What is VRAM-ART-01?
Video Memory Artifacts (Checkerboard) ranks as a high-severity graphics card (GPU) issue in our database. Colored squares or bars appear on the screen caused by a VRAM error. The usual suspects are high temperatures, wear of memory chips, faulty driver and poor quality video cable. See the troubleshooting steps below for the fix.
Common Causes
- High temperatures
- Wear of memory chips
- Faulty driver
- Poor quality video cable
Step-by-Step Fix Guide
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1
Install the older stable driver using DDU
The highest-success first step is Install the older stable driver using DDU, which targets the most common trigger behind VRAM-ART-01.
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2
Replace the cable with a certified
For the minority of cases that need more work, the later steps dig into less usual gpu instability causes.
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3
Underclock the memory in MSI Afterburner
This step, "Underclock the memory in MSI Afterburner", specifically rules out wear of memory chips.
Commands & Diagnostics
dxdiag
nvidia-smi
Frequently Asked Questions
VRAM-ART-01 is most often triggered by high temperatures. Other reports point to wear of memory chips, faulty driver and poor quality video cable as contributing factors.
Most VRAM-ART-01 reports resolve after "Install the older stable driver using DDU". The rest of the guide above is there for the cases that don't.
Rated high severity — VRAM-ART-01 isn't immediately destructive, but recurring instances are a sign to fix it sooner rather than later.
You shouldn't need to. Work through the guide above first — a reinstall is only worth considering if none of those steps help.
Yes — GPU or memory overclocking is one of the most frequent triggers for VRAM-ART-01. Try resetting your GPU to stock clocks using MSI Afterburner or your OC software, then test for stability before investigating other causes.
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