TRI SLI Issue on i790 x3 9800GTX+

[StAndrew]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mw-CC...ature=youtu.be


Having a weird issue with x3 SLI 9800GTX+. Specs below:

-Vista 64Bit
-ASUS Striker II Extreme i790Ultra Watercooled
-Q9650 @ 4.05 GHz Watercooled
-1800 FSB
-DDR3 1800
-Creative X-FI Titanium
-x3 9800 GTX+ watercooled
-Silverstone 1000W PSU

Upon load of a game (Skyrim and Crysis 2 are worst), I notice that the 3rd GPU is gernerally working twice as hard as the other two (watch the % on the video from Evga Precision).

It comes to a point where GPU 3 gets up to 90-98%, the game gets very slow, the sound pops, and eventually the display driver crashes with an artifacting screen. Now here is the interesting part. If I can minimize the screen to desktop (ie hit ctrl+alt+del) and then switch back to the game before the drivers crash, the game will right itself and will be fine until the next load. If I load a new level/game in Crysis 2, or go to a different location in Skyrim, I have to quickly minimize to desktop and switch back to the game before the drivers crash.

Ive tried to capture this with FRAPS but if the game crashes, the FRAPS vid is corrupted and doesnt work. This vid is the best I can get and highlights the higher than normal GPU 3 utilization.

Troubleshooting:
-All temps are very good. NB/SB, CPU, and all GPU's are watercooled.
-Verified all GPUs work. No issues in Single or Dual SLI.
-Set BIOS to stock (no overclock)
-Replaced the RAM
-Used ASUS stock sound card
-RMA'ed the board and got a brand new board
-Tried dual PSU
-Tried tens of Nvidia drivers, currently using latest driver
-Tried all available MoBoard Drivers
-Reinstalled Vista

[StAndrew]

Anyone??? This is really killing me!

[CrazyNutz]

Did this just start, or was this setup working fine with those games at the current detail/res?

My best guess would be you're running out of VRAM. I figure with 3 9800's you might be cranking up the eycandy, 512mb is really not much depending on your res/AA/detail settings.

[StAndrew]

Did this just start, or was this setup working fine with those games at the current detail/res?

My best guess would be you're running out of VRAM. I figure with 3 9800's you might be cranking up the eycandy, 512mb is really not much depending on your res/AA/detail settings.

Was running fine on my old i780. Switched to i790 and had this issue for almost a year. It starts out mild but builds up until GPU3 is at %90+, sound pops, FPS crashes, and screen artifacts. If this continues the drivers will crash and Ill have to restart the computer to reset. If I can minimize to the desktop, it resets everything and I can play for hours in Crysis 2 until I load a game or go to a different level where it all starts again.

Skyrim is similar but less severe.

[Chickenfeed]

I don't know what to suggest other than Nvidia's chipsets tended to have issues. I had a 680i and 780i and had numerous SLI issues and this was only with dual gpu SLI. On a related note just for the hell of it try testing without the Xfi installed. The xfi's and 680/780i's were notorious for having issues when used with creative's cards. Not a solution but for the sake of trouble shooting, it's worth a shot.

@Crazynutz

He mentioned having no issues using 1 or 2 gpus so vram shouldn't suddenly become an issue with 3. Although vram isn't pooled, memory bandwidth is, so if anything it should run better, not worse.

[werdwerdus]

try setting compatibility setting to Disable Visual Themes and Disable desktop composition on the games' .exe file. This helped me get better framerate in at least one game, it could have an effect for your problem.

[StAndrew]

I don't know what to suggest other than Nvidia's chipsets tended to have issues. I had a 680i and 780i and had numerous SLI issues and this was only with dual gpu SLI. On a related note just for the hell of it try testing without the Xfi installed. The xfi's and 680/780i's were notorious for having issues when used with creative's cards. Not a solution but for the sake of trouble shooting, it's worth a shot.

@Crazynutz

He mentioned having no issues using 1 or 2 gpus so vram shouldn't suddenly become an issue with 3. Although vram isn't pooled, memory bandwidth is, so if anything it should run better, not worse.

Yeah, I tried without the XFi, installed the stock sound card and then did it without a card. Its weird that the game starts screwy until I minimize to desktop, then it plays for hours without issue.

Im convinced there is an issue with one of the cards and will start saving up for a replacement. Though I may scarp them and go for a new 680GTX... Ill just miss the watercooled cards.

[kikicoco1334]

just wondering, like isn't 790i kinda old?

[LedHed]

just wondering, like isn't 790i kinda old?

yea, it's definitely not new, but who cares? He still has a problem and needs help.


If I had this problem I would switch over to Windows 7 Pro x64, maybe you'll get lucky. I agree about scrapping all 3 cards for a 680 or 2x 670. Surely you've gotten your moneys worth out of those 9800GTX+'s If I was going to guess I would say it is a power problem. I used to run a GTX 295 (went through 5 RMAs) and I also tried running two power supplies to diagnosis and after I thought I fixed it (similar issues to yours) it was that dang PSU.