Faulty graphic card ?? Or something else ??

[TheSwede]

Hey all !

Hopefully this is the right place to post this, so here goes. First off I apologize for the crappy quality of the pictures, but had to use my mobile phone and be quick to take them since the 'tear', or what it is, only shows for a few seconds. As can be seen in the two pictures, when I get a 'tear' the desktop shows through. First I thought it was the monitor since when I was using a non gsync monitor, it never happened.

Just so you can actually see it was the desktop that was showing through in the above picture. Was to lazy to click on the right hand side to minimize everything so you have to live with all the squares.

So I drove down with the monitor and they checked it, but did not find any faulty with the screen. I hadn't been able to capture the pictures at that time so could only explain it to them but they said it sounded unusual and not like a normal tearing problem ?? I have no clue personal since I never experienced this before. It only happens in games and I tried it on two different PC's but with the same graphic card.

The card is a Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Aorus Xtreme Edition and the monitor is a Acer 34" Predator X34A G-Sync. The two PC is complete different, one is my new one with Ryzen 2600 and 16GB DDR4 memory, the other one is the old PC I had with an Intel i7-4770K processor and 16 GB DDR3 memory. I get the same on both machines.

So after all the above my question is: Is it a faulty graphic card you think ??

Edit: Just to add, I am going down with the card tomorrow for them to check but thought I ask and see what your opinion about it might be as well.

 

[ltron]

I have heard of a similar thing happening on some Gsync monitors. People said that a firmware update might solve the problem but this can only be done by the manufacturer. It may just be faulty, is this an intermittent problem?

Next time it happens could you take a screenshot with the print screen key or F12 if using Steam and see whether the issue shows up in the screenshot? Edit: I got these the wrong way round before, sorry: If it doesn't then it's probably the monitor although it could still be the graphics card, if it does show up it's the graphics card.

 

[TheSwede]

I have heard of a similar thing happening on some Gsync monitors. People said that a firmware update might solve the problem but this can only be done by the manufacturer. It may just be faulty, is this an intermittent problem?

Next time it happens could you take a screenshot with the print screen key or F12 if using Steam and see whether the issue shows up in the screenshot? If it doesn't then it's the monitor, if it does show up it's probably graphics card but it's possible it could still be the monitor.

Thanks for your reply @ltron , much appreciated !

Yeah, it's intermittent. Sometimes it can take 20/30 minutes before it happens, then other instances it can come and go for a few minutes. It don't show if I take a screenshot, hence the crappy mobile phone camera shoots. The shop I bought the monitor from said they never had the problem when they ran some tests in Valley and Overwatch, which is two games I do not own. I have played Desu Ex Human Revolution, Homefront Revolution and now Witcher 3 and all had the same 'tearing' occurring for me.

Edit: @ltron You don't happen to have a link to where it was said a firmware update might solve the problem ?? Incase it is not the card, could be good to have and show the shop where I bought the screen from.

 

[AthlonXP1800]

You don't happen to have a link to where it was said a firmware update might solve the problem ?? Incase it is not the card, could be good to have and show the shop where I bought the screen from.

http://www.nvidia.com/object/nv-uefi-update-x64.html

 

[TheSwede]

Edit: @ltron You don't happen to have a link to where it was said a firmware update might solve the problem ?? Incase it is not the card, could be good to have and show the shop where I bought the screen from.

http://www.nvidia.com/object/nv-uefi-update-x64.html

Thanks for the link ! Just a bit confused though, the Predator X34A is a DP 1.2 display according to OcUK's website (Acer's own website just said DisplyPort - Yes), and that link is for upgrading the DP to 1.3/1.4 ? Also, have no problem on boot ups, the window logo shows as normal when starting it. But, incase they don't find anything wrong. Would the monitor still work if the DP been upgraded to 1.3/1.4 ?? Already handed in the card so would ask them to do it if needed in that case.

 

[ljt]

I don't think its your GPU. I have an Acer 27" IPS G-sync monitor and mine does the same but vertically rather than yours being a horizontal tear.

Most of the time a quick switch off and on via the power button generally sorts it.

I think there was a monitor firmware update that can sort it, but it can only be done by Acer I believe.

 

[ltron]

Thanks for the link ! Just a bit confused though, the Predator X34A is a DP 1.2 display according to OcUK's website (Acer's own website just said DisplyPort - Yes), and that link is for upgrading the DP to 1.3/1.4 ? Also, have no problem on boot ups, the window logo shows as normal when starting it. But, incase they don't find anything wrong. Would the monitor still work if the DP been upgraded to 1.3/1.4 ?? Already handed in the card so would ask them to do it if needed in that case.

That link is for a firmware that provides compatibility with the new Gsync HDR displays although one or two people have said it fixed some weird issues they were having; this is denied by Nvidia so take with a pinch of salt.

There are no links to the firmware as far as I'm aware as the monitor is not user serviceable and only Acer can do it.

By the way, look at my original post again, I got things the wrong way round before as it was late at night, sorry.

 

[TheSwede]

That link is for a firmware that provides compatibility with the new Gsync HDR displays although one or two people have said it fixed some weird issues they were having; this is denied by Nvidia so take with a pinch of salt.

There are no links to the firmware as far as I'm aware as the monitor is not user serviceable and only Acer can do it.

By the way, look at my original post again, I got things the wrong way round before as it was late at night, sorry.

Thanks, got the correction.

And was more thinking of link to a website or thread discussing the firmware update then actually doing it myself. Would just be so I can point the shop in the right direction if needed. The GPU already been handed in this morning so will see what they come to for conclusions, then might have to send the monitor to Acer, or atleast have the shop contact them to inquire about it.

I don't think its your GPU. I have an Acer 27" IPS G-sync monitor and mine does the same but vertically rather than yours being a horizontal tear.

Most of the time a quick switch off and on via the power button generally sorts it.

I think there was a monitor firmware update that can sort it, but it can only be done by Acer I believe.

Thanks for your reply, at least good.. well, so to speak I mean.. that I'm not the only one. But as above, if needed I have the shop contact Acer about it if not the GPU. Really hope it can be sorted, having to switch screen on and off everytime would be a slight pain.

 

[ljt]

Thanks, got the correction.
Thanks for your reply, at least good.. well, so to speak I mean.. that I'm not the only one. But as above, if needed I have the shop contact Acer about it if not the GPU. Really hope it can be sorted, having to switch screen on and off everytime would be a slight pain.

No problem, It only happens occasionally to be honest, so the odd switch on and off isn't too much trouble at the moment. If it becomes more frequent then I will have to send it off, but i don't have a spare monitor so would be slightly annoyed if i've got to ship it to Acer