New (2nd hand gtx 660 ti) graphics card issue or settings?

outwit

outwit

outwit

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7 Jul 2010
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Location
Somerset, UK
Hi,

I'm just looking for a bit of advice please. I only use my pc for CS:GO and my graphics card recently died (Gtx 460 1gb) so I upgraded slightly to a gtx 660 ti 2gb from CeX (I know, I have heard bad things but I had a £50 voucher..)

I've installed it, cleared all my display drivers and updated to the latest ones. It appears to run fine without issue on desktop or general use. However when I run CS:GO or valley benchmark there's a slight 'shimmer' or very faint horizontal lines which 'flicker' down the screen.

They're barely noticeable but it's enough to frustrate me as I can't stop noticing it. I'm not sure if this is a hardware issue or just some settings I need to adjust before I send the card back as faulty. If anyone has any suggestions they would be gratefully received as my knowledge isn't great.

My specs now are -

Intel Core i5-4690K 3.50GHz
Asus Z97-K Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard
Corsair Vengeance Pro Red 16GB (2x8GB)
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo CPU Cooler
Nvidia GTX 660 ti 2gb
EvoLabs ATX supply Pentium P4 500w

Thanks in advance,

Dave
 
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do you know what temps the card is running at?
also what monitor are you using?
the way you describe it it sounds like its goosed
 
I will check the temp and give details of my monitor when I get home from work later.

Is my PSU sufficient for what I'm running? Just wondering if maybe my PSU is a bit weak for it, as like I say it is only under load the issue starts.

ps: I notice that you're the guy who helped me earlier in the year when I was first building this rig, so hello and thanks!
 
It is slightly weak and old that PSU but should power the system okay. Have you tried changing the cables you use from monitor to 660ti?
 
It sounds similar to the kind of artifacting you can get when you push a graphics card overclock too high. If you download MSI afterburner to monitor your temps / usage try under clocking the card by say 50mhz on the core and 100mhz on the memory to see if the problem goes away. You absolutely shouldn't have to do this to get it running, but if it does solve the problem it's pretty clear you have a card with a fault and it needs to go back.
 
if you download msi afterburner you can go into the settings, monitor tab and you can tell it to display the temps on the screen while youre playing a game or even in a benchmark. this would let you keep an eye on the temps while gaming to see if ts maybe getting to hot under load.
The PSU should be fine. how old is it? if its getting on in age it could be a problem but a 500W PSU should be fine for youre system
 
Thanks for all the advice I will report back later when I get home. The psu is probably around 3 or 4 years old but I will check the exact date later.

I don't know if it is worth mentioning but I am using a VGA - DVI block adapter on the cable from my monitor to the graphics card. Could that be affecting it?
 
outwit said:
Thanks for all the advice I will report back later when I get home. The psu is probably around 3 or 4 years old but I will check the exact date later.

I don't know if it is worth mentioning but I am using a VGA - DVI block adapter on the cable from my monitor to the graphics card. Could that be affecting it?
Click to expand...

Antec is a good PSU manufacturer.

The adapter would probably affect desktop use as well if it was a factor.
 
My monitor is a Samsung S24D300H. Should i also ideally be using a dedicated VGA - DVI-I cable rather than an adapter? I don't have another one to try but i will get one after work tomorrow.

Also, sorry it turns out i got the model of my PSU completely wrong. It's actually an EvoLabs ATX supply Pentium P4 500w.. Is it worth me upgrading before i send the card back as faulty?

I will try uninstalling all drivers and reinstalling them again and also try older drivers but not sure if that will make a difference. I've also tried as suggested above by turning the core and memory clock mhz down using msi afterburner but this didn't solve the issue either so am unable to confirm whether the card is faulty.

Thanks for all the help so far.

edit -

Just a note that the card arrived with an ESD protective cover over the "teeth" of the card, but the actual card was wrapped in standard bubble wrap.. (Not pink ESD protective stuff) Is this standard practice or is that shoddy packaging?
 
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darael said:
According to page 34 of the manual, it does have an HDMI port - I would definitely use this instead of the VGA port.
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nice one. I was on the mobile earlier so couldn't check that.

but yea I would try the HDMI port over the VGA port.

as for the PSU I wouldn't trust it as far as I could throw it.
 
How bizarre.. using the HDMI port seems to have cured it? I need to adjust my resolutions but there is no sign of the issue. I didn't even think about it i just used the VGA first as i always have done. Really appreciate the help and sorry it was something so simple but i would have never tried that unless i got told.

As for a PSU what should i be looking at, something 650w??

Thanks!!!
 
The suggestions a 500w PSU isn't enough for a 660TI are frankly mad. I used to run my overclocked 3570k with 4 mechanical hard drives an ssd and two gtx 660's in SLI and barely pulled 400w from the wall.

Even a GTX 680 with a overclocked 3960X pulls less than 400w at load.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/5699/nvidia-geforce-gtx-680-review/19

A 500w would be bang on whats needed at this kind of spec. Most PSU's are at there most effecient when loaded in the 40-60% region. If that system pulls more than 300w at load I'll be amazed and that's going to put it right in the sweet spot for effeciency.

Dont get me wrong, I'm all for reccomending quality power units, and the brand the OP has doesnt exactly sound top class, but there's no need to replace it simply for more wattage.
 
Don't think anyone was saying a 500w PSU wasn't up to the job but a 500w PSU that you can buy new for about £25 on eBay I wouldn't trust. If I was buying a new PSU even with his spec I would aim for around a 650w PSU to give myself head room for future upgrades
 
I'll replace the psu in the coming weeks for a more reliable/quality one for sure.

Thanks to you all for all the help/advice I've received over the past year. I don't contribute to the forum unless i have an issue and i know that's selfish but i do appreciate it. The card is running fine now :)
 
outwit said:
I'll replace the psu in the coming weeks for a more reliable/quality one for sure.

Thanks to you all for all the help/advice I've received over the past year. I don't contribute to the forum unless i have an issue and i know that's selfish but i do appreciate it. The card is running fine now :)
Click to expand...

glad the HDMI fixed it out.
 
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