# What does it mean when Motherboard causes artifacting?



## Frizz (Apr 22, 2009)

....????


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## Mussels (Apr 22, 2009)

it means you falsely diagnosed something as the motherboards fault.


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## Griever (Apr 22, 2009)

What do u mean like ur getting artifacts even tru u have switched out ur grafix card ?


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## Frizz (Apr 22, 2009)

Heres what I've done

Changed PSU 

Changed GPU

Tried every single working driver... different motherboard BIOS' ........ not sure what else to do.


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## 95Viper (Apr 22, 2009)

Heat maybe or bandwidth or memory addressing?
Bios? Overclocking the PCIe bus or the clock timing is off sych(PLL circuit is off synch)?Motherboard not regulating voltage or current to thru PCIe bus properly and is choking the cards power,  I don't even know if and how much the cards now use the power from the bus...

Just guesses...

http://www.playtool.com/pages/artifacts/artifacts.html

My best guess PSU or memory


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## Frizz (Apr 22, 2009)

My PCIE bus is set to 101

I've changed PSU's same problem. 

It might actually be memory, I will take the three sticks off and see how it runs with one slot. Heat is not the issue its a cold autumn here in syd australia atm . 

My FPS is not being affected in anyway, its just buzzing noises at the blue pciex slot... I've tried 4650, 4890 and gtx 295 all the same problem and same artifacting


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## Griever (Apr 22, 2009)

Could be that ur mother board is going i had the same probleme with an intel dp35dp and a 4850 i switched out ever thing at the end we figured it was the mother board so i sent it in still waiting for it back


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## 95Viper (Apr 22, 2009)

Did you try using the black slot and see if it works.


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## Frizz (Apr 22, 2009)

ok I'll try... the black slot is only 8x though isn't it?


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## 95Viper (Apr 22, 2009)

I believe it X16 unless it is linked then it is X8


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## DrPepper (Apr 22, 2009)

Could be a funny psu.


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## 95Viper (Apr 22, 2009)

You might want to take a close look at the caps on the board and see if they are bloated or puffed out. Also, look a the PCIe slot and make sure the pins look ok and do not have any foreign debris in them.

Make sure you have the latest motherboard drivers and bios.


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## Frizz (Apr 22, 2009)

ok same thing with the black slot.

And yeah I got 2002 bios for p5q pro. 

no caps are bloated or puffed out.. all pins are near perfect condition

I have a back up motherboard P5QL PRO....its gonna be bloody tedious but I'll give it a shot anyways and see if there's any changes


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## 95Viper (Apr 22, 2009)

Try a different video card first, if you have one.

Chances are; you changed the psu and video card, so, unless you forgot a power connector or knocked something loose, I would say you problem lies within that realm(PSU - Video card).

Check re-check power connectors...

Are you sure you cleaned out the Nvidia drivers real good, just asking.


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## Frizz (Apr 22, 2009)

95Viper said:


> Try a different video card first, if you have one.


*
I've already tried 2 different video cards, swapped from gtx 295, 4650 and now 4890 ... all the same problem. Changed PSU's as well.*


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## DrPepper (Apr 22, 2009)

Reformat ?


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## Frizz (Apr 22, 2009)

what would reformatting do?


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## allen337 (Apr 22, 2009)

If you changed the bios make sure you set to load optimised defaults and reboot and go back in bios and set it up again, try another bios if that doesnt work.  ALLEN

(edit) sounds like bad mobo


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## Frizz (Apr 22, 2009)

hmmm ok 

we know its not an electrical problem since I've moved and the same buzzing occurd in my old house... we know its not a PSU problem because I've tested out 2 different PSU's both capable... we know its not that RAM as I've used different modules 1 stick each.. we know its not the CPU as we've completely run everything at stock, I even reset the mobo BIOS to defaults.... tested out different drivers from old to new, tried out many different BIOS and other people with the same BIOS aren't having any problems...

The only thing I'm not able to test is the motherboard.... if its not the motherboard then maybe its a software problem... sigh...

OH FOR Reference this only started when I got my GTX 295! Now it won't go away, my 4850 crossfire setup never experienced this problem. So I went from 4850 crossfire > 4850 single card > GTX295(Problem started occuring) > 4890 1GB 

I'll try change my BIOS version to the oldest because I upgraded the BIOS around the time I got my gtx295.


