A Few SLI Issues potential buyers should be aware of...

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fatguy

Weaksauce
Joined
Apr 25, 2005
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I recently purchased a brand new SLI setup consisting of a DFI nForce4 SLI-DR board, and 2x6800 Ultras. Needless to say, this was a big purchase for my gaming rig and of course I did as much research as possible before ordering the parts.

Anxiously I awaited Mr FedEx to deliver my parts...it took me a few hours to get setup, install all the windows updates, and of course, CS:S. How horrified was I to run CS for the first time in widescreen SLI, and see my screen have an epileptic attack! Figuring I had configured something wrong, I scoured the forums for advice, guides, etc. But instead of finding a helpful solution, I found these 2 threads on nVidia's forums:

http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=3211
http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=1944

Note, the first thread was closed because an nVidia mod didn't like the way he was being treated by a few of the posters expressing their frustrations.

Am I wrong to assume that for paying over $1,000 I should have a system that works propertly? nVidia has been aware of the issue for over 4 months, but has yet to formally address it.

The issue in brief is a rendering problem with widescreen LCD monitors, such as Apple's, Dell's, Sony's, etc. Funny, I even looked on the box of the 6800 Ultra and it fails to state that, "This card will not work correctly with widescreen monitors"

I am posting this here because, as consumers, we need to be aware (and help make others aware) of situations where hardware manufacturers back-dooring us. I would appreciate it if you could keep this thread up top, so others considering SLI will be made aware of the situation before spending their hard-earned money.

Much Thanks.
 
Yep, when is this problem going to be fixed?

How about [H]ardOCP adding it to their Nvidia SLI progress report next time they do one of those?

For those that are affected it's a major problem.

ASUS SLI Deluxe
FX-55
6800GTx2
 
I've sent emails off to Kyle, Steve, and Brent. I really hope they post something about this issue.
 
Well going by the same thread, this problem seems like its been fixed already actually. It's just that the drivers with the fix in them haven't been released to the public yet.

Going by how one of the posters mentioned that the x64 76.71 (dated April 8th I believe) set has this problem fixed, and NV_PSB mentioning that it was fixed already, any driver set that shows up with a date around mid april or so should already have the fix built in with them.

What we do need now however is someone with a bit more leverage to push Nvidia to release a beta driver set to the public with the fix built in.
 
EekTheKat said:
Well going by the same thread, this problem seems like its been fixed already actually. It's just that the drivers with the fix in them haven't been released to the public yet.

Going by how one of the posters mentioned that the x64 76.71 (dated April 8th I believe) set has this problem fixed, and NV_PSB mentioning that it was fixed already, any driver set that shows up with a date around mid april or so should already have the fix built in with them.

What we do need now however is someone with a bit more leverage to push Nvidia to release a beta driver set to the public with the fix built in.
Click to expand...


I completely agree, hence my post here. Based on the results obtained from the initial SLI review done by [H], they seem to be able to provide that leverage.

While we're at it, can we get the vsynch issue solved as well? In SLI I can get up to 200FPS at 1600x1200, which makes image tearing on any LCD very noticeable.
 
fatguy said:
I completely agree, hence my post here. Based on the results obtained from the initial SLI review done by [H], they seem to be able to provide that leverage.

While we're at it, can we get the vsynch issue solved as well? In SLI I can get up to 200FPS at 1600x1200, which makes image tearing on any LCD very noticeable.
Click to expand...

I have heard that V-sync is impossible to impliment with AFR (which is normally the best performance mode for most apps), but when your profile is set to use SFR for that app, V-Sync can work...
 
So basically it affects people using SLI that use either a widescreen or dual monitors?
 
Link to the current up to date thread at the NV forums
EDIT: Link removed, that dickhead NV mod Ronin deleted it all and closed it!

Now, I've tested the new 76.71 64-bit drivers. They do work with no jitters but it appears as if AA is not working. Atleast I have jaggie edges.
 
I created a new thread: http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=4244

please post any relevant updates, info, etc. Keep it flame-free.

Apparently the other thread disappeared, so I am going to basically summarize what is going on with the SLI Widescreen Issue in hopes of maintaing a centralized, informative location for people experiencing this issue to stay up to date.

The following points are a summation of the issues people are experiencing with SLI and widescreen resolutions:

1) Jittery video in AFR mode, tearing line in SFR mode at widescreen resolutions such as 1680x1050 and 1920x1200

Affected Montiors:
- Dell 2005FPW
- Dell 2405FPW
- Sony SDM-P234
- Samsung 213T
- All Apple Cinema Displays

Available (Temporary) Fixes:
- Use the analog connection (assuming you have one, my eVGA has 2 DVI connections)
- Play in window mode
- Switch to a 4:3 ratio-based resolution
- 64-bit Windows (apparently works with beta 64-bit nVidia Drivers)


2) VSynch does not work.



At this point, the collective consensus is that we would like to see an updated beta on nZone which is supposed to fix the issue. It has been stated by an nVidia rep that the problem is fixed in the new release of the drivers...which currently has no ETA.

Please post any additional info which you feel is relevant. Do not post flames, insults, or anything like "OMG WHY HASN'T THIS BEEN FIXORED?" We are all frustrated, everyone's aware of that by now.

Thanks.
Click to expand...
 
