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Graphics card problems - any help appreciated! (Read 1868 times)

Dec 15^th, 2008 at 6:29am

drummer_tom Offline
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If to be is to do & to
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Hi guys.

Last tuesday I took delivery of one of these babies http://212.87.86.90/novatech/specpage.html?BFG-98GTXP

However according to the Nvidia system monitor the GPU clock is only 300 mhz. Why is this?

Also, Ntune won't let my adjust my fan speed on it. I click and drag the slider, click apply but it says "The changes made were invalid and will not be applied".

Although I have a much more major problem. 4 times so far since I've had it, the computer has locked up with random green lines all over the screen and I have to do a hard reset. I then get a 'system has recovered from a serious error' message box when I log back in, and when I open the error report it says something about the graphics being stuck in an infinite loop. Why is this? They are the latest GFX drivers from Nvidia. There are 2 x 6 pin PCI-E connectors powering it directly from the 750W PSU.

Someone said something about clearing the CMOS as there could be some conflicting stuff remaining from the previous cards I have had in there?

Also, I linked up my TV via DVI as my monitor the other day but I couldn't get it to work properly. The TV seemed to have it stuck at 1024 x 768 and regardless of what I set the computer to it made no difference - so 1440 x 900 which is what I used with my old card just looked awful and didn't fit on the screen properly - moving the mouse to the edge of the screen moved the desktop over (you know what I mean!)

I have run Driver Sweeper and swept all the graphics card drivers several times!

Thanks for all the help!!

Tom

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Reply #1 - Dec 16^th, 2008 at 1:10am

NickN Offline
Colonel
FSX runs fine... the problem
is you or your system

Posts: 6317

What motherboard

Is this board a PCIe 2.0 compliant board with a recent BIOS?

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Reply #2 - Dec 16^th, 2008 at 2:51am

drummer_tom Offline
Colonel
If to be is to do & to
do is to be. Do Be Do
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Dunstable, Bedfordshire, UK

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Not quite sure how old the BIOS is - haven't done anything to it since I got the board though (actually yes I have about a month after - so last jan).

It is a PCI-E 2.0 compliant motherboard - It's an MSI P6N SLI V2

Tom

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Reply #3 - Dec 16^th, 2008 at 12:34pm

NickN Offline
Colonel
FSX runs fine... the problem
is you or your system

Posts: 6317

I asume you went from a Nvidia card to a Nvidia card and are not going from an ATI card to the 260?

If so... I have seen some crazy problems over the years, rare as they may be, where going from ATI to Nvidia required a complete OS reinstall on the Nvidia card.

Lets try something here

Completely uninstall Ntune, reboot

Completely uninstall video driver, reboot into safe mode (hit F8 right after BIOS POST screens to get to Safe Mode menu)

Enter safe mode and run driver clean

When finished boot back into Windows

Install the video driver... you may wish to go to Nvidia and get the latest for you OS and card. Be sure to select the correct options at the Nvidia Driver page

I think 180.48 is the most recent and it is what I use

Reboot the computer.. once back at the desktop wait for about 2 minutes then reboot again

Set up the drivers as you wish. I use Nhancer instead of the Nvidia control panel

As for Ntune.. it may be old on your system. Make sure you have the most recent version as it could be Ntune is not designed for the more modern card you are using and is creating issues

The motherboard drivers listed at MSI for that board are dated 4-20-2007. The Nforce 650i SLI chipset drivers at Nvidia are listed as September 12, 2008. Im am not telling you to update your motherboard drivers but that too may be needed.

Ntune is known for issues.. and Nvidia driver install instructions specifiy that it ALWAYS be uninstalled BEFORE a video card driver change

latest version here

http://www.nvidia.com/object/ntune_5.05.54.00.html

From page 21 of the VIDEO Driver Release Notes:

Quote:

Installation Instructions
Before You Begin
• If NVIDIA nTune is already installed
If you have previously installed NVIDIA nTune, NVIDIA recommends that you
uninstall nTune before installing this driver. After the driver install is complete, you
can reinstall nTune.