... The GTX 295 shat on my system and left a big skid mark  ...


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## Mussels (Apr 22, 2009)

you havent tested multiple screens, or multiple cables.


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## Griever (Apr 22, 2009)

Does it only artifact during 3d ? Or has it during boot or no 3d ?


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## Frizz (Apr 22, 2009)

Mussels said:


> you havent tested multiple screens, or multiple cables.



I just got a new monitor, same issue. What cables do you mean? 



Griever said:


> Does it only artifact during 3d ? Or has it during boot or no 3d ?



Yes it buzzes when there's high rendering going on and it only artifacts with the water effects. 

It doesn't occur everywhere, but the buzzing started straight after I changed my video card to gtx 295.




Now I'm confused weather its a software or hardware related problem..


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## Mussels (Apr 22, 2009)

by cables, i meant anything you havent tested. PCI-E power, power cable to the PSU, DVI to VGA adaptors, HDMI cables, etc.

I've had a system BSOD'ing be caused by a fridge causign a power surge through an external HDD cage into the front USB port of a PC, causing an Xbox360 controller driver to crash - really weird, random shit can happen so try EVERYTHING


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## Frizz (Apr 22, 2009)

Mussels said:


> by cables, i meant anything you havent tested. PCI-E power, power cable to the PSU, DVI to VGA adaptors, HDMI cables, etc.
> 
> I've had a system BSOD'ing be caused by a fridge causign a power surge through an external HDD cage into the front USB port of a PC, causing an Xbox360 controller driver to crash - really weird, random shit can happen so try EVERYTHING



That's so true! Anyway one thing my old house and new house do have in common is that they both have very sensitive and bad electrical outputs... I turn on the lights and everything computer starts buzzing 

I've also been using the same cable for the different PSU's ... so I will try change it.

... My 4850's were connected via hdmi with my monitor ... when I changed to gtx295 I started using DVI again... so thats a good possible suspect as well

EDIT: It doesn't look like a dangerous problem at all.. it only occurs during water effects, but the buzzing sound is what bothers me the most.


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## Frizz (Apr 22, 2009)

/bump would some pictures help?

.... I'm really trying to avoid reformatting... >.>


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## allen337 (Apr 22, 2009)

My have old nvidia/ati drivers corrupting you also, tried and driver cleaners. Sure sounds like mobo-power supply crapping out. I agree you need to check and recheck all connections. You would be suprised how many times Ive said DUH im a dumbass


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## Frizz (Apr 22, 2009)

lol reassembled the whole PC... OMG... took so much of my bloody time, I think I'll reformat tomorrow and see how things go, I actually already used driver sweeper and made sure it got rid of registries.. Oh well if worse comes to worse I'll just wait til something dies im sure I could get warranty for all the parts anyways


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## DrPepper (Apr 22, 2009)

randomflip said:


> what would reformatting do?



If you've mixed ati and nvidia drivers it can cause artifacting. It happened to me recently. Try installing xp on a partition and see if it still artifacts.


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## Frizz (Apr 22, 2009)

DrPepper said:


> If you've mixed ati and nvidia drivers it can cause artifacting. It happened to me recently. Try installing xp on a partition and see if it still artifacts.



There's buzzing too :/


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## ShadowFold (Apr 22, 2009)

Definitely reformat. Driver conflicts can do the darndest things. That's what I got my money on.


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## Mussels (Apr 22, 2009)

ShadowFold said:


> Definitely reformat. Driver conflicts can do the darndest things. That's what I got my money on.



he's got a buzzing noise which sounds like an electrical fault or capacitor whine of some sort.


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## Frizz (Apr 22, 2009)

its not just the artifacting, 

let me go over it again, this particular buzzing noise coming from the PCIE x16 slots on my motherboard are making electrical sounds as Mussels mentioned and from this buzzing noise water shaders or water effects gain artifacting, I don't artifact in any other game but crysis and cod 5 (BUT I DO buzz) or any other that use heavy water reflections, thankfully though vantage doesn't have this artifacting problem.

The fact it still buzzes says the problem is still there even without the artifacts being visible.

