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

Quick question..
A friend of mine recently purchased an M18xR1 with a 2960XM and 580m SLi
I am part of the red camp so I don't really know much, is there still an issue with the 580m's throttling, has that been fixed with new drivers or do we still have to do special tweaking /vBIOS flashing and such before they run properly without throttling?
My friend isn't exactly tech savvy like the rest of us lol.

 

That was solved, Brother prank. Updated vBios cured that one....

 

There is a link in my signature with an index. There you will find a link to a thread explaining the solution to the 580M throttling problem. There are two steps involved. First, a vBIOS update from Dell (which your buddy's GPUs may already have) and setting P1 clocks to match P0.

 

Any driver recommendations for the new 18 780m SLI? I tried installing the newest drivers from Nvidia but got an error saying my hardware wasn't supported.

 

Hello all,

New replacement is finally here and operational!! BUT, I ran 3dmark2011 right away and got very similar score to others with same basic out of box setup. 3840QM - 680SLI. The first test showed 680M (2X). And I also used GPU-Z to verify.

Then I updated NVIDIA driver to the current one. Reran the 3Dmark2011 test and physics score was very similar, unfortunately the video/gpu score only registered one card????? I am sure there is a quick fix. thanks in advance.

Brad

 

Hey Brad,

What gpu score did you get the first time vs. when you updated the drivers? One thing that you could check is to go into your NVidia control panel and make sure SLI is still enabled.

 

Getting a replacement system later this week from SLI 580M to SLI 680M. Are there any similar problems issues as there were with the throttling bios fixes w/580M with the 680M?

 

Not in the same way as 580M, but you will want to grab an optimized vBIOS from svl7 to get the best performance from your 680M SLI setup. Otherwise, stock 680M SLI will perform similar to 7970M CF. Not terrible by any means, but lots of room for improvement.

 

The latest Beta drivers will work but you should stay with the Dell stock drivers ... the latest Beta Version has makes a lot of problems with the 780 SLI!

 

Mr. Fox, I have a question regarding SLV7's v bioses from tech inferno. I current have both of my 680m's flashed with 80.04.5B.00.02, but I notice there are like 4 other revised versions. Which one would you recommend as being 'the' one to have for the 680's. Thanks in advance.

 

All of the 680M vBIOS' have stock default clocks. The versions with "OV" in the title are overvolted vBIOS'. The harder you want to push (overclock) the cards, the higher the volts.

 

Thanks Optimus. I shoulda gathered that by the names. Well i guess that boils it down to two vbioses for me (i personally don't want to overvolt the cards): 80.04.5B.00.02 - the one i have
or 80.04.33.00.32

whats the difference between the two and which one would you recommend to use? Thanks again

 

I think 80.04.5B.00.02 increases the voltage a bit, but I'm not sure. I haven't used that one in particular. Someone else (such as Mr. Fox) could give you clarification on that.

 

Custom bios's (overvolting) don't void any kind of warranty with Alienware correct?

 

Nothing voids Alienware warranty, but that does not mean everything is covered under warranty.

User-induced damage is not covered under warranty. Malfunctions and defects that are not a result of user-induced damage are covered.

 

I think I'll wait a bit since the video cards were the root of my current issues with getting a replacement system the last thing I need are more issues before changing the vbios.

 

Hi all,
I'm having some problems with my m18x R2. I haven't gamed since the last few weeks, but kept the drivers updated. Finally ran the rig today and everything seems to have gone bananas. I'm running a 3610 cpu, 680m sli, 16g ram on the 320.49 drivers, but am still getting 3d marks in the vicinity of 2700-2800, which I thought was absolutely preposterous. Dirt Showdown is lagging, even on high settings (ultra is unplayable) and Hitman Sniper Challenge from Absolution is running like crap too. I've checked to see if sli is running, and it is. Can someone help me out with this? Should I contact dell?

Edit: Contacted tech support and turns out that card 2 was reaching 95 C+ temps. I'm due in for a replacement card now. Damnit!

 

Hey guys.

So I'm coming from owning an M17xR3 and now I got this replacement M18xR2. It got a dual 680m and this is going to be my 1st laptop running SLI.
I'm just hoping to find some tips on what I should look after that I usually dont on a single GPU laptop etc.

In short, is there something I have to take note about having SLI setup like drivers, temps, etc?
I'm sure everything must be written already here in this thread but just a highlight of what I needed to remember will really help and I'll do the researching of details myself.

I intend to read the whole thread but when I saw its dating back to 2011, I got overwhelmed

Btw, I originally posted this to R1/R2 owners but I thought its more appropriate here. Sorry for double post, cant find any delete functions.

 

Congrats on the upgrade!

There's really not much to it, you just have more power. I believe 314.22 is the "go to" driver for 680M SLI right now. Temps wise, the 680Ms usually run pretty cool.

