8800GTS 512 link width 1x -- I'm dyin here.

M

MBchrono

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Feb 2, 2008
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PROBLEM WAS SOLVED WITH A 3RD RMA DIRECT TO eVGA -- THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO HELPED AND GAVE SUGGESTIONS

Specs:
Gigabyte DS3R
e8400 Wolfdale
Mushkin 1GB x2
8800GTS 512 (G92)
mushkin 550250 Powersupply -- http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16817812004

I purchased this card about two weeks ago. It was only running 2x link width so as you can imagine it had terrible performance. I returned the card to newegg and got my new card back yesterday. It is now reading 1x. I've seen many people with this problem and have tried many of their solutions. I have tried increasing PCI-e frequency all the way up to 110 (Way too high, did for testing). I also overvolted PCI-e by .2 and northbridge by .2 for testing. Nothing worked. I just did a fresh format for kicks and everything is now running at optimized defaults, including cpu and memory. I am going crazy trying to figure this problem out.

I have ran an 8600GT and an 8500GT and both ran x16 with no problems.

Any help or suggestions would be great.
Thanks in advance,
Matt

*Edit*
Below is the powersupply I am using. I am getting no power warnings or anything.
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16817812004
 
Seeing that the issue spans 2 cards, I'm willing to bet your issue is your PSU. It's not necessarily that it's not supplying the correct power, but some PSU's (like some antecs) are known to have issues with not supplying power to 8800GT's correctly.

Do you have another PSU to swap into the system and try?
 
I have a crappy 380W PS but I doubt that will have the balls to do anything.

I contacted eVGA tech support and they recommend I RMA directly with them this time instead of newegg. So I should be getting my 3rd card early next week. In the meantime I will try to get another PS to swap in and see if that helps.

You mentioning the PS made me think. When I change BIOS settings sometimes when the computer starts to reboot, the videocard will beep 3 or 4 times (sometimes). The computer boots up but I get no video. If I turn off the computer and reboot it is fine. I swapped the cable that came with my PS with the double molex converter that came with the card and still no go. It didn't do the blank screen/beeping with my first 8800GTS though. Maybe sobbing in a corner will fix the issue..
 
Hrm. I put my PCI-e frequency up to 105 again and got horrible studders in windows and a couple beeps. Maybe it really is a PS issue. Can you recommend a good PS for around 100 bucks? That Mushkin seemed good enough with 4 12V rails I think. Dunno. Is there a way to tell if I am not getting enough power?

I thought the PS was supposed to blink or something when it was using multiple 12V rails. I don't see anything like that.

On closer inspection the green led is not on, so that means rail fusion is off. I am not sure if it is supposed to be on but it seems like it should with this videocard.
 
You should have a solid PSU with at least something around 425watts and 30amps (combined +12v)...

I'm very willing to bet that's your problem. You mentioned a "crappy 380watt" PSU, I highly doubt that is sufficient.

(By the way; I have a Zalman ZM600-HP 600watt PSU I just put for sale. The spec's can be found here; http://zalman.co.kr/ENG/product/Product_Read.asp?idx=196 -- My FS/FT thread link is in my sig. I'm looking for around $100 shipped, PM if you're interested.)

- Joey
 
That 380 is just a spare one I had. The one I am using now is http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16817812004
and seems comparable to the one you are selling. I am wondering if my actual PS is bad. I am running fail safe bios right now and it is giving me terrible performance in even windows. Going to webpages freezes me up and gives me graphical glitches. It wasn't doing this just an hour ago. I'm very confused.

If I decide to return this PS I have now I may buy yours off of you Panzer. Need to sleep on some of my problems before I punch my monitor.
 
MBchrono said:
That 380 is just a spare one I had. The one I am using now is http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16817812004
and seems comparable to the one you are selling. I am wondering if my actual PS is bad. I am running fail safe bios right now and it is giving me terrible performance in even windows. Going to webpages freezes me up and gives me graphical glitches. It wasn't doing this just an hour ago. I'm very confused.

If I decide to return this PS I have now I may buy yours off of you Panzer. Need to sleep on some of my problems before I punch my monitor.
Click to expand...

Ah, gotcha. Though that Mushkin PSU looks good, I didn't even know they made PSU's, let alone how they rate or stack up to some of the other manufactures. Though even Antec and other reputable companies have problems now-and-then. It could just be a bad PSU, you never know. But I know the PSU is one of the most important parts and a lot of weird unexplainable issues can be traced back to the PSU.

- Joey
 
Ok, another thing. I just noticed my lights were flickering when my computer freezes up in windows... Wow. Never had that before.
 
