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119156
September 4th, 2011 23:00
Aurora R3 Lockups & nVidia Driver problems
I received my R3 about 2 weeks a go. Worked great for about a week. Then nVidia driver has recovered from a failure message, followed by black screen lockups, blue screen of death, random reboots.
My specs are i7 960 2600k 3.4 overclocked to 4.1
16 Gb DDR3 Ram, dual nVidia GTS 450 (SLI). 2 Hybrid SATA 500Gb drives (Raid 0)
SLI option in nVidia control panel appears and disappears (along with other options) at random. Dell tech support has been totally useless (I used to be a tech support manager for a software company in UK and built most of the departments servers & desktops).
If you are running dual graphics cards, you are going to experience a discrepancy in GPU temps between the 2 cards. The ventilation system, in my humble opinion is flawed. There is a 22 degree (F) difference between upper and lower cards. Running CUDA apps (almost identical) primarily using the GPU's, the load on the hotter GPU is 98%, the cooler one is 83%. Now I have a second PC running an overclocked EVGA branded GTS 450. Running equivalent CUDA app, load is 98% but GPU temp is nearly 28 degrees (F) less than cooler one in the Aurora R3.
Electrical resistance is inversely proportional to temperature. The hotter components get, the higher the resistance. If you are running dual GPU's, you need to have both cards running at about the same temp. If you are gaming and SLI is enabled, the 2 cards are not strictly performing identically therefore you are going to get video problems, crashes, lockups, blue screens etc.
I have sent 3 messages to Dell/Alienware about the internal design and airflow within the chassis and, surprise surprise I have heard absolutely nothing. So much for their Resolution Center's "we'll get back to in 48hours" promise.
hhibrit
39 Posts
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September 16th, 2011 21:00
They just replaced both GT450's and they are running at the same temp, at least within a few degrees. I'd prefer to see them running a few degrees cooler but everything seems stable at the moment!
The hot one probably didn't have the heat transfer gel. So far no further problems.
hhibrit
39 Posts
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September 17th, 2011 00:00
As I am getting a little fed up with the whole Alienware thing (2 GT450's replaced today and it has crashed on me once already), I removed the lower nVidia Card and SLI Bridge. The remaining nVidia GTS450 is now running at 67 (C),
10C cooler and the system appears to be stable. As I have said earlier, the architecture of the R3 is flawed, especially in an SLI configuration.
My XPS Studio which has a similar (EVGA) GTS 450, and is running an identical load, is running at 57C ! (at half the price).
A reply from someone would be nice.
Dereck
10 Posts
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September 17th, 2011 02:00
Are you using external exhaust cards or reference cooler cards?
I don't have any video card related issues with my EVGA EE 460's in SLI. They're not even that loud unless I load them up 100%.
hhibrit
39 Posts
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September 17th, 2011 02:00
I have removed 2nd GTS 450 graphics card and the gpu temp on the remaining card has dropped to 33 (C) 91 (F)
running as close to the same load as possible. You have a ventilation/airflow problem with dual card configurations.
That is a temperature reduction of 50%!
hhibrit
39 Posts
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September 17th, 2011 03:00
Mine are "Dell Issue" nVidia GTS 450's. There is a limited amount of "exhaust" but most of the heat has to be removed by the single extract fan servicing the case. Since removing the second card the whole computer is running a lot cooler.
With both cards installed I tried running fans at 100% and it made almost no difference (apart from the noise!)
hhibrit
39 Posts
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September 17th, 2011 03:00
I got a 42" vertical fan blowing flat out over the case!
Dereck
10 Posts
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September 17th, 2011 03:00
maybe you could mount a fan on the top of the case to try and blow air out? There are a few fan connectors (at least on mine) open on that case top board. I've been thinking of doing something similar just for safetys' sake.
Dereck
10 Posts
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September 17th, 2011 11:00
I mean upgrade the size of the ram fan
Dereck
10 Posts
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September 17th, 2011 11:00
oh.. and if you have a fan pointed at your computer only point it at the mouth of the R3, the opening under the sliding door, anywhere else and you could actually reduce your cooling effeciency by causing turbulence.
hhibrit
39 Posts
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September 17th, 2011 11:00
I'm now running single GTS 450 at 80% GPU load and the temperature is stable at 63C. Fan speed is about 1350 RPM (30%). This card (when R3 has 2 cards) was running at over 80 C. As electrical resistance is generally proportion to temperature, the additional load from 2 GPU's running almost 20C over the load from 1 GPU would take the PSU to the limit (and probably over.). Also the air circulation around the single GPU is considerably improved.
My system is now stable with no sign of black screens, blue screens and random reboots. Conclusion: 525 W PSU is inadequate to run dual GPU's, or it is defective. My calculations suggest that System needs 510 Watts to give " a comfort zone). Most PSU's are actually only about 80% efficient, therefore in the real world 525W really is closer to 420W.
hhibrit
39 Posts
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September 17th, 2011 12:00
Thanks for the confirmation snoopy0812. According to tech support, they thought I had an 875W (according to Service Tag! I found a little label attached to the unused cables at the base of the case which clearly states that the PSU is 525W and that some cables are disabled!
Guess another long phone call is coming up!
Dereck
10 Posts
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September 17th, 2011 12:00
oh you're running the 525w PSU?
Yeah you'd be completely choking the PSU with two cards and that'll cause failures and reposts and the like. The 450s are about 140w each, so you're at 280w in cards alone and one tester got almost 510w fully loaded with the 2600k oc'd at 4.6Ghz turbo.
hhibrit
39 Posts
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September 17th, 2011 12:00
I know what you meant. Actually the 42 " fan is mainly for my benefit. Stops me getting overheated (LOL)
Dereck
10 Posts
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September 17th, 2011 12:00
Is a 825w on your order form? Tell them to send a rep out to you and that he should bring a new PSU with him.
Tesla1856
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September 17th, 2011 13:00
That is not what that label means. All the Auroras use that same labeled cable, regardless of PS installed.
You can find your PS size by removing it and looking at the large sticker on the top or bottom.