Coloured Square dots

[ahmedjbh 0]

Hi,

Every now and then I get a screen which is grey, but with small coloured squares on it. Sometimes the squares move slightly sometimes they are still, sometimes their colour changes. This normally lasts a few seconds, and then it goes "receiving" and then I can play again. The VPU recover activates in the background as well.

This seems to be happened more and more often.

Whats worse is that it happened whilst playing project reality today as well!

im using a 955 x4, 4890,

this is my power supply, im worried its the weak link.

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/159708

any ideas as to what I can do to stop this?

[Richieb0y 0]

i know my ati 4890 has 1x 6pin and 1x 8 pin so does your 4890 use 2x 6 pin if so i read that the Psu only has 1x 6 pin so then you have used a molex to 6 pin converter and that is not recommend by any

[ahmedjbh 0]

do you think that could be the problem?

The converter came with the gfx card!

[Richieb0y 0]

do you think that could be the problem?

The converter came with the gfx card!

lol yea it came whit my card to but in the document i stated REALLY BIG dont use it

its just for temp that u can boot in windows but dont play high demand games whit it

so im pretty sure its that

so mabye look for a better PSU and a good brand like corsair theramltake ect.

[ahmedjbh 0]

im still getting this really bad.

I have managed to take a small video on my phone just to shwo you guys whats happening.

So to recap, im in arma 2, can be menu, but mainly when im in the game, and worst when im in a chopper, and then I get these dots, then if im lucky the screen comes back and says recieving, and i can play on.

richieboy:

I agree it maybe the psu, however I only get it in arma2. If I cant find any other options I will have to try a new psu, im considering this one

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/135197

Edited September 26, 2009 by ahmedjbh

[no use for a name 0]

that definitely looks like some kind of hardware/power issue. Have you upgraded your PSU? I searched for that brand you listed in your first post and can't find any reviews on it; which makes me assume it's some generic, cheapo PSU that's not working right. NEVER buy a cheap PSU; always get a brand that is known like OCZ, Corsair, Antec, etc. I've had cheap PSU's fry 2 motherboards, 3 graphics cards, and 1 or 2 gigs of RAM back when I started building my own systems. Not cool...

[TimRiceSE 10]

Dont get fooled by the big numbers on "cheaper" PSU's. An 750W cheapo brand PSU is almost certainly worse than a 450W PSU from Corsair/etc/previouslymentionedbrandsbythelastguywhoposted.

[fusionofp 0]

I agree with the Cheap PSU comments but that CIT 750 has 40 amps (or so it says ).

Sure, you need a certain amount of watts but it's the amps that are king !

If you want to troubleshoot the PSU then make it work less :

Disconnect some fans for now.

Disconnect any hard disks that aren't necessary for testing Arma2.

Add /numproc=1 to the end of your boot.ini to force 1 core only.

I have a supposed 650W Atrix PSU, two 12V rails but only a total of 29Amps on those rails. If I add just one more HDD then they all start to click and cause problems.

If I add a second PSU externally ( a small 145W thing ) and attach all HDDs to that then all is well. :butbut:

[TimRiceSE 10]

eh, im not sure what you mean about that amps "are king"... P=IV... Power(watts) = current(Amps) * voltage... they have a linear relationship. Saying a PSU can push out 2x as many amps on its 12V rail is the same thing as saying it can pump out 2x as many watts....

In addition, if possible look for a PSU that only has a single 12v rail, removes all the bullcrap with load balancing and "trapped" power.

The % efficiency of a PSU is of far more interest than most would probably think too, also in terms of how much money a good brand PSU which is ~10% more efficient would save over a crap-brand PSU.

[ahmedjbh 0]

well my friend who has a very similar setup to me has is using this:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/135197

So im going to give it a go.

[desertjedi 3]

Repeating patterns like checkerboards often point to the RAM on your video card. Are you running it at stock speeds? Is it running hot? How old is your card?

[Akilez 10]

well my friend who has a very similar setup to me has is using this:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/135197

So im going to give it a go.

Everything about that PSU says 'run away'.

Using a 'peak' rating is BS.

MTBF @ 25C is BS.

This is just for starters. If you put in a poorly made PSU you are begging for nothing but trouble from here on. ArmA (2) is a demanding game and will quickly highlight the weaknesses in the build as it has in this case.

Best PSU on the market: PC Power & Cooling

[TimRiceSE 10]

But it has blue LED fan!!!

seriously, like the guy said, its a bad choice. For around the same money you can get a lot better. Can say that http://www.ebuyer.com/product/132563 has not let me down yet and will be more than capable of running your system.

But hey, its your money.

[InFireBaptize 0]

Everything about that PSU says 'run away'.

Using a 'peak' rating is BS.

MTBF @ 25C is BS.

This is just for starters. If you put in a poorly made PSU you are begging for nothing but trouble from here on. ArmA (2) is a demanding game and will quickly highlight the weaknesses in the build as it has in this case.

Best PSU on the market: PC Power & Cooling

+1, i have one and it has 60amp per 12v rail, get it.

[ahmedjbh 0]

Repeating patterns like checkerboards often point to the RAM on your video card. Are you running it at stock speeds? Is it running hot? How old is your card?

its running stock and about 6 months old.

The only reason im going for that other psu is becuase my friend has almost exactly the same spec and his is working fine, and also its very well reviewed on the site.

If it doesnt work, i will send it back like the other one.

[TimRiceSE 10]

just "working fine" isnt really enough for a PSU, at least I need to be confident that IF the PSU fails its not going to take the rest of the system down the shitter with it. And again, efficiency, over the course of a few years a high efficiency PSU will pay back the extra price margin above a cheap PSU many many times over. Although i guess its not a big deal for some if moms paying the electricity bill still.

[no use for a name 0]

its running stock and about 6 months old.

The only reason im going for that other psu is becuase my friend has almost exactly the same spec and his is working fine, and also its very well reviewed on the site.

If it doesnt work, i will send it back like the other one.

Like I said PSU's have an "ability" to take out other hardware with them if they go tits up. Sometimes they're obvious (like when my vid cards fried); sometimes they're subtle. That cheap PSU I had "worked fine" until my games kept crashing several weeks later. Found out one of my RAM modules was fried; so I bought another one. Two weeks later IT fried...someone recommended to replace the PSU and I did; haven't had a problem since.

But like Tim said its you money :j:

Edited September 30, 2009 by No Use For A Name

[ahmedjbh 0]

played for 6 hours now with no issue. Couldnt go 5 mins before without trouble.

So it seems all good for now. Thanks guys.

[SylverFyre 10]

I replaced my Hiper PSU (it went pop :() with a Corsair 750w and I think its great.

Seasonic have a reputation for greatness, but youll pay for the privilege.

Can you swap out the gfx card and or PSU to identify where the problem lies before spending your cash?