Flicker Problem on duo Ge Force 7900 GS

[Cowabunga]

I got tired of the late game slowdowns in Warlords. So I put myself in hock for a Dell XPS 710 with two dual-core 2.2 ghz processers. The machine came with two Nvidea Ge Force 7900 GS video cards. I have 4 gigs of RAM memory.

I haven't seen anything approaching a slow-down since.

But...

On any busy section of the map - more than a few units and it's a busy section of the map - I get a flicker problem with Warlords (I haven't tried Civ IV vanilla on this machine, although, of course, it is loaded.)

The screen appears to alternate paginations among the two video cards, with one being stable and one that flickers out of sync with the other. It is really annoying. It makes the messages from the game almost unreadable.

I have tried to turn off unit animations, and that seems to help some, but not all unit animations stop. It seems these animations contribute to the problem.

I have used the system driver search within Windows XP Media Center to check for updates to the video card drivers with no luck.

Any advice would be sincerely appreciated.

Very respectfully,

Cowabunga

 

[snoopy369]

Are the two cards running in full SLI mode? This sounds to me like an SLI problem. I definitely wouldn't trust Dell to get that (or anything...) right, so I'd look into that first. Also, see if other games have similar problems (other games of similar graphical complexity, anyway); that's further evidence of an SLI problem.

I haven't heard any other complaints over Civ4 running on dual cards (SLI or ATI's equivalent), so that's where I'd look first. Also, try disabling one of your cards; a single 7900 is more than enough to run Civ4 after all

 

[Cowabunga]

Thanks Snoopy,

I'm not quite sure I know what SLI mode is, and Dell naturally did not provide any booklets on the Ge Force Cards, but I should be able to find something online.

I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to advise me on this issue. When I call Dell, who otherwise, has excellent support for XPS purchasers, they say this is a third party software issue. Not their problem.

Very respectfully,

Cowabunga

 

[snoopy369]

SLI = two video card mode. It's how you use the second video card, basically, instead of just using one of them.

Flickering is probably related to SLI, because if one of the video cards isn't set up properly (or rather if the two aren't set up together properly) they might flicker from different refresh rates or who knows what. Run the nVidia control panel app (you should be able to right click on your desktop) and look at the settings there.

Upon googling, however, I notice it may be a problem with your card and driver combination.
http://forums.nvidia.com/lofiversion/index.php?t12659.html for example.

Make sure you have the newest drivers (93.71) (www.nvidia.com) and if that doesn't work, go into the nvidia settings and disable SLI mode. That will probably fix your problem.

 

[Cowabunga]

Thanks Snoopy,

That sounds like great advice.

I've also got a request in with the Take Two Technical Support Folks. They had me run a file in Windows XP called Dxdiag. I was requested to save a text file from that program and forward it to them.

An interesting side note: I sent my problem description in from my work computer. I sent the dxdiag file into them from my home computer, because that is where the game resides. The Take Two server rejected my submission because the original problem was reported from my work email address. The problem was easily solved, just email the file to work, and send it in from there, but the lesson is - they actually scrutinize the email addresses from which the problems are reported and expect the same email address updates throughout the duration of the problem.

V/r

Cowabunga

 

[Cowabunga]

Update
Take Two in the UK was very helpful. They sent me directions to download and install the latest driver, and to reinstall the Warlords software. So, I went to the nVidea website, and got the new driver. The website gave instructions to delete the old driver. I deleted the old driver, (you are nodding your head because you know what comes next - Black Screen of Death (BSOD) upon restart.)

After two hours on the phone with Dell support - word here - they are great, if you own an XPS system like I do. It's a separate phone number to call, and they put you in touch with a tech after a few simple questions. Anyway, after two hours of trying to determine "why the BSOD?", we finally came to a realization. Deleting the old driver should not have caused a BSOD, since Windows has a native VGA driver. However, my system uses DVI, and apparently VGA doesn't pass down the DVI cable. So, I will gather my old monitor (with a VGA cable), replace the DVI monitor, attach the VGA/DVI adapter to the VGA cable and see if we can make the BSOD go away. Then I can get back to the flicker problem.

Very respectfully,

Cowabunga

 

[snoopy369]

You shouldn't need an adapter ... doesn't your card have both VGA and DVI connections?

