GTX 970 SLI desktop has started 'pulsing' ?!

[3t3P]

Installed my 970's last night, tried a bit of crysis 3, didn't think that much of performance gain from SLI 680's and noted the 344.16 drivers are out so installed them.

Ran crysis again and metro without problems, went to bed.

Today on startup I noticed the monitor seemed to be fluctuating in brightness.
It slowly got faster and faster...
The only thing i've changed to explain this is putting desktop to 120hz and in global settings 'highest available refresh' to get 144hz in games to avoid high idle clocks.
Could this be the issue?
It's pulsing in this manner as well as text being sharp then less defined. Right now its doing it constantly as I view this page.

I have turned the monitor off and on and disconnected/reconnected the DP cable.

Any ideas here? I've never seen anything like it before!

edit: just reinstalled the drivers and now at 120hz text is not sharp? 144hz is completely fine.

 

[Stas823]

Tried changing sharpness in the monitor osd?

 

[3t3P]

No not tried that. I've never had this issue before.
Its still doing it now but not as badly.

Might have to swap cards around see if its one of them that's the culprit

Edit: No sharpness setting in the Swift's OSD

Video of the problem, especially note near the end the start bar line moving...also the bright light in the pic next to the 'HP update' note how it pulses that's not the camera moving!

 

[3t3P]

Bump. anyone ?

Don't have a frackkin clue what's going on.

I can take a higher res vid with SLR next time it does it

 

[Stas823]

have you tried updating the vga bios that has just been released (if the live updater works for you)

 

[3t3P]

There's a VGA BIOS?!

Pray tell which live updater the MSI one?

 

[calliusmaximus]

Yes msi updater

Single card , then swap etc etc. could be screen backlight

 

[3t3P]

thanks just ran it, no VGA BIOS updates from MSI

what's weird is that the text is changing as well, so can that still be a pure backlight problem?

at times only 144hz would clear up the problem with 120hz giving rise to the issue.

RIGHT NOW its flickering at 144hz and fine as I type this having switched to 120hz?!

Gonna roll back to 344.11 drivers see what happens.

edit: ok same thing with 344.11, flickering happens at 144hz.

Also happens if NV control panel is set at 120hz and I press monitor turbo button and run 144hz, it flickers.

Running latest MSI Afterburner with cards at stock clocks.

EDIT: Started with intermittent text blurring again at 120hz now. ARGHHHHH! WTTTFFFFFF

 

[Stas823]

try using the igp if you can from your 2500k to see if its the gpus or the monitor (or perhaps a setting).

 

[3t3P]

igp? ah integrated graphics? (shudders, do I even have one? looks between PC's legs...)

seriously I don't think I can as the swift is display port only

uploading a high-res vid to youtube now that you guys can have a look at, plus gratuitous shot of rig at the end

http://youtu.be/nBxQdPnJ69Q

no idea how to embed

 

[Stas823]

thats a shame, although i guess the chance of 2 bad gpus is small.
Maybe some kind of a setting with G-sync/ulmb although i dont own one so hopefully someone that does can post here.