Horizontal wavy lines

[BadCompany]

Hey, I've been having this problem ever since I built my computer (about 6 months ago) and it's always been an annoyance for me, but now I MUST fix this problem.

I've looked all over the internet and posted in many different forums to try to find a fix to this problem, but no one has been able to help me. I've tried so many possible fixes and have done countless experiments to try to see what the heck is wrong and why I am the only person with this problem. This is incredibly frustrating and I can only hope that you guys will be able to help.

Well with that out of the way, the problem is most noticeable in PC games, and is why I care so much. When playing, the video is distorted in a way that horizontal lines appear on the screen when the video moves left to right. For example, I just bought Doom 3, and when I move the mouse from left to write, those horizontal lines will appear creating this choppy, almost 'wavy' effect. This video distortion also makes it seem like a really bad framerate, but in fact the framerate is fine, and these horizontal lines have no effect on the FPS.

This problem is more noticeable in the newer games with better graphics. For example, in Call of Duty (which runs on the Quake 3 engine), these horizontal lines are not present.

I should add that these horizontal lines aren't black or colored or anything...they are rather not lines at all, just a split in the video creating a "line" effect.

So the first thing that came to mind when I saw this problem was the refresh rate of the monitor. This seems pretty obvious because video refreshes vertically and the problem is only noticeable when the video "moves" horizontally. I tried changing the refresh rates to all the different choices and also different resolutions, but no luck.

Along the way on trying to get help, I was told that disabling Vsync would solve the problem. It seemed to make sense from what I've heard about it, but unfortunately disabling it had no effect.

Yes, I have updated catalyst drivers.

An interesting tidbit: I can't take a screenshot of the distortion - the picture always comes out fine.

I think the reason that I am one of the few that have this problem is because I built my computer from scratch, and that tends to cause conflict. Here are my specs:

Asus 865PE P4P800 Deluxe
Intel P4 3.2ghz
x2 Corsair XMS 512MB DDR PC3200 (dual channel)
128MB DDR ATI Radeon Pro 9800
Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS
Western Digital 120GB 7200RPM SATA
Windows XP Home

Yes, my BIOS are up-to-date.

I'm trying to hit every possible quick-fix so that you know that I've already been through that sort of stuff.

For some reason I still think that maybe the Vsync still has something to do with it...maybe it's not really turning off when I disable it? I have no idea, I'm just getting desperate.

I'm trying to ask as many people as I can to get help, hoping that magically someone will actually know how to fix this. I just bought Doom 3 is it's very disappointing that I can't really play it yet before I fix this problem that has been haunting me for like 6 months now. Well I really hope you guys can help. Thanks a lot.

 

[koldapu]

crt or lcd?

vga or dvi?

tried changing the vga or dvi cable? or putting it in a different place?

 

[zerozero]

This does sound like your VSYNC. VSYNC, when enabled causes the whole screen to shift together when moving your mouse from left to right, eliminating this wavy jagged look. What resolution are you playing your games at? If at low res, you can try and get it up to 1280 X 1024 or 1024 X 768. Also, in your ATI control panel, leave the AA and anisotropic to prgram preference and adjust from the game control panel. Forcing these from ATI control panel can cause various problems. Also from the 3D tab, select TRUEFORM always off.
Again in ATI panel, under smartgart, make sure your AGP is set to 8 X. You can try and play with fast write on or off.
Under the troubleshoot tab, set hardware acceleration to FULL.

What is your monitor refresh rate. Set it to min 75. This is the number of times/sec your screen is refreshed. If set too low, you may notice the changes which may cause those wavy lines. This one looks like one of the most probable cause of your problem.

 

[ag3]

zerozero is absolutley correct. VSync is not enabled... And that is your problem.

I never experience video tearing, therefore I do not use VSYNC... However, it is a must in Doom3.

 

[BadCompany]

It's a CRT NEC MultiSync FE770, and I've not sure if it's DVI or VGA, don't know what that means.

And yes I've tried playing around with pretty much every possible option in the ATI control panel and it still has no effect on the distortion.

My resolution is set at 1024x768 @ 85Hz but usually automatically changes to 60Hz depending on what game I play.

I'm beginning to think that this is a monitor problem if the video card doesn't even seem to notice the problem.

 

[BRoWZ]

Ive heard that you should try to match the fps up with your refresh rate (max fps 85 for 85hz refresh rate), im not sure if it might work but u could give it a try.

 

[jolancer]

ona CRT, tha system your using is more then capable of running Doom3, even without Vsync enabled..

did u try running doom on minimum/ low settings, at like for example 800x600 res?? and does it still occur?

maybe your gpu or watnot is just overheating... do u overclock at all?? did u check your system temps?? and did u install enough case fans?

 

[koldapu]

your monitor is a vga, try checking the cable for any tears or something like that

 

[overclocker1]

do u have a fluorescent light next to your computer?

 

[BadCompany]

Ive heard that you should try to match the fps up with your refresh rate (max fps 85 for 85hz refresh rate), im not sure if it might work but u could give it a try.

That's quite impossible, FPS is not a constant, and with a game like Doom 3, it's also quite hard to get an FPS as high as a low refresh rate (60Hz).

Yes, I've tried it on low settings, distortion still occurs. I also thought that my gpu might be overheating due to the type of distortion, but I can't check the temp on the actual GPU, but the overall heat of the other parts are fine and the fan on the GPU is running fine so there's no reason for it to overheat (it's not overclocked).

No tears on the VGA cable.

Fluorescent light near my computer? Well...there's one ON the computer: the LED. That's about it though.