Suddden shut down when running SLI.

[mackgee]

In preparation for Age of Conan I gave my PC a fresh format & install of Vista Ultimate 64bit, got all my devices working with the latest drivers, and thus far have only installed, Age of Conan, Office 2007, Everest, & updated Vista with all the updates & SP1.

I'm running a SLI rig (see sig for specs) and I'm getting a sudden power down when running AOC in SLI mode. This will happen once 3D textures start rendering, normally within the first few minutes of the game running. It can be something simple as character creation or during game play.

When I say power down I mean my PC shuts off, and I have to hit the power button to get it to come back on. I've ruled out overheating because Everest is logging temps well within normal limits.

Once I turn off SLI mode in the Nvidia control panel all problems disappear. I can run AOC for any period of time. Although I still get fine frame rates in non-SLI mode I still would prefer to have SLI mode active, if not then I feel like I'm wasting $$$ on a 2nd video card.

Here is a link to my power supply.

I see two options in my future, but would perfer just to get it working as-is:

1. Purchase a more powerful PSU.
2. Try same config using XP instead of Vista.

Any advice ya'll can offer is appreciated.

 

[Mega666]

Your ps is not sli certified under the graphics cards you have.

http://www.slizone.com/object/slizone_build_psu.html

 

[Red Falcon]

Your ps is not sli certified under the graphics cards you have.

http://www.slizone.com/object/slizone_build_psu.html

QFT

Your PSU has 4 12v rails, a bad choice for any SLI option.

Try running one GPU and see if it crashes or not (it shouldn't).

I'm betting more than anything that it is your PSU. Try to get one (sell/trade yours) that has only 1 or 2 12v rails at 500 watts or more.

 

[veedubfreak]

I would almost bet that the psu is actually having issues. It is SLI certified, and if its certified for 8800GTX's then it should be able to hand 2 GTS 640s just fine. Personally i'd put in for an RMA first then if not, go for a psu like the corsair 750TX that is just 1 huge 12v rail. I had it pushing quad SLI with 9800gx2s and never had any issues.

 

[Mega666]

I would almost bet that the psu is actually having issues. It is SLI certified, and if its certified for 8800GTX's then it should be able to hand 2 GTS 640s just fine. Personally i'd put in for an RMA first then if not, go for a psu like the corsair 750TX that is just 1 huge 12v rail. I had it pushing quad SLI with 9800gx2s and never had any issues.

it's a strider 750w, and no - it's not its not certified sli for 8800gts.

 

[veedubfreak]

it's a strider 750w, and no - it's not its not certified sli for 8800gts.

I was going by the link to newegg. Did it link to the wrong spot? Says SLI certified and has 4 6 pins which would lead me to think it can handle 2 GTS. Heck, i ran SLI GTS with a corsair 520hx.

FWIW, that slizone link is absolute crap anyway. It says i need a corsair 1000TX for dual 9800GTX.

 

[Mega666]

I was going by the link to newegg. Did it link to the wrong spot? Says SLI certified and has 4 6 pins which would lead me to think it can handle 2 GTS. Heck, i ran SLI GTS with a corsair 520hx.

FWIW, that slizone link is absolute crap anyway. It says i need a corsair 1000TX for dual 9800GTX.

I am going by the nvidia site I posted, I wouldn't go by "newegg's supposed NIVIDIA sli support" rating, yes? So you'd rather use that than the Nvidia site? Hey, go by what you will. If I was going to even attempt a 750w ps and sli, It would be the ppc&c quad 750w.

 

[kuyaglen]

Can you wire your system so that each card has a "separate" rail from each other and the drives?

 

[ND40oz]

I would think a Strider 750 could handle two GTS's. I have a Strider 1000 running 2 2900s and two Quads, the 750 shouldn't have a problem. But it does sound like a PSU problem, did you try contacting Silverstone to see what they say?

 

[mackgee]

I decided before to drop cash on a new PS I'd try running AOC on XP. I formatted and installed XP on one of my raptors, got it updated, and installed my drivers & AOC. I played AOC for two hours straight without a single hitch. Ran great with SLI enabled and on high settings. Tomorrow I'll be installing Vista onto the other raptor and seeing if the shutoffs return. For now this is good news, but once DX10 is released for AOC I'm going to want to run it in Vista. I'll update tomorrow once I get Vista up and running.

 

[vick1000]

Modular Multi-rail units are tricky, if you have the manual it may help you chose the right connectors for each device. I always recommend large single rail units for SLI, if you want to go modular anyway, it takes all the guess work out of setting it up.

 

[mackgee]

I was going by the link to newegg. Did it link to the wrong spot? Says SLI certified and has 4 6 pins which would lead me to think it can handle 2 GTS. Heck, i ran SLI GTS with a corsair 520hx.

FWIW, that slizone link is absolute crap anyway. It says i need a corsair 1000TX for dual 9800GTX.

The Newegg link is the right PS, I agree that it should be able to handle SLI because up until running AOC I have been using it in SLI mode for every other game (EQ2, LOTRO, COH, Crysis, COD4, etc.).

Can you wire your system so that each card has a "separate" rail from each other and the drives?

I'm not sure how to go about this??

I would think a Strider 750 could handle two GTS's. I have a Strider 1000 running 2 2900s and two Quads, the 750 shouldn't have a problem. But it does sound like a PSU problem, did you try contacting Silverstone to see what they say?

Not directly, but I did find the PS on their website here:
http://www.silverstonetek.com/products/p_contents.php?pno=st75f&area=usa

I didn't see any "SLI" certification, but this is a quote from the product intro:

"Updated to ATX 12V 2.2, this 120mm fan modular power supply is an excellent choice for high-end desktop systems with dual or quad graphics cards."

Like I said I did use it many times in the past for gaming in SLI mode, and after running AOC in XP for two hours last night I'm starting to lean twords something AOC/Vista specific.

 

[vick1000]

Yeah, it's probably a driver issue and/or game issue. You know how these things happen with new games.

 

[LuminosXI]

I had the exact same problem when I got my 2 640s, dual 12v rails are no bueno for SLI, so I picked up that corsair 750TX that someone mentioned above and I couldnt be more satisfied

 

[veedubfreak]

Ya, i did a lot of research when picking out the 750TX. Because it was picked to power quad SLI. So hopefully it'll be enough to power SLI GTX280s. I loves me some 60A 12v single rail goodness.

 

[Mega666]

Yeah, it's probably a driver issue and/or game issue. You know how these things happen with new games.

What's happening is that the breaker in the power supply is tripping. It's hardware, not software -sheesh.

 

[mackgee]

What's happening is that the breaker in the power supply is tripping. It's hardware, not software -sheesh.

How come the breaker only trips in Vista then?? I can run the game for hours on end in XP, but in Vista it powers down..

 

[Mega666]

How come the breaker only trips in Vista then?? I can run the game for hours on end in XP, but in Vista it powers down..

Well hell bro, I don't know what you've done. Gee, could it be that the cpu sucks more power under vista? We can only guess - a million possibilities. Get a ups, power meter or something to measure the power draw of your system against peak drain. Just to be clear, this power supply is on edge. - or take your system to the pro's like geek squad and get it fixed. j/k Get creative or resourceful. Maybe you should start buying pre-built systems instead.