***M18x - NVIDIA SLI (Driver Questions, Performance, Problems) Discussion Thread***

[bumbo2]

Hay Xeneize. The 290.36 driver it is the best one?, cos I'm getting my beast today! Can't wait. Lol

[Xeneize]

Hay Xeneize. The 290.36 driver it is the best one?, cos I'm getting my beast today! Can't wait. Lol

I think so, but can't say for sure, works better on the latest games for sure.

[bumbo2]

I think so, but can't say for sure, works better on the latest games for sure.

OK Installed it work fine, thanks a lot

[Xeneize]

OK Installed it work fine, thanks a lot

no problema

[DanXbix]

I'm using 290.36 beta drivers currently. Seems they are quite stable.

580m 290.36 beta Drivers

[Mr. Fox]

Thanks, Dan. I had not noticed there was a new beta out. I'll grab them now.

[Mr. Fox]

Spent a little more time trying to find the source of the M18x DPC latency. Initial tests pointed to the NVIDIA drivers. Seems I confirmed that today. I did a clean uninstall of all NVIDIA software, checked latency and reinstalled Verde package. See below...

DPC Latency - No NVIDIA Drivers (Standard VGA Adapter, Windows Hi-Def Audio)


DPC Latency - NVIDIA Verde 290.36 beta (same result with Verde 285.79 driver)


Not sure yet if it is the NVIDIA hi-def audio driver or display driver. May try with standard Windows 7 hi-def audio driver to see.

[Xeneize]

Interesting, you may also wnt to test it without the WiFI card, as I'm wired and have no latency issues at all.

[Mr. Fox]

That was the first thing I tested. The DPC count for the WiFi was higher than anything else and I assumed that would be the culprit. I uninstalled my Intel Ultimate-N 6300 drivers and it had no effect whatsoever.

The NVIDIA drivers were up there on DPC count, but not in the top spot. Since I was updating to the new Verde beta, that was the perfect time to test. After doing a DriverSweeper and CCleaner nuke of all the NVIDIA files I decided to check it out and... well... you see what I saw.

It's interesting that yours is different. Are you on A03 (Dell or modded A03)? I am on A05 right now.

[claytonr]

Mr. Fox. I've appreciated all the great info provided here - +1 to you for the great throttling solution (and OC) using nvidiainspector!

I have a 3 part question...I appreciate your input (and input of other's here as well).

1) can you recommend a definitive guide to overclocking the 580M SLI configuration? I've a mind to use the nvidiainspector solution if possible because it seems so easy to use. Also, my pc is an AW M18X with a 2860qm processor.

2) Mr. Fox, I see the settings for the memory, voltage and shader clock below in the batch file you posted for nvidiainspector. Can you tell me where to find the setting for the GPU clock in the batch file? Also, I assume that if I simply change the clock settings below and save, then I'll have a different OC setting, yes (i.e. no other steps are involved)? BTW, i could change the voltage below by simply change the "870" to say "880" yes?

start C:\nvidiaInspector\nvidiaInspector.exe -setShaderClock:0,2,1240 -setMemoryClock:0,2,1500 -setVoltage:0,2,870

start C:\nvidiaInspector\nvidiaInspector.exe -setShaderClock:1,2,1240 -setMemoryClock:1,2,1500 -setVoltage:1,2,870

start C:\nvidiaInspector\nvidiaInspector.exe -setShaderClock:0,3,1240 -setMemoryClock:0,3,1500 -setVoltage:0,3,870

start C:\nvidiaInspector\nvidiaInspector.exe -setShaderClock:1,3,1240 -setMemoryClock:1,3,1500 -setVoltage:1,3,870

3) Finally, what are the pro's and cons of simply increasing voltage to .88 or .89? How much more of an OC would that support? My goal is an additional 5 fps (minimum), and I am already using Mr. Fox's suggested "light" OC of 725/1450, with generally good/stable results in games (however neither 3dMark 11 or Vantage seem to run right despite reinstalling them a couple of times and trying to run without OC).

Thank you!