my screen*

Enermax. A 450ish would be ample for that system.

If you're wanting to keep it to use with your next system, you might want to go for something like a 620w Enermax Liberty. Depends on what you're going to upgrade to.


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## Fizban140

*Re: Weird colored pixels on my screen*

I am not sure what I want to upgrade to, but I don't want to upgrade yet because I use my PC mostly for gaming and there aren't any PC games worth upgrading for, for at least a while. When I do make a new computer though I want to make a higher end budget computer, that might not make much sense but it is usually what I do. Buy slightly older/not quite top end hardware. So I have no idea what that would be in a year from now, but what would a top end computer now need for watts?


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## jb_

*Re: Weird colored pixels on my screen*

Well there's top end, then there is just wasting money. A 620w would run a Core 2 Quad, 8800GTX and a bunch of drives. But if you're going for something like a QX9770, SLI 8800 Ultras, huge raid arrays with 8 drives, fans, peltier cooling etc, you'd need upwards of 1000 watts.


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## Fizban140

*Re: Weird colored pixels on my screen*



jb_ said:


> Well there's top end, then there is just wasting money. A 620w would run a Core 2 Quad, 8800GTX and a bunch of drives. But if you're going for something like a QX9770, SLI 8800 Ultras, huge raid arrays with 8 drives, fans, peltier cooling etc, you'd need upwards of 1000 watts.


I was looking at a more practical "top end", not really looking to waste money. Would it be a good investment to buy a quality PSU now for a computer I plan on building a while from now? How long would a good PSU last?


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## jb_

*Re: Weird colored pixels on my screen*

Not sure, never really seen a good quality PSU fail from old age. I've seen a few fail, but they failed because they had a fault or from band input power, I'm talking failing within 6 months, and that's just what happens with computer gear.

The warranties on Enermax are 3 years I believe, so it should at least last that long.

Edit: Yes if you plan on upgrading in the near future, save the environment and yourself some cost by getting a better one now. The PSU I'm using was massive overkill before my last upgrade but it suits my current spec fine. Unless of course you want to sell your old machine, you can't do that so easily without a PSU. I kept all my old hard drives, case etc.


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## Fizban140

*Re: Weird colored pixels on my screen*

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703009
How is this?


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## jb_

*Re: Weird colored pixels on my screen*

PC P&C is a very good brand. That should power just about all of todays systems, even an 8800GTX SLI setup.


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## Fizban140

*Re: Weird colored pixels on my screen*



jb_ said:


> PC P&C is a very good brand. That should power just about all of todays systems, even an 8800GTX SLI setup.


Thank you, just for an idea how will it hold up in a few years for high end? Will watt usage go up a lot? Oh and I just bought that PSU, thanks for the help.


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## jb_

*Re: Weird colored pixels on my screen*

I'd say so. You're not really going to get much better quality than that. I've seen some modern high end PSUs advertised as being rated for a 100% load 24/7 duty cycle. If they say that in their advertising material they must have pretty good faith that it can handle it.

It's really only generic PSUs that don't last well.


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## Fizban140

*Re: Weird colored pixels on my screen*

I bought that PSU and at first it wouldn't fit in my case so I had to turn it upside down, and then it has a 24 pin connector and my mobo only takes 20 pin is there anything I can do?


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## 1 g0t 0wn3d

*Re: Weird colored pixels on my screen*

the 4 pins will hang off on one side the clip should line up though


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## Fizban140

*Re: Weird colored pixels on my screen*



1 g0t 0wn3d said:


> the 4 pins will hang off on one side the clip should line up though


Is that ok? Should I cover the exposed pins?


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## jb_

*Re: Weird colored pixels on my screen*

They wont contact anything and they have plastic around them, only the very end is exposed. You can buy 24 to 20 pin adapters if you're concerned.


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## Fizban140

*Re: Weird colored pixels on my screen*



jb_ said:


> They wont contact anything and they have plastic around them, only the very end is exposed. You can buy 24 to 20 pin adapters if you're concerned.


Alright thanks, one more concern though. I have 5 fans and the PSU comes with no connectors for them, but my mobo has 2 two of them. They are the tiny 3 pin ones, what should I do?


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## Fizban140

*Re: Weird colored pixels on my screen*

Also, I just checked my hardware monitor in my BIOS and the 12V is about 11.67 and 5 is 4.84 but there arent any weird pixels.


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## jb_

*Re: Weird colored pixels on my screen*

Motherboards aren't very accurate at reading the voltages in most cases but that looks pretty far out. A 200w PSU shouldn't be anywhere near a system that has a 7600GS (assuming other components are of similar spec).

Any new PSU will have at least a few 4 pin molex connectors for your fans, and you can daisy chain them as fans usually have another female connector on them.


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## Fizban140

*Re: Weird colored pixels on my screen*



jb_ said:


> Motherboards aren't very accurate at reading the voltages in most cases but that looks pretty far out. A 200w PSU shouldn't be anywhere near a system that has a 7600GS (assuming other components are of similar spec).
> 
> Any new PSU will have at least a few 4 pin molex connectors for your fans, and you can daisy chain them as fans usually have another female connector on them.


I got this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703009
and I cant find any of the molex connectors, also my fans are pretty cheap so they only have a single female.


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## dai

*Re: Weird colored pixels on my screen*

nice psu it has 8 molex connectors


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## jb_

*Re: Weird colored pixels on my screen*

This is what your fans plug into right?










That's a nice PSU by the way, but it's way overkill. Still, you should at least be able to use it with your next upgrade.


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## Fizban140

*Re: Weird colored pixels on my screen*

Ya I knew it would be overkill, but I wanted something I can upgrade with. And no my fans don't have that type of connector. Mine look like the ones in this picture http://www.newegg.com/Product/ShowI...MASTER+R4-L8S-182B-GP+4+BLUE+LED+LED+Case+Fan

I didn't know the name of the so I just called them molex lol.


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## jb_

*Re: Weird colored pixels on my screen*

Oh, those are the ones that plug into the motherboard fan headers. You can buy adapters that let you plug them into a molex though.


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## Fizban140

*Re: Weird colored pixels on my screen*

I can't believe I didn't think of this before, my old PSU has a bunch on it.


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## jb_

*Re: Weird colored pixels on my screen*

So is your problem solved now?


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## Fizban140

*Re: Weird colored pixels on my screen*



jb_ said:


> So is your problem solved now?


Ya, thanks a lot for the help everyone.


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