Frequent Video Explosion of Colors

[Wesablo]

Hey, Ive got a video problem where the whole screen randomly becomes an explosion of colors or becomes very fuzzy and basically freezes. This has happened a few times before, but its very persistent now after i've tried to play the game WoW. This problem happens even in the midst of starting up sometimes too. I usually just shutdown, and fiddle with the IDE cables because that seems to have an effect on it sometimes, and then try starting up again until it will actually go through without this stupid problem happening. And sometimes, when I try to start up the comp emits a very high pitch constant beep until I turn it off again, and I have no idea what that is. Id like to point out that I recently DL'ed the latest nvidia drivers(163.71_forceware_winxp_32bit_english_whql.exe) just before all this happened because I already have some persistent flickering-type video problems when I play any video game which is also very annoying and I don't know how to fix that either. I have an Asus Geforce 6800GT. Any information or help would be very greatly appreciated, thanks very much.
~Wes

 

[Wesablo]

anyone? this is during all games, btw

 

[Cinders]

Your video card is dieing. It is now time to lay it to rest and aquire a yonger model for your deviant pleasure. At least you have a PCI-E video card (I think) so there are many newer cheaper cards that will do a faster job of rendering game video for you at a reduced price. If you're looking for bang for the buck and have at least a 450 watt power supply I'd go with a Radeon X1950Pro.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102075

 

[Wesablo]

hey thanks a lot for the reply, i appreciate it - but i dunno, i think you might be right because this has happened before, and i RMA'd it and received it pretty recently, and this card is actually the refurbished one and "supposed" to be good now....and before i got the RMA'd card back, before it started messing up the first time, these problems were not so prominent. so i think you might be right, but that would mean Asus didn't really do such a great job - that, or theres something in my comp that eats vid cards? heh, is that possible? (like low power supply wattage, perhaps?)

ah, i overlooked your "450 watt" suggestion there....i think mine is 400, but its an Ultra power supply that was used when i bought it if i recall correctly

 

[Cinders]

The answer to all your questions is yes. Colored lines or blocks in a video card especially as your computer boots is a sign of a failing card. And you could have a video card killer with your Ultra. You could check the voltages with Everest. I honestly don't like Ultra and steer clear of that brand at all times. I have three Antec PSUs and none of them have giver me as much as a hiccup.

 

[Wesablo]

well i looked on the side and it says that the ultra is 500W, but obviously there is a problem still and i dunno wat the hell to do - i dont wanna waste money on a new PSU if thats not the prob...just one last inquiry if you will - is there any way to check the life of a PSU, like to know if i should replace it or not? and if not, you think i should just try to RMA that damned 6800GT again? those bastards at asus dont seem to be doing a good job with warranties...oh well, i appreciate the help

ps. oh ya, and i was lookin at some affordable PSUs and i was thinking about this one if i end up buying one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182016

one last qustion is, how do i know if PSU "X" will fit in the slot i have now?

 

[Cinders]

That Rosewill is about the same as Ultra. Don't bother with it. Download/install/run Everest, and then click the Sensor icon under Computer. You'll see the voltages your PSU is feeding to your motherboard, or at least you'll see the voltages your motherboard reports it's getting. Each voltage should be within 10% of the expected voltage. So the 3.3 voltage should be between 3.63-2.97 the 5 volt should between 5.5-4.5 and the 12 volt should be between 13.2-10.8. As long as your voltages are OK your video card should be OK.

Just because I don't like Ultra doesn't mean you need to buy a new PSU. It may just work well for you.

 

[Wesablo]

hmmmm ok, well the 3.3V=3.28 so thats good, and the 12V=12.35 so thats good - but the CPU Core=1.41 so i dunno if thats bad..


the DIMM=2.61V and
the GPU Info= 1.39 V//3.30V//1.53V//2.35V dunno if that says anything

 

[Wesablo]

Just because I don't like Ultra doesn't mean you need to buy a new PSU. It may just work well for you.

hah ya thats tru, and it seems to be working good according to your nice screenshots there.....but i dunno, if its not the PSU then what the hell...

 

[Wesablo]

comp's messssed

well, now my comp wont start correctly at all - whenever i turn it on it only goes to a totally color blurred screen and wont go any further....it sounds like it's starting up like normal, but the picture is completely messed and obviously its pretty f***ed