EDIT: But I'm not saying im not gonna try reformatting, I'm just backing up files as we speak... I really hope this works, I'm starting to get frustrated and my gf is right beside me, she might not see tomorrow if reformatting doesn't work ... JKS  

I am fairly disappointed though, im starting to believe that my gtx 295 really did leave a skid mark on my system!


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## JrRacinFan (Apr 22, 2009)

Have any non astringent cleaners available? Maybe cleaning out the PCIe slots? This doesn't work others have discussed with you with what they feel is the problem. I am HIGHLY leaning towards bad power/data circuitry between northbridge/southbridge on the motherboard. 

Time for an RMA 

EDIT:

Oh and just for the sake of testing, do you have any other processor available than the Q66? Now the reason why I ask this, it is so you can fully test to make sure the power supply is giving you up to snuff efficiency.


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## Frizz (Apr 22, 2009)

JrRacinFan said:


> EDIT:
> 
> Oh and just for the sake of testing, do you have any other processor available than the Q66?



NOPE, my gf owns an amd 4000+  no other core 2 duo's in the fam.

... BUT I DONT WANNA RMA  ...


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## Icewind31 (Apr 22, 2009)

I'm pretty sure your motherboard is defective, from the buzzing noise etc, there's some obvious signaling issue w/ your motherboard (assuming you are definitely hearing it from the motherboard). Got a PCI video card to try? you can probably narrow it down to the PCI-E bus. 

I think it's time for a RMA


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## Mussels (Apr 22, 2009)

just to check, you've made sure the noise isnt something like a faulty fan, and you have an overheating component?

sure its dumb, but we all make mistakes


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## JrRacinFan (Apr 22, 2009)

randomflip said:


> NOPE, my gf owns an amd 4000+  no other core 2 duo's in the fam.
> 
> ... BUT I DONT WANNA RMA  ...





Sorry man. Just for kicks, try setting your bios to optimized defaults and attempt some gaming. See if the "squeal" continues, it has to be either a bad motherboard or bad psu. Even though, I am still leaning toward the motherboard being at fault.


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## Frizz (Apr 22, 2009)

Icewind31 said:


> I'm pretty sure your motherboard is defective, from the buzzing noise etc, there's some obvious signaling issue w/ your motherboard (assuming you are definitely hearing it from the motherboard). Got a PCI video card to try? you can probably narrow it down to the PCI-E bus.
> 
> I think it's time for a RMA



No I don't have a PCI card  I jumped, from AGP - PCIE only... if reformatting doesn't work I'll RMA.



Mussels said:


> just to check, you've made sure the noise isnt something like a faulty fan, and you have an overheating component?
> 
> sure its dumb, but we all make mistakes



Yep, listened to the PSU, CPU fan and other antec fans are on low too. Its definitely coming from the PCIE bus.



Question. Do I need to have all the components to RMA or just the motherboard itself and the box..?


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## JrRacinFan (Apr 22, 2009)

Motherboard itself and I doubt it even needs to be in its original box.


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## Frizz (Apr 22, 2009)

JrRacinFan said:


> Motherboard itself and I doubt it even needs to be in its original box.



I've already loaded optimized defaults, I think my GTX 295 ruined my PCIE slots  ... didn't happen while I was using my 4850's and then 4850 by itself.

Its a walk-in shop, if I give it to them by hand for RMA yous think they'll just gimme another mobo if no physical damage is visible and just skip the testing?  ... I'm afraid it will take at least a month to get it back... 

NOTE: Just listened to the noise again by using atitool artifact testing, definitely coming from the PCIE slots.


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## DrPepper (Apr 22, 2009)

Most damage isn't visible. I'd assume they would test it and if it fails give you a replacement.


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## Frizz (Apr 22, 2009)

Just checked their site, seems they still have quite a few p5q pro's in stock... I'll try reformat and change BIOS first. 

Thanks all I'll let you all know how it goes... earliest I could hand it in for testing is probably sat so yeah, thread closed? .


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## JrRacinFan (Apr 22, 2009)

randomflip said:


> I've already loaded optimized defaults, I think my GTX 295 ruined my PCIE slots  ... didn't happen while I was using my 4850's and then 4850 by itself.
> 
> Its a walk-in shop, if I give it to them by hand for RMA yous think they'll just gimme another mobo if no physical damage is visible and just skip the testing?  ... I'm afraid it will take at least a month to get it back...
> 
> NOTE: Just listened to the noise again by using atitool artifact testing, definitely coming from the PCIE slots.



