Curse

felinette · Apr 12, 2006, 11:56 AM // 11:56

I got a new computer yesterday that has two 7800GTX cards running in SLI. I was happily playing Guild Wars until the image started to badly flicker, and then at one point, all I could see was what looked like a wire mesh (all gray background with yellow flecks in it). I thought perhaps the video cards had overheated, but I had the same problem this morning right upon startup at the login screen, after my machine had been off overnight. I checked the temperature of the two cards--both low, not even close to overheating. I also started up another game, and it didn't have the same problem.

When in game, the problem always crops up after a town screen (when you see the town's name with the "downloading" msg). And, as I said, it can also happen right at the login screen.

Any ideas on why this is happening and how to prevent it?

Veneficus · Apr 12, 2006, 04:42 PM // 16:42

Try the new beta drivers from nvidia, they fixed some of the direct x 9 problems that people were experiencing, such as white boxes etc.

Maybe these will help.

Get them here

felinette · Apr 12, 2006, 05:39 PM // 17:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by Veneficus

Try the new beta drivers from nvidia, they fixed some of the direct x 9 problems that people were experiencing, such as white boxes etc.

Thanks, I'll give them a try. I'm playing Oblivion, too, so these drivers might help on several fronts.

I saw a tip on another thread that if you're having problems or glitches after a town screen, then it could be that the refresh rate in the game isn't set to the same as that in the drivers. I don't think that's the case for me--I'm still using the same monitor, which only has one refresh rate (it's an LCD), and I didn't change any settings in game. But I'll check that, too. Added here in case anyone searches for similar symptoms.

Blade Rez · Apr 12, 2006, 05:40 PM // 17:40

Put refresh to 60

felinette · Apr 12, 2006, 06:00 PM // 18:00

It's on 60.

blackpawn · Apr 12, 2006, 08:45 PM // 20:45

after it's flickering and all that does it return to normal if you resize the window (in windowed mode) or alt tab out and back in (for fullscreen)?

felinette · Apr 12, 2006, 09:45 PM // 21:45

No, it didn't return to normal, and when I restarted Guild Wars to see if that would help, the problem was still there.

Now that I'm home, I rechecked the refresh rate setting in the game. It was set to "Default". The drivers are set to 60. So I've explicitly set it to 60 in the game, plus I've installed the suggested beta drivers, so I'll see later if any of this helps. I played for 3 hours yesterday before it started happening, and this morning it happened right away, so I won't know for sure if it's "fixed" until I've had a few longish sessions without seeing the behaviour. Of course, if it's not fixed, I'll probaby find out tonight.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

felinette · Apr 12, 2006, 11:34 PM // 23:34

Unfortunately, it's still happening after making sure the refresh rate in the game is set to 60, which matches the refresh rate set in the video drivers, and after installing the nVidia beta drivers referenced up thread. Town screens still flicker even though the refresh rates match. It's almost as if something gets out of synch, and once that happens, I have to restart my machine for it to clear up. Exiting and starting GW again doesn't help--I have the problem right at the login screen. Note that this is GW only. I'm not having any problems with other applications or the one other game I've installed so far.

I took a screenshot when everything went wacky, but the screenshot doesn't show it--the shot looks perfectly normal. Don't know if that offers any hint of what the problem might be.

Any other ideas?

EternalTempest · Apr 12, 2006, 11:41 PM // 23:41

May be a shot in the wrong direction, but make sure you have the mointer driver for your mointer/lcd screen and windows is not running on the "generic" driver for your mointer.

It helps by limiting the video card & windows to match what the mointer/lcd screen is able to do. Sometimes it adds higher settings that windows limit if it doesn't know (running mointer at higher specs then it's rated, LCD is not affected by it, can cause damage to it so it's on the parnoid side for good reason).

felinette · Apr 13, 2006, 12:54 AM // 00:54

Good info. I made sure I'm running with the correct monitor driver. I also tried disabling VSYNC just for the heck of it. Still seeing the problem.

This is really frustrating. Spiffy new, powerful machine, but can't play GW with it.

Blade Rez · Apr 13, 2006, 01:25 AM // 01:25

Get rid of Post effects or something next to vSYNC. Check your monitor, try hooking it up to your old computer,

Omega X · Apr 13, 2006, 03:07 AM // 03:07

How about disabling SLi? Run it on one card?

felinette · Apr 13, 2006, 03:54 AM // 03:54

Okay, well after spending a frustrating evening installing and uninstalling more drivers than I care to admit, and having two of my poor characters do nothing but zone in and out of various places (usually followed by much swearing and gnashing of teeth when I got the dreaded wire mesh effect), I finally figured out what the "problem" was, problem in quotes because it shouldn't be a problem.

The native resolution of my monitor is 1900x1200. I was running GW at 1600x1200. *That* was the problem. I switched the game resolution to 1900x1200, and boom, no more flicker, no more wackiness, runs like a charm in SLI mode with both cards in use. I won't say hurrah until I've played a few longish sessions with no problems, but I'm quite optimistic, based on what I've seen, that this will solve it.

