nvidia 9800 GX2 Full Screen issues

cphcider · 12 Dec 2010

Computer: Dell XPS 410 (purchased around July 2007).
Specs: XPS 410 Product Details | Dell
Motherboard Specs: Documentation

I recently purchased an nvidia 9800 gx2. I'm replacing an 8600 gts.
My drivers and BIOS are up to date. I also upgraded my PSU from the stock 375w to a 530w Raidmax.

When I have the new card (the 9800) in, I experience issues with full screen video. There is stuttering, and the audio goes crazy. This happens for streaming video on Hulu/YouTube, and in VLC/WMP. In VLC, I go fullscreen, it fails until I stop moving the mouse and the navigation bar fades away. At that point, playback is fine, but as soon as I move the mouse, the issues return.

I've tried nearly everything I can think of, including swapping in the old card (video works fine), and swapping in an identical 9800 that I ordered for my roommate at the same time I got mine (same video issues), using a variety of older drivers just in case, and most recently a complete reinstall of Windows 7. I also tried changing various SLI settings in the nvidia control panel, with no luck.

I would think the card itself is not likely to be the issue (since the roommate's card fails in my system, but works in his own), but something about the card is not agreeing with the rest of the system. On the other hand, I just wiped the OS completely, and am still having issues.

One other thing: Upon installing the OS, Windows thought that I had the most recent drivers (after a few restarts), but they were quite a bit out of date. Again, updating these had no effect.

Thanks in advance!

Lordbob75 · 13 Dec 2010

The minimum recommended power supply is 580watts. Sounds like it isn't getting enough power.

~Lordbob

Tony6785 · 13 Dec 2010

Lordbob75, power is not an issue. The "recommended" wattage presumes a certain setup, is designed to guarantee power under certain load strains, and allots for inefficient power supplies. Not to mention certain tie ins with part of the industry. Pretty much no standard user actually needs a 580W power supply. The 530W raidmax does provide enough power for his entire system (I can say this because I helped pick the power supply and specced it out).

Additional useful information: the same full screen video issues occurred with an 8800GTS which has no where near the same power draw as the 9800 GX2. Also, both the 8800 GTS and 9800 GX2 are capable of playing World of Warcraft at nearly all settings on Ultra in two other slower systems (slower proc in each). However, in the affected machine, WoW will only play on, at best, middling settings.

Lordbob75 · 13 Dec 2010

Ah, you didn't mention that it happened with the 8800 as well.

Now, you mentioned that you tried to update drivers through Windows Update.
You need to download the newest drivers directly from NVidia's website.

~Lordbob

Tony6785 · 14 Dec 2010

...actually, he just said "updating these had no effect."

We've used the current drivers offered on nVidia's website, as well as a variety of previously released drivers. We have made certain to fully uninstall and remove traces of any driver before installing and testing new drivers. While some driver changes allowed for playback of full screen video, the quality would then be significantly reduced.

In no event did we find proper gaming performance regardless of the selected driver (with the exception of the stock 8600 that came with the machine).

Lordbob75 · 14 Dec 2010

Is the new card compatible with Seven and your motherboard? Run the Upgrade adviser to make sure it is. Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor - Download - Microsoft Windows

~Lordbob

Tony6785 · 14 Dec 2010

Yes, the nVidia 9800 GX2 is compatible with windows 7. This model is a stock reference card - nothing fancy.

Additionally, as mentioned before, the same problems occurred with an 8800GTS (also stock reference model). Both the 8800GTS and 9800GX2 work in harmony with Windows 7 in other computers we have at our disposal.

The likelihood of the motherboard being "incompatible" with any PCI Express video card is very low, but it is especially low that it would not handle an 8800 GTS since the 8800 GTX was an available option for the XPS 410 when it was manufactured.

Lordbob75 · 15 Dec 2010

It is possible that the graphics card (and OS) is fine, and the motherboard is bad. Also, try a different cable as well as a different monitor, trying to eliminate possibilities.

~Lordbob

Tony6785 · 15 Dec 2010

It is theoretically possible that the motherboard is bad, but I don't really have any way of testing it. I mean, the only thing that could really be happening there is that somehow the motherboard is incapable of feeding data to the PCI Express slot at the rates it will really support, but if that were the case I would expect more widespread problems than just video games and full screen video, because it would suggest a problem with the northbridge itself.

Also, I'm not going to test it, but you can rule out monitor and cable. A change in display and output cable will not create a change in frame rate. Output is output- the only thing that would change would be the quality of the image on the screen, not the rate at which the frames are pumped out by the card--especially not in a manner where sometimes it's perfect and other times it isn't. Full screen video works perfectly if I put something else in front of it (even just right clicking so as to put a clickable menu over the image).