video corruption in sli

[IceGod99]

I just tried SLI on my new system, the game ran ok but there was garbage and flickering all over the screen (this is in quake 4 with the 1.05 patch). Any idea on how to fix this? I downloaded the latest drivers off nvidias site for the cards, I just used the cd that came with my mobo for the mobo drivers though. Maybe I have something setup in my bios wrong as well? Any help appreciated.

 

[Googer]

Have you overclocked your video card?

 

[Ronin]

Not that it's likely to be causing the problem, but you should check for updates on your mobo chipset drivers. Drivers on the CD are rarely, if ever, up to date.

The flickering certainly sounds like a heat issue, but you should install something (such as RivaTuner, nTune, SysTool, or the like) to monitor the temps to see if that is in fact the case.

 

[IceGod99]

Thanks for the advice guys... I don't think it's a heat issue... for the moment I only have a single card in my system but it idles at about 40c and hits about 60c during gaming.

This is what I had done when I tried SLI (this is all from a clean install of XP):
-update mobo drivers to latest nforce 4 offering from nvidia website
-update graphics drivers with latest from nvidia with both cards in
-enable sli with AI selector (from my asus board)
-enable multi gpu support in nvidia control panel

I can't think of what else to do other than that... the cards don't seem to want to work together, the single card works great though. Although I've experienced some issues even with the single card, sometimes when I reboot my desktop is all stretched out, I have to switch resolutions back and forth to fix it. The system also thought I had like 7 monitors with both cards in, that's gone now with the single card though.

The reason I took the second one out is this thread:
http://forums.firingsquad.com/firingsqu...age?board.id=hardware&message.id=74000 so I'm assuming my cards are broke and I'm trying to figure out a way to replace them with preferably som evga cards. Of course that guy didn't say anything about the graphics being all messed up... *SHRUG*

Can you think of anything that I did wrong?

 

[Tig Ol Bitties]

Are you using an LCD??? If you are, Im assuming you're using a DVI cable. Try using a vga (analog) cable through a dvi connector, which should be provided by evga with the card. It may be a monitor issue...some monitors, especially TN ones, for one reason or another may not work well with SLi configs. Just something simple to try out before you think about rma'ing anything

 

[IceGod99]

Yeah I have two vp201bs hooked up with dvi connectors... so just hunt down a vga cable and use that instead of the dvi?

The second card is out of the system right now, mind telling me teh exact steps I should take to enable SLI so I don't mess it up? (ie removing drivers etc)

 

[IceGod99]

I just noticed on nvidias site theres an Nforce4 Intel SLI edition driver set... does AMD need something like this? I just picked the NForce4 AMD one

 

[Tig Ol Bitties]

1. Remove drivers, when they ask to restart, click restart later
2. Use driver cleaner to clean those left behind files
3. Restart computer, then shut off completely after getting into windows and unplug power cable from psu

4. put in 2nd card and do whatever is necessary for your mobo to enable SLi...ie changing lanes, or SLi jumpers, or whatever it is, you should know it since youve done it already. Dont forget the SLi bridge

5.turn on, install drivers...after it is installed, a quote bubble should pop up saying that you are SLi capable, but dont activate it yet...just restart your computer as requested

6.Then go into nVidia control panel and enable SLi, and make your settings in the control panel, and restart AGAIN...Ive done this many times and it never seems to fail

As far as the whole vga and dvi thing, there have been cases that I've read where some lcd's dvi connection doesnt work well with SLi rigs...mine unfortunately was one of them...sorry im about half asleep right now...anyways, I searched about it and decided to try out my vga cable because i got all these glitches, lines, and color disfigurations thru dvi...and now its perfectly fine. All dvi really gave me was more sharper text, but I wish I could use it...a bit disappointing...it may be my dvi cable quality, but Im happy with what I got right now, vga--->dvi connector is more than acceptable, so im not gonna invest in a $50 monster cable to find out. So try it out, it wouldnt hurt anything.

 

[Tig Ol Bitties]

Originally posted by: IceGod99
I just noticed on nvidias site theres an Nforce4 Intel SLI edition driver set... does AMD need something like this? I just picked the NForce4 AMD one

AFAIK, there isnt any SLi edition driver set for amd, but if there is, let me know lol...I didnt have to get any special SLi drivers for amd for my rig and its ben flawless...ahhh, i better get to sleep, hope this might solve your problems because if not...i dunno

 

[IceGod99]

I don't konw what happened but I followed your instructions still using my dvi connectors and suddenly the SLI works! So far I've tried quake 4, hl2, serious sam 2, and they all worked perfectly. Far cry had this weird grid pattern type thing that would flash on the screen off and on during the load screen, but inside the game was fine. Doom 3 however (unpatched) had diagonal banding and flickering problems in the menu and in the game, I'm hoping its because its unpatched but I don't know. Anyways at least it's working!