For the last few days, my display has been acting up. I can't tell if it's my 5 year old Acer monitor of my Gtx 660. It's been happening a little more since I was forced to update to Windows 8.1 although it usually happens when I play gta. When I paused the game, I started getting those fuzzy black lines, and so I pressed the windows 8 button and it looked normal. Then I went to desktop and the fuzzy lines were there again. So I quit gta 4 and the lines were there for like 10 seconds and I heard a screeching buzzing noise, couldn't tell if it was monitor or pc since they're right next to each other. I just updated my drivers to see if that's the problem. Also, I don't think it overheats because it has never overheated, plus it's like 60s and 50s outside and I keep the window open so my room is always cold.

 

Could it be a virus(doubt it), old monitor, my gpu or something else?

Edited October 18, 201411 yr by BlackJesus1

It could be a few things.

1. Your cable linking your computer and monitor is loose.

2. When you game your PSU cannot supply enough power to your GPU resulting in graphical issues. (How many watts is it?)

3. Your GPU is dying. (I doubt it) Or maybe your monitor.

4. Have you checked to see if your processor is overheating? I know it may be cool in your room, but w/o an adequate cooler it can still get a bit toasty.

It could be that you have an old PC, don't know, but you might want to have that checked out by your local computer shop.

It could be a few things.

1. Your cable linking your computer and monitor is loose.

2. When you game your PSU cannot supply enough power to your GPU resulting in graphical issues. (How many watts is it?)

3. Your GPU is dying. (I doubt it) Or maybe your monitor.

4. Have you checked to see if your processor is overheating? I know it may be cool in your room, but w/o an adequate cooler it can still get a bit toasty.

1. The VGA cable?

2. When I upgraded my gpu I had to get a new psu(500 watts, I think). 

3. I hope not

4. I'll download hwmonitor to see

Yeah, the VGA cable. Double check the connections, that can lead to issues. Also try a different screen (e.g. most TVs can handle a VGA-in signal, so try on a TV). It's unlikely to be a CPU issue; might be a GPU going bad (seems more likely to me than power issues, power issues would be more likely to just stop it from working altogether), might be the screen, might be the cable.

I think my monitor is fried, I was recording and the fuzzy lines took over the entire screen, even when I quit the game. Everything else is running fine on my PC it's only 9 months old. Now the screen won't even show anything so I'm on my phone. I know it's my monitor because I checked my recording and the lines were everywhere but they weren't there when I was playing. So thanks for the help guys, I gotta by a new monitahhhh, the TV in my room is way too big(not braggin)

Wait, come again? Monitor issues are more likely to not show up in recording software -- if software running on your PC isn't showing the correct output, it's much more likely to be a GPU issue (the software on your computer doesn't care what's going on with the monitor). Anyway, check the cables and check on the TV before you declare it dead (you don't need to use the TV as a regular monitor, just hook it up to look for if it's displaying right; size doesn't change that).

Monitor issues are more likely to not show up in recording software

How come?

The way I figure it, monitors won't discriminate b/w what software is being run, just the pixel data received.  So, if a monitor is faulty, wouldn't the chances be same; whether game or recording software?

 

But, yeah, like cp702 said, it's still better to connect to your TV & see if the lines are still there. That is basically the best & easiest test to do.  And size doesn't matter; whether the TV's big enough to take a wall or smaller than your monitor,  it'll still be the same, only thing is more bigger = less clearer.

Also, if you have a spare cable lying around, try connecting using that too (if the lines are present on the TV).

How come?

The way I figure it, monitors won't discriminate b/w what software is being run, just the pixel data received.  So, if a monitor is faulty, wouldn't the chances be same; whether game or recording software?

 

But, yeah, like cp702 said, it's still better to connect to your TV & see if the lines are still there. That is basically the best & easiest test to do.  And size doesn't matter; whether the TV's big enough to take a wall or smaller than your monitor,  it'll still be the same, only thing is more bigger = less clearer.

Also, if you have a spare cable lying around, try connecting using that too (if the lines are present on the TV).

I'm assuming the recording isn't being replayed fullscreen on the same monitor. The recorded video itself, if recorded with something like fraps, will not have any lines or such; playback wouldn't show any lines specific to the video.

I'll try to test it on my TV to see if it's a gpu problem, but when I tried the monitor again the screeching buzzing noise was coming from the monitor