Problems with SLI 8800gt worse!

[kutuup]

Hey all,

I'm starting to think that upgrading to SLI has been the death of my comp, what with the blown PSU, miraculously little damage on replacement and then huge temps on GPU load.

Now I have another problem!

Upon starting the computer today after testing by gaming yesterday I was feeling good and confident until I opened IE for some browsing, visited a frew sites and then...

Comp hangs... Colours go funny and weird scan lines across the screen... No response at all but hard reboot starts normally.

I have now disabled SLI (from nvidia control panel) to see if one of my 8800GT's has bitten the dust and so far its running ok but I'm getting nervous!

I managed to run TR: Anniversary for a good 45mins after the initial crash but there was a decent amount of intermittent "blue fuzz" glitching going on. No crashes though. After I stopped playing, card temps were at 89 degrees (peaked at 92). This seemed ok so off I went browsing on IE again when suddenly, same crash as earlier.

Does this sound like a dead/dying gpu?

Both GPUs are currently getting power, I have only disabled SLI software wise. I'll keep you posted on developments.

Please tell me this is not a symptom of a dead PSU or MOBO!!!

Any other parts are either under warranty or affordable to replace, but if my CPU or Mobo has gone I'm comp-less!

Please help guys!

James

 

[kutuup]

Oh and also, if my test with SLI Disabled is successful then that means one of my cards is bust right?

If so, how can I tell which one?

If it turn off sli does the card linked to spot 1 on the SLI bridge get disabled or number 2? The monitor is plugged into card 2 since card 1 gave no output under SLI

James

 

[Snowbum]

It will be helpful if u posted your system specs. PSU amperage across the 12v rails is critical for a SLI set-up.

Single slot or dual slot 8800gt?
Could be a video card overheating....turn up the fan speeds

Do some troubleshooting. Try each video card with the other card physically removed from your system. That will tell you if you have a bad video card.

If they both work well, and your psu is delivering enough juice...then I would reinstall drivers. Use driver cleaner pro to delete all the remaining files that the uninstall does not delete. Reboot, and install new drivers.

Those are some things to start with. Hopefully one of these will solve your situation.

 

[kutuup]

It will be helpful if u posted your system specs. PSU amperage across the 12v rails is critical for a SLI set-up.

Single slot or dual slot 8800gt?
Could be a video card overheating....turn up the fan speeds

Do some troubleshooting. Try each video card with the other card physically removed from your system. That will tell you if you have a bad video card.

If they both work well, and your psu is delivering enough juice...then I would reinstall drivers. Use driver cleaner pro to delete all the remaining files that the uninstall does not delete. Reboot, and install new drivers.

Those are some things to start with. Hopefully one of these will solve your situation.

ok here's the specs:

Mobo: Foxconn Renaissance
CPU: Core i7 920
RAM: 6GB DDR3
GPU: 2x 8800GT 1GB (currently 1 for testing after another crash with SLI disabled)
HDD: 2x 7200RPM
PSU: HighPower 750w with 12v: +12v1 18a, +12v2 18a, +12v3 18a, +12v4, 18a - 650 watts accross all +12v rails, SLI cert.)


Does this definitely sound like a GPU problem rather than anything else?

James

 

[kutuup]

oh and they are dual slot cards.

James

 

[Snowbum]

ugh, jealous of your i7 920!

My gut feeling is that one of your cards has gone bye bye. But run them each separately to confirm.

 

[kutuup]

will do lol, in fact I'm doing that now, card number 1 is powering this very post lol

I'm hoping its as simple as a bust gpu, if it is I might just upgrade to a better single card. Sli seems too unstable, either that or I'm super unlucky with gpus XD

I love my i7 920, I hope thats not whats dying

James

 

[kutuup]

Sorry to bump but I'm looking at shopping results for a gtx 285, presuming it does turn out to be a problem with SLI I'm having, would I see a great improvement from an 8800GT 1GB to a gtx 285? Or indeed would that single card beat SLI 8800GT 1GB's?

