2011 MBA scrabbling images in photoshop and safari.

[appleguy123]

Is this a hardware issue? It seems like after I reddit for awhile, large images will start to scramble in little tiles of precision sky viewed images. It's hard to describe and next time it happens I will photograph it. It also happens sometimes when editing images in photoshop.
I have AppleCare, so if it is hardware, I have a few months to bring it in. The problem is that I can't reproduce the issue on command. I'm unsure if what to do.
Is this normal for 2011 MacBook Airs, do you think it's an issue that needs to be fixed?

 

[appleguy123]

Here's an image of the problem.

 

[Weaselboy]

Here's an image of the problem.

Yep... hardware issue. Probably bad GPU.

 

[ajmicek]

Did this begin recently? My computer began to do that a week ago, I took the attached screenshot.

I also thought "hardware" until I looked at this thread:

https://discussions.apple.com/message/12531532#12531532

I got in touch with the user who started that thread and they said the scrabbling / garbling / weirdness went away after a few OS X updates. I suspect it is something like that. Let us know what you find out!

 

[appleguy123]

It has been happening for awhile. AlSo, it's not my entire screen that messes up. Just the image I'm looking at.

 

[jmazzamj]

Get your eyes checked, then.

Just kidding: Do you mean that the issue only happens on the image/window you have at the front? Background isn't affected? I think it's hardware related but did you try a different version of photoshop?

 

[appleguy123]

Get your eyes checked, then.

Just kidding: Do you mean that the issue only happens on the image/window you have at the front? Background isn't affected? I think it's hardware related but did you try a different version of photoshop?

It happens mainly in Safari.

 

[jmazzamj]

It happens mainly in Safari.

I don't know...It may be graphics related but as it's built in the CPU, have you tried running some processor intensive apps, like video encoding, for example?

 

[micrors4racer]

Highly unlikley a hardware issue, it seems to be only happening to certain stuff that it is rendering. I would do a clean reinstall of OSX. If it was a hardware issue, the whole screen or a constant area of the screen will be affected. GPU issues could also be replicated because they are due to temps or simply go dead cold.