Um.. your PSU sounds fairly unstable, and it might already be having bad effects on the GPU (underpowering electronics is bad news).

I'd avoid running that system on that PSU asap...before you fry your motherboard or CPU.
 
Sr7 said:
Um.. your PSU sounds fairly unstable, and it might already be having bad effects on the GPU (underpowering electronics is bad news).

I'd avoid running that system on that PSU asap...before you fry your motherboard or CPU.
Click to expand...

I'd agree. Voltage issues can seriously damage fragile electronics. I would consider getting a better power supply. Or at least a different power supply. Your Mushkin looks good on paper, but I have no idea how that really preforms. It could use cheap parts and/or it could of been damaged when you bought it. Shit happens.

- Joey
 
vick1000 said:
If your lights ar flickering in your house you need one of these...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16842102054

...not for your lights, but to filter the power to your PC. You should also get the wiring checked in your house, and get the power company to check your tranformers in your neighborhood.
Click to expand...

Hold up. I know he mentioned "lights flickering", did he mean in his house/room or his computer???

If lights are flickering in your house/room, you definitely need to get a better PSU, because there is something seriously wrong in the circuitry.

But I would also suggest getting something like what's posted above. A UPS w/ active/automatic voltage regulation/filtering is a must!

EDIT: I use one of these on my system; http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16842102070 I believe that is the exact same model I have. It uses AVR.

- Joey
 
PanzerKrieg13 said:
Hold up. I know he mentioned "lights flickering", did he mean in his house/room or his computer???

If lights are flickering in your house/room, you definitely need to get a better PSU, because there is something seriously wrong in the circuitry.

But I would also suggest getting something like what's posted above. A UPS w/ active/automatic voltage regulation/filtering is a must!

EDIT: I use one of these on my system; http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16842102070 I believe that is the exact same model I have. It uses AVR.

- Joey
Click to expand...

That's the same one I use, I only linked to the other one because it's a better deal at the same price right now.
 
Ugh, I eneded up getting pretty sick saturday and been throwin up all weekend. Thanks for all your replies.

I ended up buying this powersupply as recommended by a couple of my friends. Power Supply

It should be delivered here in the next hour or so. I hope it will fix all the weirdness, as well as the 1x PCI-e problems I was having. I'll post again when I know more. Thanks again for all the suggestions.
 
MBchrono said:
Ugh, I eneded up getting pretty sick saturday and been throwin up all weekend. Thanks for all your replies.

I ended up buying this powersupply as recommended by a couple of my friends. Power Supply

It should be delivered here in the next hour or so. I hope it will fix all the weirdness, as well as the 1x PCI-e problems I was having. I'll post again when I know more. Thanks again for all the suggestions.
Click to expand...

I know faulty PSUs can be a pain in the ass, but it's nothing to get that sick over!
 
Ha. Judging by what I threw up and the last thing I ate, I would say that I got ahold of some bad taco bell. Throwing up food that already smells and looks bad is a double threat. Seeing the throw up made me throw up more...

Back to the computer, I read a topic about a guy who said that some power supplies do not supply power to the videocard at the correct time or something. Something about the G92s "asking" for certain power at a certain time and some PSU not supplying so it underclocks. I am not sure if it makes sense, but thats just something I read.

Pacing back and fourth waiting for my new PSU.
 
If you have a C1 revision P965 chipset, you can run into this problem. My old P5B Deluxe suffered it. Go into your BIOS and up the NB voltage one notch. Set your PCI-E frequency to 101mhz, keep trying things. Eventually you'll stumble upon a fix, you just have to fnd the magic combo. Happened to me i went from a 6600 to a G80 8800 GTS.


Might be relevant, might be gibberish, but thought i'd post to offer help.

EDIT: Saw you tried that already, I will admit it was a big enough problem to make me sell of my P5B, the best i could ever get to was a 8x link with the overclock i wanted.
 
MrMitch said:
If you have a C1 revision P965 chipset, you can run into this problem. My old P5B Deluxe suffered it. Go into your BIOS and up the NB voltage one notch. Set your PCI-E frequency to 101mhz, keep trying things. Eventually you'll stumble upon a fix, you just have to fnd the magic combo. Happened to me i went from a 6600 to a G80 8800 GTS.


Might be relevant, might be gibberish, but thought i'd post to offer help.

EDIT: Saw you tried that already, I will admit it was a big enough problem to make me sell of my P5B, the best i could ever get to was a 8x link with the overclock i wanted.
Click to expand...