James

 

[Snowbum]

When 8800gt is in SLI, they perform at an optimal level just under that of the GTX 260 core 216.

A new high-end generation single card will run smoother and perform at higher fps in the majority of games. In that price range, I would pick up the ati 5870 over the gtx 285.

 

[kutuup]

Ah yes, never looked at ATI since my ol' X1650 512mb back in the day lol, would I see a big improvement over what I have now (single 8800GT) with one of those? Also would the PSU I stated above comfortably power one?

James

 

[FunSurfer]

Yes, there is some performance boost going from 8800GT to 5870... about 200% to 300%...

 

[kutuup]

Sounds like a win lol. Is SLI instability a common issue? I mean, my case is no coolermaster, my PSU is rated for it tho, I think temperature might have been the issue, if not a bad card (AGAIN! lol) will a 5870 run cooler than 8800gt sli?

James

 

[Mousemonkey]

When 8800gt is in SLI, they perform at an optimal level just under that of the GTX 260 core 216.

The performance is closer to a 280/5 if you look at the benchies. [:mousemonkey]

 

[sabot00]

Do not get the GTX 285, overpriced.
A 5850 is 5-10% better & on newegg is $289, while the GTX 285 is $389.

 

[kutuup]

Ok after 4 hours of testing I've established that the SLI setup was the issue, but I'm even more confused now because BOTH the cards work fine alone!

The PSU is officially stamped by nvidia as SLI ready, as is the Mobo! could cooling have been the issue?

The cards never hit more than 90 degrees during my test but caused crashes...

I'm at a loss here, any thoughts?

James

 

[kutuup]

Actually something does spring to mind, my psu has 4 +12v rails, there are 4 sockets on the back for pci 6 pin connectors, 2 red, 2 black, the 2 reds are next to each other, the 2 blacks are next to each other, I plugged both my cards into the red slots, would it be worth trying one in red #1 and one in black #1? could I be underpowering the cards resulting in errors or is my logic all wrong? lol

James

 

[sabot00]

The same color is usually the same rail, try different colors, as one rail might not have the juice.

 

[kutuup]

Just checked again and the cables seem to be colour coded since the black connectors have a different cabling diagram in the manual...

would the fact that the 2nd card was just plugged into its slot rather than screwed into the case too make a difference?

Probabaly sound like a total noob now if thats what's screwed me ha ha

James

 

[kutuup]

and yes I see the irony in that comment lol

 

[kutuup]

Apparently that wasnt the case, tried again with it properly screwed in, same crash, even when running IE and idling at 55 degrees. Card 2 is screwed it would seem. You guys agree?

James

 

[FunSurfer]

You said that both cards were OK working alone. Read your MoBo manual, maybe you need to move a jumper to enable SLI. Try a different SLI bridge.

 

[4745454b]

Just wondering out loud here. If the cards only get hot here but run fine while gaming, why do you think its a card problem? The lockups happen while using IE, why not look there?

 

[kutuup]

urm... is 55 degrees idle hot??? Maybe they weren't running ok lol

It doesn't just happen in IE, it has happened in nvidia control panel too, it seems random. I'm getting artefacting in games too.

Is there a right way round to install an SLI bridge and if so is there a wrong way? Or does it not really matter? Thats my next thought after swapping the physical position of the cards.

 

[4745454b]

You've only talked about lockups in IE. If its artifacting as well its a bad card(s) Its also possible its a heat issue. One reason why they might test ok when you use just one is that there is no other card to trap the heat. Try running both, in SLI, but do the house fan trick.

 

[kutuup]

You've only talked about lockups in IE. If its artifacting as well its a bad card(s) Its also possible its a heat issue. One reason why they might test ok when you use just one is that there is no other card to trap the heat. Try running both, in SLI, but do the house fan trick.

Worth a go. What trick is that?

James