If you're interested in being able to enable SLI without a system reboot, here is a post by Mr. Fox on how to do so.

 

Thanks. What do you mean by enabling SLI? Isn't it enabled all the time? First time I did when I got the system was install MSI Afterburner and HWInfo64 so I can get the OSD ingame based on Mr. Fox's old thread. And I can see the temps and usage of both GPU. Does that mean that SLI is enabled?

Sorry my questions could be stupid. Probably the things I have to learn about having SLI lol!

Also, another dumb question Do I have optimus? Because when I looked at the device manager, I didnt see an Intel HD4000, only the 2 680Ms. TIA!

 

Haha, no worries. There's nothing wrong with being new to it. You have the option to enable or disable SLI. Most of the time, I'm sure you'll want it set to enabled. If you go to the Nvidia Control Panel (just right click the desktop - easiest way), under "Set SLI and PhysX Configuration" you have the option to enable or disable SLI. Tick the box for "Maximize 3D performance" to enable it. I find it to be rare, but you may sometimes run into games that don't like SLI. For example, this may happen with a really new game, where the driver does not have an SLI profile for it.

Regarding temps, if SLI is disabled, I think the OSD will still read temps for the second 680M. However, the temps and clocks will stay low because it won't be under load.

No, you don't have optimus. If you use the key combo FN + F7, the system will prompt you for a reboot. When rebooted, you'll be running on integrated graphics. I prefer it this way, personally. With that SSD, reboots should be pretty painless.

 

Well this is what I'm really saying. These are things I dont have to worry on my R3 lol! Thanks a lot, this is really new and helpful. If temps read both gpu even if SLI is disabled then I guess my SLI is disabled since the temp gaps seems huge when playing? Like 60s vs 40s C between GPU 1 and 2?

 

Enable SLI, reboot when prompted and check temps again - there should be no more than around ~5c max temp in difference then, really...if you have SLI disabled, it's not getting used at all, but will still register a temperature afaik....40c is likely influenced by ambient internal temperatures.

 

Hey guys. Why cant I find the SLI settings on my Nvidia CP?



I'm using 314.22, I haven't tried 320.49 or 326.XX as my problem with my R3 started when we installed it.
I'm getting error running GW2 as well, is there specific settings you guys use?

 

Try looking under "set physx configuration" on the left hand column.

Sent from my Galaxy Note II

 

Its not really showing on 314.22. I'm using 326.41 beta now and there is an SLI settings.
My problem is I cant load the game GW2 either on SLI or single GPU.

Anyone tried playing this game on SLI or single 680m?
How can I download older Nvidia driver btw? I'm looking for 307.xx.
I was on 307.xx when I got the R2 and game was running. But when I enabled SLI, the driver stopped recognizing the cards so I had no choice but to install the oldest I can get which is 314.XX. But 314.XX doesnt show SLI option for me.

Edit:

Ok, I found a 307 in Dell support site. I'm gonna try rolling back to it.

 

Hmm, that's odd. Did you get 314.22 here? Drivers | GeForce

I don't know much about GW2. Is it only that game having problems?

You can get as far back as 310.33 (October, 2012) via this link: NVIDIA Driver Downloads - Advanced Search

Are you on a factory image, from Dell? It sounds like you may have faulty drivers. Try uninstalling your driver in Windows control panel (make sure you get all of it), reboot into safe mode and run driver sweeper, then reboot normally and try installing the driver of your choice. Your control panel looked a bit different than mine, strangely. That also leads me to believe of some sort of driver corruption.

 

I rolled back to 307.XX. I got it from Dell support site and its running well now. Although the two games I tried (GW2 and D3) doesnt run well on SLI. Its like the colors are washed out. My SLI is enabled globally but I have to whitelist those two games to use single GPU in rendering.

Edit:

Ok so I haven't tried running all the games I have and so far, I just tested 3, GW2, Diablo 3 and BF3 and I'm getting this flickering, washed out color when I load the game with SLI. These games will only run perfectly when I choose "Single GPU" rendering from Nvidia CP.

I know a single 680m is more than enough to run these games perfectly, but I just wanna see how "great" it should be on SLI as I always thought its better. Since I haven't run a game perfectly with enabled SLI, I'm starting to think maybe there is a problem with my system? Like dirver, etc? TIA!

 

Sadly it could be your SLI cable. Is it more of a red color or just in general? I have already had to replace my SLI cable and the systems went away.

If you comfortable taking your keyboard off I would double check to make sure the SLI cable is seated properly. If it is and your still have the same undesirable effects then you probably would want to call Dell and have them diagnose the system remotely so they can confirm in which they will send you a new cable.

I opted to buy one myself because I didn't want to wait. Your call.

