LCD monitor flicker...don't know what else to do now

[East]

my system specs:
MSI x1950pro
rosewill 550W
2gb OCZ ram
amd 4200+
MSI k9a platinum mobo crossfire xpress 3200 chipset
20.1" viewsonic vx2035wm LCD
windows XP pro SP2

i'm having monitor flicker issues with my LCD. it only happens at my monitor's native 1680x1050 @ 60Hz resolution (max supported). there is a very noticible pulsating occurring mostly along the top half of the monitor. this happens as soon as the XP welcome screen comes up and persists for hours and hours or it is gone after a simple, quick refresh of the monitor's screen (such as during a game's load-up sequence). the flickering is erratic in terms of its duration. i have tried an innumerable amount of things to remedy and even diagnose the problem. my x1950 comes with VGA and DVI. flickering occurrs through both ports. i plug my monitor into my laptop (which is running on an ATI x600 mobility graphics chip AS WELL AS THE SAME RESOLUTION) and there is absolutely NO flicker (using the VGA on my laptop). i have tried about 5 different versions of CCC and the ATI display driver as well as at least one or two versions of the omega catalyst drivers. no flicker when another monitor (17in LCD, 13in CRT) is plugged in (however i havent been able to test at the same 1680x1050 resolution with other monitors). haven't tried reseating the card or using the DVI-to-VGA adapter yet. the computer is not with me at college. i moved to an interference-free area and still there's flickering. i tried a new DVI and VGA cable and still there's flickering. i'm still unsure whether or not i tried running my display under the windows monitor driver or viewsonic's drivers first. there is definitely flicker with viewsonic's drivers.

what do you guys think? driver issue? the card? the monitor? i've tried so many different things and i've poured so much money (poor college kid) into this machine that i'm a little desperate at this point. i've been trying to sell the card, but is the card really to blame? i was sure a week or so ago that it was, but not so much anymore. i bought my X1950PRO from newegg for $154.99 and i think that i might have paid a higher price than that for going with the "value buy". would buying a cheapo (MSI) version of the x1950pro cause this? i want to get as much money together as i can and buy an X1950XT. do you all think that would that solve the flickering issue? are there any drivers that i can try that i wouldn't have already found and tried? is there a windows update for viewsonic monitors? with all the money that i spent on this system and the decent technology that this machine is built around, one would be inclined to think that everything should work more or less the way it's supposed to...right?

thanks everyone.

[East]

I've now determined that it's a driver incompatibility between the ATI catalyst drivers and my viewsonic monitor. I have tested every scenario of monitor and card combinations with a friend's peripherals. All ATI cards cause my Viewsonic monitor to flicker. All versions of the catalyst drivers do this. Are there other versions of the ATI drivers that don't involve this catalyst garbage? And I know that you can download the display driver only, but that doesn't solve the problem. Are there other third-party ATI drivers that aren't omega that anyone here has used? Thanks.

[kmann]

I wonder whatever happened with your monitor flickering problem.

I also have a Viewsonic 2235wm-3 and have really enjoyed it until recently the flickering that you mentioned started. I am using a Geforce 6800, 256 RAM card and running mostly graphics software - Lightroom and Photoshop primarily.

I tried the monitor on another computer, same flickering, I tried another monitor on the card - no flickering. Ruled out the card, ruled out the OS, whatever conflicts there might be in my various installations on my XP Pro, thingmabob2pack, and called Viewsonic.

I have a service number and the monitor is going in for warranty repair on Monday. If you're still around these forums, I wonder if you would let me know if you ever found a solution or if you had the monitor repaired.

Anyone else have any comments?

Katherine

[East]

yeah i found a solution haha. a 24" dell widescreen.

i'll never buy viewsonic again. i tried the same things you tried. different card, same flicker. different monitor, no flicker. i ended up selling the monitor to a guy after i thoroughly explained the problems.

my friend talked me into viewsonic...now i know better...and so should you. go with dell.

[kmann]

I feel your pain. The monitor is still under warranty and it will come back repaired or they will replace it (probably with a retread, want to bet?)

I like the Samsung SyncMaster it replaced .. but I need the widescreen. Bought the Viewsonic on impulse. Regretting it, actually. Can't complain about it much when it works - it keeps it's colour pretty consistently - I calibrate it monthly and it's almost never off.

One day I'll go for a truly fantastic monitor. Maybe after I sell a thousand prints.

thanks for the reply.

Daniweb looks like a pretty good forum. :)