Halo 1 & 2 for PC
This topic has moved here: Subject: Halo 1 PC: Seeing white dots while playing
  • Subject: Halo 1 PC: Seeing white dots while playing
Subject: Halo 1 PC: Seeing white dots while playing

Something smells fishy...

I'm having this problem where I'm seeing little white dots on the screen while playing Halo: Combat Evolved.

I have an nvidia Geforce GT 240 graphics card. I was wondering if someone could explain to me what changes I have to make in the nvidia control panel.

  • 10.15.2010 3:55 PM PDT
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  • Elder Legendary Member

Yes, I am a hypocrite, and I'm sorry. I really do mean well, but I'm not running on all cylinders.

Everytime someone buys a copy of Halo 2 Vista, a puppy dies.

I got those while my card was overheating during a benchmark. You could try adaptive power mode but that's just a random idea. I'm choob.

EDIT: Try playing at 30 FPS for a while. "No Vsync" pushes the card to the max and can make it hawt.

[Edited on 10.16.2010 12:32 AM PDT]

  • 10.16.2010 12:32 AM PDT

Something smells fishy...

Thanks for the help so far node. So should I set the game to use vsync?

Do you think my card is overheating?

  • 10.16.2010 5:29 AM PDT
  •  | 
  • Elder Legendary Member

Yes, I am a hypocrite, and I'm sorry. I really do mean well, but I'm not running on all cylinders.

Everytime someone buys a copy of Halo 2 Vista, a puppy dies.

It does sound like it's overheating. You might have insufficient cooling for beast card.

Vsync or 30 FPS should help, but you your controls might lag a bit. Sooner you get the card to stay cool the betters.

[Edited on 10.16.2010 10:26 AM PDT]

  • 10.16.2010 10:26 AM PDT

Something smells fishy...

Yeah I think it's insufficient cooling also.

  • 10.16.2010 10:34 AM PDT

This is the average H2 Fanboy.
Xfire: JacobGRocks.
50 in H2/H3? Great, but you still fail at this.

If you want to keep your PC Cooler, drill a hole for a fan in it, and then install one. It won't look pretty, but it's better then having a fried card.

  • 10.16.2010 11:07 AM PDT

Posted by: Nessy

The bungie.net community is the halo PC community that is renowned for being unbelieveably sucky.

Sounds like your graphics card is on its way out. Look into your warranty.

  • 10.16.2010 1:27 PM PDT
  • gamertag: [none]
  • user homepage:

Im a CMNeir fanboy from the States that show you how silly i really am.

i see them to but theyre a re millions of them

  • 10.16.2010 1:36 PM PDT

Something smells fishy...

Posted by: Frnksnbns
Sounds like your graphics card is on its way out. Look into your warranty.

It's a new computer. Maybe the video card is defective? I don't know.

  • 10.17.2010 1:57 AM PDT

Posted by: Nessy

The bungie.net community is the halo PC community that is renowned for being unbelieveably sucky.


Posted by: Barnacle_Blast
Posted by: Frnksnbns
Sounds like your graphics card is on its way out. Look into your warranty.

It's a new computer. Maybe the video card is defective? I don't know.


It's not unheard of by any means. I've had both nVidia cards and ATI cards crap out on me when new. Play other games and see if it still happens. The company that built the PC is responsible for your hardware, not nVidia, so you need to contact them about your problem if you suspect the card is dying.

  • 10.18.2010 11:03 AM PDT

This is the average H2 Fanboy.
Xfire: JacobGRocks.
50 in H2/H3? Great, but you still fail at this.

If you bought the card and installed it, however, it's the card maker's fault.
And my card maker I mean the company branding it, like XFX, EVGA, Asus, Sapphire. Not nvidia or ATI.
Call their support number.

  • 10.18.2010 11:13 AM PDT

Posted by: Nessy

The bungie.net community is the halo PC community that is renowned for being unbelieveably sucky.


Posted by: JacobGRocks
If you bought the card and installed it, however, it's the card maker's fault.
And my card maker I mean the company branding it, like XFX, EVGA, Asus, Sapphire. Not nvidia or ATI.
Call their support number.


That's true, but it sounds like he purchased the computer new as is. I have not purchased a pre-built PC for many years specifically because graphics cards die, in huge numbers, and it is much easier dealing with those retail vendors than dealing with Dell, Apple, HP, etc.

  • 10.18.2010 1:09 PM PDT

This is the average H2 Fanboy.
Xfire: JacobGRocks.
50 in H2/H3? Great, but you still fail at this.


Posted by: Frnksnbns

Posted by: JacobGRocks
If you bought the card and installed it, however, it's the card maker's fault.
And my card maker I mean the company branding it, like XFX, EVGA, Asus, Sapphire. Not nvidia or ATI.
Call their support number.


That's true, but it sounds like he purchased the computer new as is. I have not purchased a pre-built PC for many years specifically because graphics cards die, in huge numbers, and it is much easier dealing with those retail vendors than dealing with Dell, Apple, HP, etc.

