Weird 7600GT SLI Colored Lines in Games
chrisWhite
Littleton, CO
I originally posted this over at the NVIDIA forum but @UPSLynx recommended via Twitter that I try you experts on here.
I'm having a strange problem with my 7600GT SLI setup and games that I can't seem to find any info on and I'm hoping someone on here can help. Basically, when I jump into Bioshock (and probably other 3D games) I'm getting weird 1 pixel wide lines of color around the edges of objects and lights that only happens when I have SLI enabled.
(Edit: I fixed the typo above saying I had 8600GT cards, they are 7600GT GPUs, sorry for any confusion)
Background
A year or two ago when I built this system I saw this problem and somehow got it figured out. At the time I was playing and seeing this issue on the most recent incarnation of Settlers and FEAR. I recently reinstalled Windows twice, once as Vista 64 and now as Windows Server 2008 x64 (with desktop experience) and the problem is back leading me to believe that there was probably a setting somewhere that I forgot to write down the first time I had this issue. The problem is also complicated by a fresh bios update that reset my settings and could also be potentially the problem.
Here's my rig:
Motherboard: Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe
GPUs: XFX GeForce 7600 GT
RAM: 4GB
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+
LCD: HP w2408 24" Widescreen
PSU: Antec 1000W (SLI Compatible)
System drives: 2 SATA 74GB Raptors in RAID-0
Another four SATA drives and a CD-Rom
No overclocking
I recall initially thinking it was a problem with too little power the first time this problem showed up and that's when I upgraded to the 1000W and it didn't make a difference in this problem.
Latest drivers on everything.
The problem does not happen when SLI is not enabled but it always happens when I do have it on. The lines do not show up on screen shots, only on the monitor.
Detailed Description
They seem to be 1px wide lines (no anti-aliasing or gradation) and they move and flicker with the frames, they seem to be only around the edges of objects or the edges of volume lights despite the soft edges. They don't happen anywhere but the 3D (Direct-X, I'm assuming) viewports, they don't show up in the UI elements but they will show up on logos and text within the viewport. There are a couple of different colors, each line having only one but multiple lines can be different colors and they are uniform in saturation and value along each color. I see bright green the most, but also darker violet and red lines. It's hard to see them very clearly as they move and flicker but they're driving me nuts!
I've attached a photo I shot of the screen since I can't screen capture.
What I've Tried:
Hardware - Switching the GPU slots, reversing the SLI connection & plugging the DVI cable into different outputs on the cards. I also blew the dust out of all the video card related hardware.
NVIDIA Control Panel
Multi-display/mixed-GPU acceleration - Possibly minor changes in the number of lines but no fixes.
- Multiple display performance mode
- Single display performance mode
- Compatibility performance mode
- Single GPU multiple display performance mode
SLI performance mode
- NVIDIA recommended
- Single-GPU
- Force split-frame rendering
- Force alternate frame rendering 1
- Force alternate frame rendering 2
Those two I thought had the most chance of fixing things, but since they didn't I'm going through every setting one by one. Any advice would be awesome!
I also tried to run dxdiag to see if the problems showed up in the direct-x tests but it looks like there's no option for the tests in Server 2008, or am I missing something?
I'm having a strange problem with my 7600GT SLI setup and games that I can't seem to find any info on and I'm hoping someone on here can help. Basically, when I jump into Bioshock (and probably other 3D games) I'm getting weird 1 pixel wide lines of color around the edges of objects and lights that only happens when I have SLI enabled.
(Edit: I fixed the typo above saying I had 8600GT cards, they are 7600GT GPUs, sorry for any confusion)
Background
A year or two ago when I built this system I saw this problem and somehow got it figured out. At the time I was playing and seeing this issue on the most recent incarnation of Settlers and FEAR. I recently reinstalled Windows twice, once as Vista 64 and now as Windows Server 2008 x64 (with desktop experience) and the problem is back leading me to believe that there was probably a setting somewhere that I forgot to write down the first time I had this issue. The problem is also complicated by a fresh bios update that reset my settings and could also be potentially the problem.
Here's my rig:
Motherboard: Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe
GPUs: XFX GeForce 7600 GT
RAM: 4GB
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+
LCD: HP w2408 24" Widescreen
PSU: Antec 1000W (SLI Compatible)
System drives: 2 SATA 74GB Raptors in RAID-0
Another four SATA drives and a CD-Rom
No overclocking
I recall initially thinking it was a problem with too little power the first time this problem showed up and that's when I upgraded to the 1000W and it didn't make a difference in this problem.
Latest drivers on everything.
The problem does not happen when SLI is not enabled but it always happens when I do have it on. The lines do not show up on screen shots, only on the monitor.
