Subtle horizontal lines/waves on monitor

ComputerGod91

Posts: 68   +0
[FONT=verdana]So I just built my new comp and I notice these very subtle line/waves going up and down the screen or maybe jittering in position. Its not like a solid line though its like lighter and darker light. It happens in Starcraft 2 (almost none existent, only see them in certain situations), Civ V (on the main menu and in game when I'm over water its easier to see), and in Minecraft (only really obvious when the inventory screen is open.[/FONT]
[FONT=verdana]I'm not sure how to explain it so hopefully someone will understand me. I don't know if its the new GPU I just put in though. I noticed it in Civ V with my other GPU in but it was a lot more subtle then it is now. With the old GPU though I only ever saw it in Civ and they seemed to freeze up with the lag too. So if everything was lagging on screen those light lines would stop and go with the game. I turned on V sync in both SC2 and Civ V still notice them in Civ. Thought I saw then when I was at the desktop but Im not 100% sure on that.[/FONT]
[FONT=verdana] [/FONT]
[FONT=verdana]My specs:[/FONT]
[FONT=verdana]Windows 7 64 bit[/FONT]
[FONT=verdana]600gb Harddrive[/FONT]
[FONT=verdana]8gb RAM[/FONT]
[FONT=verdana]Radeon HD 7850[/FONT]
[FONT=verdana]750 watt PSU[/FONT]
[FONT=verdana]ASRock Z77 Mobo[/FONT]
[FONT=verdana]Intel Core i5 3570K @ 3.4Ghz[/FONT]
 
What kind of monitor and how old is it? Sounds like what would happen on the old CRT monitors! Also, have you tried adjusting the display settings, etc?
 
That's what I was saying to my friends when I was trying to explain it to them. Its a 32 inch Vizio TV. It's plugged into the VGA input which is the PC input for it. Its not that old, maybe 6 months max. No I haven't messed with the settings since I setup them up initially. I'm not sure what I could switch to fix it.

Could it be a sign of the GPU being faulty? If so I want to find out ASAP so I can return it to newegg before its too late
 
I'm wondering if it is the TV and the VGA input. Is there a a DVI option? If it happened with the old GPU then, again, I am thinking it has more to do with the TV itself.
 
There isn't a DVI option on the TV I am going DVI to VGA with my cord though. I'm pretty sure it happened with the other GPU but my memory is bad so I'm not 100% sure. Let's say it didn't then what?
 
Can you get your hands on a monitor around 22'-24"? Even a 19" would work. Then hook up your PC to it and tell us if your are seeing the same issues.
 
I could get another monitor the same size or I could try my 60 inch down stairs. Does the inches matter that much? Otherwise I don't know where I'd get a smaller monitor.
 
See if you could borrow one from a friend. You'd only need it for an hour, two at most. Run a game, etc. and see if you get the same issues.
 
May be worth spending a few dollars at monoprice to get a DVI->HDMI cable. That way you can send a digital signal to your tv. Digital (vid card) -> Analog (VGA) -> Digital (TV) isn't ideal.
 
May be worth spending a few dollars at monoprice to get a DVI->HDMI cable. That way you can send a digital signal to your tv. Digital (vid card) -> Analog (VGA) -> Digital (TV) isn't ideal.

I have a DVI to HDMI cord. Last time I tried it on my old video card the screen looked bad. I'll try that when I get home from work and see if that works.
 
What do you mean looked bad? Should look as good as it possibly can.

Although, sometimes there will be some overscan or underscan. You'll need to be sure the tv is in a 'pixel by pixel' mode or something like that (almost every tv manufacturer calls it something they make up).
 
Like everything is more vibrant and sexy, but the draw back to that is everything is a bit blurry. Text and what now isn't crisp and sharp. Don't know who to fix that, but the lines seem to be gone.
 
Has to be a setting on the TV like I was trying to describe above. Text should be where the difference is most noticible, with the dvi->hdmi over VGA.
 
OK the bit blurry part could be that your tv isn't displaying the image at it's natural screen resolution. You may still be zoomed in a bit and just don't know it yet. I have an AMD video card (HD5870) and a JVC 1080P TV as a monitor. To get the screen to the right resolution I have to get into the video driver with Catalyst Control Center and open up the flat screen part of the driver, I then have to adjust the overscan slider to zero, and then I grab the TV remote and adjust the aspect ratio until the screen is actually displaying the full 1920 X 1080 image it's capable of displaying. If I didn't adjust the aspect ratio with the remote I wouldn't be able to see the Start button or the task bar on my screen. If I didn't adjust the overscan slider I'd have black bars around the entire border of my screen.

When I get home I'll try to be more precise. And maybe I'll spell gooder too. :p
 
OK the bit blurry part could be that your tv isn't displaying the image at it's natural screen resolution. You may still be zoomed in a bit and just don't know it yet. I have an AMD video card (HD5870) and a JVC 1080P TV as a monitor. To get the screen to the right resolution I have to get into the video driver with Catalyst Control Center and open up the flat screen part of the driver, I then have to adjust the overscan slider to zero, and then I grab the TV remote and adjust the aspect ratio until the screen is actually displaying the full 1920 X 1080 image it's capable of displaying. If I didn't adjust the aspect ratio with the remote I wouldn't be able to see the Start button or the task bar on my screen. If I didn't adjust the overscan slider I'd have black bars around the entire border of my screen.

When I get home I'll try to be more precise. And maybe I'll spell gooder too. :p


Awesome this fixed that problem I was having with the text. Now it's a matter of getting the colors the way I like them or adjusting. Oh yea and those lines are gone with HDMI in. Sweet!
 
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