Yep. It's even worse with laptops, since you can't easily replace parts. And the integrated gpu failed in my old compaq laptop, and they didn't recall it even though they recalled a smimilar model.

  • 10.18.2010 1:23 PM PDT

Something smells fishy...

I'm thinking about trying a different video card. I'm hoping I can hone in on the problem. I'm kind of hoping it is just a video card problem and not a cooling problem.

  • 10.18.2010 6:06 PM PDT

Grenades are like RAM, you can never have too much


Posted by: Barnacle_Blast
I'm thinking about trying a different video card. I'm hoping I can hone in on the problem. I'm kind of hoping it is just a video card problem and not a cooling problem.

whats your manufacturer? EVGA has a nice little tool that lets you see how hot its running

most free overclocking utility also have this

  • 10.19.2010 12:01 PM PDT

Something smells fishy...

Posted by: stefen99

Posted by: Barnacle_Blast
I'm thinking about trying a different video card. I'm hoping I can hone in on the problem. I'm kind of hoping it is just a video card problem and not a cooling problem.

whats your manufacturer? EVGA has a nice little tool that lets you see how hot its running

most free overclocking utility also have this

Yeah it's an EVGA card. Is the tool on the drivers installation disk?

  • 10.19.2010 1:13 PM PDT

Grenades are like RAM, you can never have too much


Posted by: Barnacle_Blast
Posted by: stefen99

Posted by: Barnacle_Blast
I'm thinking about trying a different video card. I'm hoping I can hone in on the problem. I'm kind of hoping it is just a video card problem and not a cooling problem.

whats your manufacturer? EVGA has a nice little tool that lets you see how hot its running

most free overclocking utility also have this

Yeah it's an EVGA card. Is the tool on the drivers installation disk?

yep, look for EVGA Precision nearly all of their cards come with it. and on the off chance you cant find it, a quick google search can find it

oh,(this is a given, but just in case you don't know) if you decide to overclock it with that tool
MAKE SURE TO LINE ALL 3 BARS UP
or your computer will basically BSOD on startup and its quite hard to fix

  • 10.19.2010 2:28 PM PDT

Something smells fishy...

In the end I believe my PC has a cooling problem. It seems to run fine with the case open. When the case is closed that's when things start going awry.

  • 10.20.2010 8:00 AM PDT

Something smells fishy...


Posted by: stefen99

Posted by: Barnacle_Blast
Posted by: stefen99

Posted by: Barnacle_Blast
I'm thinking about trying a different video card. I'm hoping I can hone in on the problem. I'm kind of hoping it is just a video card problem and not a cooling problem.

whats your manufacturer? EVGA has a nice little tool that lets you see how hot its running

most free overclocking utility also have this

Yeah it's an EVGA card. Is the tool on the drivers installation disk?

yep, look for EVGA Precision nearly all of their cards come with it. and on the off chance you cant find it, a quick google search can find it

oh,(this is a given, but just in case you don't know) if you decide to overclock it with that tool
MAKE SURE TO LINE ALL 3 BARS UP
or your computer will basically BSOD on startup and its quite hard to fix

I found and downloaded the EVGA Precision Tool. I used it to overclock my video card. Now it works.

So I guess it wasn't a cooling problem.

Question: Is overclocking a bad idea?

  • 10.24.2010 10:20 PM PDT

Grenades are like RAM, you can never have too much

overclocking a little (200 or less) isnt that bad
overclocking more than that makes your cards life about a year shorter, with the benefit of making your card up to 4x more powerful

  • 10.25.2010 9:04 AM PDT

Something smells fishy...


Posted by: stefen99
overclocking a little (200 or less) isnt that bad
overclocking more than that makes your cards life about a year shorter, with the benefit of making your card up to 4x more powerful

What exactly do you mean by 200 or less.

I'm guessing you mean the difference between the default settings of the graphics card (GPU) and the custom settings.

  • 10.25.2010 2:01 PM PDT

Posted by: Nessy

The bungie.net community is the halo PC community that is renowned for being unbelieveably sucky.


Posted by: stefen99
overclocking a little (200 or less) isnt that bad
overclocking more than that makes your cards life about a year shorter, with the benefit of making your card up to 4x more powerful


You can't make a video card 2x faster let alone 4x. Try somewhere in the 10% faster range if you are lucky.

  • 10.25.2010 3:33 PM PDT

Road To Recon Unlocked on : 28th of march 2010

try another game with the same system requirements, if still dotty-like, Then it's the card.
If it's only CE then there could be a problem with the graphic lay-up of that game, set it up on low graphics.

  • 10.26.2010 12:53 AM PDT

This is the average H2 Fanboy.
Xfire: JacobGRocks.
50 in H2/H3? Great, but you still fail at this.

If you do want to overclock, get better cooling. When you overclock, your GPU produces more heat, and can also lead to white dots.

  • 10.26.2010 5:59 AM PDT

Something smells fishy...

I'm able to play games fine now. What's strange is that my graphics card was not displaying games properly until I overclocked it a little.

  • 10.26.2010 11:24 AM PDT