you could try removing the graphics card and use your motherboard video output and see if the issue is still there?

do you have unusual temps on cpu/gpu when the problem starts?

issue doesnt exist if there's no graphics card in the tower or if i have the display drivers disabled

also no, my temps remain normal throughout

use DDU, completely scrub out your graphics drivers then reinstall. resetting windows (as long as you can backup your data) is also worth a shot before assuming the card is busted

already reformatted and the problem still persists

dunno if DDU would be necessary since i completely wiped everything and did a clean install before installing the latest drivers for my card

also thats just it, i don't even know if its the card or not, i just THINK it is but I'm not certain. for all i know it could be motherboard damage or something, which is what im trying to figure out

you're right, it could be some issue on the motherboard. Do you have a second pciexpress slot for the graphics card? can you try with another graphics card?

how different were those two RAM sticks? If i understood correctly you originally had one stick, then added another?

nah, theres only 1 slot for this particular card type on the motherboard and i can't even test the card in my other pc because the PCI slot doesnt support it

i had 2 corsair 4gb ddr3 vengeance ram sticks installed initially, then i took a different ddr3 set from my other pc and put it into one of the open black slots (theres 2 blue and 2 black)...which i thought would work since my motherboard was ddr3 compatible and it was 4gb like my 2 other already installed sticks, but i forgot to take the different ram voltages into account and just fucked everything up

This might be easier if you just told us exactly what hardware configuration we're dealing with instead of having to piece together what it is and what you did.

Like holy shit could you be more cryptic?
Does that mean it doesn't work with the discrete GPU in the tower but the monitor connected to the iGPU (and why would you even test that) or are you trying to say that it works with the iGPU, but not with the dGPU?
How do you even "disable" the display drivers? How do you drive a display with no display drivers? I guess if the monitor is showing solid black or is turned of there's no glitching/flickering.

What is your definition of normal temps?

Less text, more exact specs. You're not trying to write a gripping novel, it's allowed to be boring.

1. I'm saying that with the monitor plugged into the integrated graphics of my motherboard I get no artifacting whatsoever. I also don't get any artifacts if I go into the device manager and disable the graphics card display when its plugged into the GPU. That's what I meant when I said i disabled the drivers. The display "works" with both integrated and gpu, but I only get artifacts when the GPU is doing it and I don't disable anything.

2. When I was getting a black screen my monitor wasn't off. It was giving a signal. I just literally had a black screen being displayed.

Relevant specs:
Board:MSI Z77a g-43
RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance Blue 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
GPU: MSI GTX 970 Gaming 100ME
CPU: Intel i5 2500k OC'd at 4.5 ghz

3. I average about 40c on idle temps for the CPU and 55c for the GPU. Whenever my screen starts to artifact neither the temps of my cpu cores or my gpu go up or down.

I'm not trying to be cryptic, I'm sorry. Tell me what other info you'd need and I'll try my best to post it.

help us help you

What about the other RAM that you tried installing?

Were you / are you currently using XMP profiles for your RAM?

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) Desktop Memory Model F3-14900CL8D-8GBXM < I tried to put one of these into one of the black slots. Also yes, I was using XMP profiles, and am using them again now.

Does the issue occur if you don't use XMP and No manual ram overclocking at all. i.e. default motherboard settings?

yes it does

Now we're getting somewhere.

Was that before or after the problems started?
If after then do a clean driver reinstall with DDU please.

RAM voltages would also be nice.
Which RAM are you using right now?

Have you tried going onto your motherboards website and downloading the latest bios and driver updates? What OS are you using?

Get the RAM to run at 1866. To begin this, disable or turn XMP off, it won't work well with two sets, the programming is for the packaged set. Manually set the freq to 1866, set the base timings to 9-10-9-29, set the CR to 2T (or 2N if the N designator is being used), set DRAM voltage to 1.56, set the MC voltage (believe it's CPUVTT on your mobo) to 1.18 and give it a try. If any problems may need adjustments to the advanced/secondary DRAM timings (notably the tRFC) just check it and if on the lower end, try about 164.

Use my advice with caution I am not responsible for anything going wrong.

I reformatted my drive because I was having the issue, so after. I'll try that program and report back.

I'm using the CORSAIR Vengeance Blue 8GB RAM sticks right now; Those were the ones I had installed to begin with.

DRAM voltage is 1.488 v

EDIT: Tried it. No luck. I'm still getting artifacts. I tried playing CSGO and it would periodically restart the display adapter and glitch my screen up on the desktop and in game on map load before eventually freezing my PC with a tan colored blank screen. Couldn't take a screenshot of any of it that time either. Print Screen couldn't detect it. Whole time temps stayed at around 54 c on the GPU.

So does this mean the graphics card is my culprit?

EDIT: I can grab screens of the artifacts that showed up in CSGO and on my desktop screen when they show up on my browser. Just assume that my desktop is filled with these too.

https://i.imgur.com/gsdMmA0.png

RAM voltages, plural, I meant the rated voltages, not the current one.

1.5V 1600 MHz should not require an XMP profile. What are the timings?

Where would I find the rated voltages at?

Timings are 9-9-9-24

thEN WHY DID I READ THAT WALL OF TEXT

Screenshots of the Memory and SPD (correct slots) tabs in CPU-Z would work.
I'm guessing that it's not an XMP profile but you had to manually select it because the 2500K officially only supports 1333.

Also what "memory test" did you use to test the RAM?

Nah, I set it with the xmp profile, didn't manually enter anything.

https://i.imgur.com/ZeRzyuQ.png

https://i.imgur.com/iLEZ2MM.png

https://i.imgur.com/uS5eDc4.png

Also I did a test with windows memory diagnostic as well as memtest86 and neither gave me any errors.

No I meant manually selecting a profile (pretty sure that's what I wrote) even though it's JEDEC. But turns out the RAM is just ancient and weird and actually needs XMP for standard 1600 JEDEC.
How long did you let memtest86 run?

If you've got two monitors I'd plug one into the integrated GPU and one into the 970 and then run a benchmark on the 970. That way you can tell if it's just the 970 artifacting or everything.
If you don't then you'll need to run the benchmark twice, once with each GPU.

I let it run for 4 passes which took about 2 or so hours.

I'll get back to you on testing the two monitors with integrated graphics and the gpu.

https://youtu.be/Y_XbBWNy38Y

is this OP? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pVNvSuA2mM

Well, I took a risk and ended up getting a new gpu and that seems to have solved it (though idk how i could fry my gpu by putting ram in wrong but whatever). Haven't had issues in 2 days after constant use. Thanks for the help guys. I appreciate it.