nVidia 8800 Windows 7 problem

[czajunia]

Hello,

Recently I've noticed some unusual pixel flickering under Windoews 7 using Gainward 8800 GT PCX. There are red pixels randomly switching on and off on some dark areas of the screen. First I thought it was definitely a graphic card problem but then I realized that I didn't see any of these under WinXP. I double checked and when running XP the card was fine. I had the latest Win7 nVidia drivers installed so I thought that maybe there was a bug and downgraded to the first Win7 drivers available but the problem is still there.

I uploaded a video showing what it looks like. The displayed picture was intentionally darkened with a color balanced changed a bit so it's not that extreme in real life and the pixels are usually more random compared to the video. Also they are red and look much smaller (pixel size).

Has anyone noticed similar problems? How likely is that the card is fine and there are some drivers/monitor incompatibility issues?

Thank's a lot for your answers and suggestions.

 

[Keysplayr]

If this happens in Win7 and not XP, it would most likely be a driver issue. Is your 8800GT overclocked?

 

[czajunia]

No, it's not. I've never overclocked it for some reason I noticed the problem at first when loading a dark FPS shooter (not even playing it). After playing a game for a while and seeing some red pixels every now and then I naturally thought that the card wasn't keeping up. I downloaded GPU-Z and GPUTool to check/monitor the temperatures and fan speeds and everything seemed to be fine. Now there are a few red pixels on my dark desktop even when idling. I am not sure if they weren't there before or if I simply didn't notice them.

 

[cubeless]

just put win 7 on my 8800gt sli box... didn't see any pixel weirdness so far, but the cards can't be oc'd as high as with xp without artifacting...

seems that win7 64 is a bit tougher on the cards...

 

[thilanliyan]

Sometimes it can be the OS. Can you underclock a bit and see if you get the same problem?

 

[czajunia]

Weird thing is that after I posted on the forum earlier on I haven't had any issues today. The problem was unbearable yesterday as I could see red pixels even while watching a movie. But it's gone now. Also following a piece of advice from other forum I have just unplugged all the cables, removed the card and put everything back together just to make sure everything was plugged in properly.

I still don't see any red pixels but maybe it's just a coincidence. If the problem comes back I'll try to underclock the card and let you know if this did the trick.

Cheers!

 

[cubeless]

changed the bong water?

 

[czajunia]

Damn it. Forgot about that. Why didn't you mention that earlier?

 

[czajunia]

For anyone who followed this thread - just a closing post. After a few days of playing a 3D FPS I can definitely say it was a connection issue. I haven't had any problems since last week.

Thanks again for your input!