#288133 - 14/10/2006 13:53
Graphics Corruption
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 18/01/2000
Posts: 5682
Loc: London, UK
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Is this (the attached) likely to be a driver problem, or an overheating problem?
Basically (and this happens in HL2 as well), at some point in the game, these big sheets of colour start appearing -- they each look like extrusions of some surface already in the game, and they appear and disappear as you move around in the game.
It's an nVidia GeForce 7900 GTX. Driver version is 6.14.10.9147 (Forceware 91.47).
Immediately after quitting the game, the nVidia control panel showed the temperature as 68C, which doesn't strike me as that hot. I guess that it could be measuring GPU temperature, and the VRAM could be hotter, though.
Attachments
288813-coh-gfx-corruption.png (173 downloads)
_________________________
-- roger
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#288134 - 14/10/2006 15:14
Re: Graphics Corruption
[Re: Roger]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 15/01/2002
Posts: 1866
Loc: Austin
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I've only ever seen that happen as a result of overheating. I'm sure it's possible that it might happen due to drivers, though. So, to sum up, my answer is nearly *shrug*.
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#288135 - 14/10/2006 15:39
Re: Graphics Corruption
[Re: Roger]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 20/01/2002
Posts: 2085
Loc: New Orleans, LA
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Seems to me to point to a video ram problem, with the possibility of overheating thrown in there.
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#288136 - 14/10/2006 15:40
Re: Graphics Corruption
[Re: Roger]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 19/01/2002
Posts: 3583
Loc: Columbus, OH
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I've had similar problems with drivers before, but on different hardware. One time I had to downgrade the driver to fix it. Eventually, a later upgraded version made the problem go away.
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~ John
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#288137 - 14/10/2006 21:14
Re: Graphics Corruption
[Re: Roger]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31578
Loc: Seattle, WA
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Quote:
Immediately after quitting the game, the nVidia control panel showed the temperature as 68C, which doesn't strike me as that hot.
Checking the control panel temp after exiting the game is not a valid way to check.
I use a program called "RivaTuner" which will graph both the core and the outboard temperature of the Nvidia video card for me, over time. So I can run it in the background while the game is running, and when I exit, see a clear graph of the last five minutes or so of gameplay.
When you exit the game, the temperature literally SHOOTS down to normal levels, so fast that even if you were Alt+tabbing to the windows display control panel, you wouldn't get a proper idea of where the temp was during the game.
Anyway, have a google for RivaTuner and see what your card is really doing.
About the graphics corruption: This is definitely vertexes being corrupted by RAM errors. That failure might very well be heat-induced. However, know this: I've run my Nvidia GeForce 6800 GT with the core temperature at or near 100 degrees centigrade for extended periods, with no ill effects. (Of all the games I've got, Far Cry seems to be the game that makes it the hottest.)
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#288138 - 15/10/2006 07:10
Re: Graphics Corruption
[Re: tfabris]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 18/01/2000
Posts: 5682
Loc: London, UK
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Quote:
That failure might very well be heat-induced. However, know this: I've run my Nvidia GeForce 6800 GT with the core temperature at or near 100 degrees centigrade for extended periods, with no ill effects.
Hmm. Potentially bad news, potentially good news. It only seems to go wrong after playing for a while, so it could be overheating (outside spec), or it could be a batch of VRAM that's oversensitive to the heat (i.e. inside spec).
As a data point, it only goes wrong after the game's been running for 10-15 minutes or so, which (to me) strongly suggests something heat-related.
I'll try that RivaTuner program and see what happens. I'll also try FarCry, and see if the same problem occurs.
_________________________
-- roger
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#288139 - 15/10/2006 07:38
Re: Graphics Corruption
[Re: Roger]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 18/01/2000
Posts: 5682
Loc: London, UK
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Quote:
I'll try that RivaTuner program and see what happens.
Assuming that I'm reading this thing correctly, I'm getting graphics corruption with a core temperature of only 58C. Not good.
Is my card hosed? Should I see about a warranty replacement?
_________________________
-- roger
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#288140 - 15/10/2006 11:09
Re: Graphics Corruption
[Re: tfabris]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 09/08/2000
Posts: 2091
Loc: Edinburgh, Scotland
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Looks cool - I'm having a google around, but does anyone know if there exists something similar for ATI?
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MkIIa, blue lit buttons, memory upgrade, 1Tb in Subaru Forester STi
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#288141 - 15/10/2006 13:21
Re: Graphics Corruption
[Re: frog51]
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enthusiast
Registered: 29/03/2005
Posts: 364
Loc: Probably lost somewhere in Wal...
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#288142 - 15/10/2006 13:35
Re: Graphics Corruption
[Re: frog51]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 18/01/2000
Posts: 5682
Loc: London, UK
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Quote:
if there exists something similar for ATI?
Windows has a perfectly functional and well-documented mechanism for tracking these things, in the form of WMI queries and PerfMon counters.
So why don't graphics card and motherboard vendors simply make all of this (temperatures, clock speeds) information available through the documented routes, rather than relying on people to knock up these utilities with crappy UI's, and patchy support?
</rant>
_________________________
-- roger
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#288143 - 15/10/2006 15:39
Re: Graphics Corruption
[Re: Roger]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 18/01/2000
Posts: 5682
Loc: London, UK
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Quote:
I'll try that RivaTuner program and see what happens.
I used RivaTuner to underclock the graphics card, and it seemed to sort out the stability, even with the higher temperature.
I should mention that I also nudged the resolution up to 1680x1050 (widescreen) from the default (1024x768) at the same time. However, if anything, this should have put more strain on the GPU, I'm thinking.
_________________________
-- roger
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#288144 - 15/10/2006 15:55
Re: Graphics Corruption
[Re: Roger]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31578
Loc: Seattle, WA
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Awesome. I'm glad you've got it sorted, and I'm glad RivaTuner could help.
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#288145 - 16/10/2006 05:16
Re: Graphics Corruption
[Re: tfabris]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 18/01/2000
Posts: 5682
Loc: London, UK
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Quote:
Awesome. I'm glad you've got it sorted
Oh, it ain't "sorted". The card's still broken, no?
_________________________
-- roger
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#288146 - 16/10/2006 06:22
Re: Graphics Corruption
[Re: Roger]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31578
Loc: Seattle, WA
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Yeah, but at least you know for sure what the problem was: A piece of RAM on the card which, when hot, doesn't keep up with the card's default clock speed. You've got a work around while they ship you a new card. (Assuming they will actually ship you a new card without having the other one back first. Some companies do that if you can give 'em a credit card number to secure the cross-ship.)
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