Detailed Description
They seem to be 1px wide lines (no anti-aliasing or gradation) and they move and flicker with the frames, they seem to be only around the edges of objects or the edges of volume lights despite the soft edges. They don't happen anywhere but the 3D (Direct-X, I'm assuming) viewports, they don't show up in the UI elements but they will show up on logos and text within the viewport. There are a couple of different colors, each line having only one but multiple lines can be different colors and they are uniform in saturation and value along each color. I see bright green the most, but also darker violet and red lines. It's hard to see them very clearly as they move and flicker but they're driving me nuts!
I've attached a photo I shot of the screen since I can't screen capture.
What I've Tried:
Hardware - Switching the GPU slots, reversing the SLI connection & plugging the DVI cable into different outputs on the cards. I also blew the dust out of all the video card related hardware.
NVIDIA Control Panel
Multi-display/mixed-GPU acceleration - Possibly minor changes in the number of lines but no fixes.
- Multiple display performance mode
- Single display performance mode
- Compatibility performance mode
- Single GPU multiple display performance mode
SLI performance mode
- NVIDIA recommended
- Single-GPU
- Force split-frame rendering
- Force alternate frame rendering 1
- Force alternate frame rendering 2
Those two I thought had the most chance of fixing things, but since they didn't I'm going through every setting one by one. Any advice would be awesome!
I also tried to run dxdiag to see if the problems showed up in the direct-x tests but it looks like there's no option for the tests in Server 2008, or am I missing something?
0
Comments
Check for dust and heat issues, but I think your video card has one foot in the grave. This issue does not result from software.
However, while I don't recall what I did to fix it, I know I had this _exact_ same problem a little over a year ago. If one of the cards was on it's way out I wouldn't have expected it to last that long. I also remember finding some answers on this last time and remember there being a specific fix for it. As you can imagine, I'm shooting myself for not writing it down at the time! I'll keep changing bios settings until I run out of options but I'll be reading Newegg reviews between boots.
Thanks!
Lines on the screen like that are almost always indicative of a video card that is failing. I hope I'm wrong. I just had to toss out an 8800GT a week ago for the same thing. Aaarrrgghh!
We'll certainly post if we think of anything else to try. Well...you could try the card in another computer. Try someone else's card in your computer.
Have you tried to remove all traces of the nvidia drivers and reinstall? Those artifacts you're seeing seem a little too structured and predictable to be a hardware fault. Generally speaking, VRAM issues will produce a complete mess of unstructured, random artifacting that will not just be colored outlines as you can see. I'd uninstall the nvidia drivers via the control panel, and then run a product like "Driver Cleaner" to remove all traces and registry entries that may be left behind. That should take you back to a true "default" nvidia configuration and remove any corrupted files that may be left on your system.
Also, does this issue occur with OpenGL titles? (Doom3 or an OpenGL synthetic benchmark like Cinebench R10?)
If completely pulling the drivers out does not correct the problem, I'd then suggest trying one card in the system at a time. Does the issue occur with only one card physically in the system?
Leonardo, sounds like trouble, someone else in the house has another of these cards in his system, I'll see if I can borrow it and try to figure out which card might be going or if it happens, don't know why I didn't think of this before.
I'm brand new here too, but this place seams awesome, I'll be adding it to my daily rounds ;-)
lemonlime, Well, I've completely reinstalled the system from Vista 64 to Server 2008 64, that should take care of any driver corruptions I would think. I am using the same driver though so I'll try cleaning the system and then going back to an earlier driver if swapping cards out doesn't fix the problem. Not sure on OpenGL titles yet, but I'll through Maya or Modo on there and see if I have any issues there.
I changed something on the BIOS that is keeping my computer from even posting now so I need to reset the BIOS and we'll see if that has any effect—but I doubt it.
This is what I was going to suggest. I'm a hardware guy, so I'd MUCH rather tackle problems on the hardware end before I attempt software. Software just... frustrates the heck out of me. If you pull both cards and try single card solutions, swapping both cards, that'll pretty much rule out the issue of it being vram related. Of course, you could have the unfortunate case that both cards are getting nerfed at the same time. Unlikely, but crazier things have happened.
Could it also be something on my motherboard? Maybe the PCI-E controllers are broken somehow? I swear, I have the worst luck with hard-ware ever :sad2:
(PS: @primesuspect)
It sounds, to me, like a driver issue, have you tested other driver versions? Possibly this was introduced during a driver update?
Well, I just tested the system with someone else's identical card and it works fine when paired with one and is still broken when paired with another. We tried messing around with underclocking the bad card but nothing seemed to fix it, but my dad (he got an identical system without the SLI) says to keep his card with my good one and he'll try using my bad one for a while since he doesn't SLI and he's only using his machine for email these days. I'm thinking upgrading to a newer card is about overdue as well so I don't think I'm going to try to fight it anymore unless my dad runs into problems and needs to trade it back.
Thanks for all your help, I really appreciate it!
Take a look around, ask questions, contribute, whatever, it's all good. The Icrontic Pub and Gaming forums are good places to waste lots of time.