My other machine has an ATI 9800XT card and I had always been running GW at 1600x1200 (because I find it easier on the eyes at that resolution). Never had a problem. So phooey on nVidia, and kudos to ATI. I probably should have thought of this earlier, but since I've been playing GW at that resolution since I first installed it, I didn't think it would matter.

I guess I'll get used to running GW (and other games) at 1900x1200, and I'll have to play games that don't support that resolution on my other machine, which is fine. And I guess it's lucky I run my desktop at 1900x1200. lol.

(and I had previously tried disabling one of the cards with no luck, but good suggestion)

Anyway, GW looks absolutely beautiful with all graphics option cranked right up. Good going, Anet! I thought the graphics were good before--now they're stunning.

I may contact nVidia about this problem...once I've calmed down.

Blade Rez · Apr 13, 2006, 04:21 AM // 04:21

Wow... You've got to be kidding me.... jesus christ.... lol........ ............... I don't think anyone here would've thought you had a native monitor resolution of 1900x1200

lord_shar · Apr 13, 2006, 05:23 AM // 05:23

Since you mentioned native resolution, I'm assuming your monitor is a flat pannel display? I never run anything other than native resolutions on my LCD display, mainly to avoid pixelation, so I can see why this threw you for a loop.

The effect you described sounded like an out-of-sync signal transmission. Just curious... are you going through a DVI or VGA connection? Also, what frame rates are you getting with GW.exe -perf?

felinette · Apr 13, 2006, 11:51 AM // 11:51

Yes, it's an LCD. One thing I like about this monitor is that the image still looks good when it's running at other resolutions. I was hesitant about buying it because not all games support 1900x1200 (or do, but at the time, I didn't have the video card chops to run certain games at that resolution). But I did a lot of research, and all the reviews said it ran beautifully at other resolutions, and it does. Which is why I never thought that might be the problem. It's a Dell 2405FPW, if anyone's interested. Great monitor.

I'm going through a DVI connection--everything I read said the image looks best this way.

I tried the -perf thing (and died--too busy watching it. lol). FPS consistently between 40 and 61. Usually 50+. It only dips into the 40's if there's a *lot* going on, like we're surrounded by a whole whack of enemies. In towns, it's always 60. No idea if that's good or bad because I never pay attention to stuff like that--I just know that now that it's working, the game looks superb, and I'm already getting used to the new resolution.

lord_shar · Apr 13, 2006, 10:31 PM // 22:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by felinette

Yes, it's an LCD. One thing I like about this monitor is that the image still looks good when it's running at other resolutions. I was hesitant about buying it because not all games support 1900x1200 (or do, but at the time, I didn't have the video card chops to run certain games at that resolution). But I did a lot of research, and all the reviews said it ran beautifully at other resolutions, and it does. Which is why I never thought that might be the problem. It's a Dell 2405FPW, if anyone's interested. Great monitor.

I'm going through a DVI connection--everything I read said the image looks best this way.

I tried the -perf thing (and died--too busy watching it. lol). FPS consistently between 40 and 61. Usually 50+. It only dips into the 40's if there's a *lot* going on, like we're surrounded by a whole whack of enemies. In towns, it's always 60. No idea if that's good or bad because I never pay attention to stuff like that--I just know that now that it's working, the game looks superb, and I'm already getting used to the new resolution.

A friend of mine has that same monitor, and it looks drop-dead gorgeous

The DVI connection will provide the best signal quality. DVI is capped at 60hz to minimize LCD pixel-wear and maximize your display's lifetime.

I'm about to buy an Dell XPS gaming laptop but won't pull the trigger until they release their Core Duo models. They run 1900x1200 resolutions as well.

felinette · Apr 13, 2006, 11:22 PM // 23:22

Oooh... an XPS laptop. Cool.

The new rig is an XPS 600. The old rig was also an XPS (albeit two generations old).

Instead of going to nVidia, I first called Dell tech support. We've ruled out the monitor--I connected another LCD (it came with the new system) and we see the same problem, and driver and software-wise, everything looks okay, so at this point, they suspect a hardware problem. The tech guy will call me tomorrow or Monday after doing some research to make sure we haven't missed anything (I suspect they'll talk to nVidia). They're being really good about it... already talking about potentially replacing the system if they can't resolve the problem. So I'll see what happens. At least I've got a workaround for now.

felinette · Apr 18, 2006, 09:00 PM // 21:00

We resolved this issue so I thought I'd post the resolution here in case anyone else runs into it.

Whoever suggested disabling VSYNC was right, though apparently it's not enough to disable it from within GW, even if you have "Application Controlled" set in the drivers. You have to explicitly turn it off in the video drivers. I don't know if that's a driver issue or a GW issue, but previously when I had tried to turn it off, I had checked that "Application Controlled" was set in the drivers and then turned it off from within GW, and that didn't resolve the problem. Turning it off in the drivers did. I only have to do this if I want to run at a lower resolution than native.

lord_shar · Apr 18, 2006, 10:04 PM // 22:04

Thanks for the head's up on this issue. BTW, a buddy of mine got an XPS laptop last week for $1300.00 USD (single core, but what a price!!). Gah, when will Dell release my beloved dual core XPS???