Crap, I'm having the same issues with my P65! I'm getting like 7FPS on my 8800GTS G92. Major issues here!
 
Ok I just installed my new PSU and to my suprise it beeped 3 times and no video again. After trying 4 times I got it to boot for some reason on bios defaults. I am not in windows, still running at 1x with a brand new PSU and unable to boot into windows 100% of the time. I also get the same website slowness when loading a page.

It must be the video card. I must just hvae the worst luck possible and got a bad RMA card. My new one should be here near the end of the week, but this is getting pretty insane. I spent 1100 bucks for a computer 2 weeks ago and am unable to even use it. Kinda wanna cry.
 
I reinserted my RAM for S&G and the freezes and glitches seemed to have gone away. It also restarted 3 times in a row without issue. I'm gonna keep running tests and try to up voltages with this new PSU to see if I can fix it.

*edit*

Whatever. That restart beeped three times and I got no video. Just gonna wait for my 3rd card to come...
 
I really, really, REALLY hope it doesn't come to that. Thats just a pain. Since two other cards have ran x16 perfectly and the only problems I seem to be having are video. But if all else fails, I guess it must be done. :(
 
Pretzel said:
Crap, I'm having the same issues with my P65! I'm getting like 7FPS on my 8800GTS G92. Major issues here!
Click to expand...

is it possible to have these problems with a P35 chipset and cheap case with a 400W PSU?
 
Instead of starting a new thread I'll chime in with my similar issues.. I'm getting a 7FPS! :mad:

I'm stumped on this one...

My setup:
E6600
Asus P5B Deluxe P965
2GB Crucial
Vista Ultimate 32-bit
OCZ 600W

OK, I've run the following cards on this system exact system with 0 issues. 7800GT, 8800GT SSC, 8800GTX.

I stepped up to an 8800GTS 512 from the 8000GT SSC model.

I updated my drivers and popped in my 8800GTS and bam.. my frame rate dropped to 7FPS on COD4 (only game I play).

I flashed to the new bios and cleaned out my drivers and reinstalled the 169.32 drivers with no luck.

I read through the forums and there has been some PSU issues. The OCZ 600W should be plenty but I ran over to Fry's anyway and picked up a Thermaltake 750W.

I loaded up COD4 and it showed 7 FPS again but once I went in game it shot up to 90FPS. This is at 1680x1050. I then changed back to my native (24" Dell) 1920x1200 and my frame rates fell back to 7FPS???

I don't know what the deal is this because I've had 0 issues with all of my previous Nvidia cards.
 
Sounds like its runnin at 1x to me, but I dunno. Pretty much the same thing happenin to me.

I found a printout of my video stuff. Doubt it will help, but I'll post it here anyways incase somebody sees something.

NVIDIA System Information report created on: 02/19/2008 16:46:40
System name: MATTCO-B25E9C17

[Display]
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E8400 @ 3.00GHz (4005 MHz)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP (Service Pack 2)
DirectX version: 9.0c
GPU processor: GeForce 8800 GTS 512
ForceWare version: 169.28
Memory: 512 MB
Video BIOS version: 62.92.25.00.02
IRQ: 16
Bus: PCI Express x1

[Components]

nvCpl.cpl 1.5.600.01 NVIDIA Control Panel Applet
nvExpBar.dll 1.5.600.01 NVIDIA Control Panel
nvCplUI.exe 1.5.600.01 NVIDIA Control Panel
nvWSS.dll 6.14.11.6928 NVIDIA Workstation Server
nvViTvS.dll 6.14.11.6928 NVIDIA Video and TV Server
nvMoblS.dll 6.14.11.6928 NVIDIA Mobile Server
NVMCTRAY.DLL 6.14.11.6928 NVIDIA Media Center Library
NVOGLNT.DLL 6.14.11.6928 NVIDIA Compatible OpenGL ICD
nvDispS.dll 6.14.11.6928 NVIDIA Display Server
NVCPL.DLL 6.14.11.6928 NVIDIA Compatible Windows 2000 Display driver, Version 169.28
NV4_MINI.SYS 6.14.11.6928 NVIDIA Compatible Windows 2000 Miniport Driver, Version 169.28
NV4_DISP.DLL 6.14.11.6928 NVIDIA Compatible Windows 2000 Display driver, Version 169.28
nvGameS.dll 6.14.11.6928 NVIDIA 3D Settings Server
Click to expand...
 
ever consider your mobo could have issues? My nvidia has a spot to plug in a molex connector, and you do have both connectors on the vid card?
 