There aren't many 3D artists here, so I'm always glad to have another within the ranks!
My pc is has the following parts:
M/B: Gigabyte GA8N SLI QUAD ROYAL -> http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_Overview.aspx?ProductID=1957
CPU: Intel Pentium D 930 @ 3.00GHz
RAM: 4 GB @ 667MHz
GPU: 2 x GeForce 7600 GT 256MB @ SLI ?
PSU: ENERMAX 750W
I will explain the ? later.
The machine isn't overclocked, it is properly cooled. It is a bit dusty inside but i don't think this is a problem, i will soon clean it.
Here are some screenshots displaying the hardware, settings and performance.
Well, the pc, has it's story. The people that assembled it are stupid. That's because i ordered RAM [2 x 1GB @ 667MHz] and they installed [1 x 1GB @ 667 MHz + 1 x 1GB @ 533MHz]
Also, they set-up the SLI mode WRONG! The M/B has a special chip
that attaches on the motherboard. You can use this chip to specify how you will use your GPU's. It has various modes such as 4 GPU's @ PCI express x4 mode, or 2 GPU's @ PCI express x16 mode and some other modes, i don't remember exactly. So they installed this chip reversed and the 1 GPU worked @ x16 and the other @ x8. Nevermind, I installed it correctly and the 2 GPU's are working @ x16 mode.
Time for the ? I was talking above!
Apart from these, as you can see, the two GPU's are not exactly the same. As far as i can understand, the one has cooler, and the other a fan. The fan-one is gigabyte and the other i don't know.
Well, to the problem now. For 2 years now, the pc was working great. But recently i have this green-dots problem. For now I have noticed the problem in Warcraft 3. Everything else is working great.
I uploaded a video [12.3MB] @ filefront, with background music in order to understand better my problem, and to see how the system is operating. Please download it
http://files.filefront.com/Problemwmv/;12982355;/fileinfo.html
I tried installing new OS from scratch, reinstall the game, reinstall drivers, reinstall directx. Any other idea will be welcome.
If you have any questions about anything related or non related, please ask! :thumbup
Question: How did you get so awesome?
So let's start with the basics:
Take the cards out of SLI, and run the system with one card at a time; do you still get the issues you're describing?
I study Information & Communication Systems Engineering for 3 years [2 left
To the problem now...
I will try to use only one card at a time as soon i get the needed time. Do i have to take out the cards to do this, or i can simply do it by setting SLI off?
PS: Did you notice that the GPU's operate in different frequencies?
Wait i will do the hardware job now
I correct myself for saying that the one of the GPU's uses cooler. I think the correct name is heatsink?
Both GPU's are manufactured by Gigabyte. Here are the pictures of the 2 GPU's that might help.
First i tried my luck with the heatsink one. Results? No artifacts but still i have the freeze. Here's a screenshot from GPUz.
Then i tried the fan one GPU. Also NO artifacts and NO freeze
I confused, i can't find a explanation :shakehead:shakehead...
As you see in the GPUz screenshots, there isn't a difference now between the frequencies! And none of them produces artifacting.
Shall i try installing the GPU's in opposite slots [the fan GPU in the heatsink's GPU slot and the heatsink's GPU in fan GPU slot]?
So it might be that the weak/damaged card is being stressed just enough to cause issues, but not enough to lock up the system like it does when it's alone.
This is just a theory.
How's your power supply? Are the voltages good?
How can i check the voltages properly? The bios shows them OK.
From the images you posted thats what the issue is. The one card you already tested to have some issues is going south of the border, and not in a good way. Thrax was correct in his analogy, they split the load so you can usually limp on with one card in SLi is starting to fail.
The only recommendation I have for you besides buy a new video card is go out and buy to 120mm fans, Antec TriCools work well and are easy to find, and set them around your video cards.
If your fanless video card, the one with the heat sink that raps around the back, is starting to overheat and cause it to produce those green dots this will help give it some more life. But if the issue does not resolve I would say its done for.
As you see in my hardware pistures, i predicted this overheat problem and i installed a small fan about 30mm between the cards, and it is performing pretty much well). This fan was designed for one chip on the motherboard, but one of the GPU's could not fit in with this fan installed, so i installed another one and kept this for the GPU's.
Well i will buy some coolers to see what will happen. Which you suggest me? Take a look in a greek eshop -> http://www.e-shop.gr/search_per.phtml?offset=0&title=120MM&category=%D3%D5%D3%D4%C7%CC%C1%2520%D8%D5%CE%C7%D3&category2=%C1%CD%C5%CC%C9%D3%D4%C7%D1%C1%D3%2520%CA%CF%D5%D4%C9%CF%D5
I remind you that this problem appears only in Warcraft 3 which has low requirements. In 3D mark 2006, crysis or even GTA IV, pretty high requirement games i have no problems! And the actual problem is the freeze, not the green dots. If the freeze dissapeared i would be happy