To remove the keyboard:

Remove bottom cover by taking the battery out and remove the 4 screws securing the cover.

Once removed, slide the cover towards the front of the laptop. This will release the cover.

After you removed the cover, there are 5 screws holding the keyboard and keyboard bezel in place. They are labeled with a capital I. If you are looking at the laptop with the back of it towards you, there are 3 screws on the left and 2 on the right.

Once those screws are removed, use your fingers to pry up the keyboard bezel. The best and easiest way to do this is at the bottom of the bezel when looking at the laptop normally.

After that the rest is self explanatory. There are 5 small screws holding the keyboard in place. When the keyboard is removed, just tilt it towards you because there is a ribbon cable.

If you already know how to do this, then disregard the process I wrote

 

Thanks for this. I used to open my R3 but this is the 1st time for M18x. Its not really red, its more like the colors are a bit faded and overall brighter with the flickering. I think it look color-faded due to extra brightness. Its not like its blinking, its like the brightness is breathing slowly? Thats how its flickering. I hope I at least managed to describe it.

Edit:

I guess I really have to check the SLI connection. I found this really nice thread too just in case.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...-red-flickering-caused-toasted-sli-cable.html

 

That's a good write up.

The only time I have ever seen what your describing in a game is when the graphics don't get completely optimized when loading. This is fixed when I re-launch. If it is constant then you have an issue somewhere after the primary card.

I would just check your cable. Take it off and reseat it.

I hope you get it all situated. I waited about 9 months to take care of my SLI problem.

 

Is there a way to assign which GPU I want to run the game? I know its SLI or single card. When its single, is it utilizing the primary? All games run perfectly using single card on rendering even SLI is set in global settings. Is there a way for me to launch the game running GPU#2? Just hoping to see if there is a problem with individual cards.

Edit:

So I just discovered that loading the game (GW2) on "full screen window" mode doesn't give me any of the problems I mentioned above. But a real Full Screen is the problem. Is it safe to say that its not the SLI cable?

 

Hi guys

I have just got the new alienware 18, with x2 Nvidia 780m SLI. I have had a few teething problems, but most recently after under a week of use, games just crash. Civ 5 crashes after selecting any direct x, planetside 2 does randomly as well (more often then not it waits till I quit the game to crash), and COD4 that was running at above 60 fps, now runs at 10/11.

I am completely at a loss as to why. I have tried updating drivers, but that didnt help. I have tried looking on forums and nvidia's site for a 780m SLI driver, but cant find how to specify the SLI part. When I tried downloading the 780m that is offered, nvidia says it can not find compatible hardware.

The error message is:

Sid Meier's Civilization V has stopped Working
> check online for solution
> close program

The fault module name is: nvwgf2um.dll

As you may be able to tell I am sorta taking shots in the dark, and tbh I sorta paid the thousands for it so I could minimize the amount of problems like this.

I saw someone else earlier in the thread who was also looking for a fix for their 780m SLI problem, but I dont think it got answered unless I missed it.

Any help would be appreciated!

 

Hey guys. Not too familiar with SLI config yet.
So my idle GPU temps are 58° and 48°C. Are this normal idle temps even if SLI is enabled?

GPU1 is always higher by like 10° when idle too. Is this because system is using 1 GPU only when not at this state?

 

I'd say that they are a bit on the warm side for idle temps. A lot depends on your ambient climate, too. Also, the difference between the two is a bit larger than what I would expect to see normally, but okay. Normally, at idle with sli enabled, the range should be maybe ~5c or so. One thing that might contribute to a large difference is if you are running an external monitor - this tends to tax the primary gpu more, and thus you see a larger difference.

Generally speaking, the primary will always be hotter than the secondary....perhaps not by 10c though at idle. Might be that the paste job on the primary is not as good as the secondary. What are load temps like on both cards? - is the primary much hotter then as well??

 

Hmmm I think you hit it straight I'm running a 32" external.
Load temps from the games I'm playing is about 67 for GPU1 and 62 on 2.

Thanks.

 

There ya go :thumbsup: - load temps are fine - I bet if you ran just the internal, you would see the same load temps, but the idle temps would drop to within a few degrees of each other, with the primary taking a small lead over the secondary.

