Graphics card problem?

Hey guys I don't know if you remember me posting a few months back when I was building my PC asking for advice but I have since then built a fairly decent budget PC and have been enjoying every bit of it. Although recently I've come across some problem that I can't seem to figure out.

So for a while now I've had these colored lines across my monitor that look somewhat distorted and different colors. I first experienced it with a VGA cable and figured, I'll switch cables and ended up getting a DVI & HDMI (My monitor had a HDMI port while my graphics card had a DVI port) So I was able to find a cable that came with both already and didn't need to use an adapter. The problem persisted. I've been trying to lower the refresh rates but it only seems to work temporarily and after a while they come back. I'm at a complete loss as to what to do and would greatly appreciate some help!

My monitor is a HF237 23 inch Hanspree Monitor, graphics card is a Sapphire 4650 512mb DDR2.

I think that's all the information relevant so I'll leave it at that. Thanks again.

have you tried using the monitor on a different computer? if you do and theres no problem then youre probably looking at a video card problem.

i wouldnt worry too much about messing with refresh rates and such, if you didnt mess with them in the first place and just used the default settings and didnt have problems before its unlikely that tweaking them now will make a difference.

Yes, eliminate the monitor as the problem then look at the video card. What are you video card temps when it acts up?

[quote name='Richard Longfellow']Yes, eliminate the monitor as the problem then look at the video card. What are you video card temps when it acts up?[/QUOTE]
That advice sounds good. It helps if you have more than one video card.

I read your problem relating your graphic card.
what i will suggest is try with some different monitor,and if this not work
try by changing your graphic card with other that support your mother board.
that's what i can suggest.


Thank you......

Hey guys I don't know if you remember me posting a few months back when I was.

I got home from work last night and went to wake up my PC and I couldn't open any programs, so I shut down and tried to restart but no matter what mode I tried starting in (safe etc.) it would auto-restart again at the windows loading screen. So I went ahead and re-installed windows, reinstalled my drivers, reinstalled WoW and now I'm able to load Windows fine but I am still getting the colored dots and letters upon start up. I also noticed these colored dots/patches now on my WoW loading screen and one time I even had a large bar of all sorts of colors (didn't look good) behind my character on my character select screen. I also can't stay logged into WoW for more than 10 seconds now as well, if that helps figure this out at all.

Have you tried using your MoBo's graphics card?

I would venture to say it's either the graphic card (as you suspect) or a virus. When you re-installed Windows did you format your hard drive and start anew or did you just erase Windows and re-installed it? Most of the time a format and re-install will get rid of a virus even when your anti-virus program can't. The fastest way to check out a video card is the switch it with another if you have one available. If not, you might pull out the card and take it to your local computer repair shop, or maybe the Geek Squad at Best Buy will check it for you.
However, it would be more efficient to check by switching with another card in your computer in case there's is something else in your system causing the problem and not the video card.

Alright sorry for the late response but I've been caught up with work and class. . Anyways, I changed my display to my on board graphics instead of my 4650 and everything is completely fine. I also was getting those pixels on my boot up screen which I thought was something to do with my monitor but apparently it was not.

So the question is, what do I do now? Is there no choice but to RMA it or what? I hope it doesn't come down to that cause I sense I'd have to wait like 6 to 8 weeks or something crappy ;(. Then again I've never had to send something back before.. Thanks again for your time guys .

Yes, I'd RMA and hope for the best. It may take a while, sorry about that. Unless of course you're looking to upgrade

This happened to me way back when I had a Geforce 4. Turns out the fan fell off of the card and it was too hot.

It might be something as simple as overheating. I'd try reseating the card and run the comp with the side panel off to make sure the fans are running and make sure there's airflow in that area, before you go the RMA route.

Kinda reminds me of the problem I ran into a while ago with my 7900GT, it was a bad video card in my case: