Nvidia GeForce GTX 480 SLI along with Realtek Networking

[Anuja Darzi]

I have a motherboard whose default networking architecture is designed by Realtek. It never had an graphic card attached to it so I attached Nvidia GeForce GTX 480 myself and have been using it in SLI mode for a long time. I don’t know what it is, if the network drivers and the graphic drivers are conflicting with each other or not, but since I installed the graphic card, the system freezes randomly at any time without any prior warning. This freezing also happens many times when the Windows 7 is loading during the welcome screen. If I remove the graphic card and make the PC work on default graphics then this problem doesn’t occur. Also if I start my PC in safe mode, this problem doesn’t seem to affect my PC. Can anybody tell me what is happening in my system? From all the research I have done, I think that the problem lies in the drivers of Realtek networking and the graphic drivers.

[Dorkfoot]

I can’t say what the problem can be in your computer but I think that I too am facing a similar problem with same graphic card in my PC. I too use Nvidia GeForce GTX 480 SLI in my PC and all the functions and features work properly in my computer for the first time. But if I have to restart the computer or shut it down to start it after fifteen to twenty minutes then the next time when I start my computer, the drivers don’t work at all. If you check the control panel for the drivers, then they aren’t there. It is like I don’t have a graphic card and I am running my computer on a low resolution. This problem doesn’t seem to occur if I keep my PC switched off for long period of time, that is, five to six hours. It is not possible to keep the computer switched off for such a long duration after any software asks for restart of the system. I don’t use Realtek networking architecture, so I think that the problem must be with drivers of the Nvidia GeForce GTX 480 SLI. If I disable the SLI and remove the second graphic card, then the things work great and don’t give any kind of problem. The graphic drivers that I tried were 197.41 and 197.55. Both the versions of driver stop working as soon as they detect the SLI have been enabled. I think that the new drivers must be incompatible with the SLI technology and we will have to wait till Nvidia releases a new stable and SLI compatible drivers for Nvidia GeForce GTX 480.

[Emeryjon]

If you think that the graphic drivers are creating problems like freezing and incompatibility issues in your system then why don’t you just remove them. Nvidia provides the graphic drivers of older version on their website too. You can download each of them in descending order and try each one whether they are compatible or not. I think that some old graphic driver will surely work properly in your system. The graphic drivers that you have mentioned are the latest one. Maybe the developers forgot to test them for all the bugs or maybe they didn’t assume the combination of the hardware in your system will create any problems. You will need to completely wipe of the drivers for the graphic card then again reinstall them.

[BonnieT]

I don’t think that SLI must be creating problem in Nvidia GeForce GTX 480 graphic card. The SLI patch that you think is the cause of problem actually itself is not a single unit itself. It has many files in it out of which I think that Nvapps.xml is the component that is giving you trouble. This is a batch file that maintains the list of the applications that require graphic card to operate and its other details. I think that this file is either corrupt or it is incompatible with your system. It is either because if the operating system or the graphic drivers that this xml file is unable to detect the SLI hardware in your system properly or maybe it is disconnecting it when the computer starts working. You have to make sure if both the graphic cards that you are using are properly functioning or not when used individually. Check one graphic card at a time. Try resetting the CMOS with no graphic cards in your system and then try installing the graphic card. Check the contacts of both the graphic cards and the SLI Bridge. Maybe you aren’t properly connecting it or maybe some dust or other such disturbances are not letting the data transfer between them. Try using the graphic cards with different PCIe connectors. Issue can be related to insufficient power supply. Also check the PSU as it might not be supplying enough power to the graphic card. You can try switching the SLI bridge to SLI fingers. Using SLI fingers lets you to place the graphic cards closer to each other. But the connection achieved so is more efficient and reliable.

[Calvert]

From the description of your problem I think that the PSU must not be able to generate enough power at the startup of your system which is required for starting two graphic cards in SLI mode. You can try using a better power supply for time being. If you think that the problem is also related to your network drivers, then try starting your computer with all the networks disabled. As no connection for the network will be detected, the drivers that are in issue won’t trigger any bugs or glitches. Usually this type of problems result in generation of error code 48, but since you are not getting this error, it is difficult to suggest you any proper solution. You can try downgrading the network drivers if you have doubt that they are conflicting with graphic drivers.