Graphical anomalies

Specs:

AMD 4200+ dual core
1024 ram DDR
7900 gt
windows XP sp2


Everytime i play GW, suddenly graphics start to do weird things like lines and objects that appear out of the blue. When i minimize the screen they are gone, and return a few moments later.

temps are normal, tried other drivers, dont know what to do anymore.

Can anyone help?

are you running guild wars in only 1 processor? this is a known issue if not.and there are many threads here on how it is done.

Card is prob on it's way out.

This is generally what happens when the memory chips on the video are dying. They are called artifacts.

Before doing anything drastic, artifacts can also be caused by failing RAM. Run MemTest or your BIOSs memory test, remove a stick, and see if it still happens.

People jump to conclusions on GPU memory before realising regular RAM can be a large culprit in this case as well.

If there was something wrong with the "regular" RAM everything running on the computer would most likely crash randomly and not just have occasional display artifacts.

My vote's on the video card. I had exactly the same issues when the RAM on my GeForce 7900GS started failing. Had it RMA'd and haven't seen any glitches since I got the new one.

This can also be caused by flaky contacts in the AGP/PCIe slot. Try removing the card and reinstalling it. Make sure the contacts are clean and fully seated.

In the words of my favorite Chocalitier: "WRONG sir!"

System RAM is used extensively in graphics intensive games, and if it is a bad stick, it can show up in the game itself when not showing in any other non-3D application.

I have seen this problem a few times, and even had it myself. After using memtest or replacing the stick... boom, issue went away. Hell of a lot cheaper than just dismissing it as a GPU RAM meltdown.

Unless you're using a shitty integrated video card that claims a part of the main memory as its own, the same RAM's used by everything running in the system. Given how memory paging works I find it rather unlikely that the faulty part of memory would never get used for something that just has to be correct (memory addresses, counters, etc.) for a program to avoid crashing.

Even if running Guild Wars is the only situation in which that part of the RAM would be actively used by an application (due to the system having far more than enough to run other stuff), Windows and just about every other OS out there tend to use "free" RAM for I/O caching, potentially resulting in file corruption if some part of the unallocated RAM isn't working properly. Of course, this kind of failure is somewhat harder to notice than crashing and graphical glitches.

There is no harm in testing system RAM compared to completely replacing a graphics card. I have fixed more than my share of computers where the consumer wanted to ditch their graphics card and faulty system RAM was to blame. Work RAM should not affect a game, but faulty RAM will pop problems everywhere, especially video games. I don't get why you are so insistent on being right. Maybe its because your dollar isn't on the line? I would rather try memory testing, which is free, rather than replacing my graphics card on an assumption that all graphical anomolies are due to the GPU. If the memory tests fail, then you could still be right, and I am merely giving a first step rather than an omega step.

test RAM, no probs found there

cleaned my computer inside out

can it be that the GPU is broken?

Yes, or the GPU's RAM

What graphicscard would you recommend?

Probably a good one? But definitely not a bad one.

Could some one with a bit of brain tell me what graphics card is suited for GW?

GW does not have very high demands on gfx cards. I use a 6800 ultra - an ancient card by computer standards - and it runs GW at 1600x1200 and all graphics maxed (anti-aliasing, anisotropic filtering, effects - you name it) without framerate ever dropping under 40.

Your 7900 GT is actually considerably better & faster graphics card than mine; your card is probably good enough to play Guild Wars 2 when that is released, never mind the present Guild Wars.

Before you start replacing what is a perfectly good-enough card, I'd suggest checking two things:

1) Overheating of the graphics card gives exactly the kind of artefacts you describe.
Do the artefacts appear instantly, or does it take a while of gaming - minutes or hours - before you start seeing strange effects?
If there is a delay, that strongly suggests overheating.
IF the card is overheating, it may be due to, for instance, dust build up on the fans, or maybe a fan has completely stopped working.

Also, if you overclock your graphics card (or use drivers which overclock them by default) that is likely to lead to overheating. Lowering the clock might then help.

2) Graphics card driver. Download the most recent driver for Geforce 7900 GT from http://www.nvidia.com (it doesn't matter what brand your card is, the nvidia driver will work; manufacturers don't write their own drivers, but just take the nvidia driver and slap on some usually useless fluff for their cards). If you're really lucky your present driver is buggy or corrupt, and installing the newest driver may then help.

atleast thats some help, thx dude

well it happens that when i play, i have no artifacts at all, but when i rezone i do have them

when i minimise the screen and open it up again, they are gone
and appear a bit later

temps on my card are normally about 50 ° C

any ideas?

thx

OK. It does sound like some sort of memory-related issue.
One last thing, though: are you using TexMod?
I get graphical issues from time to time when I use TexMod, and the problems often appear (and disappear) at zoning.

what is texmod?

It is a program which allows changing (modding) the graphics of Guildwars:
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Guide...-game_graphics

Sorry to interrupt this thread, but the problems described here look very familiar as the ones I'm currently having. Textures 'stretching' and appearing out of nowhere, or changing colours to black or white. So far there're only problems when running games (GW, Oblivion...). I guess I'll do a mem-test for my RAM, is there any easy way to test graphics card RAM ?