Comp problem: Artifacts in a game then monitors shut down shut down

Superjeep4x4 · 18 Sep 2008 at 13:49

Comp problem: Artifacts in a game then monitors shuts down

So I was playing a very long session of WoW and then all the sudden I got some artifacts(green and maybe pink but it went fast) for 1-2 seconds and then my monitors shut off but the comp did not restart as my music was still playing. I play windowed and my temp was 48c which is good for me. I was running 2 instances of WoW on low settings.

Am I looking at a bad card? Like i said there was no overheating at all just the few seconds of slight artifacts that were fairly small and then my monitors went blank. I freaked out and hit reset and rebooted. I have one instance of WoW running now and nothing has happened yet but I am scared to try to recreate is so I do not totally fry it.

I am running Vista Ultimate x86 and the parts in my sig with driver 7.15.11.7792 8/15/08(cant remember the common number of it).

Any help or advice would be great. Wonder if this is a PSU issue or strait vid card but I do not know what route to take to find out which.

Superjeep4x4 · 19 Sep 2008 at 05:41

It has been a solid PSU but it does make me wonder. I am going to try to recreate it later(or really just keep doing what I have been doing) and see if it does it again. Would a PSU issue cause just the GPU to shut down while the rest of the system was on though? Just trying to narrow it down as if I have to replace something it will be one or the other. can not afford both atm.

Superjeep4x4 · 19 Sep 2008 at 08:42

I might try to get a new PSU. Does anyone know anything about the Antec EA 650 650W? Spec's seem good and the reviews I have read have been good performance wise but was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on it. Frankly the price on it is really good for the reviews and specs even though it is a no frills PSU.

Superjeep4x4 · 19 Sep 2008 at 14:12

Well the problem is it was not a lock up unless vista does things different. I was running 2 instances of WoW and my screen started to artifact slightly(not a ton of artifacting but some small patches) and then my monitors went black but my comp did not crash or restart as I was listening to music and was able to pause and restart the media player through the keyboard controls. I restarted after checking that.

I played for a few hours tonight and nothing happened so I will just play it by ear although I might still replace the PSU for a piece of mind and keep the other for a spare. I do not have a ton of cash and no backup parts so frankly I would rather just replace such a key component than take the chance of blowing the PSU if I am stressing it to hard. The last time a PSU blew it took half my parts with it.

Maybe I am being paranoid but I have never had my monitors just go out like that. Other crashes and blue screens in the past but not like this. Plus I am going to be purchasing a 4850 and probably a 22" monitor here in a few months so I would rather have a more solid PSU anyways as I have had this one for several years.