Solved GTX 260 artifacts and freezes during games

[DarkFang]

I recently purchased an EVGA GTX 260 and I've been having some problems with it.

When I was playing Starcraft II, I noticed the top left of the screen was in the bottom right, and it had some artifacts. Shortly after, it froze and I had to restart my computer. That happened twice. The third time I was playing Counter-Strike: Source and I alt-tabbed to my Firefox window, and my screen went blank. I had to restart after that as well. I also see artifacts every once in a while on the desktop.

I've removed and reinstalled the drivers three different times. What could it be?

I recently purchased a new power supply because the old one didn't have enough 6-pin connectors for my video card. Not sure if that has anything to do with it.

OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
CPU: AMD Phenom II x4 940 @ 3.00GHz
Memory: 4GB DDR2 G.Skill
Motherboard: ECS A780GM-A
Power Supply: OCZ ZT Series 750W

 

[badger906]

it could jsut be a faulty GPU, some just come out the factory that way.

It could also be RAM though, so do some memory tests and run 1 stick at a time ect.

 

[DarkFang]

I'll contact EVGA today and see if they can do anything.

 

[thefabe]

Was this purchased new?

Heat can be an issue.

Did you run this card without both 6 pin connectors plugged in?

Evga has a great warranty progam, and as long as you have registered it and have the proper documentaion they can help you out.

Fabe

 

[mrwearysinner]

well theres a chance it came like that..im using XFX GTX 260..and its a delight.
as the others have said..if bought new..contact EVGA.

 

[M1GU31]

you didn't happen to overclock it? that happen to me when i went overboard with the over clock on my ati card and i had to fix it in safe mode by removing the drivers loool now i know my limit on oc XD

 

[DarkFang]

Yes it was purchased new.

The heat never went above 50°C. I don't even think it went above 45°C.

Yes both 6 pin connectors were plugged in.

Nope, never OC'd it. It came like this.

 

[DarkFang]

I just noticed the card is PCI Express 2.0 x16. My board is only a PCI Express x16. Would that be causing the problem?

 

[badger906]

shouldnt cause an issue. pci express is backwards compatible

 

[mrwearysinner]

iv looked around and it seems sometimes the recent NVIDIA drivers malfunction try uninstalling the recent one and install the previous version..which might be more stable..NVIDIA drivers are prone to having glitches rather than ATI drivers..though im a fan of NVIDIA still

 

[alphanumeric]

I just noticed the card is PCI Express 2.0 x16. My board is only a PCI Express x16. Would that be causing the problem?

I've been running my GT220 on an Asus M4N68T-M V2 and an M2N68-AM SE2, I'm pretty sure both are only PCI 1.0, and playing games with no problems. I would expect low FPS not artifacts if the slower bus was a problem. Try re seating the card and make sure the cooling fan is running OK. My first GT220 had a noisy fan that didn't run at full speed and I had issues like you are having. Lockups and artifacts. I actually went though two replacements before I got one that worked OK. The fan didn't run at all on the second one. Third times a charm I guess, I'm still using it, its probably close to 2 years old now. I'm getting itchy to replace it with something better though.

 

[DarkFang]

iv looked around and it seems sometimes the recent NVIDIA drivers malfunction try uninstalling the recent one and install the previous version..which might be more stable..NVIDIA drivers are prone to having glitches rather than ATI drivers..though im a fan of NVIDIA still

I've received another one. I used the recent drivers and it doesn't cause any problems. I suppose it was the card.

 

[alphanumeric]

Its been my experience that once you start getting artifacts the card is already damaged and it only goes down hill after that. It usually gets worse not better no matter what you do. Driver problems usually end up being a BSOD or lockups. Hopefully its smooth sailing now that you have a new card.