Frame Ripping/problems.....

[southrk]

ok, i got my new pny geforce 4 ti 4400 yesterday, installed it, when i play any game now i get some frame ripping, how would i fix this, also this morning when i woke up and turned the computer on, through the boot up process some of the white letters were funny colors and ebout every third letter was just a white dot. when windows came up it looked like a black and white checker board, so i opened the case to make sure the card was seated right, it was, but i reseated it anyways turned it on, it worked fine, any cures for these problems? my monitor is a 21" gemstar thats about 3 or 4 years old and occasionally you can notice a little darkening and then lightening.

[highrisemech]

This is a classic sign of bad video ram. If the checkerboard does not move although may turn on and off a few times an hour.

[southrk]

its only done this once since i had it.... Should i go exchange the card? the store is a good 45 mins away

[highrisemech]

From what you described there appears to be a problem. If per se the ram on the video card were damaged by ESD this could appear as an intermitant problem the steadily get worse over time. Usally video cards are very durable parts. But the symptoms you provided point to bad ram on the card. Furthermore your monitor is showing its age, I see a replacement there in your future. You may want to think about an LCD since these do not wear out like CRT monitors.

I want to add that you try and play the wait and see game with this card but if you keep noticing problems you should replace it.
Another thing presents an issue here, in that you are using a high end video card to drive an older monitor. This is usually not a good thing. Go to your display settings, click advanced and check the refresh rate. If you keep getting a lighter darker effect try optimal. If this does not work try a lower refresh rate. Do not use a refresh rate higher that your monitor specs. These should be on the back of your monitor ? MHZ. Most people go to a higher refresh rate to avoid eye strain but you cannot go over than what your monitor can support because this will damage your monitor.