Beware! nVidia SLI Agonies via SW GPU Killer!

[60dgrzbelow0]

Actually, Pocket... its those damned, immutable "Three Laws of Thermodynamics" that we're all up against... there is really only so much that you can do to move heat from where you don't want it to where it will do the least harm.

OKay... What I wound up doing that should close the loop on the setting up of a functional SLI arrangement on the XFX nVidia Mobo was to order a second, identical BFG 1G 9800 GT "Eco-Friendly" card that was a dead match to the one that was still functioning after the XFX 9800 GT went FAIL... and Windows 7 installed it perfectly...giving all the poop and news as the drivers went in and then I opened the nVidia system monitor app...and sure enough...they were both recognized and working properly. But just to be certain. I went into the Control Panel>System>Hardware listings to confirm that there were actually two 9800 GTs in tandem and sure enough...A-OKay.

When I had the time and few minutes to spare, I looked over the XFX 9800 GT card and decided to disassemble the copper cooling block via the four, spring loaded chrome screws on the back plane of it and it looked like the GPU showed no signs of burning, discoloration or over-heating. This prompted a closer inspection of the rest of the board with a huge scientific magnifying glass...and I spied what looked like two resistors (I'm guessing here...) that, to quote Dallas when he looked at the chest of the Sky-Jockey in the derelict Alien Space Craft on LV-426 in the movie "Alien"... "It Looks like he exploded...from the inside...."

I glommed a few snaps of the GPU (which looks suspiciously like an 8800 GT...if you ask me...) and the damaged resistors to get some opinions as to whether I will be able to "un-brick" this XFX Card... I copped the numbers off the busted components and searched for them on the Net...but no luck... besides that... I cannot tell if the two Effed Up parts are wave soldered in, making a Gerry-Rig repair by me next to impossible (looks like little silver waffles on the back side where the numerous pins poke through the board and have tiny drops of solder holding them in place.)

[robertisaar]

i'm no electronics expert, but those kind of look like transistors...

[3400-95-Modified]

If you did some searching you would realize that a 9800GT is very similar to a 8800GT and some even use the same components.

A lot of the graphics guru's will tell those with 8800GT's that upgrading to a 9800GT is not worth it at all, they are better off saving the money and getting a better card later.

I own two EVGA 9800GT's and I WISH there was something out there to shut my fans up. They can't be controlled by anything else and its supposedly embedded in the firmware that I can't even drop the fans below 50% This is why I'm so confused on why this many people had this issue... Maybe my problem is specific to EVGA.

[pocket-rocket]

i'm no electronics expert, but those kind of look like transistors...

Despite having 4 years of electronics in high school and repairing TV's and VCR's for a while I'm no pro, but I agree. That or some sort of regulators or rectifiers. I would lean towards regulators or transistors though.

[60dgrzbelow0]

If you did some searching you would realize that a 9800GT is very similar to a 8800GT and some even use the same components.

A lot of the graphics guru's will tell those with 8800GT's that upgrading to a 9800GT is not worth it at all, they are better off saving the money and getting a better card later.

I own two EVGA 9800GT's and I WISH there was something out there to shut my fans up. They can't be controlled by anything else and its supposedly embedded in the firmware that I can't even drop the fans below 50% This is why I'm so confused on why this many people had this issue... Maybe my problem is specific to EVGA.

I'm guessing that each user of these configurations has some slight variation on the themes of how things are controlled...for instance...for reasons that defy logic... the cooling fan blows air over the copper GPU radiator...BACKWARDS on this card...and I'm betting that the two components that blew themselves up were benefiting from having some of the exiting air available to remove heat from the array. As for the controversy about nVidia not "really" doing an upgrade...from the 65nm in the 8800 GT to the 55nm of some of the later 9800 GTs... not being an advocate of overclocking anything... it wouldn't be high of my list of "need to knows". All I intend on doing is either trying to locate some cheap parts that match the busted ones...or getting a few known "dead" cards off eBay that I can try and scavenge parts off of... You know me... I like f*cking around with things that are broken in hopes of maybe fixing one or two along the way... that's all. If not... I'll slip the GPU off the card and toss it.. . Oh.... one last interesting things about making the dual matched BFG 9800 GT cards work in the new system... it actually bumped the available system memory from 4 Gigs ...up to a little over 6 Gigs...so I'm guessing that in SLI mode... the mobo can access and use the memory sticks on both GPU cards... which is very cool...

