Do you have any ideas about what might be causing these problems in the games? Appreciate your help with this issue.
Do you have any ideas about what might be causing these problems in the games? Appreciate your help with this issue.
I purchased the MSI 3070 Gaming Trio and often experience minor graphical issues. Occasionally, pixels distort on textures, leading to visual discomfort. These problems seem to occur in Mass Effect LE, Elden Ring, and Nioh 2. If they appear on an equipped item, removing it resolves the issue. Restarting the save usually fixes the problem, though it can reappear later.
I've returned the card twice to MSI, but the first time I received graphical glitches that would crash the system. The item was returned a few weeks ago and everything is back to normal.
MSI recommends replacing the power supply (the one I currently have is an EVGA 850W bronze) and again sending it in for repair. I remain covered under warranty until 2023.
I've followed all standard procedures: updated drivers, reinstalled clean drivers, and used benchmarks to monitor GPU temperatures during stress tests (never exceeded 70°C, and I don't overclock).
Here are a couple of images from Mass Effect LE.
Yeah that definitely looks like a graphical artifact. I find more often than not they are caused by bad driver installs or a game having a glitch that needs updating. I played ME LE all the way through on my GTX 1080 and got no artifacts though, so it's unlikely to be a glitch in the game, especially since it's happening with other games.
Which brings me to ask, when you did your clean driver install, did you uninstall first with DDU in Safe Mode? This can often solve problems with a prior GPU's identity remaining on your system after purchasing and installing a new GPU, because it removes ALL Nvidia GPU driver software, even the ID of a former GPU.
PCGamingWiki lists a problem with Visual glitches in ME LE at ultrawide 32:9 resolutions, but since it's happening with the other games, I have to think it's more likely the driver install. If you are by chance running it in ultrawide 32:9 though, they say disabling antialiasing fixes it. If so, you may or may not be able to enable AA in the Nvidia Control Panel with no such problems.
At any rate you should list your full system spec and OS, as well as any 3rd party background software you're running. You should also look in Event Viewer just after this happens to see if any error reports are being generated about it. Lastly, are you saying the artifacts only showed up AFTER you got the GPU back from MSI?
This is the bit that's confusing to me...
"...when I got it back the first time, there were graphical artifacts that would crash the whole system. I got it back a couple of weeks ago and everything is back to square one. "
...it sounds like the artifacts didn't happen until you got the card back the first time, and when you say everything's back to square one now, you don't say what that means. In other words, are the artifacts still lingering? If so that is NOT square one if they weren't showing until AFTER you got the card back the first time. This is why when making such a post you need to make it clear exactly what the problem was before first sending it in, and what the current problem is.
"...when I got it back the first time, there were graphical artifacts that would crash the whole system. I got it back a couple of weeks ago and everything is back to square one. "
What was meant by this statement was I had the problem shown in the picture when I first sent the card to MSI for repairs. I got the card back, put it in my machine and started Elden Ring to have the snowy screen artifacts that caused the system to crash. I sent the card back and just got it again like 2 weeks ago. and have noticed the artifact that happened in the picture all over again; which is why I said back to square one. Sorry, I should have said it was a different type of artifact upon getting the GPU back.
After reading your reply, I did the complete removal of the driver in safe mode using DDU then used NVCleanstall to do a clean install of the latest driver, restarted it and loaded up ME3 to the same problem again.
Here is my entire system:
CPU: Ryzen 7 3800XT
Cooler: SCYTHE Mugen 5 air cooler (used to have an MSI AIO)
Motherboard: B550 MSI MAG Tomahawk
RAM: 32 GB 3200 GSkill Royal 2x16 configuration
GPU: MSI 3070 Gaming Trio
Disk Drives: 2 TB ADATA Swordfish M.2 (one on Motherboard, one in a PCI slot.
PSU: EVGA 850 B5, 80 Plus BRONZE 850W (I do have access to an 80+ 850GB gold EVGA)
I usually don't run programs when I am running a game outside of any that start up with the launcher. Origin and Steam kicks in upon startup of ME LE, and I run ME3 Tweaker for a few mods I have for the trilogy. Sometimes, I use WeMod to mess around with cheats on occasion (I have beaten Mass Effect on PS3 so just figured I would goof around a bit.) I use
Also, while I was waiting for the GPU to come back, I put in an ASUS ROG 1080 that I used for a previous system and had none of the issues at hand.
MSI seems to think that the issue could be on the PSU and the card's ability to draw power, but I don't see a direct link between the two.
I once purchased a GTX 660 Ti, which was an MSI GPU. Whenever I switched between my PC and the TV inputs, my Panasonic TV would display a black screen. MSI was very difficult to contact; they didn’t keep records and only gave me a support ticket number. Eventually, I had to return it. The AMD 7970 I bought didn’t have this issue. I think the problem might have come from the way the power circuit was designed for the 660 Ti, since it used a non-reference board (not Nvidia’s). This could have caused compatibility issues with my TV, which at that time wasn’t a typical gaming display.
After returning it and receiving a full refund from Newegg, I left a comment on the product page explaining exactly what was happening. I simply stated that the black screen occurred only when switching inputs, without any assumptions or mention of MSI’s support. They replied that my PC must be faulty, which seemed completely unfounded.
In short, if they start blaming your PC without confirming the faulty component, it raises some doubts. If I were in your position, I’d probably opt for a full refund and switch to an EVGA GPU. Having one myself, I’m confident they’re among the best brands in both quality and service—especially since they mainly produce Nvidia cards.
BTW, I wouldn’t suggest AMD GPUs either; the 7970 worked fine for a few years before the fan failed and driver support dropped. I managed to find a new dual-fan/pigtail assembly on eBay for $12, but installation was tricky. From my experience, Nvidia GPUs tend to be more reliable, with longer driver support.
Anyway, when discussing this, make sure you uninstall any third-party software like mods, installers, or managers—especially if you’re playing games. This should help rule out those as potential causes. Also, try disabling ME3 Tweaker and the overlay for both Origin and Steam, as these are often software-related issues.
I finally understood what was going on. It seems my GPU doesn’t handle any overclocking, even the ones suggested by After Burner and Asus Tweak 3. It won’t run in any of those OC programs either. Keeping it in the default setting works now. I’m still unsure if returning it is a good idea, but it’s disappointing that this is the situation. I’m not sure I’ll be able to get a refund anyway.
GPU and CPU overclocking often varies from one chip to another. Plus, even a stable overclock can be undone by a single poorly written game, which is too much trouble. That's why I stop trying overclocks now. The benefits don't justify the effort, especially when it doesn't work well.
I think your feedback about the GPU issues might have overloaded the GPU, possibly affecting the PSU. If I were you, I’d replace the PSU and try again. I noticed the GPU had some artifacts before upgrading the PSU, but since then no such problems have occurred.