GPU Artifacts / Visual Glitches During Gaming
What is this error?
Visual artifacts appearing during gaming — flickering pixels, colored blocks, stretched textures, or visual corruption. Can indicate GPU failure or driver issues.
Common causes
- GPU overheating
- VRAM failure
- unstable GPU overclock
- corrupted GPU driver
- GPU hardware degradation
How to fix it
- Check GPU temps
- remove overclock
- DDU clean install driver
- run VRAM stress test
- check for hardware failure
Too many steps? Crashless can diagnose this automatically — checks your drivers, temps, VRAM, and 400+ known error patterns.
Get free AI diagnosis Detailed analysis
Visual artifacts during gaming — random colored pixels, flickering blocks, stretched polygons, or texture corruption — can be a driver bug or a sign of GPU hardware failure.
How to determine if it's software or hardware:
- DDU clean install GPU driver — if artifacts disappear, it was a driver issue
- Check GPU temperature with HWiNFO64 while gaming — artifacts appearing when the GPU is hot (85C+) suggest thermal issues
- Remove any GPU overclock — even mild overclocks can cause artifacts if the GPU silicon can't handle them
- Run a VRAM stress test with OCCT GPU:VRAM test — if it reports errors, your GPU's VRAM is failing (hardware issue, not fixable)
- Try underclocking the GPU by -100MHz core and -200MHz memory — if artifacts stop, the GPU is degrading
If it's a hardware issue:
- VRAM errors confirmed by testing = GPU needs replacement
- Check warranty status — most GPUs have 3-year warranties
- If under warranty, document the artifacts with screenshots/video for RMA
- If out of warranty and artifacts are mild, underclocking can extend the GPU's usable life
- Artifacts that only appear in one game are likely a game/driver bug, not hardware failure
When to seek help
If this error keeps happening after trying the fixes above, it may point to a deeper hardware or system issue. Consider professional help if:
- The crash occurs across multiple games or applications
- You see the same error after a clean Windows install
- Your PC is less than a year old (could be a warranty issue)
- You smell burning or hear unusual sounds from your PC
Or let Crashless do the deep analysis for you -- our AI checks drivers, temps, event logs, and 400+ known patterns automatically.
Chat with AI about GPU Artifacts / Visual Glitches During Gaming
Describe your setup and get a personalized diagnosis in seconds. Free, no signup needed.
Get AI diagnosis Chat with AI about this error
Describe your setup and what you were doing when the crash happened. Our AI checks against 400+ known crash patterns — free, no download needed.
Let Crashless handle it
The desktop app scans your drivers, temps, VRAM, event logs, and 400+ known patterns — then walks you through the fix step by step.
