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Nvidia Geforce 470 GTX conflicting with RAM on XPS 720
So I recently received my new Geforce 470 in the mail to replace my 8800 GTX. Strangely enough, I find it runs games even slower than the 8800 (to the point of unplayability) while I have all my RAM sticks plugged in. I first thought there was a problem with my PSU, but a google search found a thread on the Nvidia forums about a guy with the same graphics card who had the same problem and who solved it by removing some of his RAM. Sure enough, I removed one of my RAM modules and now the card runs fine.
I suspect it's a BIOS issue, but I really hope it doesn't get to the point of having to update my BIOS from fear of irreparable damage.
My current specs are:
Dell XPS 720
Intel Quadcore Q6600
3 (formerly 4) GB of DDR2 RAM
WinTurkey
8 Posts
1
August 5th, 2010 10:00
Well, just got the replacement RAM and by the looks of it, problem solved. 4 2gig modules of Corsair PC2-6400 800MHz RAM, seems to be no problems, no hardware reserved memory but graphics card performs like it did with the 3GB of RAM when I had the MSconfig limit set, only now everything loads faster.
Problem must have been with the old RAM, and I might have a suspicion as to what it was. My XPS came with 2gb of PC2-5300 @ 667MHz RAM, later I would buy 2 gb of 6400 at 800MHz. If my understanding of RAM is correct, the combination of the two resulted in the latter modules being lowered to the level of the former, though this never caused any problems for me with the 8800GTX I had. Evidently it didn't go so well with the 470 GTX so everything was slow unless I disabled a module, causing memory to go into single-thread(?) mode.
Davet50
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July 30th, 2010 14:00
My GTX 470 runs like a dream on my system and I have 8 gigs of ram installed. I think there is something else going on. What type of ram do you have installed
Davet50
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July 30th, 2010 15:00
Don't think that should really be an issue though
jackshack
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July 30th, 2010 15:00
Dave, I think he may be running 32 bits. I seem to recall that you've been using Windows 7 x64 for a while.
EDIT: My thought process on this is that if the poster is running Windows x32 the computer has only a 4GB address space that the video memory must also occupy. This would normally simply replace system RAM below the 3 GB boundary if the card has the 1280 MB of memory advertised. What happens, however, if the 3 GB switch is enabled? Whatever it turns out to be I will appreciate the education!
WinTurkey
8 Posts
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July 31st, 2010 02:00
I'm currently running Windows 7 64-bit, though originally this computer was using Vista 32-bit before I switched. Perhaps there's something left of the 32 bit system on the hardware level? Any way to check and possibly fix it?
Davet50
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July 31st, 2010 05:00
That really should not be an issue since you had to do a clean install to switch from the 32 bit system to the 64 bit system. You could have a possible driver issue. What you can try is to go HERE and obtain Driver Sweeper. Download and install but do not run it.
Have the current 470 drivers saved on your system. Uninstall your current driver and restart your system and boot into safe mode. Once you are in safe mode run Driver Sweeper to remove all the Nividia video drivers. NOTE: Do not select any other Nvidia listings as that would be your chipset drivers.
Once you have run the Driver sweeper reboot into normal mode and reload the 470 drivers.
WinTurkey
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August 3rd, 2010 05:00
Tried that, not the drivers.
Checked performance monitor, think I found the issue. At 4GB of RAM I only have 3mb hardware reserved, with the rest usable. At 3GB of RAM I have 1GB hardware reserved, with 3GB usable.
Looks like an issue with whatever it is that's responsible for memory mapping. I'm on W7 64-bit, so it shouldn't be that. Must be BIOS then.
jackshack
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August 3rd, 2010 13:00
At this point I would try resetting the NVRAM. A mismatch between the stored and actual configuration can lead to strange problems, and memory mapping is done on the fly when the operating system is loading.
WinTurkey
8 Posts
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August 3rd, 2010 14:00
Ok, and what exactly is NVRAM in this context? Google is giving me Macintosh tech support, which I don't think is applicable here.
Similarly, how do you reset NVRAM, what are the risks and what do I lose from it?
Davet50
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August 3rd, 2010 18:00
NVRAM is another way of saying the BIOS.
What Bios version are you running?
To reset your Bios you find the jumper and remove it and place it on the pins as outlined HERE
<ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed from this post by Dell>
Be aware that this will reset your bios to factory defaults and if you had made any changes or have a RAID setup you will lose them
WinTurkey
8 Posts
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August 4th, 2010 00:00
I have BIOS version A03, what was the factory default when I bought my PC. Haven't made any real changes to the BIOS, don't have a RAID setup.
Might give it a try provided it doesn't totally ruin the BIOS.
Davet50
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August 4th, 2010 04:00
Upgrade your bios first. there were changes that were made in the bios to allow for more ram and more stability.
Davet50
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August 4th, 2010 11:00
At this point it must be something with the ram or possibly a bad mobo.. I have the same specs as you and I have no issue running any games on my maching with my GTX470 and 8 gigs of OCZ Reapers.
WinTurkey
8 Posts
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August 4th, 2010 11:00
Reset CMOS, no effect. Flashed new A06 version to BIOS, no effect. I called up tech support yesterday and they assured me this wasn't a BIOS (or hardware in general) issue, since everything was passing the Dell extended diagnostic utility.
At this point I don't really care what's causing it within W7, I just want a better workabout. By using the MSConfig max RAM setting I'm already forcing my computer to reserve 1gb of RAM for hardware, which appears to be the cause and solution to the issue, right now I just want to find another way to do that which allows me greater precision than MSConfig's 1GB RAM increments.
Going to buy more RAM tomorrow, worst case scenario (aside from my 64-bit Windows refusing to acknowledge more than 4GB) is me having to reserve 1 gig of RAM of my total 6 (and subsequently 8) gig, which should still offer me enough usable RAM to last until solar flares kill us I replace my PC.