how do you tell a driver glitch from real gpu damage?

On used cards, inspect the thermal pads and fans. Cards used heavily for long periods often have dried pads. If ure not comfortable opening it, a lower power limit is a safe temporary test: if artifacts disappear, heat is teh likely factor. fingers crossed 🤞

wait does this also apply to artifacts?

hmmm is squares even worth bothering with or should i just leave it

oh ive been there lol do a clean driver install with DDU in Safe Mode. if artifacts persist after that and at stock settings, run a sterss test like OCCTs VRAM test... errors there point to hardware. lmk how it goes

watch temperatures with HWiNFO, especially GPU Memory Junction Temperature if your card reports it.. 😅 meomry running very hot can cause artifacts; repadding or improving case airflow may fix it.

have u checked your artifacts settings?? mine were reset after an update

@uplinkloop works on paper, not in real life

@vik.reid nah thats not it, overclock has nothing to do with it idk maybe im wrong lol

make a backup before u touch the antivirus, leanred that the hard way fingers crossed 🤞

Reset evreything to stock first. Remove any core or memory overclock, undervolt or custom profile in MSI Afterburner or Adrenalin's tnuing. Memory overclocks are teh most common cause of sparkles and checkerboards.

hmmm if artifacts appear even in BIOS or on teh boot screen, thats almost certainly hardware. in that case contact teh seller or manufacturer for warranty. lmk how it goes

@packet_smith nah thats not it, gpu has nothing to do with it

hmmm is artifacts even worth bothering with or should i just leave it

@uplinkloop removed my memory overclock and the colored checkerboard squares are completely gone. I feel silly, but relieved. thanks everyone!