Graphics artifacts in ut3 retail, not in beta

[CaptainSnarf]

I just installed ut3 retail and have been having some graphics artifacts during play. Large polygons simply disappear and flicker all over the screen. I've seen a similar thing happen on my old PC and it was due to overheating, but I don't think that's what's happening here. It doesn't happen in any other games, including crysis demo, cod4, hl2, portal, and even the ut3 beta. Only ut3 retail shows the problem. I've set all my graphics settings the same as I had them in the beta (1280x1024 max everything, intense shader). It only happens on some maps. Suspense, Heatray, and Shangri-la don't seem to have a problem, which is probably why I didn't have any problems with the beta.



Specs:

vista x64
Core2duo 6600
nVidia 8600 gts
2 gb ram
Not sure the version, but the video driver is less than a month old.

HALP!

[Leo Natan]

Same here. Had the glitches in the retail version, thought it was overheating, but no, they don't show in either the demo or other games.

[dethmanrulz]

I've had that happen in the demo on Suspense

[Zenador]

Not sure if this is the same problem you gus are having, but on my screen it looks as it there is a wall about 20 ft in front of me of flashing grayish pixels, that randomly flash on and off. I can play fine on the small maps where the walls are closer than 20 ft, but on the large Ctf maps, or maps with big vistas, its really hard to see. Anyone know how to fix this? My graphics are set to full, with the best resolution, and still nothing works.

[CaptainZap]

I started having glitches when I first ran it, but then I used the nVidia nTune software, and cranked up my videocard fan speed. I thought the fan would increase in speed automatically when it got pushed hard, but I guess not. So give that a try. Worked for me.

[MoonBlood]

I get the same problem, but the glitches only begin to show up under certain situations. And once they start, they don't seem to stop. So far, I've seen it happen in WAR-Downtown and WAR-Islander_Necris. It doesn't happen immediately but at certain parts of the map. I'll see if I can't get an image of the area(s) where it happens.

I have a system similar to the original poster, but I'm on a laptop.
Vista x32 (business edition)
Core2duo T5450
2gb RAM
nvidia 8600M GS (169.04 driver)

It could possibly be a driver issue. I might try one of the older drivers to see if that helps fix it.

[shinjion07]

I started having glitches when I first ran it, but then I used the nVidia nTune software, and cranked up my videocard fan speed. I thought the fan would increase in speed automatically when it got pushed hard, but I guess not. So give that a try. Worked for me.

No, sadly not. However, if you download RivaTuner, you can set the fan to like..
Kick up to 80% when the GPU is 50C, and then 100% when it's 60C, or something like that. Really helps with overheating.

Also; Just because artifacts happen in one game and not others doesn't mean it's not related to your hardware. Is your video card overclocked at all? Artifacts have almost nothing to do with a game, it's your video card that's putting those up, for one reason or another.

[SMT]

I also have this issue. I've experienced it in WAR-Downtown and WAR-Floodgate.

After disconnecting from a server the flickering textures went away for a few minutes but then came back.

After restarting UT3 the artifacts went away for a longer time but still came back.

I also restarted my system which seemed to remove the artifacts for an even longer time.

Vista x32
Core 2 Duo 6750
nVidia 8800 320MB GTS (Driver: 7.15.11.6369)
4 GB RAM

My initial thought was that this was a video memory leak but I've yet to test this. I'll try lowering the texture detail and see if it has any impact.

[Leo Natan]

How do you guys explain that in the beta demo there are no artifacts and there are in the retail? It's the same map and the same settings, ffs...

[shinjion07]

How do you guys explain that in the beta demo there are no artifacts and there are in the retail? It's the same map and the same settings, ffs...

Because people who report that they have artifacts, report that they have artifacts ONLY on maps that weren't in the beta.

[Leo Natan]

I report otherwise then

[shinjion07]

Plus, not only is Beta and Retail two entirely different builds; they also have entirely different handles.

[Leo Natan]

In RivaTuner, how do I set fan speed percentage by card's degrees? I'll try this, maybe it'll help.

[shinjion07]

Eh, just boost the fan speed up to like 85% all the time, helps keep it cool all the time rather than just certain times.

[Leo Natan]

Yeah, yeah, but with an 8800GTX it is kinda too loud. You have two, you must know.

[CaptainSnarf]

I also have this issue. I've experienced it in WAR-Downtown and WAR-Floodgate.

After disconnecting from a server the flickering textures went away for a few minutes but then came back.

After restarting UT3 the artifacts went away for a longer time but still came back.

I also restarted my system which seemed to remove the artifacts for an even longer time.

Vista x32
Core 2 Duo 6750
nVidia 8800 320MB GTS (Driver: 7.15.11.6369)
4 GB RAM

My initial thought was that this was a video memory leak but I've yet to test this. I'll try lowering the texture detail and see if it has any impact.

Everything you said points to a heat issue. I'm going to try the nvTune fan tweak tonight and see if that helps.

FYI I had never seen a single graphic artifact in the beta. It only happens in the retail.

[dethmanrulz]

guys, it's not a heat issue...

8800 gtx's ARE hot, and 60C under load is FINE. Ask NVidia, or anyone with a bit of hardware knowledge.

I have a similar problem with UT99... but only rarely, with a skybox.

[Leo Natan]

I'll try to remove all traces of current drivers and install new ones to see if that helps, though I doubt it. I had the same issue in Vista as I have in XP.

[Leo Natan]

Yep, didn't work, still flashing textures.

Another crap product by Epic (what was I even expecting after GoW ).

[CaptainSnarf]

I started having glitches when I first ran it, but then I used the nVidia nTune software, and cranked up my videocard fan speed. I thought the fan would increase in speed automatically when it got pushed hard, but I guess not. So give that a try. Worked for me.

Last night I downloaded nVidia nTune, turned the fan control on manual->full blast. I played for about 7 hours straight without a single artifact. It worked CaptainZap! Thanks! Stupid fan control