• If you do not have System Administrator access privileges, it is assumed that the
appropriate person with System Administrator access in your organization will set
up and install the NVIDIA graphics driver software on your computer.

• The installation process copies all necessary files for operation into the appropriate
directories.

• The nView system files are copied to your Windows\System directory.

• nView Desktop Manager Profile files (*.tvp) are saved in the Windows\Nview
directory.
Depending on the version of the NVIDIA driver previously installed, profiles may
also be located in the Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\
nView_Profiles directory.

• As part of the install process, an uninstall is registered in your system.

• Under Windows XP, the NVIDIA driver is installed in “Dualview mode” display.
However, note that the second display is not activated by default, but must be
enabled.

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Reply #4 - Dec 21^st, 2008 at 5:39pm

drummer_tom Offline
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If to be is to do & to
do is to be. Do Be Do
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Dunstable, Bedfordshire, UK

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Hi Nick just gone through all that but have just experienced the problem again.

It seems to be every time I try and do something remotely straining on the GPU. It's the 9800 GTX+ OC by BFG however it is only showing as a 300MHZ core clock and 100MHZ memory clock in Dualcore centre (the MSI utility) however many people say this program is stupid - it is actually saying my FSB is 0!!

Someone said something about doing a clear CMOS. Will that actually help at all?

Is it going to have to be an OS reinstall?

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Reply #5 - Dec 21^st, 2008 at 5:40pm

drummer_tom Offline
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Also forgot to say - as it's a new GFX card - do you think I will need to do a BIOS update on my motherboard?

Tom

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Reply #6 - Dec 21^st, 2008 at 9:31pm

NickN Offline
Colonel
FSX runs fine... the problem
is you or your system

Posts: 6317

drummer_tom wrote on Dec 21^st, 2008 at 5:40pm:

Also forgot to say - as it's a new GFX card - do you think I will need to do a BIOS update on my motherboard?

Tom

I would not think so but it is possible

Have you contacted manufacture support for the card?

I would probably go that route first

If the card is showing correct core and memory speed and then when you use it, that speed DROPS then I would suspect a power problem or a temp problem and the card is throttling itself

If the core and memory speed never go higher than what you posted then I would suspect the motherboard/BIOS, drivers or a defrctive card however as I have said in the past I have seen some strange issues going from ATI to Nvidia (or visa versa). I am not saying that is the problem here but I would not rule that out either.

Contact support for the card first and see what they have to say...

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Reply #7 - Dec 22^nd, 2008 at 4:29am

drummer_tom Offline
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If to be is to do & to
do is to be. Do Be Do
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Dunstable, Bedfordshire, UK

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I contacted card support the other day but have had no response since.

The speeds never go higher than what I posted. According to where I bought it they should be this http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?BFG-98GTXP

It's a 750W PSU with both 6 pin PCI-E connectors going to it - one is infact 8 pin with an adapter. Thermaltake Toughpower.

If I don't get a reply from support what would you suggest as the next route?

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Reply #8 - Dec 22^nd, 2008 at 4:50pm

drummer_tom Offline
Colonel
If to be is to do & to
do is to be. Do Be Do
Be Do
Dunstable, Bedfordshire, UK

Gender:
Posts: 287

Do you want me to post up a picture of what the computer does when it locks up Nick? I'm sure you know what I mean but my description was not amazing!!

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Reply #9 - Dec 22^nd, 2008 at 5:07pm

waspiflab Offline
Colonel
They don't like it up
em

Posts: 634

Have a look here your not alone:

http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=83197&hl=9800+GTX

Try 178.24 drivers as the 180.48 drivers are causing major issues with the all nvidia cards so just wait for the next set of drivers.
Good luck Wink

Wink

Try downloading the drivers from here and not the nvidia site: http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=280890

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Reply #10 - Dec 22^nd, 2008 at 5:45pm

NickN Offline
Colonel
FSX runs fine... the problem
is you or your system

Posts: 6317

waspiflab wrote on Dec 22^nd, 2008 at 5:07pm:

Have a look here your not alone:

http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=83197&hl=9800+GTX

Try 178.24 drivers as the 180.48 drivers are causing major issues with the all nvidia cards so just wait for the next set of drivers.
Good luck Wink

Wink

Try downloading the drivers from here and not the nvidia site: http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=280890

You see somthing posted in a forum and ALL the cards are falling apart on that driver?

