GPU + PhysX card with Vista x64

M

motolube

Gawd
Joined
Dec 18, 2006
Messages
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Sorry if this has been discussed before but I did tried to search to no avail. I have also placed this on the Nvidia Forums but it appears nobody from Nvidia visits their own forum.

First my specs:

Ultra Aluminus Case + 2 Antec LED 120mm fans
ThermalTake ToughPower 600w PSU
EVGA 680i SLI Motherboard (latest Bios Drivers )
Intel E7200 w/ Pro Artic 7 HS
OCZ 4GB PC2-8500 (1066mhz)
GTX260 w/180.48 drivers (Primary)
ECS 8800GT 512MB w/180.48 drivers (PhysX)
Acer 22" LCD @ 1680 x 1050
Samsung 750GB 7200.10 32mb cache
CD/DVD/R/W/DL
USB 2.0 5 in 1 card reader

Dual Boot XP Pro W/SP3 + Vista x64 Ultimate w/SP1 Up-to-Date Updates
15.23 Nforce Drivers
6.03 Nvidia System Tools

My problem or issue:

I only Game with my Vista x64 boot, I have been gaming with the ECS 8800GT for a while but decided to buy a GTX260 as a Xmas gift for myself. Because of the prices of the GPU cards being so low, I decided to use my 8800GT as an add-on so I installed the GTX260 as primary and the 8800GT for PhysX. Well, it seems to be hindering me more than it helps. when I play CoD 4 (testing game) using the GTX260 only with settings on Optimal (as dictated by the game) I notice that my FPSs are much better, the gameplay seems to be smooth than when I use it with Both Cards.

Doing a search on Goggle it appears there is a workaround for this issue but this was back in August with the 170 driver series and I thought it would be fixed with the 180 drivers, although, it doesn't seem to be. The work around consisted on using both the vga & dvi cable if you only had 1 monitor and to extend the desktop to the other monitor.

Also, when I try to use the Nvidia System tools, my rig either freezes on me whenever I try to click on any of the performance options or it BSOD's on me with different errors (0x0000003B or 0x00000124 or 0x0000007F) and sometimes it also tells me that something failed with NVOCLK64.SYS but I have not been able to find an answer for this. This happens whether I am using XP or Vista.

Well, I was wondering if there is a fix for the GPU+PhysX issue and if this had anything to do with the problems with the Nvidia System tools.

To offer more information, I have been trying to Overclock my CPU, I took it to 3.0 GHZ stable and I am using a few OC applications to check temps and what have you. The applications I have used are:

REAL TEMP 2.70
RIVA TUNER 2.11
EVGA PRECISION TOOL 1.3.3
CORE TEMP 0.99.3
TECHPOWER GPU-Z 0.3.0
CPU-Z 1.49
HWMONITOR 1.08.0
EVEREST ULTIMATE 4.60.1500

A couple of days ago, perhaps, due to the Nvidia system tools, my rig has been getting stock at the boot loader (according to my wife), she hit the reset button and the pc started normally again. Now, this morning, right before it goes into the prompt to let me choose between XP or Vista, it told me it was in SAFE Mode and I need it to use my Default CPU setting for the Bios and Cmos so, I went to the Bios and Reverted to default setting for CPU and even my RAM.

Sorry for the long rant, I was hoping to be as thourough as possible in hopes that someone here would have an answer for me. I am not a PC Guru but I do follow suggestions and I know my way around a computer as long as the instructions are in layman's terms LOL.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.
 
I don't have any experience with the whole dual card, gpu and physx card deal, but just a couple of ideas. Have you tried driver sweeper? or at the worst a fresh install of vista? Also, I know there's a physx driver pack but I don't know if installing that would help at all.
 
Honestly you're in unexplored realm of this new GPU + GPU = one for graphics and one for physics, I wouldn't expect your driver bugs to go away until there is more support thrown behind it , right now I'd even venture to say its total beta type support so I wouldn't expect alot of help or a solution.
 
I just moved over to a GPU +GPU = one for graphics and one for physics, and it seems a bit awkward, I had to install the drivers three times before my stability was restored.

I went with the 180.48 drivers as they seemed to work the best. And so far I am having no issues after my latest install.

As for the OC issues I would assume its the board as I have had nothing but bad luck with the 680 and 780 boards from Nvidia.
 
I would advise to get the system stable with a single GPU (preferably the GTX 260) first. As pointed out by thedocta45 earlier, nVidia boards in general are a tad unstable in quite a lot of cases, ironically enough mostly with nVidia GPUs installed.
 
Well, it turns out that my ThoughPower 600W PSU may not even be good enough for the GTX260, let alone, cope with the addition of the ECS 8800GT as well.

According to EVGA, the GTX260 needs 36 or more amps on the +12v rail and my PSU only does 18. Now, since I have 2 6pin PCIe connectors, I wonder if that would cover the 36amps they are talking about. If this is true, that means I need to connect 2 regular IDE connectors to the 8800GT and not just one as I have it now.

I guess is time to upgrade the PSU to something better (which I thought I had :(), the question is... WHAT?

I guess, I am going to be opening up a new thread with this question.

Another thing is that I am getting different opinions on my RAM as well. I bought 4 sticks of OCZ 1GB PC2-8500 @ 1066 MHZ but my Bios tells me they are only running at 666 Mhz, At the OCZ forums, some of their techs say this is good since my sticks are Dual Date Rate but, some others say I must do this manually to make them do 1066Mhz, my problems is that when and if I do this manually, my rig becomes erratically laggy, my mouse jumps and stutters and or I get locks or freezes.

Bah, this is turning out to be a nightmare... not fun at all.
 
If your PSU is only rated for 18A on the 12v line, that's all you'll be able to safely pull from it. I know the 36A quoted by Nvidia is total system draw not just the video card. It looks like you're on the right track as far as replacing your PSU. I personally like higher end PC Power & Cooling PSU's but they are not the best bang for the buck. Check out the past PSU reviews on [H]... I like the testing they put their review units thru.
 
Sundays are not the best of days to get precise technical and fast replies :p Check some of big H's reviews on the PSUs to see what would be a better fit for you :cool:
ecstatic.gif
 
OK, thanks guys... much appreciated.

This experiment is going to have to be put on hold for a while. :D
 
I tried to get a gtx 280 + 8800 gtx working for the same thing. My 650 watt powersully would not even post the system.

When I get a bigger supply with two 8 pin conectors I'll try again.
 
Check my sig..I had no issues getting it running..FWIW..you are only using 1 card when running COD4 as the second GPU only kicks in on PhysX enabled games so that is NOT your issue.It seems you have narrowed it down to your PS which I think is a safe bet.Those are 2 power hungry cards there..:)
 
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