Author Topic: Noise and flicker after new card install. (Read 318 times)

SloStick · « **on:** February 19, 2006, 03:11:35 AM »

I have finished installing and setting up my new video card and have two small issues in AH.

1. After my new video card install I have noticed a high pitched background noise when the game is loaded. Especialy noticable with headphones. Noise goes away when I quit game.

2. Plane icons and distance meter seem to flicker. So much so that the + and - in the distance are difficult to tell if it's a plus or minus symbol. My frame rates are triple what they were, and I have tried changing some settings, but nothing seems to help.

Here is my system:
Pentium 4 HT 3.0G
1 G Ram
BFG Nnvidia 6800GS OC 256M AGP (tried both Omega and Nvidia Drivers)
Resolution 1280 x 1024, 512 Max Texture Size, Preload in system memory

Thanks for your help,
Scott / SloStick

Brooke · « **Reply #1 on:** February 19, 2006, 04:49:18 AM »

First, I'd make sure I have the latest drivers from Nvidia, but it sounds like you have done that already. I never trust the drivers from the OEM card maker.

Second, there is the possibility of a damaged card. I don't know how your card was packed when shipped to you, bubble wrapped but otherwise loose in the box or molded plastic, keeping the card from moving. I just got done buying a 6800GS. I got an eVGA 6800GS wrapped only in bubble wrap. It was broken (capacitor on the end of the card broken off). I sent it back. They sent me another. It was similarly broken. I sent it back. They then refunded my money. I ordered an XFX 6800GS instead this time. It was in a molded plastic container and was fine upon arrival and works great.

I never plugged in the two broken cards. They might have worked except for odd problems for all I know. So, one suggestion is to make sure there are no capacitors either broken off or having connections snapped at the end of your card. The capacitors are the silver cylindrical things near the end of the card. Here's a picture that shows the capacitors. The vulnerable ones in shipping are the silver cylinder-looking items with purple half-moons on the top.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Showimage.asp?Mode=&Type=&Image=14-130-265-02.jpg%2C14-130-265-03.jpg%2C14-130-265-04.jpg%2C14-130-265-05.jpg%2C14-130-265-06.jpg%2C14-130-265-07.jpg&CurImage=14-130-265-03.jpg&Description=eVGA+256-P2-N391-AX+Geforce+6800GS+256MB+GDDR3+PCI+Express+x16+Video+Card+-+Retail

Another issue might be that the card is overclocked too much. If you did the overclocking, perhaps you turned it up too much. Either way (whether you or the manufacturer did it), you can use Rivatuner to turn down the clocking if you want to play around with it. Rivatuner is free and available here. I wouldn't play with the clocking, though, unless you can't return the card and try another, as this might void the warranty.

http://www.guru3d.com/rivatuner/

Also, with Rivatuner, you can play with fan speed and see if the high-pitched whining you hear correlates to fan speed. If so, then the fan is your issue. For whatever reason then, your sound card or audio wires are picking up electromagnetic noise from the fan. You could try moving your audio wires or making sure your headphones are plugged into the card at the back of your PC directly, not into the front jack on your computer.

Another possibility perhaps, if the card is very new, is to send it back and get another of the same brand or try a different brand of 6800GS (such as XFX).

MrRiplEy[H] · « **Reply #2 on:** February 19, 2006, 06:00:20 AM »

Looks to me like the card is interfering with some other resource in the system. Might be a manufacturing problem or in worst case scenario, a design problem.

Which refresh rate are you running the game at? Use driver options to force the refresh to the maximum which your monitor supports. 85hz in 3D is preferable when using CRT monitors.

SloStick · « **Reply #3 on:** February 19, 2006, 10:29:01 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by MrRiplEy[H]
Looks to me like the card is interfering with some other resource in the system. Might be a manufacturing problem or in worst case scenario, a design problem.

Which refresh rate are you running the game at? Use driver options to force the refresh to the maximum which your monitor supports. 85hz in 3D is preferable when using CRT monitors.

I have an LCD monitor and the refresh rate is at 60hz, which is what the monitor manufacturer recommends...

eagl · « **Reply #4 on:** February 19, 2006, 10:35:55 AM »

Sounds like interference with the soundcard. Are you using an integrated soundcard or an addon card in a pci slot? If it's in a pci slot, you could try moving the soundcard to another slot.

