Hello,
This is my first post on these forums, so I apologize if this is in the wrong location or format and whatnot. Thanks in advance for any recommendations.
I have an Alienware M17XR3 with switchable graphics; AMD Radeon HD 6870 (9.3.0.0) and Intel IGP HD 3000.
While using the AMD Card, I get horizontal video flickering along the top and bottom half inch (estimated) of the screen. When I switch to the IGP, the graphics are fine (other than not being able to run any graphics-intensive applications).
There are slightly newer drivers, but as soon as they are installed, Windows Update attempts to "update" to the version mentioned above. This is a common complaint with the switchable graphics models.
Now here's where it gets weird. I started running some diagnostics using the "ATI-Tool" -> "Scan For Artifacts", and as soon as I kick that off, the flickering goes away. Up until this discovery, I assumed the card simply become unseated or something. And perhaps that is still the case. But this is definitely odd.
So, if I use the AMD driver, while running the ATI tool, I can run any application, aside from the fact that the GPU usage spikes to just under 100%, which is undesirable for other reasons.
Does anyone have any idea of what these symptoms could point to?
Thanks again.