Is it normal to have streaks if V-Syn is off?

In all games, if I disable V-Sync, I noticed like streaks of orange / red on the screen. If I enable V-Sync, everything is cool

is this normal or what?

Here`s a video:

 

It is normal. Called screen tearing Screen tearing is caused by the video frames being out of sync with the display device. When the refresh rate of the device doesn't match that of the display device it causes the frames to sync up incorrectly causing the tearing effect. This often occurs in video games when the GPU of the system is under pressure from large amounts of graphical processing or poor programming, This will cause a sudden dip in the frame rate. When the GPU is under a lot of pressure it will fail to keep the output video in sync causing the screen to tear.

 

While I am not able to see the issue watching your video, from what you describe I don't think it is "normal" to see that at all. I don't see a bunch of streaks of red and orange with my SLI systems... ever. You may have a bad SLI bridge cable. I would call Alienware to get it sorted. That definitely should not be happening. I hate v-sync and virtually never enable it. The last time I remember enabling it was to play Skyrim with 680M SLI (which has been a long time) and that was the game's fault.

Edit: if I watch that full screen I can see some faint lines (some with concentric curves) and it looks like an issue with the LCD panel itself. I don't notice any red and orange streaks or symptoms of screen tearing in the video.

 

Yes I don't know how to describe it, definitely didn't notice such a thing before with my previous laptop or Alienware laptops for that matter. I didn't describe it right, it's not the tearing we know which is caused by V-Sync but rather streaks of orange/red everywhere but if I enable V-Sync they're gone although that shouldn't happen really.

I will call Dell to send a technician thank you.

 

When v-sync is off the card is working harder so it might be a sign of an issue.

 

well it happened since day one that I got the laptop but I thought that's normal until just now, after a few months, I tried an ASUs G751JY and even with V-Sync off there were no streaks of red or anything so I realized that I do have an issue

 

I also have SLI setup and never observed that kind of streaks. Even when I had crossfire before.

 

guys I just tried disabling SLI mode and rebooted the laptop using only 1 780M GTX card then tried the game and those streaks of red disappeared completely even with V-Sync off so I guess it is a problem with the SLI bridge cable right?

 

It could be a problem with SLI bridge or with second GPU. If you want to try first then swap gpus and rerun test on primary card

 

I've never opened an Alienware 18 myself so I'll just wait for the technician to arrive with the SLI bridge cable and see

 

Agreed.. Don't mess with it if you have warranty.. You don't want to break anything especially in this machine where you have to tear down to get to anything! Looks like faulty SLI cable like Mr Fox said..

 

If you let Dell technicians touch your laptop so you must pay close attention. Many can almost nothing (the technicians are hired from small backyard firm), and they scratching up the laptop and destroys more than they repair. I disassembles and assembles my AW itself, while technicians sitting and watching. I do this always. Such can I keep the warranty on my laptop. This is the result of the first and last time a Dell technician tried to repair my laptop. Never more..
The result of working technicians did .. My job ..

 

Or it could just be an issue of SLI causing artifacts in certain games/apps, which is a pretty common software bug

 

Yeah, that's possible. Although, with about 175 game titles in my Steam, Origin and offline library and never having any remarkable issues with severe SLI problems such as those @Scanner describes, with any of my titles except Skyrim, I am happy to say it's not at all a common bug for my systems. I'm more inclined to think the SLI bridge is bad if the problem happens with other games. If only with FC4 we can probably attribute that to the game being a pile of crap.

 

I don't ever remembering it happening in my 2 previous Alienware 18s. Now why doesn't it happen if I enable V-Sync is beyond my knowledge but still the fact that it doesn't happen regardless of the V-Sync setting on a single GPU makes me think it is the SLI cable

 

LOL, I forgot which thread I was posting in earlier. Applies to you also, but I thought I was in the thread that @Scanner had posted about his weirdness. I think you both may have a bad SLI bridge cable. You guys should compare notes. Seems like the issues are kind of similar.

Edit: An observation... the SLI (or CrossFire) bridge cable seems FAR MORE vulnerable to damage than it is in the M18xR1/R2. With the Alienware 18, the cable lays directly on to top of heat sinks, with no protection whatsoever. It's not made to absorb heat. With the M18xR1/R2 this can be a problem also, and it has been identified as a potential cause of cable failure. But, at least most of the SLI/CF cable on the older machines is protected by the palmrest (it is sandwiched between the keyboard and palmrest) and only small sections of the cable are exposed to direct contact with the heat sinks.

I have added a heat barrier/insulator to the underside of the SLI bridge cable on all of my systems. You can use thermal pad, some rubberized mounting tape, foam mounting tape, or even 3 or 4 layers of electrical tape stacked on the underside would work. All you need is something to separate the cable and the heat sinks so they are not in direct physical contact.

 

LOL same exact issues you might have had a De Ja Vu while typing your previous posts

 

Update: The Dell technician replaced the SLI Bridge cable and as you guys thought, it fixed the problem!

you guys here are way more helpful than the Dell customer service reps who were asking me to do meaningless color tests by holding the D key before powering up then power up to see some stupid colors LOL

I told them please, cut the crap and send me the cable so glad it was such an easy fix

 

Ooh, I can see pretty colours? I should try that sometime.

 

HAHA! AW Tech support would test this and that here before sending anyone.. Well looks like Mr Fox was right about the problem... You might want to add some protection for the cable when you open it up to repaste...

 

Calling support is a waste of time when you can get help on this forum .. More knowledge here than at Dell support Dell support should peeping on this forum so that they get more knowledge.

 

Happy my suspicions turned out to be right. Assuming the AW18 SLI bridge cable is priced similar to the M18xR2 (about $5 USD) it is worth ordering a spare or two. @Matrix Leader6 when you do your repaste, add an insulator to the underside of the SLI bridge cable to help shield it from heat and abrasion. If you happened to notice while the tech had it apart, the cable lays across all three heat sinks. You can use thermal pads, adhesive foam mounting tape, heavy duty rubberized mounting tape or several stacked layers of electrical tape. You could even use the old redneck fix for everything and stack a couple of layers of duct tape on the bottom side. Just don't try using bubble gum and baling wire, LOL.

On the M18xR1/R2 the cable still needs to be protected in a couple of areas, but it is above the palm rest and probably not as prone to damage/failure as the AW18.