Lines and dots showing on display

prizna · 09 Aug 2013

It seems like I keep having one problem after the other, recently I have noticed lines and dots on my display, I have noticed this issue more on gradients.

Here is an example image of what I am talking about:

The image is of the background in my Steam client (this does not only happen in Steam), notice the dots towards the bottom of the image as well as the horizontal lines.

My monitor is a BenQ E2420HD connected by HDMI, I am using a Nvidia GTX 580 with the latest drivers installed, I have tried reinstalling my graphics drivers but it has made no difference.

thanks,

maxie · 10 Aug 2013

Hi there .. You have stated that you have had other problems ? If you have On-board Graphics. do a test using that .. To be honest i do not see any lines or dots in your screenshot . But as i dont have the best of eye sight it could be just me.

prizna · 10 Aug 2013

About the previous problems, I was just saying that as it feels like I have been posting here a lot lately, all my other issues have been resolved

The lines which I see are the type of 'banding' that you would get in a gradient that is not smooth.

I have an on-board graphics card, what would be the best way to disable my Nvidia card so that only my on-board card is running, I can't just disable it through device manager while it is in use can I.

thanks,

maxie · 10 Aug 2013

Hi there .. Reading from your system specs you have a Desktop .. Should be easy enough to take the card out . You might need a Driver for the On- Board though .. The Motherboards website should have that

Faladu · 10 Aug 2013

I suggest you get GPU-Z from cpuid.com and monitor the graphics card temps.

First thing to do is replace the cable from the video card to the monitor. [Standard]

Check video card's fans, clean them, and consider taking off the heatsink/fan and replacing the paste with Arctic MX-4.
[no power to the card while you do any of this :)]

Buy a paste cleaning kit plus the MX-4, cost is under $20 total, plenty for multiple uses down the road.

If it's still giving you lines and such even with multiple driver versions attempted, then it's likely the video card.

Was it ever overclocked?
It's ultimately a disposable part, unfortunately, but the major expense one if a gamer.

System scan for viruses too, while you are at it.

prizna · 11 Aug 2013

I have just tested with a new HDMI cable and it has made no difference, I will be able to test the monitor on another computer soon to see if the problem occurs on a different system.

One thing I have noticed though, this happens on both my new and my old HDMI, if I bump the HDMI cable my display turns off (loses signal) for about 5 seconds before turning back on.

EDIT: I tested my monitor on another PC and dont get the problem, so it seems that it isn't my monitor, I guess that means that I need to start looking at my GPU.

maxie · 12 Aug 2013

Hi there Did you not test with the On-board Graphics ? I would also suggest you should follow Faladu post he has given you excellent advice there .. If this was my Computer my main priority would be to get it up and running again

prizna · 12 Aug 2013

Update

I followed Faladu's post but I don't feel comfortable removing the heatsink myself, so all I really have been able to do is replace the HDMI and monitor it with GPU-Z (everything was fine), my card has never been overclocked.

When using my on-board graphics card I don't get the dots, I also found that if I use the DVI ports (instead of the HDMI port) for my gtx 580, I don't get the dots, so It seems that the problem is with my HDMI port.

thanks,