8800GTX problems in FSX - software or hardware?

[sargeski 16]

>But as soon as I move the hat button to look around, any>straight lines, runway,taxiway,tarmac lines ect, start to>wave.JIMJAM,Do you have Vsync enabled via nHancer in both your FSX profile and globally?? I believe the wave you are referring to is tearing which is caused by Vsync being disabled.I have no issues at all with what you are describing......as long as Vsync is enabled. If it is disabled I would also get the tearing effect which you describe.

[cshark172 20]

Interesting find there, Sargeski. My 18 month old 8800 GTX fried on me last week. I put in the 3870X2 I bouhgt a while back and haven't sold yet, but it only stayed in 1 day before the clouds performance made me buy a new 8800GTX. During the install, I decided to go with the newest drivers 175.16 at Nvidia. I haven't tried a long flight yet, so I tried that stability test. BANG! failures within 1 minute using 8xS. Tried 16x and could run all day. I downgraded to 174.74 and had the same problems, so I decided to go back to 169.25. I can run the stability test no problems with 8xS through nhancer with those drivers. Everything looks ok, so I will stay there for now.Kylehttp://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/747400.jpg

[sargeski 16]

The only problem with running the 169.25s is that if you are running Vista with SP1 installed you cannot enable Vsync. You must have a 17X.XX series driver in order to enable Vsync in Vista.

[cshark172 20]

I run Vista 64 SP1 and have not noticed that. I was running that combo before the card failed as well. Next time I fly I will keep an eye out for tearing. Kylehttp://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/747400.jpg

[Guest JIMJAM]

I know what Vsync tearing looks like and this is not that.I have however,tried all combinations of vsync.On/off FPS set,unlimited ectYou have seen the effect with FS9 and FSX on the face of buildings.Where the lines are fluttering. Thats the effect Im seeing.The runway apron markings on the ends that you are not to be on. They also have that wavy,psychedelic effect.The terrain,horizon,cockpit ect look great.Also if I go above 1,say low 2 on the water, if flying into the sun the refections on the water also have that psychedelic effect.No other games do this.Had the same problem earler with my 7900gtx.

[sargeski 16]

JIMJAM,I now understand what it is that bothers you. This too is shimmering. It is somewhat reduced with the ATI cards but not fully eliminated. Everyone running an Nvidia card is experiencing the same thing so don't think your alone (kinda like looking at the 60's psychedelic rotating disc).I've also noticed that time of day (angle of the sun) plays a large role in when this is most noticable.

[Guest JIMJAM]

It all started for me with SP2.Some techies may argue nothing was changed that would cause these problems and exlain it away since alot ARE NOT having these problems.Well, there are also ALOT that ARE and can be traced to sp2.I fought off sp2 for months but as more and more FSX planes were released requiring it, I had no choice.

[Guest djt01]

>Well, there are also ALOT that ARE and can be traced to sp2.LOL,There are A LOT that are having problems because the rest of their system is hosed also.

[Ray Proudfoot 8,942]

Those are certainly very impressive images. I notice you chose to enhance the FS settings rather than replace them.But I would still say the nVidia driver software is somewhat flakey because I never encountered any of these problems with my Radeon 3870X2 card. I could set any combination of AA and FS remained rock-solid. Judging from the number of posts about nVidia cards their software is less solid but clearly reliable settings can be achieved. There is perhaps an element of luck in getting there.

[Ray Proudfoot 8,942]

Good mornin' sarge!I managed to get FSX to hang last night (albeit in a different fashion to earlier hangs) by setting AA to 4X. Changing back to 4XQ restored stability.I will certainly try 16X as see how it goes. I won't reinstall nHancer until I am confident I have stability with my current settings / software.

[Ray Proudfoot 8,942]

Hi Kyle,<<...so I decided to go back to 169.25. I can run the stability test no problems with 8xS through nhancer with those drivers. Everything looks ok, so I will stay there for now.>>That's interesting. I might try that combination with the stability test. That's far less painful than using a flight to test settings!

[sargeski 16]

>That's interesting. I might try that combination with the>stability test. That's far less painful than using a flight to>test settings!You sure got that right Ray!!

[Guest JIMJAM]

"There are A LOT that are having problems because the rest of their system is hosed also"I always blame my system or something "I did" after years of being told that by the "tech guys" and "gurus".But in my case, since SP2 I have reformatted once,a reload of just FSX and a total HD replacement and reinstall of FSX twice.With a pristine XP,FSX/SP2 only install I STILL had the problem.I have tried a 7900gt,7900gx, a 2 versions of the 8800gt and a 8800gtx.All from BFG.I am convinced something added by SP2 or CHANGED by it does not agree with a combinations of , mobs,chipsets,vid cards,ram......The problem of course is figuring out the culprit or that elusive combination.I did however have some good quality troublefree flying last night in a new plane.I flew freighers at night in real life for years and never saw the sun for months at a time.Think I might start flying FSX at night only. Do not notice the wavies as I call em.As Ive said in the past, my best freind owns a coputer store and while I was going to waiti till xmas, I think I am going to go ahead and move to a intel based system. To jump to Vista I still have not decided but he is pushing me in that direction.

[Ray Proudfoot 8,942]

Okay guys, I'm at my wit's end. I really thought setting AA to 8XS in nVidia Control Panel had brought some stability to FSX. Well, I was wrong.Over 1.5hrs into a flight from Manchester to Bucharest FSX hangs on me. The sound breaks up and the screen freezes. Running in full-screen mode I press ALT+Enter and eventually it goes back to windowed mode and then, very reluctantly it will shut down. When in windowed mode the screen is black. It looks like a display issue but what's causing it?Here's what I've tried this morning...1) Uninstalled nVidia 169 WHQL drivers and installed Omega equivalents. The lockups still occurred.2) Changed AA and AF to be application controlled. Still locked up.I'm running the Video Card Stability test (link above) and it's reported a score of 453. That seems a bit low compared to 8800GTS's on the website.I'm concerned that this may be a hardware issue. I can't see how some many drivers and various AA/AF settings can be so tempremental. One final thing. I have AutoSave running and when I select the most recently saved flight the window showing the view is corrupted.Anyone know where to turn next please? I don't ant to regret buying this 8800 but at the moment I'm losing that battle. I don't know where to turn next. :-(

[Ray Proudfoot 8,942]

Just an update on this problem. I noticed a lot of errors in the XP error log for the yukonwxp network driver. The entry reads "Driver has encountered an internal error".Now whether this error is in any way related to the FSX lockups I can't really say but the lockup times do appear to have occurred at the same time as the yukon problems which have only been happening for the last week.I've reinstalled the Yukon driver and maybe it will resolve the problem. Bloody computers!