Uh, lately every once in a while I'll see a thick line of static/garbage data flicker on screen for a fraction of a second
Does this mean my monitor or graphics card are dying, or is it just some kind of connection issue? 💀
@hazelnot It's unlikely to be a DisplayPort connection issue (though not impossible), as AFAIK that has error detection; more likely is either a driver issue or a hardware issue. If it's only happening on one monitor, I would suspect a failure on the side of the monitor; it may literally just be a loose *internal* cable or bad contact.
Does it always happen in the same spot?
@joepie91 Huh I see
It's the big 1440p one too, I don't know if I'll be able to afford a replacement in a similar resolution if it is broken 😔
I thought it always happened in the same spot, but then today it happened again about half the screen lower
It's just a stripe of garbage from one side to the other of the screen covering, idk, about a fifth of the height?
@hazelnot My bet would be a bad internal connection, then (though take that with a grain of salt, I am not an electronics expert).
If it is what I think it is, then even in the worst case where the screen stops working, it should be fixable by just opening up the monitor (make sure not to touch the power supply, if any!) and reconnecting the internal flatcables and/or cleaning the contacts.
@joepie91 Huh fair, I guess I can try?
Not sure what you mean by "the power supply, if any" though, I guess there's monitors with external ones? And I guess the internal one might still store a charge when it's turned off and unplugged? I thought that only happened with CRTs 😅
@hazelnot Yeah, pretty much that. Most but not all monitors have an internal power supply, and it is usually not separately shielded, so the internals are exposed when the monitor case is open.
(*All* mains power supplies are dangerous when unshielded; not just those of CRTs! The capacitors can retain a charge even after disconnection and power-off.)
@joepie91 Huh, how can I tell if a power supply is shielded or not? And is there a way to drain the power from them? Cause I don't think I have the courage to go rooting inside the thing if there's a chance I'll die 💀
@hazelnot If you can see the internal components of the PSU, it's dangerous :p
You can reduce the risk of residual charge by unplugging the device *without* turning it off first (so that it tries to use the last remaining charge before losing power), but this is not perfectly reliable. Maybe something like insulating gloves might help as an additional safety measure?
*Usually* monitors with unshielded PSUs are designed so that the power supply is on the other end from the control board, as a separate unit - that distance also helps provide some extra safety, as long as you avoid touching the PSU board.
@hazelnot Can always just walk in and ask what it'd cost, and see what they say - I'm guessing they price based on the job
@joepie91 Hm, I did a quick look at electronics stores in my city, the top rated one surprisingly has a website (most local businesses don't) but they don't have any prices listed on there, just a map and their opening hours lol