I've ran a 8500GT and 8600GT at16x with no issues at all. Nothing else seems to be weird other than video problems. I dunno, weird stuff. The 1x problem seems to only effect 8800GTS 512 and GTs (G92) on multiple different boards.
 
Pretzel said:
Instead of starting a new thread I'll chime in with my similar issues.. I'm getting a 7FPS! :mad:

I'm stumped on this one...

My setup:
E6600
Asus P5B Deluxe P965
2GB Crucial
Vista Ultimate 32-bit
OCZ 600W

OK, I've run the following cards on this system exact system with 0 issues. 7800GT, 8800GT SSC, 8800GTX.

I stepped up to an 8800GTS 512 from the 8000GT SSC model.

I updated my drivers and popped in my 8800GTS and bam.. my frame rate dropped to 7FPS on COD4 (only game I play).

I flashed to the new bios and cleaned out my drivers and reinstalled the 169.32 drivers with no luck.

I read through the forums and there has been some PSU issues. The OCZ 600W should be plenty but I ran over to Fry's anyway and picked up a Thermaltake 750W.

I loaded up COD4 and it showed 7 FPS again but once I went in game it shot up to 90FPS. This is at 1680x1050. I then changed back to my native (24" Dell) 1920x1200 and my frame rates fell back to 7FPS???

I don't know what the deal is this because I've had 0 issues with all of my previous Nvidia cards.
Click to expand...

oddly enough I am running my 8800GTS on a 24" dell as well, and get only 4500 3Dmarks on a system with a P35 motherboard and Q6600................

and a pants 400W PSU that came with the cheapo Asus case.
 
R3MF said:
oddly enough I am running my 8800GTS on a 24" dell as well, and get only 4500 3Dmarks on a system with a P35 motherboard and Q6600................

and a pants 400W PSU that came with the cheapo Asus case.
Click to expand...

Well I partially fixed the problem in COD4. My Mod tools caused it to open in windows mode and when I went back to full screen my FPS shot back up. Very strange that it would be an issue. However I'm still not convinced that my 8800GTS isn't having quirks on my system. I'll run 3Dmark and compare it to my 8800GT results.
 
Because eVGA is awesome, they rushed out my RMA yesterday afternoon and it is already set to be delivered today. Cali to Arkansas in a few hours is good stuff.

Anyways, it will be the 3rd card I try. Coupled with the new PSU, I hope to God it reads 16x and all is well. If not, I really don't know. I'm hoping I will get a newer card from eVGA than I did from newegg and maybe the issue was fixed. Its some weirdness with G92 if you ask me though.

Maybe eVGA will give me a 9800GTX when they come out for my trouble. :-D
 
I have run 4 8800 series cards on P5B Deluxe AP/Wifi, based on the P965 chipset. I ran into many cases where my video card would reset (in the middle of a game) to 1x link mode. I just about had a temper tantrum. In the end, I did extensive research on the issue, and found many "potential" fixes. The bottom line is that the 8800s and P965 can potentially create a nightmare. In the end, I went with 680i...and that was a whole nother ball of wax. Here's some of my issues, and attempted fixes:

In game, link mode would set itself to 1x from 16x, resulting in game stuttering, excessive frame drops. This could not be fixed via reboot, PCI-E voltage boosted by 0.2v, PCI-E Bus set in 1mhz increments from 100 to 125mhz with no change. I tried resetting motherboard BIOS, with no change. I tried flashing the video cards bios to lower speeds using NiBiToR, and got no change. I had a ThermalTake ToughPower 750w on the video card, and went ahead and purchased the PurePower Express 5.25" bay PSU, and continued to have the same problem.

In the end, my fix (which was about 50% successful) was to power down the machine, unplug power from the main PSU, remove the side panel, remove power connections from the 8800, take the 8800 out of the PCI-E slot, then reseat, replug power, and fire the machine back up. Like I said, this was about 50% successful. And it always happened either in the middle of the game (I recall STALKER switching the board to 1x mode quite frequently, no other game seemed to do this while playing) or when I was getting ready to game. The problem is that movie playing and 2D performance is completely unaffected by 1x mode. You'll only notice it when an intense 3D application takes hold of your video card.
 
Well that doesn't make me too optimistic about this new card coming today. Though my link width is always 1x no matter what. I cannot change it. I am also using P35 chipset.