 

[Mulholland]

Yes It's always a good idea to lower you resoultion right down to a minimum before deleting old drivers.

Can't you get into window's in 'safe mode' to load your new drivers though?



As for the ficker problem, if your monior supports higher refresh rates you should try bumping that up to higher hertz.

 

[the_Batman]

I get a Flicker problem too and I have XP x64, My specs are in the thread below, I've changed video drivers to no effect. I use 93.71WHQL as My Nvidia video driver in XP x64 sp1.

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=219488

 

[Cowabunga]

You shouldn't need an adapter ... doesn't your card have both VGA and DVI connections?

No Snoopy, it doesn't. The card has two DVI connectors, the outside one of which is the master. The second card sits above the first inside the chassis and has no connectors that are visible externally.

Dell and myself have been troubleshooting telephonically for over two weeks now. We have disconnected every thing. The network connections, the hard drive, the DVD and CD ROM drives. It hasn't helped. I balked at removing the four gigs of memory to see if that is causing the problem, since memory is notoriously susceptable to stray voltage damage like that of a non-grounded human reaching into the case and touching the memory card.

I have finally bitten the bullet and ordered the $350.00 warranty package that covers "accidental damage caused by owner error!!!!" , since my system is not covered against damage caused by downloading the latest driver and deleting the old driver .

I'll try to keep everyone updated as someone, possibly from "Geeks on Call", comes to my house and hopefully solves the BSOD problem, so I can get back to fixing the "flicker" problem.

Very respectfully,

Getting poorer by the minute - Cowabunga

 

[Cowabunga]

Yes It's always a good idea to lower you resoultion right down to a minimum before deleting old drivers.

Can't you get into window's in 'safe mode' to load your new drivers though?



As for the ficker problem, if your monior supports higher refresh rates you should try bumping that up to higher hertz.

Mulholland, thanks for the advice. I'll remember that lowering the resolution next time I change a driver. As you can imagine, it may be a while before I try that again. (g).

I can get into Windows safe mode, or any other mode I want, I just can't see the results, due to a "black screen".

The higher refresh rates are another issue. I would change the resolution, and it would last until the next time I exited the game. Then the resolution reverted back to whatever Windows decided was the proper resolution for my monitor. I don't know if could vary refresh rates .

Very respectfully,

Cowabunga

 

[Mulholland]

As for the refresh rate try this when you get your rig up and running again. Right Click on you desktop go to properties and select the settings tab. Now click advanced at the bottom and in the new window click on the monitor tab. There your supported refresh rates should be listed; don't use one that is not supported because it can damge your monitor.

 

[Cowabunga]

As for the refresh rate try this when you get your rig up and running again. Right Click on you desktop go to properties and select the settings tab. Now click advanced at the bottom and in the new window click on the monitor tab. There your supported refresh rates should be listed; don't use one that is not supported because it can damge your monitor.

Great advice. Thanks.

V/r

Jerry Sindle

 

[Cowabunga]

After two more hours of troubleshooting with Dell on the telephone, and virtually tearing the guts out of an XPS 710, we think we have isolated the BSOD problem. I removed both video cards and their supporting structure, powered up the computer, and nothing changed - no difference in symptoms, no different panel light numbers, nothing. That finally convinced Dell that they had a failed part - the motherboard. Dell is mailing me a new one via two day mail. A technician will come to the house and install the new motherboard.

Hopefully, this can be done before 8 May, when I leave for Indianapolis to help with the 10 Kiloton nuclear detonation exercise with the Department of Homeland Security. If you live in the US, trust me, this massive exercise will make the news somewhere around the 12th of May. Shamefully, this is the first time anyone has ever tried to imagine a nuclear detonation going off in a major American city, and training the first responders, the National Guard, and the Armed Forces to deal with the aftermath... No one expects the exercise to go smoothly... I should return sometime on the 18th and I'll give you folks an update on my computer problem at that time...

V'/r

Cowabunga

 

[the_Batman]

After two more hours of troubleshooting with Dell on the telephone, and virtually tearing the guts out of an XPS 710, we think we have isolated the BSOD problem. I removed both video cards and their supporting structure, powered up the computer, and nothing changed - no difference in symptoms, no different panel light numbers, nothing. That finally convinced Dell that they had a failed part - the motherboard. Dell is mailing me a new one via two day mail. A technician will come to the house and install the new motherboard.

