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Difficulty: MediumVideo, Display, and Projector Issues

A desktop user reports that during intensive 3D rendering, the monitor periodically displays random colored specks, flickering geometric artifacts, and screen distortion. A technician takes a screenshot of the corrupted display and opens the image on a different, working computer, where the screenshot image appears completely clear without any artifacts. Which of the following is the most likely cause of this display issue?

  1. The graphics card video memory (VRAM) is overheating or defective.Answer
  2. B
    The display adapter driver software is corrupted and needs a clean reinstallation.
  3. C
    The monitor's internal backlight inverter board is malfunctioning.
  4. D
    The monitor cable lacks sufficient bandwidth to support the display resolution.

Answer

The graphics card video memory (VRAM) is overheating or defective.
Visual artifacts such as random colored specks and geometric distortion occurring specifically during intensive graphical tasks indicate hardware-level GPU or VRAM thermal issues. The fact that a screenshot appears clean on another machine proves that the operating system and display driver generated the image frame buffer correctly, ruling out software corruption.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the reported symptoms and test results
Visual artifacts occur specifically under heavy 3D load, and taking a screenshot produces an uncorrupted image when viewed on another system.
Screenshots capture data from the OS frame buffer before physical VRAM/GPU output conversion. An uncorrupted screenshot proves software rendering is intact and isolates the issue to physical GPU hardware/VRAM rendering output or thermal breakdown.
2
Differentiate between software and hardware video failures
The failure occurs only under heavy load and is uncaptured by OS screenshots, confirming physical hardware (GPU/VRAM) overheating or corruption.
Failing VRAM modules or GPU overheating produce characteristic artifacts like colored specks ('snow') and geometric pattern tearing.

Key Concept

Troubleshooting Video Artifacts and Hardware Failure Symptoms
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Topics

Video, Display, and Projector Issues

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