Green fringing in SLI with 7600 GTs

[Damage]

I'm seeing a weird artifact in SLI with a pair of GeForce 7600 GTs. It's like a flickering green fringing effect on certain pixels on the screen. Sometimes there are puple-colored pixels doing the same. Sometimes it's kind of subtle, but other times it really jumps out at you. The problem appears to be related to an image from the secondary card not making it over 100% intact to the primary card somehow. I tried to take a screenshot, but the artifacting doesn't show up in screenshots.

My basic test setup is like the one here:

http://techreport.com/reviews/2006q3/ra ... dex.x?pg=2

So far, I've tried to eliminate it by swapping things out, hardware-wise. I've tried:

-Two sets of 7600 GTs
-Two different driver revs (91.31 and 91.47)
-Two different copies of the P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe mobo, each with its own Core 2 Extreme X6800, 700W PSU, and 2GB of RAM
-Three different SLI bridge connectors

The image artifacts remain with any of these configs. This problem doesn't affect G71-based 7900-series cards on the same setup.

The only way I've found to eliminate the fringing artfact is to shut down, remove the SLI bridge connector, and boot back up. Running without the connector, the image looks perfect. Of course, that hurts performance, which isn't acceptable for testing.

Have any of you guys seen this problem with SLI and G73-based graphics cards? Any ideas for a possible fix?

[Shintai]

Still 0204 BIOS?

Try 0305 beta BIOS:
ftp://dlsvr01.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/sock ... e/0305.zip

[Nitrodist]

Do you have enough power running? Artifacts in your gameplay can result from this.

[Damage]

Do you have enough power running? Artifacts in your gameplay can result from this.

Well, these 700W OCZ PSUs do just fine with dual Radeon X1950 CrossFire and Quad SLI. Ya think I need more than 700W for a pair of 7600 GTs?

[MixedPower]

Try testing each card individually to rule out the possibility of a faulty card. Also check to make sure you have the latest BIOS.

Green fringing, eh? Sounds like subliminal messaging to 'go green' to me...

[Damage]

Still 0204 BIOS?

Try 0305 beta BIOS:
ftp://dlsvr01.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/sock ... e/0305.zip

Thanks for the link. Didn't realize there was a new beta out. I tried it, and it didn't help. Doh.

Try testing each card individually to rule out the possibility of a faulty card.

Way ahead of you. I tested each card individually, swapped in an entirely different set of cards, and also verified proper operation in SLI mode when not using the SLI bridge connector.

Sounds like nobody so far has any experience with this exact problem. I think I've been through the basic troubleshooting steps pretty thoroughly. This only seems to happen with 7600 GTs. Anybody here running a pair of those in SLI?

[tu2thepoo]

Do the cards behave the same on a non-C2D SLI system?

[Fighterpilot]

Scott,the bottom card in SLI can often heat up a fair bit more than the other and cause some memory probs.Try lowering the RAM speed by 5-10Mhz and see if that fixes it.
Also you might want to check that your 12V rails are supplying enough power.

[flip-mode]

Scott,the bottom card in SLI can often heat up a fair bit more than the other and cause some memory probs.

That's a good thought. Maybe point a 120mm fan straight at the cards just as a test to see if it's heat. Or as fighter said, lower the core/mem speeds.

[Hoser]

Have you tried a diffeent monitor cable?
What demo are you running when it happens, or is it on any demo?

You seem to have touched all the bases otherwise.

I find it really odd that the artifacting doesn't show up in screenshots.

[Hoser]

Well?

Did you find the problem?

Inquiring gerbils want to know.

[Damage]

Well?

Did you find the problem?

Inquiring gerbils want to know.

Not yet. Working with Nvidia on it to see if they can help. We'll see...

[Jigar]

I sense a heating issue ... My ex 7600GT use to run hotter then my older 6800Ultra. ... Running 7600GT in SLI would make the things more toasty.

EDIT: Scott i dont know but my friend had a the problem running 7900GT in SLI mode.. he had changed the bridge and the things were solved ... Hope it helps.

[Hoser]

EDIT: Scott i dont know but my friend had a the problem running 7900GT in SLI mode.. he had changed the bridge and the things were solved ... Hope it helps.

So far, I've tried to eliminate it by swapping things out, hardware-wise. I've tried:

-Two sets of 7600 GTs
-Two different driver revs (91.31 and 91.47)
-Two different copies of the P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe mobo, each with its own Core 2 Extreme X6800, 700W PSU, and 2GB of RAM
-Three different SLI bridge connectors

The image artifacts remain with any of these configs. This problem doesn't affect G71-based 7900-series cards on the same setup.

It seems he's already eliminated the bridge as the problem.

[Jigar]

My bad i didnt read it carefully....

[Jigar]

Hi Scott did you find the solution ..

[flip-mode]

Hi Scott did you find the solution ..

Damn man... it's only been 24 hours since the last time you asked, at which point he was consulting with Nvidia on the issue. Give him a couple days.

[Jigar]

Hi Scott did you find the solution ..

Damn man... it's only been 24 hours since the last time you asked, at which point he was consulting with Nvidia on the issue. Give him a couple days.

Whats up with u flipy ... Did u had a fight with ur wife.. u seem to be in a very bad mood. Anyways i was just curious to know the solution of this problem.. I didnt knew you would be bothered with that

[flip-mode]

No, I'm not in a bad mood.

[tsoulier]

Do you have enough power running? Artifacts in your gameplay can result from this.

Well, these 700W OCZ PSUs do just fine with dual Radeon X1950 CrossFire and Quad SLI. Ya think I need more than 700W for a pair of 7600 GTs?

Yeah I know the 700 Watt OCZ is not the problem , those are sweet

[Damage]

Here are some screenshots (well, photographs) of the 7600 GT SLI image problem.

http://techreport.com/etc/2006q3/7600gt-sli1.jpg

3DMark06 graphics test 2. Note the green "fringe" around the green "firefly" (brighter than the glow of the light itself) and on the bark of the tree stump.

http://techreport.com/etc/2006q3/7600gt-sli2.jpg

Better example. The sky in Oblivion. Green fringe around the clouds.

[leor]

Better example. The sky in Oblivion. Green fringe around the clouds.

at least the fringing is in keeping with their branding . . .

[Nutmeg]

Why don't you swap them for a 512MB card?

[Hoser]

Judging by the screenshot of Oblivion, I'd say it's definately the cards themselves. Maybe you got a couple of bad cards there. Seems to be something with edges not being processed properly. Does it do it right away, or only after you've played for a while?

[tsoulier]

I think he said he changed the cards out with same results

[MixedPower]

nVIDIA's got new beta forceware drivers, you could give those a shot. I'm not sure what changes they made to them yet though...

[Damage]

Just giving you guys an update. Not really looking for troubleshooting help at this point. Nvidia has reproduced the issue in-house and may have a sense of the cause. I'm definitely not alone here. Will let you know if they find a fix.

[Bauxite]

How much should we bet theres a driver fix for it in a few weeks?

[Fighterpilot]

Ouch you weren't kidding ...the rendering of those frames looks awful.
"Green tinge" is putting it mildly.

[crazyjediman24]

really glad I read this....I was just thinking of putting some 7600Gts in my build in SLI. I think I've decided against it. Not that I couldn't eventually get them to work, but I'm too lazy to work on them constantly. But I do like the look of the 7900GS