Artifacting? Video Card going bad? Or something else?

[ITGL72]

Well, my P4 3ghz machine that I use for my wife is beginning to artifact. I'm looking at the temp on the GPU around 50 right now and it is still doing it. I pulled out the card, and ram, went through and reseated them and vaccuumed out any dust to see if that would help.



Check the pics below to see what it looks like. Any suggestions? Is it finally going bad? Definitly a video card? I dont think its the LCD monitor.





Pic 1:

http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm165/itgl72/Busted%20Parts/DSC_1804.jpg



Pic 2:

http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm165/itgl72/Busted%20Parts/DSC_1814.jpg



Let me know what you think.

[Stoney]

It looks like what my card was doing before it died, so I would say it is artifacting. Is your fan working correctly? Are you able to gauge the fan speed? It might be salvageable if you can change the stock fan out and replace it.

But it might be wiser to get a new one. There are some great deals out there.

How old is it and what is the make and model of the card + specs?

[ITGL72]

Its an ATI 9800XT. I got it back in, what I guess 2005? 2004? So it has some time on it. Its possible its going after years of abuse. It used to be my gaming PC but was demoted to wife's PC last year.

The temp doesnt look too bad. I have a program monitoring it, and its under 60 degrees. I see the fan moving. Can' gaugeif its 2000 rpm or 9000 rpm but it seems to be moving fine.

The thing is, it does it when you first turn the PC on as well. Or within a few minutes once I start mousing and clicking around.

[mjc]

99% sure it is the video card...but double check things like connections, especially if you are using any adapters on the cable.

[jlreich]

99% sure it is the video card...but double check things like connections, especially if you are using any adapters on the cable.
Agreed. ;)

[WSS]

Video cards memory is shot.

[bonobo]

I'm having a similar problem:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/33464111@N00/2527725530/sizes/l/

The crazy thing is though I tried a different graphics card and saw the same problem. I currently suspect my motherboard and am in the process of purchasing a new one.

[WSS]

Try running with the side of the pc case open?

Do u get the same results? (I'm trying to rule case temps out as a possible problem first.)

[bonobo]

I've tried running the computer with the side off and a window fan blowing into it. Didn't seem to make a difference. The GPU temperatures seem fine, usually around 40.

Here's more information about the problem I'm having:

http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?t=66182

[minus-sign]

shot memory. AGP slot right? You can get those cheap as heck.

[WSS]

An easy way to totally rule out the vid card would be to borrow an agp video card and try it in the same agp slot.