Games lock or reboot when the take over video

[Zylbar]

Hi,

 

Just built my LanParty nF4 SLI-DR last weekend - it's quad SLI with xFx 7950's. I run an AMD dual core 4800 and 2gb of corsair memory.

 

It's basically working - but when I tried some favorite games - Far Cry, Ghost Recon Adv. Warfare, Oblivion, MS Combat Flight Sim, Civ 4 - they only start after about 5 or 10 tries.

 

Usually as soon as the game tries to take over the video, the system freezes or reboots. I'm running the 91.47 nvidia drivers.

 

Any idieas? I've got 700 watts of power, 40 amps 12v, with seperate lines for each 7950 PCI-express power connector, which are specially marked on the PSU in red.

 

thanks in advance,

the artist formerly known as Zylbar

[Sorrento]

You might need more power.

 

The Thermaltake 700w and 750w Toughpower PSU's are build by someone else, not Thermaltake... and thats good. However Thermaltake still rates it power and I believe they are very forgiving while doing so: the 700w might be equal to the 600w PSU from other brands, and the 750w could be just a little bit better than the 600w.

 

But nVidia has certified it so perhaps something else is the problem.

 

What chipset drivers are you using?? What BIOS version does your SLI-DR has? Is the temperature of all the GPU's ok??? The SLI-DR doesn't leave much space between cards and one or both could be overheating.

[Zylbar]

Thanks - i think I am going to have to get a bigger psu just to test.

 

To answer your questions, my 7950's run at about 75 to 77 degrees C after running a game for an hour or two, according to Nvidia Ctrl Panel. I think that's well within spec. I used to cool my 6800 video board with liquid cooling. My system has a 750 watt koolance system that might handle the cpu and the 7950's. I haven't yet heard any good words about liquid cooling the 7950's, so I'm waiting on that project.

 

Besides no use starting overclocking experiments until it's stable at standard speeds.

 

My chipset bios for the nF4 is 4.84. I can't figure out where the AWARD bios version is displayed (doh!). I went through every screen in the bios. I tried to watch carefully and note everything that came to the screen after the LanParty splash page, but still I can't figure.

 

The board was shipped to me 2 weeks ago, so it probably has the latest. On DFI, it appears that the bios dated 2006/04/06 and named NF4LD406.ZIP is the latest. I may use winflash to load it just in case mine is older. Too bad I will lose all my CMOS reloaded setups.

 

Thanks again Sorrento, and if the bigger power supply makes a difference, I'll let you guys know.

 

a thousand thanks,

zylbar

 

~~~ may all your goats be free of fleas

~~~ and may your camels never spit

[wevsspot]

My chipset bios for the nF4 is 4.84. I can't figure out where the AWARD bios version is displayed (doh!). I went through every screen in the bios. I tried to watch carefully and note everything that came to the screen after the LanParty splash page, but still I can't figure.

 

That doesn't make any sense. The latest nVidia driver for the NF4 chipset is 6.86, before that it was 6.70, before that 6.66 and before that 6.53. Not quite sure where you're getting a 4.84 version NF4 chipset driver.

 

As for your BIOS revision level, you may need to disable quick boot in order for the boot process to slow down enough for you to see your BIOS revision level. It will be displayed during the boot process. You can't find it in any of the BIOS menus or sub-menus. If memory serves me correctly it will be in the lower left hand corner of your boot screen.

 

Alternatively you can use a third party application like Everest to display your BIOS revision as well as many other cool aspects of your hardware and software configurations.

 

Lastly, if I were you I'd make you a copy of TMOD's BIOS Flash CD and use it for all of your BIOS flashing needs. It is simple, has been foolproof and fail safe for me. I wouldn't trust winflash, but I know many that do. Visit the BIOS factory for the TMODS files and instructions on creating a bootable .iso disk for BIOS flashing. (His program also includes some other nifty applications as well). Highly recommended.

 

Cheers.

[Zylbar]

Thanks Wevs for the reply. I disable the quick boot feature, but still all I see for the most part is a big LanParty splash screen. I can't find anywhere to turn it off in the bios. I'm guessing that the bios version is displayed then. There is also a second or two when the screen blanks as the video is reset. Then when it comes back there is stuff scrolling off the screen, and all I see is the bios telling me the SiL SATA RAID bios version and the nVidia RAID bios version. That's what the 4.84 was about. Not the chipset firmware per se.

 

I'll check out the utilities you mentioned.

 

all the best,

Zylbar

 

~~~ I may be schizophrenic

~~~ but at least I have each other

[integrale]

yeah the splash replaces the normal boot screen where you see all your ram and drives being detected. there is an option in one of the area ( cant remember what its called lol ) its the same one as you usb keyboard mouse etc and its at the very bottom. disable that and youll be able to see the bios version if i dont see youve got by te time i get home, ill reboot and find it for ya

[Zylbar]

Thanks Integrale. I found where the splash screen can be disabled and now I finally can see the bootup sequence.

 

The Award bios is V6.00 PG

 

The Nvidia chipset is 4.052.0805/20/05

 

and i don't know what this one refers to:

11/14/2005 NF CK804

 

So they are definitely out-of-date. We'll see if flashing the BIOS and firmware will help prevent freezing when a game takes over the video from windows XP.

 

I'm going to try this before buying a new PSU. But Integrale - I have one question for you. Since the Thermaltake Toughpower series has separate power delivery circuits for the motherboard, the peripherals, and the PCIE 6-pin SLI connectors - it might be possible for the motherboard to keep running but for the video boards to run low on power.

 

thanks for the ideas and tips,

zylbar

[calvintang]

well.. remove one card and try to play..if its ok then you need a more expensive psu then.

[Zylbar]

The Thermaltake Toughpower "user manual" is a hoot and a half. It's 2"x3" like a little pamphlet, and is hilariously translated from the original Chinese (i presume).

 

What I gather from it is that each of the separate power cords that connect the PSU with some target connector on the motherboard, drive, or PC board, has it's own independent 12v rail.

 

So i'll try the experiment that Calvin suggests tonight and see what happens.

 

I will probably get a new PSU that is rated for quad-sli. They have 4 PCIE power connectors. I will rework those 4 into 2, so that each 7950 has its own double supply line.

 

zylbar

[Kingfisher]

and i don't know what this one refers to:

11/14/2005 NF CK804

 

That is your BIOS version.

 

Thermaltake power supplies are not recommended for DFI boards, click the link under my sig for the list.

Did you test your RAM for stability? The symptoms you are having may point to your RAM not being stable enough.