Strange flicker ( not a refresh flicker ) w/PNY FX5900

"SLB" wrote in message
om...
Well im stumped. On my home brew P4 2.4 system using Asus P4T-E M/B
under WinXP and my newly bought PNY FX5900 NON ultra... I had to try
one.. ( was to replace my PNY ti4600 ) i get this strange what appears
to be stray RF or something only when playing 3d games ( for example
BF1942 or Metal of Honor ). It looks like greyish 1-2inches tall semi
transparent bars that scroll upwards at a fast rate causing a kind of
flicker or a shaded motion ever so slightly on my monitor. I tried 3
drivers.. 41.03 43.45 and whatever the current one is on nvidia's
site. All showed same effect.

Try running your games in another monitor refresh rate, say, 85Hz instead of
60Hz, or 100Hz if possible.. Figure out what's possible for your monitor. You
can force refresh rates for every resolution in the nvidia geforce 5900 tab in
display properties. This interference problem happens, as I understand it,
because of either a;

1) motherboard issue
2) PSU issue
3) cable issue
4) graphics card issue.

You can pretty much rule out #4 (I couldn't with my old Radeon 9700 Pro :|).
The interference is in every case highly dependant on frequencies. So, try
switching refresh rate.. A lot of games still run 60Hz refresh rates, but common
monitor refresh rates in windows are 85Hz+ (often at the same resolutions, or
higher) and that can be why you only see it in games. This isn't a very pretty
solution, I know.. but it was what "worked" for me. I sent my Radeon back tho
for a Geforce FX5800 and all problems disappeared.

Oh.. You might also want to upgrade your motherboard driver, in particular
your AGP driver. (I believe that board has an intel i850 chipset). A BIOS
upgrade could also work, who knows

--
Regards,
Henric

You know, if someone showed me the flickering for the first time, I would
swear it was EMI too.
However, seeing how the flicker reacts to Vsync and framerates, I am still
convinced it's a timing issue.

I know people who say that the problem may only arise on menu screens, or
when looking at the sky in certain games. Or, those who say reducing clock
speed or removing the fan plug will reduce the problem.
Well, those are all framerate related. Perhaps enabling Vsync still doesnt
get the timing correct.

For example, on Madden 2003 with Vsync disabled, I dont get any flickering
during the game or on menus. However, that's because the game has a 60fps
limit during gameplay and most menus.
However, if I select "Instant Replay", I will get flicker (unless I enable
Vsync). That's because there is no fps limit, and the framerate goes upto or
over 100fps. The higher the framerate, the worse the flicker.
Once below 60fps, it disappears. If you lower your clock speed, or remove
your fan plug to the fx5900, your framerates drop, so flicker is less, or
removed.
I also did a test using UT2k3 in which I disabled Vsync, and I would get
flicker (only in intro and in-between game screens). I would change to
windowed mode, and sure enough, the rest of my desktop would flicker too,
not just the gamescreen. This proves a timing issue, not EMI.
Once again, I am one of those lucky people whose flicker issue is 100%
resolved by enabling Vsync.
That is the perplexing part. My guess is that even with Vsync enabled, there
is still a timing issue with the videocard and monitor.
This is all just a hunch I have.

Hopefully we will find the answer soon as Nvidia and EVGA have both had
people bring in their systems, and both companies have admitted to seeing
the problem.

BTW, I read somewhere that at one time there was a similar problem with
Geforce 2's, and most recently with the ATI 9700's.

"SLB" wrote in message
m...
Thanks for the replies. I set it to vsync on and it may have improved
it a tad but its still there. I strongly believe it is EMF, especially
after reading pages 3-5 on that link you posted...
www.evga.com to the community page





"edde" wrote in message
...
This is a known issue.
What helped me and many others was to enable Vsync.
You can do it specifically in some games (like UT2k3), or you can set it
in
your nvidia control panel or with Rivatuner.
The default for D3D is "auto", but try setting it to "always on".

Also, goto www.evga.com to the community page and read the LONG threads
there about this problem.
It looks totally like EMF interference, but like I said forcing Vsync
fixes
the problem for me (and others) completely. I am positive that the
problem
others are having is due to Vsync, or some other "videocard/monitor"
sync
problem


"SLB" wrote in message
om...
Well im stumped. On my home brew P4 2.4 system using Asus P4T-E M/B
under WinXP and my newly bought PNY FX5900 NON ultra... I had to try
one.. ( was to replace my PNY ti4600 ) i get this strange what appears
to be stray RF or something only when playing 3d games ( for example
BF1942 or Metal of Honor ). It looks like greyish 1-2inches tall semi
transparent bars that scroll upwards at a fast rate causing a kind of
flicker or a shaded motion ever so slightly on my monitor. I tried 3
drivers.. 41.03 43.45 and whatever the current one is on nvidia's
site. All showed same effect.
I took back the card and replaced it with another of the same. Same
results. Oh btw out of desperation and frustration, i unplugged the
power plug from the card and a warning from Nvidia came up telling me
it needed to lower the card performance ( because i unplugged the
power ) and after it lowered the performance, all was fine.... of
course untill i plugged power back into the card. I even made sure the
power cord was not shared by any other device as well. My powersupply
is a Enermax 465P-VE which is rated at 430 watts. Anyone have any
ideas before i return this second one? BTW, my TI4600 had no probs
with display.
Steve