[The Zorg]

Hey guys, I'm new here and I have a huge problem.
GTA IV used to run perfectly on my laptop (Intel Core i5-2410M, 4GB DDR3 RAM, AMD HD6770M 2GB GDDR5), but a couple of days ago I had a problem. When I start the game I can see terrible horizontal artifacts (It's not the GPU, other games run great) and it keeps loading (the slideshow also shows "corrupt" images" with poor sound). I tried to reinstall it and the first time went fine, two-hour session; the next day when I tried to run GTA IV the artifacts returned. I don't know what to do, can someone please help me?

[mkey82]

Run furmark to stress the GPU for a while.

[The Zorg]

QUOTE (mkey82 @ Sunday, Apr 22 2012, 14:28)

Run furmark to stress the GPU for a while.

'kay, what should I do after the Furmark bench?

[mkey82]

Run it and look for artifacts.

[unc13bud]

if he got artifacts already, i think he might cook that laptop.

QUOTE

When I start the game I can see terrible horizontal artifacts (It's not the GPU, other games run great) and it keeps loading (the slideshow also shows "corrupt" images" with poor sound).

that don't mean nothing! yawl kill me with that "other games run great" comment in here... i had GTA IV installed on xfx 9300as7 (q6600 + 285 gtx) and it played need for speed most wanted on high/max settings no problem for hours. i load GTA IV and it would crash in 1 minute, 10 minutes, 30 minutes, etc. but it would ALWAYS crash. it was the northbridge getting too hot from all the data that GTA IV pushes around (my guess - i uninstalled before testing the blue led fan heatsink i bought from thermaltake). GTA IV uses resources on computers that most games don't even touch, that's why it is so important to keep everything in the PC running smooth.
op, clean your laptop, or get a cooler. if you know how to remove your heatsinks on your CPU and videocard - reapply thermal paste.

[The Zorg]

QUOTE (mkey82 @ Sunday, Apr 22 2012, 18:27)

Run it and look for artifacts.

No artifacts during the Furmark test. Also, no overheating issues so far, I've cleaned everything. Still haven't applied new thermal paste since I don't want to void the warranty yet. It ran fine on my almost completely dust-clogged T6600 with higher temps, for f's sake! I'm aware of the massive amount of resources needed for GTA IV, but it's somehow odd. Anyway, thanks for the help, gonna see if things will change...

[unc13bud]

laptops are like people, they are different. get two identical laptops and hard drive or lcd goes bad in either one. it seems like overheating/throttling issue because you said it ran fine, BUT now it artifacts. that means the processor is hitting its temperaure threshold sooner. get a laptop cooler that will remove heat from the notebook. you can tell if its working because the CPU/VC fan will get quieter, even under heavy use.

[The Zorg]

QUOTE (unc13bud @ Tuesday, Apr 24 2012, 06:45)

laptops are like people, they are different. get two identical laptops and hard drive or lcd goes bad in either one. it seems like overheating/throttling issue because you said it ran fine, BUT now it artifacts. that means the processor is hitting its temperaure threshold sooner. get a laptop cooler that will remove heat from the notebook. you can tell if its working because the CPU/VC fan will get quieter, even under heavy use.

Ok, I have a Cooler Master U2, is it good? It reduces temperatures (somewhere around 2-5° C), but I still don't get why it shows artifacts from the very beginning, I'm monitoring CPU temps and they never got above 70° C while "loading" IV. Sorry for insisting, I really appreciate your help.

[mkey82]

Post some screenshots of this issue.

[The Zorg]

QUOTE (mkey82 @ Tuesday, Apr 24 2012, 15:12)

Post some screenshots of this issue.

Okay, since Fraps screenshots won't show the artifacts I had to use the camera. I know, it's dull but at least you can see something...

And


Hope they're useful...

[wildstyle91]

This might be a stupid point to make, but make sure you enable V-Sync otherwise it will try to run the game with as many fps as possible causing serious overheating. If it's overclocked in any way, disable it and try, also disable turbo boost if your CPU supports that.

[The Zorg]

QUOTE (wildstyle91 @ Tuesday, Apr 24 2012, 17:53)

This might be a stupid point to make, but make sure you enable V-Sync otherwise it will try to run the game with as many fps as possible causing serious overheating. If it's overclocked in any way, disable it and try, also disable turbo boost if your CPU supports that.

Guess what, you sir have made my day. I enabled VSync and the artifacts are gone. Also, disabled TurboBoost as you said (no performance hit for now). Thank you very much!

[mkey82]

For future reference, this is what artifacts look like https://www.google.com/search?q=gpu+artifac...4H4LNtAbn1NW3Dg

[The Zorg]

QUOTE (mkey82 @ Tuesday, Apr 24 2012, 18:42)

For future reference, this is what artifacts look like https://www.google.com/search?q=gpu+artifac...4H4LNtAbn1NW3Dg

Okay, thanks for the heads up.

[YankeesPwnMets]

@OP: Just FYI... thats called "tearing"