While playing games, I'm seeing strange graphical artifacts that vary depending on the game. In one title, white specks appear across the screen like static, along with green flashing spots that linger mostly in dark areas. In another, everything is covered in constant sparkles. Changing the game's upscaling method changes how the artifacts look, but doesn't eliminate them.
I've already updated the graphics drivers, checked the display cables, and reseated the GPU. The artifacts also show up in screenshots and video recordings, so they aren't limited to the monitor or cable.
My system has a Ryzen 9 7950X, GeForce RTX 4090, 64 GB of RAM, and Windows 11. What could be causing this?
1 Answer
A clean graphics-driver reinstall using Display Driver Uninstaller could be worth trying, even if the drivers are technically up to date. Download the replacement driver first, boot into Safe Mode, remove the existing NVIDIA driver, and then install the fresh copy. Also check whether you’re using a PCIe riser cable, since a faulty or marginal riser can cause visual corruption.
We found a temporary fix in the two games where the problem was most noticeable. Switching one game from DirectX 12 to DirectX 11 fixed it, while changing another from DirectX 11 to Vulkan did the same. It may be related to how those graphics APIs interact with the driver, although we’re not sure yet whether the underlying issue is fully resolved.