[pocket-rocket]

That's an odd feature. It must be part of 7. At least those SMD's that are broke are a lot easier to desolder with wick and resolder than an SMD resistor.

[3400-95-Modified]

Oh.... one last interesting things about making the dual matched BFG 9800 GT cards work in the new system... it actually bumped the available system memory from 4 Gigs ...up to a little over 6 Gigs...so I'm guessing that in SLI mode... the mobo can access and use the memory sticks on both GPU cards... which is very cool...

Thats odd... I have my two in SLI and 8gig of ram, and the cards each have 1 each, but i do not show 10 avilable...

[60dgrzbelow0]

P-R has me thinking that it must be a new mem-goodie that is part of Windows 7... like working with Dirext X 10-11... Hmmm... it may also be that I don't have the other two mem slots maxed out as you have...perhaps also a BIOS on-the-board limitation as well?

By the by... what does the acronym "SMD" stand for? One of these days... I'm going to start a thread called, "Post your favorite TLA's" (Three Letter Acronyms) Mine for instance, include the likes of:

VPL (Visible Panty Lines)
FMP (F*ck Me Pumps...strapped HHs... )
IGM (Inferior Genetic Material)
FUBAR (Damn... that's a FLA...LOL)
...and for you Old Smokers...
LS...MFT (Lucky Strike... Means Fine Tobacco) or... (Loose Sweaters.. Make Flabby T*TS)

and so forth...

[robertisaar]

Surface Mount Device?

EDIT: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surface-mount_technology

[60dgrzbelow0]

Surface Mount Device?

EDIT: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surface-mount_technology

Ahhhh.... Now THAT one makes sense... Got any ideas on how I can get a few of whatever the ones are on this XFX card (see images) I'm curious to try and unsolder them and try to dummy up two new ones and see if the card can be "FEEN-ixed"... as in Phoenix...Rising from the Ashes... kind of fixed..

[3400-95-Modified]

P-R has me thinking that it must be a new mem-goodie that is part of Windows 7... like working with Dirext X 10-11... Hmmm... it may also be that I don't have the other two mem slots maxed out as you have...perhaps also a BIOS on the board limitation as well?

I have win7 64 bit to be exact, hence the reason why I can run 8gb to begin with (32bit os's only support 4gb of system ram)... lol... But yeah It may be the fact that I'm at the board limitation, but honestly I wouldnt want my operating system to have access to my graphics ram to use... that sounds like a disaster waiting to happen, haha

[pocket-rocket]

(32bit os's only support 4gb of system ram)

They support 4Gb, yet only see 3Gb in the OS, lol.

[pocket-rocket]

Got any ideas on how I can get a few of whatever the ones are on this XFX card (see images)

Maybe another dead card from ebay? Go to Radio Smack and pick up a roll of solder wick (they might also call it solder or desoldering braid). It looks kind of like the old style braided ground straps, but it's copper and much smaller. You heat it up between the part and your soldering iron and it sucks the molten solder right up because of the way solder moves.

[60dgrzbelow0]

Maybe another dead card from eBay? Go to Radio Smack and pick up a roll of solder wick (they might also call it solder or de-soldering braid). It looks kind of like the old style braided ground straps, but it's copper and much smaller. You heat it up between the part and your soldering iron and it sucks the molten solder right up because of the way solder moves.

P-R... Will do... and so I'm also "Brick" shopping eBay even as we speak. With the part numbers all matching the trashed components in that array being a dead match across the face of the card... and with only the need for two to be replaced, I'm hoping to find one or two I can D*ck around with... Nothing ventured...nothing gained...You know...its a funny thing about eBay.... People will try to sell ANYTHING and EVERYTHING! LOL...From Dry Toast with the image of the Baby Jesus in Mother Mary's arms...to Coprolites... of all things...(fossilized poo!) So I'm hoping to get lucky and find some real cheap...

[CorporalAris]

They support 4Gb, yet only see 3Gb in the OS, lol.

That's because Video RAM, caches, etc, all count towards that 4gb. So if you had say half a gig in caches, and a 1gb video card, you'd only have 2.5gb left for RAM.