XFX 9600GT Question

[agentphish]

I need some advice here... I purchased an XFX 9600GT 512mb card about 3 weeks ago for a new system build.

The system is nothing special, I'm not looking to overclock or anything, just some light gaming here and there and management of my media. 2.33ghz c2d 4mb cache, 4gb ram, Intel motherboard DG31PR, 2x 500gb SATAII drives, 20x SATA burner and the previously mentioned vid card. 600w OCZ StealthXtremePSU.

On two separate occasions now, on in XP 64-bit and one in XP 32-bit I have come across significant artifacts on the screen. They don't just sit there, rather they flicker, quite quickly, like maybe 1/4 of a second. It almost looks like snow on a television, but not nearly as intense, nor does it have that sort of blanket coverage over the screen. At the same time, the screen will go dark for a few seconds at a time.

It was suggested that I try reinstalling the driver, so I did, direct from nvidia. One was the driver that was out when I got the card 3 weeks ago, and then the second time with the nVidia driver released April 1. This seemed to make the issue go away both times.

I am wondering why this could happen, and what might be a solution or if i should return the card or what.

Thanks!

[Radiator]

Well... if the issue is gone , then it was in the drivers . I personally never trust the drivers that come with the CD , to be honest .

[Sunny]

I would just use the most updated drivers. I don't use drivers from the cd either as they aren't usually the most up to date version.

You also get artifacts from your graphics card getting hot. So you can also try boosting the fan speed up to give it a bit more cooling.

[agentphish]

Thanks for the responses guys, to clarify:

I never used the driver from the CD. I never said that I did. So I doubt that could have anything to do with it. I've personally never used a driver from a cd either!

I should have been more clear and stated that the computer had not been on for longer than the time it takes to boot up when this occurred.

When it has happened, it starts in the second between when the Windows XP boot screen disappears and the Windows XP login screen disappears.

Further comment?

[Radiator]

Well... what were the temperatures on it?

[agentphish]

Didn't have nTune installed so I couldn't check...But I would have to think that the temps couldn't just jump to dangerous enough level to cause what I saw, just after I had turned the system on.

I mean literally, it had been sitting off for a day or two both times. I don't use it every day.

[Radiator]

Well , then I'm still guessing drivers are the culprit . Of course you could send it to the warranty thing or whatever it is ... and see if they can fix it , if there is something wrong with the hardware .
Maybe it was just your PSU ? How many watts on it , how many amps on the 12V rail .

[Casecutter]

If your saying it isn’t coming back this may or may not confirm nor refute any findings but it can’t hurt and it’s simple. As it’s a new mobo and card, have you tried reseating it? Since it happened vary quickly in the boot sequence it might not have made a good contact, although it is at this point. Power down completely (flip the switch or pull the plug) and be sure to ground yourself properly and then pull it and reseat it firmly.
Sure it sounds crazy but what the heck, I go simple and basics before all else in a fresh build.

[agentphish]

Radiator - As in 1st paragraph of my original post, the PSU is a 600W OCZ SteathXtreme.
Not sure how the rails are. Need to check.

Anyways, I haven't seen the problem in about a week and a half.

I had reseated the card twice just to make sure, after the first time.

I do have a question in to XFX right now...it's been 3 days since i submitted it on their site and haven't heard anything back...the status still says "with a technician" which means no one has looked at it yet.

[Radiator]

Well ... if the problem comes back , then it would be a bit easier to check , I suppose . Til' then , just enjoy the card .

[Duesco]

Based on Newegg's specs, the PSU has four 12V rails, each with 18A. That should be enough power to run Omaha...

[agentphish]

Yea, everything I found on newegg said it was a fine PSU and for what I'm powering/doing with the system it doesn't seem like I should have any problems.

There are pretty much nothing but positive reviews on the PSU. People on another board were badmouthing it saying it was an unstable/unreliable PSU, but that's not what I'm finding unless this is an issue related to an unsteady power source to my 9600, but I guess there's no way to know that really.

[Headfoot]

Worst comes to worst, RMA it to be safe.