I replied to your post on NZONE and replied to several previous older posts for the same issue (one that I created)

Hopefully that will get some attention over there! ;-)
 
It seems that any post on the nvidia forums that contains negative views or remarks about an nvidia product or nvidia personel will not be tolerated. I suppose they expect only the people who are satisfied and wanted to suck up to nvidia to have a voice there. I have three PC's and 4 6800 series video cards. I am seriously wishing at this point that I had 4 X800 series video cards and hadn't fallen for Nvidia SLI marketing. I was one of those on the Nvidia Forums who was defending Nvidia and telling others they should be patient and give them a chance to provide a fix. I have changed my views since Ronin (a nvidia forum mod) decided that it would be in the best interest for Nvidia for us all to be shut up. I hope this SLI bug will be fixed soon so I can at least get some use out of this years video card tech before the new lineup is released.

On another note I can confirm that the latest leaked driver which happens to be an XP 64 bit driver does fix the line at the top of the screen and the jittering in game problem. Hopefully we will see the 32 bit fix soon.

tret
 
I would like to see a response from Nvidia or NV_PSB letting us know the status. What other outlet is available to us for support for this problem?

We can not contact NVIDIA directly and BFG has been worthless in providinag any assistance to me after I submitted this issue 3 times (I get an initial response asking for more info then they don't follow up)

I hope that this get's the attention it deserves by the review sites including [H] so they can also raise this issue. That is probably our only hope of a fix anytime soon!

I own 4 computers currently with 3 BFG 6800GT's (2 PCI-E for SLI and an AGP in one of my Shuttles). I love my Widescreen Dell monitor and would prefer to use it with my $2500 SLI rig that is currently stripped down for parts which I used in my new PCI-E Shuttle's!
 
tret said:
It seems that any post on the nvidia forums that contains negative views or remarks about an nvidia product or nvidia personel will not be tolerated. I suppose they expect only the people who are satisfied and wanted to suck up to nvidia to have a voice there. I have three PC's and 4 6800 series video cards. I am seriously wishing at this point that I had 4 X800 series video cards and hadn't fallen for Nvidia SLI marketing. I was one of those on the Nvidia Forums who was defending Nvidia and telling others they should be patient and give them a chance to provide a fix. I have changed my views since Ronin (a nvidia forum mod) decided that it would be in the best interest for Nvidia for us all to be shut up. I hope this SLI bug will be fixed soon so I can at least get some use out of this years video card tech before the new lineup is released.

On another note I can confirm that the latest leaked driver which happens to be an XP 64 bit driver does fix the line at the top of the screen and the jittering in game problem. Hopefully we will see the 32 bit fix soon.

tret
Click to expand...

An Nvidia forum mod who also lists an X850PE as his primary card =D.


Email one of the writers of the inq about the issue, they'll post anything. They did the no dual monitor support a little over a week ago. Humiliate nvidia into fixing it faster.

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=22419

Just click the author link at the top an email them. Kinda interesting but they're very friendly and responsive people.
 
Shifra said:
An Nvidia forum mod who also lists an X850PE as his primary card =D.


Email one of the writers of the inq about the issue, they'll post anything. They did the no dual monitor support a little over a week ago. Humiliate nvidia into fixing it faster.

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=22419

Just click the author link at the top an email them. Kinda interesting but they're very friendly and responsive people.
Click to expand...

submitted...
 
Wow... I just heard about this wide screen thing today... kind of glad I don't have one now... but this is something Nvidia really should address immediately... I mean, is it just a matter of supporting a set of different resolutions? (for 16:9 and 16:10 for the 20" Dell) granted, writing driver for these cards is not trivial stuff, but you would think they would focus on a problem like this.. wow. I hope it gets sorted out for you guys soon!
 
Heh from all indication(based on various forum posts), they have already fixed it. Just that the fix isn't in the public's hands yet.

It's just that Nvidia hasn't been willing or able to publish an official public beta fix "yet". What's absolutely killing people is most of us are more than willing to test out for them.

We just need to contact the right people about this and push them a bit harder towards getting this fix out, and/or maybe getting Nvidia to prioritize this a bit higher than they have been so far.
 
I had posted this over on the NV forums, but Ronin deleted it. This isn't my email but it gives us hope.

From: Kyle Bennett <[email protected]>
Date: Apr 25, 2005 5:04 PM
Subject: RE: Nvidia scandal

Talked to NVIDIA on this today. They have it fixed, but did not make it into their last driver. They are debating whether or not to put it into a beta release currently. My suggestion was to release it in beta form.
Click to expand...
 
It is pretty upsetting that the 76.71 x64 beta driver is dated 4/8/05 and has the fix, and here we are at the end of April and they still haven't provided an updated driver for XP 32 that contains the fix. With all the people that are pretty unhappy I don't understand why they didn't release a public beta with the fix as soon as they confirmed it worked. I believe there have been at least 3 or 4 public beta drivers posted on nzone since I bought the parts for my SLI rig. I am pretty sure that this issue is more worthy of a public beta release than whatever those drivers addressed.
 
fatguy said:
Nope, the nVidia mod edited and closed that thread as well...has the world gone insane?
Click to expand...
I agree, that's.. that's just not right.....

*bump*
 
I'm still waiting for the drivers that are suppose to fix this. It's been weeks since the last 32bit driver leak.
 
im really surprised with nvidia. they are loosing customers with their driver "support". its all beta releases and no official releases. they need to take a page from ati and release drivers monthly.
 
I got tired of waiting for the SLI Widescreen DVI Fix from NVIDIA - here's my latest workaround - what do you think? No NVIDIA components and runs CS:S as fast as my SLI rig did! :cool:

Shuttle ST20G5 (Shuttle Black G2 Case mod)
ATI RS480 MB
ATI X800XL
FX-55
Kingwin AWC-1 Water cooling kit
1GB Corsair XMS 3200C2 2-3-3-6
USB Sony CDRW/DVD



ST20G5x800xl.jpg
 
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