Although I do agree trying another driver is probably not a bad idea... this notion of the entire world not able to run and crash on 180.48 is hogwash

Myself and many others run the driver without issue

@ Tom... Do try another driver and see if the results are the same however if the result does not change this is getting into something now which is

a. BIOS update related

b. Windows OS related due to the ATI card being in the system

c. defective card

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Reply #11 - Dec 23^rd, 2008 at 2:44am

drummer_tom Offline
Colonel
If to be is to do & to
do is to be. Do Be Do
Be Do
Dunstable, Bedfordshire, UK

Gender:
Posts: 287

I've just downloaded 181.00 which is a beta driver and haven't had any problems yet - although it's only been a short period of time!

We can rule out c) because I've never had an ATI card.

I looked at flashing the BIOS on my motherboard but the instructions make no sense! It says in there boot off a windows 98 boot disk and then type 'xyziuy BIOS file' - can't remember the exact name. I dunno what the BIOS file is! When I downloaded the zip there's too files in there. A .104 and a .exe. The .exe launches up the cmd window with a load of keystrokes on it with a description of what they do, but pressing any of them just closes the window!

Cheers

Tom

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Reply #12 - Dec 23^rd, 2008 at 11:38am

NickN Offline
Colonel
FSX runs fine... the problem
is you or your system

Posts: 6317

Tom

If you have never flashed a BIOS and do not know what you are doing in that area, dont do it.

Some motherboards come with a BIOS flash utility which can be entered at system boot using key strokes during initial boot. With Asus boards its ALT-F2

From there the BIOS file can be read through the utility with a floppy or USB drive

If your manual is not very clear on how to perform such an operation, just leave it alone because a bad BIOS flash can leave you with a dead system

I thought I read somewhere in all this your last card was ATI. I answer so many requests I sometimes lose track. If the card you replaced was a Nvidia card, then yes that can be ruled out

Isses with drivers are comon with any driver release. There can be times when a driver will work for most and not for some or the opposite.

One of the reasons they are constantly updating them is because all users may get better performance on one driver over another and there is no such thing as a universal 'best' driver. What you find gives great frames, stability and image quality I may find crash, runs poor or has bad IQ.

Drivers can be a roll of the dice.

So do try different drivers if the problem still exists but after you go through 3 or 4 if its still the same I would have to suspect a defective card.

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Reply #13 - Dec 23^rd, 2008 at 3:32pm

waspiflab Offline
Colonel
They don't like it up
em

Posts: 634

Quote: You see somthing posted in a forum and ALL the cards are falling apart on that driver?

Only the MAIN nvidia forum + at a guess 99% of the peolpe in there had issues with this driver only trying to help Nick Wink

Wink

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Reply #14 - Dec 23^rd, 2008 at 4:02pm

NickN Offline
Colonel
FSX runs fine... the problem
is you or your system

Posts: 6317

waspiflab wrote on Dec 23^rd, 2008 at 3:32pm:

Quote: You see somthing posted in a forum and ALL the cards are falling apart on that driver?

Only the MAIN nvidia forum + at a guess 99% of the peolpe in there had issues with this driver only trying to help Nick Wink

Wink

I know you are just rying to help but that thread does not target ONE driver and that card, and, it IS a NV issue thread in one forum, not the entire world

that thread does not say the 180.48 driver is the 'specific' cause

Quote:

I have recently purchased a 9800GTX+ 512MB RAM, and have experienced the same problems. I
have tried alternate drivers, yet nothing changes.
The graphics card itself does not generate an error report, so there is no information within Windows to identify the cause of the problem.

OK?

So i understand the suggestion of trying other drivers, and its a GOOD suggestion!.. but the:

Quote:

as the 180.48 drivers are causing major issues with the all nvidia cards

... is just toooooo much bull in one statement!
LOL Grin

Grin

I happen to find they are the best driver for FSX I have EVER used as do many others

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