black specks appear on screen?

[Cyclonic]

So, i purchased component cables a few months back and it has been running GREAT at 480p. However, in the last month or so i have been noticing little black pixels appearing in places they shouldn't. Like right in the middle of the screen on the weather, news or Mii channel. Its strange because if i put the little hand over them it covers them up. When i move the hand/cursor away then they appear again. Also, they seem to spread, it will start out with one or two then go to 5 or 6. Its never really enough to hinder anything but i found it kind of weird. Anyone else have this issue? I do no believe my cables are Nintendo brand. (i didn't by them)

 

[Samster]

This sounds like a classic symptom of the GPU overheating.

Is your Wii a launch model - or a very early one?

Have you left it in standby mode from Day1 (Connect24)?

I had the same after about 4 months, leaving the Connect24 switched on caused the wireless chipset to contribute to the GPU getting too hot. Nintendo acknowledged that it was an issue with the launch models and swapped mine out without even testing it. Symptoms started during Zelda, and then appeared all over the main menu and in VC titles as well.

If you Google "Wii GPU overheat" you'll find some images and YouTube footage of others who've experienced this.

Make sure you keep your console updated with the latest firmware version, I noticed that a few updates back my fan started periodically spinning when the console was left in standby, further proof that Nintendo knew there was an issue with the GPU getting too hot.

 

[Mako]

Try switching back to composite cables (the red, yellow, white one). If you still see the black pixels, your GPU is fried. It's called artifacting. Do you leave wiiconnect24 on? That's been known to cause this problem. You should contact nintendo about it.

 

[Cyclonic]

i guess what i thought was strange was the fact it ONLY does it on the Wii menu ir like the mii or voting channel. Never in games. And like i said, i can take the little wii hand and actually cover up the specks. When i move the hand off the specks i can see them again. One would think that the specks should show on the screen whether or not the Wii hand/point is over them or not. My Wii is not a launch model, i got it in march i believe. Anyway, i will try the composite cables again and see if it still does specks.

 

[Mako]

Good Luck!