Graphics related bugs still plague Vista
It seems that my initial prediction that it would take about a year for graphics under Vista to become as good as XP might just come true. Although I might still be proved wrong - it could take a LOT longer ...
I've got two odd graphics-related bugs that plague multiple Vista systems here at the PC Doc HQ. All the systems have these things in common:
- All run ATI Radeon graphics cards (a broad range too, ranging from the 9800 to the X1600)
- All run dual monitors
- All are running the latest ATI drivers
- All run Vista
The first bug is annoying but I only see it once a month because it happens when Windows Updates come in. After the reboot one screen of the dual monitor array is shut down and the system is down to one and I have to reactivate it in the Display Settings applet. Not all dual monitor systems seem to be affected by this issue, but the systems that are affected have little in common other than Vista, ATI and dual screens.
The other bug is a screen corruption issue. I first saw this back when I was beta testing Vista and submitted it as a bug. It was fixed but then later reappeared in lesser form in Vista RTM.
Here's a still from a video we took of the screen corruption (as you might have guessed, it's not present on screen captures):
See it? That vertical line to the right of the cursor. Here's a magnified view:
This screen corruption happens when moving the cursor over certain areas of the screen. It doesn't happen all the time and even when I do spot it it's hard to replicate because you have put the cursor back in exactly the same spot. Back during the beta testing phase of Vista it was far more apparent and easier to replicate. Now it's much fainter (as you can see from the photo) and doesn't happen anywhere near as often. Nonetheless, it's annoying.
I can add these issues to the list of gaming issues that I've seen. The bottom line is that if you're a serious hardcore gamer and want the best performance and graphics, you need to stick with XP for a fair while longer since performance under Vista is nowhere near as good.
Thoughts?