Hi everyone! This is my first time posting, so I really appreciate your help. I've had a rough experience with PC parts lately. Last year, I bought a new motherboard that turned out to be defective, and now my brand-new GPU seems to be causing problems too. I recently upgraded from a 750ti to a used 1050ti, and now I'm happy to say I have a Galax 5070ti EX-Gamer from 2025, which I managed to secure at retail price. However, I'm worried that I might not be able to return it if it has issues.
I'm mainly concerned about whether the issues I'm seeing are due to hardware or just software and driver problems. I've played COD MW 2019 and noticed pixelation in distant objects, which I thought was normal. In Dota 2, stickers flicker while browsing but it stops if I lower the settings. The most concerning issue arises when playing RDR2—during cutscenes, I see artifacts on the left side of the screen, especially in darker areas. Recently, there have been more artifacts spawning during gameplay, but oddly enough, they disappear when I turn off MSAA. My temperatures while gaming are good, maxing out at just under 70°C. Should I consider RMAing my card, or is this fairly common and might simply be a software glitch? Thanks in advance for your insights!
2 Answers
It sounds like what you're experiencing could just be due to driver issues or settings misconfigurations rather than a dying GPU. You might want to stress test it using FurMark; if it artifacts there, then you've got a more serious problem. Otherwise, it could be related to upscaling or frame generation artifacts, which are pretty common with newer hardware. Also, definitely do a clean uninstallation of your old drivers using DDU; leftover files can cause weird issues.
Totally agree with stress testing—best way to get to the root of the issue.
Also, I recommend sharing your issue in more dedicated tech support forums; there are some great communities out there that specialize in GPU issues like yours. They can provide a lot of useful feedback and possibly more experienced troubleshooting. Just make sure to repost in tech-focused areas for better visibility.
Thanks for the tip! I'll make sure to cross-post in those spaces.
That's a great suggestion! And if possible, definitely try re-installing your drivers after using DDU to see if that resolves any of the flickering or artifact issues.