 

Figured this is the best place for this ..
Long story short been having a few minor glitches with my baby with 3D Mark 11 crashing and what i thought was an Sli issue with the new FFXIV Benchmark - MSI OSD was showing next to no use on the secondary card -
So i decided to do a fresh install of the nvidia drivers and all hell broke loose , came back to the system bleeping and black screen ,
Reboot and it wont load into windows at all it freezes loading hwinfo ,
Boots into safemode no issues but not windows ..
Currently doing restore using respawn but any ideas ??
HALP

 

Here's my problem, not sure where to go from here, TIA for advice.
I'm running 326.41 beta and I understand there are some overclocking issues with this version so that might be complicating things. I have 2 problems, cannot overclock at all with Nvidia Inspector and card 0 is pegged at Pstate P0 always and will never downclock at the desktop (card 1 is fine, sits at P8 on the desktop). I tried the Nvidia Inspector Multi-Display Power Saver fix but it did not resolve the issue. So now I can't get an overclock to even APPLY plus the added problem of card 0 pegged at P0 all the time. Can all this simply be due to beta driver wonkiness? Anyone else seeing this behavior? I was able to overclock ok on the stock Dell driver that shipped with the box though I'm not even that concerned about OC right now, more interested in why card 0 is sucking so much power at idle.

 

If I remember reading correctly Mr. Fox also reported issues with using Nvidia Inspector to OC when running on the newer Nvidia drivers.

Cheers.

 

So after some more surfing on this issue, it appears that per Nvidia it's normal for a card to stay at full P0 clock speed when more than 1 monitor is connected to it. I guess my card 0 just happens to be the card driving the internal screen and external Dell. Not a huge deal since I realized I can force P8 with Nvidia Inspector so I just do that when I'm not gaming, should add a little extra life to the card in the long run. I'm sure eventually new drivers will roll out that fix the overclocking problem with NV Inspector.

 

hello.
Dose any one know the link "Nvidia Drivers Clean Install" ?
i received the new m18x with 680 SLI yesterday. However, i don't know how to clean install new NVidia Driver.please help me. Moreover, Do i need to update BIOS ?

 

Hi tala16,

You can clean install the drivers by ticking the "clean install" box during the new installation. Nvidia drivers are generally pretty good about installing on top of each other.

If you have any weird behaviors afterward, you can always try the "old school" method. To do it this way, uninstall all of the driver components in the Windows control panel, then boot into safe mode and run Phyxion Driver Sweeper or the new Treexy Driver Fusion. Then, reboot into Windows normally and install the new drivers.

You don't need to update your BIOS to update the drivers.

 

hi Opitimistic Prime

Frist of all, i thank you so much for ur reply. I installed this driver NVIDIA 314.22.
dose any1 know that we can change color in NVIDIA's setting such as "M18x - IPS RGBLED Color Quality". Link of that theard http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m18x/640961-m18x-ips-rgbled-color-quality-3.html

 

Hello mate I am a new user who just get the Alienware 18 with 780m sli, and want to get some help for over-clocking problem ;D
I flashed the vbios to slv7 edited version, and my default clock goes from 771 -> 850 now.
However, I can't over-clock the GPU clock speed using either nvidia inspector or msi afterburner.
More precisely, I can adjust the figure but the max current clock is still up to 849 as default even I run the high demand games like GW2 and Witcher 2.
And once I over-clock the GPU clock and turn on the game for a while, my screen will just turn to black and freeze which forces me to restart.
In conclusion, I can over-clock the memory clock without any problem but struggling for the GPU over-clock, any ideas?

Sorry for my bad english

 

Everytime I try to overclock the core clock via nvidia inspector or msi afterburner, it will automatically back to the default setting after a while ;(

 

hey jaykc, are you certain that you flashed both cards with the same vbios?

 

That's a good question. It happened to me before that a small typo allowed the flashing program to do end without errors, but one card was actually never flashed. After flashing vBIOS it's advisable checking the clocks with GPUZ. This might also explain the PC herratic behavior and GPU not able to overclock. Here is my advice: load BIOS setup default and set a lev 3 overclock, don't change other settings that might affect the PC stability. Reboot, go to Windows and flash each card carefully and check the finally result with GPUZ. make sure you select both GPUs in turn to see each clocks. Overclock the cards with Afterburner or PrecisionX. Finally, try Unigine Heaven 3 or 4 with moderate or high tessellation and see if the GPUs show and are able to keep the clock you set.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

I finally got my new m18x set up and am now wanting to flash the custom vBios. The only version I can download is is 80.04.33.00.32. My current vBios is 80.04.58.00.02. Does it matter which OC vBios version I use?

Sorry if this has been answered already, but it's kind of difficult to navigate through thousands of posts to find the answer.

 

80.04.33.00.32 is fine. The other one, which is 80.04.5 B.00.02 is a secure boot compatible vBios, so as you are on Windows 7 it won't be relevant or critical anyway (reference: [M14x R2] [M17x R4] [M18x R2] - UEFI fast boot / secure boot GPU issues *SOLVED*). Keep the vBios the same on both cards if you flash. There are several vBios' that are over-volted - depends how much you want to push them I guess, but from recollection, there is a stock vBios that allows for higher software overclocking on standard voltage if you did not want to over volt right away.

Don't forget to back up your original vBios for both cards first!