Hopefully, this can be done before 8 May, when I leave for Indianapolis to help with the 10 Kiloton nuclear detonation exercise with the Department of Homeland Security. If you live in the US, trust me, this massive exercise will make the news somewhere around the 12th of May. Shamefully, this is the first time anyone has ever tried to imagine a nuclear detonation going off in a major American city, and training the first responders, the National Guard, and the Armed Forces to deal with the aftermath... No one expects the exercise to go smoothly... I should return sometime on the 18th and I'll give you folks an update on my computer problem at that time...

V'/r

Cowabunga

As long as the exercise doesn't happen near where I live(I have concentration problems as I'm disabled and that includes physical problems too), I'll be happy, Don't tell anymore please on this issue(I know where Indianapolis is though), I'm already getting sonic booms during the day from Nellis AFB in NV. It's not impossible, College Students here and there designed casings small enough for a such a device, Of course terrorists would just buy a suitcase bomb from some greedy Russian, If one were really available of course, Hopefully not.

I'm glad DELL is replacing Your PCs motherboard.

 

[Cowabunga]

As long as the exercise doesn't happen near where I live(I have concentration problems as I'm disabled and that includes physical problems too), I'll be happy, Don't tell anymore please on this issue(I know where Indianapolis is though), I'm already getting sonic booms during the day from Nellis AFB in NV. It's not impossible, College Students here and there designed casings small enough for a such a device, Of course terrorists would just buy a suitcase bomb from some greedy Russian, If one were really available of course, Hopefully not.

I'm glad DELL is replacing Your PCs motherboard.

Batman,

The exercise nuclear detonation will only occur in the computer models we are using for simulation - area damage, fallout pattern, etc. The real life first responders, National Guard units, and Active Duty military, plus FEMA will be real and will be faced with similar problems to act upon as they would in a real life incident. I can safely predict some traffic problems in Indianapolis, IN next week though as all of these folks converge on that area.

V/r

Cowabunga

 

[the_Batman]

Batman,

The exercise nuclear detonation will only occur in the computer models we are using for simulation - area damage, fallout pattern, etc. The real life first responders, National Guard units, and Active Duty military, plus FEMA will be real and will be faced with similar problems to act upon as they would in a real life incident. I can safely predict some traffic problems in Indianapolis, IN next week though as all of these folks converge on that area.

V/r

Cowabunga

Sounds good(the description of what the exercise is all about that is), Hopefully something like that explosion will never ever happen.

 

[Cowabunga]

The problem is solved! It was not the motherboard. The Dell technician arrived - a cute lady with the new motherboard. The first thing she asked me was "show me the problem". A little irritated, I said "look the screen is blank!" Only it wasn't blank. Upon powering up, the screen worked just fine.

After looking over my machine a little bit, with a smirk, she was on her way with the new motherboard back to where she came from.

Warlords works just fine.

Apparently, when I removed and reinserted the two video cards, I unknowingly solved the problem. One of the cards was not seated correctly in its socket. Since it was supposed to share the load with the other one, and wasn't, a flicker problem was the result.

If I had only powered up that computer one more time, when I was on the phone with the technician, this would have been resolved in a less embarrassing manner. If only Dell had seated that card correctly when they assembled the computer...

BTW, the exercise is over. My hat's off to the Governer of Indiana and the Mayor of Indianapolis for allowing us to respond to a ficticious nuclear detonation. From the looks on their faces after the third day of an eight day event, you could tell the strain was beginning to show.

FEMA has a lot to improve on. The National Guard and active Military learned some lessons as well. Hopefully, we will never have to do this in real life. It was ugly.

We'll probably do it again next year in some other lucky American city.

Don't expect much. The press played hardly any interest at all in what was going on. Even after we invited them in to see everything. We had a rubble pile on base, that we had some folks laying in. The National Guard and Indiana Police and Fire Departments got training in how to pull folks out of radioactive rubble. That became the primary focus of the press's interest.
Not the radioactive part - the rubble part.

Very respectfully,

Cowabunga