Random white artifacts : NVidia/Windows bug or bad cable?

[Kywim]

Hello!

 

Relevant system specs

• CPU: Ryzen 7 2700X
• GPU: GTX 1080Ti (EVGA FTW3)
• MONITOR: Acer XB271HU (1440p/165Hz G-Sync)

The problem:

Ever since I upgraded my GPU and Monitor to a 1080ti & 1440p/165hz monitor, I got a small but annoying problem that appears in 2 circumstances.

1. Consistently, when Windows boots up, I get a slightly longer loading with some white artifacts at the bottom of the screen.
   • See for yourself (at around 0:14)
2. Sometimes, when loading in/out of a match (noticed that only on Fortnite & Dead by Daylight for now), I get the same kind of white rectangles but at the top of the screen. This is not consistent, sometimes I'll load fine 3 times in a row, but the next match I might get 0.5s of flashing lines at the top of the screen during loading. Often it's only for a few frames and goes away before I can take a picture.

But, strangely, my GPU is 100% fine in games and benchmarks. I never see a single artifact. It's only during loadings and during window's boot.

And, the plot thickens. This issue is still present after:

• A Motherboard + CPU + RAM upgrade
• A Complete windows reinstall
• DDU'ing the drivers
• Upgrading from 399.24 to latest NVidia drivers
• A PSU change (due to RMA)
• A Monitor change (due to RMA)

Strange, right? Today I tried to find out the source, and noticed a few things:

• Doesn't happen in safe mode
• Still happens with G-Sync disabled
• Happens on both DP ports of my GPU
• Doesn't happen when using a HDMI cable
  • Furthermore Windows seem to load faster with the HDMI cable. It loads at least 1s faster: the flashing screen + artifacts that you see towards the end of my video don't happen. It just goes straight to desktop instead of loading again.

Hmmm, with that in mind, there's only a few possibilities:

• Bad DP cable. (I'll try to change it next week if possible)
  • Can a bad DP cable really do that? The issue only occurs in some situations and not everywhere..
• NVidia driver and/or Windows 10 bug at 165hz/1440p
  • This is likely IMO, but I seem to be the only one having this issue..
• ???

I'm asking you: What do you think about this? Can a bad DisplayPort cable be the source of my trouble? 

 

Thank you for your help!

 

[WereCat]

I have this too but only during boot.

[Kywim]

2 minutes ago, WereCat said:

I have this too but only during boot.

And you have a 165Hz 1440p G-Sync display too, right?
Do you play games such as fortnite? Have you ever noticed white lines/rectangles at the top of the screen when you're in a loading?

[WereCat]

28 minutes ago, Kywim said:

And you have a 165Hz 1440p G-Sync display too, right?
Do you play games such as fortnite? Have you ever noticed white lines/rectangles at the top of the screen when you're in a loading?

- Yes

- No, I havent

[Kywim]

What games do you play?

[WereCat]

10 minutes ago, Kywim said:

What games do you play?

PUBG, Rocket League, BF1, Rainbow Six Siege, Yakuza 0, A Hat in Time, Divinity Original Sin 2, ........ etc, etc...

[Kywim]

Oh okay, maybe thoses games are unaffected by the bug.. but at least I'm not alone in that situation. What do you think this is? Driver bug? Windows bug?