Maybe pretzel is having that issue though.
 
sabregen said:
I have run 4 8800 series cards on P5B Deluxe AP/Wifi, based on the P965 chipset. I ran into many cases where my video card would reset (in the middle of a game) to 1x link mode. I just about had a temper tantrum. In the end, I did extensive research on the issue, and found many "potential" fixes. The bottom line is that the 8800s and P965 can potentially create a nightmare. In the end, I went with 680i...and that was a whole nother ball of wax. Here's some of my issues, and attempted fixes:

In game, link mode would set itself to 1x from 16x, resulting in game stuttering, excessive frame drops. This could not be fixed via reboot, PCI-E voltage boosted by 0.2v, PCI-E Bus set in 1mhz increments from 100 to 125mhz with no change. I tried resetting motherboard BIOS, with no change. I tried flashing the video cards bios to lower speeds using NiBiToR, and got no change. I had a ThermalTake ToughPower 750w on the video card, and went ahead and purchased the PurePower Express 5.25" bay PSU, and continued to have the same problem.

In the end, my fix (which was about 50% successful) was to power down the machine, unplug power from the main PSU, remove the side panel, remove power connections from the 8800, take the 8800 out of the PCI-E slot, then reseat, replug power, and fire the machine back up. Like I said, this was about 50% successful. And it always happened either in the middle of the game (I recall STALKER switching the board to 1x mode quite frequently, no other game seemed to do this while playing) or when I was getting ready to game. The problem is that movie playing and 2D performance is completely unaffected by 1x mode. You'll only notice it when an intense 3D application takes hold of your video card.
Click to expand...

This pretty much seems to be the same issue I'm having with the 8800GTS G92 and P965 chipset. How can you tell that it goes to 1x from 16x (other than the FPS drop)?
 
Pretzel said:
This pretty much seems to be the same issue I'm having with the 8800GTS G92 and P965 chipset. How can you tell that it goes to 1x from 16x (other than the FPS drop)?
Click to expand...


use cpu-z a go to the motherboard tab. in the lower right section, you'll see a pci-e link width dialogue box, with an entry. I'm guessing you're at 1x, like I was
 
MBchrono said:
Well that doesn't make me too optimistic about this new card coming today. Though my link width is always 1x no matter what. I cannot change it. I am also using P35 chipset.

Maybe pretzel is having that issue though.
Click to expand...

The issue is very well known on P965 based boards, such as the P5B, however...I had not previously heard of 1x mode kicking in on a P35. I know that ASUS caught so much crap for their P5B/8800 issues that they were trying real hard to not have the same thing some up with P35 based boards. I can only imagine that anyone else in this same boat with either chipset, from another manufacturer, hopefully won't have the issue. I know this sounds dumb, but is everyone's BIOS up to date?
 
YES!!!!!!!!!!!! I got my new card and 16x/16x!!

I cannot believe I got two bad cards in a row! I appreciate everybody who posted trying to help me over the last few days, you guys rock. I seriously have a boner a mile long right now and plan to FINALLY benchmark this rig.

eVGA = best company ever!
 
MBchrono said:
YES!!!!!!!!!!!! I got my new card and 16x/16x!!

I cannot believe I got two bad cards in a row! I appreciate everybody who posted trying to help me over the last few days, you guys rock. I seriously have a boner a mile long right now and plan to FINALLY benchmark this rig.

eVGA = best company ever!
Click to expand...
Congrats MBchrono! That only adds to my confusion as now I don't know if it's the card or the MOBO. I'll run some more tests when I get home to see if mine to is defaulting to 1x.

I haven't updated my bios in a few months because my mobo has been running rock solid. I'll update it to the latest and greatest this evening.
 
MBchrono said:
Specs:
Gigabyte DS3R
e8400 Wolfdale
Mushkin 1GB x2
8800GTS 512 (G92)
mushkin 550250 Powersupply -- http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16817812004

I purchased this card about two weeks ago. It was only running 2x link width so as you can imagine it had terrible performance. I returned the card to newegg and got my new card back yesterday. It is now reading 1x. I've seen many people with this problem and have tried many of their solutions. I have tried increasing PCI-e frequency all the way up to 110 (Way too high, did for testing). I also overvolted PCI-e by .2 and northbridge by .2 for testing. Nothing worked. I just did a fresh format for kicks and everything is now running at optimized defaults, including cpu and memory. I am going crazy trying to figure this problem out.

I have ran an 8600GT and an 8500GT and both ran x16 with no problems.

Any help or suggestions would be great.
Thanks in advance,
Matt

*Edit*
Below is the powersupply I am using. I am getting no power warnings or anything.
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16817812004
Click to expand...



Had the same problem with my first 8800gts (92)

Posted on this forum and evgas, did everything they recommended still was runnig at 1x, turned out to be a bad GPU. Had to send it back, new one came back worked great. Running now in fact. Full 16x(PCIE 2.0)
 
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