GPU artifacts but only when the mouse is on that screen?

Understanding GPU Artifacts Triggered by Mouse Presence: A Technical Deep Dive

Introduction

Graphics processing unit (GPU) artifacts are visual anomalies that can appear during gaming or graphical workloads, often indicating underlying hardware or software issues. Recently, some users have observed a peculiar phenomenon: artifacts manifest exclusively when the mouse cursor is visible on the screen. This article explores this uncommon issue, examines potential causes, and suggests troubleshooting strategies.

Case Overview

A user with an Arc B580 graphics card paired with a Ryzen 5900X processor and 32GB DDR4 RAM at 3600MT/s reported encountering sporadic visual artifacts, primarily around character models in games. Intriguingly, these artifacts only appeared when the mouse cursor was present on the affected screen. Removing the mouse from the screen by moving it elsewhere consistently eliminated the visual glitches.

Initial Troubleshooting Attempts

The user undertook several standard diagnostic procedures, including:

• Reinstalling graphics drivers using Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) to ensure a clean driver environment.
• Testing older driver versions from periods when the issue was not present.
• Verifying that other software, such as Xess, was not contributing to the problem.
• Confirming that the GPU’s overclocking settings were moderate and within safe ranges.
• Ensuring a robust power supply unit (PSU) capable of supporting the graphics card under load.

Despite these efforts, the artifacts persisted under specific conditions related to mouse presence.

Potential Causes and Technical Analysis

While GPU artifacts are frequently associated with heat issues, driver conflicts, or hardware faults, this particular scenario suggests a more intricate interaction between hardware and input devices. Several hypotheses could explain this behavior:

1. Driver Conflicts or Bugs: Graphics or input device drivers may have bugs that cause rendering issues when a cursor is active within certain contexts.

2. Graphics Card Memory Issues: Faulty VRAM or memory subsystems could cause artifacts that are triggered by specific rendering or input events. The fact that artifacts stop when moving the mouse suggests the problem may be linked to rendering overlays or cursor rendering.

3. Cursor Rendering Interference: Some GPUs render hardware cursors through the GPU itself or overlay techniques. If there’s a fault in cursor rendering, it could corrupt nearby textures or models when the cursor is visible.

4. Software Overlay or Input Handling: Certain overlay applications or input handling routines might interfere with rendering pipelines, causing artifacts only during cursor rendering.

5. Hardware Failure: