ASUS ROG Astral RTX 5090 – Rainbow artifacts, brief black screens and multiple game crashes, but FurMark passes
Hi everyone,
I'm looking for advice from anyone who has experienced similar issues with an ASUS ROG Astral RTX 5090. I'm trying to figure out whether this could be a GPU hardware issue, a driver/software problem, or something else in my system.
My system
GPU: ASUS ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5090 32 GB GDDR7
CPU: Intel Core i9-14900K
Motherboard: ASUS ROG Strix Z790-F Gaming WiFi
RAM: 32 GB DDR5
PSU: Corsair Hx1500i Shift
Case: Corsair AIR 5400
Display: Samsung S90C OLED TV, connected via HDMI
Secondary display: 4K 144 Hz monitor, connected via DisplayPort (currently disconnected for testing)
OS: Windows 11
GPU settings: Stock clocks and default power limit, no GPU overclock or undervolt
Symptoms
1. Rainbow-colored artifacts and brief black screens on the Windows desktop
Even when I'm just using the Windows desktop, I occasionally see very brief rainbow-colored flashes consisting of thin, colored lines or stripes.
Sometimes, these flashes are followed by a black screen lasting approximately two seconds before the picture returns.
This is not limited to gaming. It also happens during normal desktop use.
2. The problem persists with only one display connected
Initially, I had both my Samsung S90C connected via HDMI and my 4K monitor connected via DisplayPort. The secondary monitor was switched off but its DisplayPort cable was still connected.
I then completely disconnected the DisplayPort cable from the GPU and tested with only the Samsung S90C connected via HDMI.
Unfortunately, the rainbow artifacts and brief black screens still occurred.
3. Crimson Desert crashes and has become increasingly difficult to launch
The first time I launched Crimson Desert, I was able to enter the game normally. After approximately three minutes, the game froze and crashed back to the desktop without displaying an error message.
After trying to launch it again, the situation got worse. I can no longer reliably reach the main menu, as the game now crashes during startup or while loading the menu.
4. Blood of Dawnwalker crashes during the opening cinematic
Blood of Dawnwalker behaves slightly differently.
I can reach the main menu, but as soon as I start the game and the opening cinematic begins, it crashes with an Unreal Engine error.
The crash report includes the following entries:
GPU Crash dump triggered
Dawnwalker
kernel32
ntdll
I understand that these entries alone do not necessarily prove a GPU hardware failure, but the crash occurs consistently when the actual game starts.
5. FurMark passes without any visible issues
Interestingly, FurMark ran for approximately 10 minutes without crashing or showing any obvious errors.
The GPU was running at stock settings, with the default power limit.
This is confusing because the games are either crashing or failing to start, while FurMark appears to run normally.
What I have observed so far
Rainbow-colored lines/flashes occur on the Windows desktop and in games.
Some flashes are followed by a black screen lasting approximately two seconds.
The issue persists with only the Samsung S90C connected via HDMI.
Crimson Desert initially ran for a few minutes before crashing, but now often fails during startup.
Blood of Dawnwalker reaches the main menu but crashes when the opening cinematic starts.
FurMark runs for 10 minutes without any obvious problems.
The GPU is running at stock clocks and the default power limit.
My questions
Has anyone experienced similar rainbow-colored artifacts or brief black screens with an RTX 5090, particularly an ASUS ROG Astral?
Can a GPU have a hardware or VRAM-related problem that does not show up in FurMark but causes crashes in specific games?
Could this be related to the NVIDIA driver, DirectX 12, shader compilation, VRR/G-SYNC, or HDMI signal stability?
What would be the best way to distinguish a GPU hardware issue from a CPU, RAM, motherboard, or driver problem?
Would you recommend any specific diagnostic tests before contacting ASUS for an RMA?
I'm considering requesting an RMA from ASUS because the combination of display artifacts, brief black screens, and crashes in multiple games is concerning.
One additional complication is that I bought the GPU second-hand through a private seller on Willhaben. Unfortunately, the seller has not provided the original invoice or the original packaging, and a separate document confirming the transfer of the card has not yet been signed. I still have the Willhaben message history documenting the purchase.
Any suggestions or experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
I had the rxt 4090 bevore and there arent any Problems, i also did a clean install for Windows to make sure everthing is fresh and didnt conflict with the old stuff!
About the rainbowflickering on desktop heres a video at about min 0:50 - until the end you see it!