weird graphics problem

[cin]

hi bebes.

as some might know i used to own a ati 4870x2 and it broke after a month.
a year later i bought a sapphire 5970hd and its been running fine since
around february.

now yesterday i installed a game (mmorpg) and its not graphically challenging.
i put it on my TV, put the right resolution, and for some reason the glow
effect in that game caused flickering pixel blocks. talking small squares and
rectangles. it was fine after i turned that glow thing off. for a while.

now when i start up a game i been playing for ages (jade dynasty) which is
also not graphically challenging, i get the pixel blocks combined with small
squares that show a different area of my game screen. so i see half a char's
name in one of the mini rectangles, the ones around it are grey. also, i get
colored flickering pixel blocks on my tv when it's turned on and i'm running
the game(s). when i drag the game screen to my tv i will get the pixel blocks
on my monitor.

reason i posted my graphics cards is that i have a feeling that the problem
might lie there. however, i truly hope that is not the case because that
would mean i have had 2 bad ati cards, and they're not the cheap ones.

has anyone have any idea of what might be wrong? heat is not an issue btw
i got a very big case with plenty of room, i have one side open and 3 12cm
fans plus additional fans on my ram etc.

EXAMPLE:

Spoiler!

[link2113]

viewforum.php?f=3

[Deadsolid]

Update drivers, post results.

[Hostage]

Update drivers, post results.

T'is what I was going to suggest. What type of T.V? LCD? Plasma? God forbid...tube?

Worse case scenario try ketchup.

[Gaigemasta]

also if the ATI Catalyst does what Nvidia Control Panel does, make sure you turn off all force graphic enhancements from that program

[cin]

drivers updated, started up low quality mmorpg, pixel blocks.

i put the catalyst settings on default since i reinstalled the entire thing.

@1st reply, who are you?

EDIT:
blocks only appearing on my screens btw not on my wallpaper. never had this
before

[cin]

little bumpy here, i added a screenshot to show what i'm talking
about here... i have no idea if its my hardware or if there's
something wrong with my software or if i got some virus thing
putting blocks all over my screen (tho i wouldnt know why anyone
would want to put blocks all over my screen <.<)

i still think its also weird that the blocks just minimize with
my screen they wont stay on my wallpaper or w/e

[Deadsolid]

It's not a virus. There is a disagreement somewhere between your game and your GPU, although I am not quite sure what it is. You might want to try googling the problem if you haven't already. I have a feeling it isn't the TV. Try it on another monitor if you can.

[cin]

im running just my monitor right now, unplugged my TV. monitor is in dvi, tv
was in dvi->hdmi. i played lots of games on my tv before and never had any
toubles with it.

the screenshot i put in the first post was without running any games, just
my browser. and again, as i said, when i minimize my browser, that block of
grey/white pixels will just minimize with it.

i srsly have no idea what this is

[Azilius]

Could swap out for another card and see if you still have the problem to narrow it down.

Did you install new drivers properly? Aka safe mode uninstall, using some program to clear out ati shit and then installing new ones? I don't do this myself but I've read on many occasions that driver overlapping is a cause for problems.

You could try to underclock your card and see if it still happens (assuming you can do that to an ati card).

[cin]

hmmmm i can reinstall the drivers again tomorrow. i deinstalled them through
the catalyst deinstallation option which got rid of my drivers. i could try
underclocking it tomorrow.. i have the sapphire overclocked version of the
card, im pretty sure i got some software with it to tweak..

but does this seem to be a hardware problem? like i said, when i minimize
my browser, the blocks minimize with it..

[Deadsolid]

It is more than likely NOT a hardware problem. If it doesn't do it all the time, and especially if it does not do it on other games it is not a hardware problem. Underclocking won't get you much.

After going back and seeing the picture you posted (missed it the first two times) I'm going to go out on a limb here and say it is your hardware. If it is doing it both in and out of game it is more likely a hardware issue.

My final thought, after reading this post on the ATI forums, is that you may not have a large enough PSU. I've heard of underpowered systems causing this sort of erratic behavior. According to the system requirements on the Sapphire website it looks like you need about 300 watts for the GPU alone.

If that is not the problem I would suggest going to the ATI forums and posting your problem.

[cin]

hmmm interesting.. i'm running a 580W psu right now and i've been
told that this is enough to power whatever i got in there. i have
been running this pc for 7 months now and i've had high quality games
on it without any problems. i thought that if the card would break or
fail me, it wouldn't be on something like a 3 year old mmorpg ><

i will look into that topic, thnx :]

[Deadsolid]

Sure.