Hell if its a walk-in shop they may exchange your board and do a 3rd party RMA.  Unsure as I don't have any local shops around and never dealt with one. Just make sure you let them know you have done extensive testing.


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## Frizz (Apr 23, 2009)

ok reporting in so its a /bump from here.

Formatting did nothing as I predicted, reinstalling chipsets and different versions didn't do squat, changing the motherboard battery too did nothing. 

So currently I'm trying to figure out how to flash my BIOS back to a previous version without going through DOS actually wait I can do EZ-flash will share results after.

Update: Flashed BIOS to a way previous version and same problem, maybe I'll just wait for something to die then get a new motherboard :/ ... RMA won't work I lost my receipt and my bank statement online doesn't back track as far... sigh I gotta order a statement, this is way too tedious.


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## allen337 (Apr 24, 2009)

here ~~  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131295R    .

 Cheap enough to buy open box


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## Frizz (Apr 24, 2009)

allen337 said:


> here ~~  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131295R    .
> 
> Cheap enough to buy open box



Thanks but last time I checked they didn't ship internationally?


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## Frizz (Apr 26, 2009)

/bump 

The artifacting is gone! It seemed to have fixed itself somehow and I have no idea when or how because the buzzing is still present so its not 100% but oh well it'll do for now until I move to AMD.


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## JrRacinFan (Apr 26, 2009)

OK I am wondering what had changed. Any drop in ambient temps? Hmmm...


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## Frizz (Apr 26, 2009)

Heres the list of things I did before the miracle happened, 

Install windows update
Change PCIE Freq from 101 to 100.


Andd............... thats about it, oh yeah and I reformatted. But the buzzing is still there so its not completely gone.


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## welly321 (Apr 28, 2009)

i bet that was it. Ive messed around with pcie frequency and it caused artifacting with me too!


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## daehxxiD (Apr 28, 2009)

randomflip said:


> Heres the list of things I did before the miracle happened,
> 
> Install windows update
> Change PCIE Freq from 101 to 100.
> ...



My Laptop buzzes while gaming; it's just some "bad" resistor; in theory it could harm your system more than a silent one, practically it's just 100% normal.


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## Mussels (Apr 29, 2009)

whining/humming is often capacitor whine, not resistors.


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## daehxxiD (Apr 29, 2009)

Mussels said:


> whining/humming is often capacitor whine, not resistors.



True that, I used the wrong term. I actually meant capacitor.


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## tkpenalty (Apr 29, 2009)

Resistors?　Capacitors? I thought the whine comes from the ferrites oscillating due to the high frequencies? (Think of a speaker coil, its just that these ferrites run at MUCH higher frequencies, high enough that we cant hear it. It might drive dogs wild though.


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## BababooeyHTJ (Apr 30, 2009)

Mussels said:


> whining/humming is often capacitor whine, not resistors.



QFT
Are you 100% sure that it's not coming from the video card? It's very common on these GTX2XX series cards. My GTX280 makes my psu squeal when running ati tool or any time I play a game that gets insanely high framerates and this has happened with 3 different psus (my old one, it's back up, and it's replacement). Cap whine is very common and I wouldn't let it bother you.


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## Frizz (May 1, 2009)

BababooeyHTJ said:


> QFT
> Are you 100% sure that it's not coming from the video card? It's very common on these GTX2XX series cards. My GTX280 makes my psu squeal when running ati tool or any time I play a game that gets insanely high framerates and this has happened with 3 different psus (my old one, it's back up, and it's replacement). Cap whine is very common and I wouldn't let it bother you.



I've tried 4 different video cards already, 4650, 4850, gtx295 then 4890, all have the same problem buzzing and artifacting except a few weeks with my 4890 and reducing pcie ferquency got rid of the artifacting at least but the whining is still there, its irregular and its definitely coming from the motherboard as I've wrote before, its not the PSU.

I might have screwed up a capacitor in my motherboard  while I was installing my gtx295 because that's where it started and now it won't end .

Weird thing though when I install it on the black PCIE x16 the noise is there as well same buzzing different slot.


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