If your monitor cable doesn't have a magnetic choke on it, you might try getting a snap-on magnet to go around the cable.

An overstressed power supply can also cause electronic noise. Although a 350 watt power supply would probably work with your setup, you may want to consider getting one with 400 watts or more. If your power supply has less than 350 watts output, you should probably upgrade.

Kev367th · « **Reply #5 on:** February 20, 2006, 02:48:08 AM »

These latest cards it is not so much the wattage of the PSU but the amps on the 12V rail.

For a 6800GS you should be looking at having 16 - 18 amps on the +12V rail (check side of PSU, should tell you).

Plenty of good PSU's out there with a single +12V rail in excess of 30 amp, or dual +12V rails from 18 amps upwards.

Info only - For 7800's you will need around 20 amps on the +12V rail.

I had to upgrade my PSU for my new 7800GS, I got an Enermax Liberty 500W with dual 22 amp +12V rails. ( looking to future and SLI).

Extra info - Using Rivatuner you can unlock the hidden pipes and vertex shader on 6800GS, if you can then play without any artifacts you have just got yourself a 6800GT for the price of a 6800GS.

SloStick · « **Reply #6 on:** February 20, 2006, 09:37:04 AM »

Thanks for the help. If it were a power supply issue wouldn't the noise be constant?? The reason I ask is that it's not. For example, right now with this web page open there is no noise unless I scroll up or down on the page. Then I can hear squeeks and clicks as the page moves. This is similar in AH, although the noise is constant when the game is loaded, but changes when you make changes such as change views. If I play music files there is no noise. Also no noise when doing the Dxdiag tests.

I have also found the noise to be through my headphones and pc speakers only when headphones are pluged in. If I unplug my headphones while using my pc speakers the noise goes away. I have a Dell with a Soundblaster audio card, but the only headphone plug I have is on the front panel. By the way, I always use headphones with AH so I didn't notice this at first.

Does this change any ideas??

eagl · « **Reply #7 on:** February 20, 2006, 09:52:28 AM »

The computer uses more power when it's under load. Scrolling the windows takes more cpu power than just sitting there, and it makes the vid card work more as well.

It sounds more like an interference thing though. Could even be interference between your monitor and headphones. You could try changing monitor refresh rate. You could also try re-routing the internal headphone cable to make sure it's not near the cpu, vid card, power cables, or any fans.

MrRiplEy[H] · « **Reply #8 on:** February 20, 2006, 10:53:59 AM »

What he's experiencing sounds more like PCI bus interference. For some reason his display card is interfering with the sound either through pci bus or through EMI. It might be that the displaycard has a faulty RF filtering circuit and it's leaking radiation enough to transmit it to nearby devices.

Try switching the sound to another slot - but the graphics anomalies strongly point to returning the card.

SloStick · « **Reply #9 on:** February 20, 2006, 01:02:09 PM »

I tried plugging my headphones into the 'speaker out' on the back of the sound card instead of the front panel and NO noise... So I guess I could use a "Y" adapter on the sound card output for my headphones and speakers and I suppose this would solve the problem.

It sounds like the problem must be some RF noise from the new video card or video card power plugs proximity to the front panel headphone jack.

I think I have solved the issue with plane icons flickering as well... I noticed that any changes in AH video setting that cause my frame rates to lower, such as unchecking the Optimize buttons or Hardware Vertex, improved the icon flickering. So after reading through many other posts in regards to framerates I noticed "V Sync" being talked about a lot. I went into my settings and discovered V Sync was off. I turned it on, set AA and AF to off, turned on Hardware Vertex and the Optimize buttons and all seems well!!

Krusty · « **Reply #10 on:** February 20, 2006, 01:55:10 PM »

Test:

Open AH. Go offline or whatever. Get that high pitched whine to start.

Now turn off your monitor. Is the sound gone? Now turn on your monitor. Is it back?

Possibly a refresh problem with the monitor itself. My old CRT made more noise the more pure white it had to display at any given time.

EDIT: Never mind, you figured it out (lol)