Please Help 8800 Ultra Problems

I just bought two 8800 Ultras from Sparco.com (the XFX Xtreme edition, factory overclocked to 650MHz) and installed them along with a new Enermax Galaxy 1000W PSU.  Unfortunately, Windows won't start with both cards installed, although it seems to work fine with only one of the cards installed.  The cards are inserted properly and each has two PCI-Express power cables connecting it to the PSU.  Also, I have the SLI bridge connecting the two cards.  The cards didn't come with one so I re-used the bridge-connector that I had connecting my 7800 GTXs previously.  One thing that's odd is that the 8800 Ultras have two of the spots where these SLI connectors attach.  Do I need to attach a second one and use both of them, or is one of the connector spots just extra?  Any idea why else Windows would start fine with just one 8800 Ultra, but freeze up at the screen that gives you the option of booting into Safe Mode when you have both cards installed?

 Also, has anyone else noticed that the latest nVidia recommended drivers 158.22 for the 8800 Ultra and Windows XP Professional x64 Edition seem to be junk.  I can't even get any of my 3D games to run (they typically just freeze up when I launch them).  And the nVidia Control Panel won't let me change the scaling of my monitor to fixed aspect ratio.  Everytime I launch it, I can see that it is still set to its default option of "Use NVIDIA scaling" even though it pretends to change the scaling when I tell it to.

I hope someone out there can help me.  It would be much appreciated.  Thanks.

 After installling your graphicscards and devices drivers, you'll have to enable the multigraphics processing......Click the Nvidia settings icon on your Windows taskbar(bottom of the screen) and then do the next steps from there.

I can't start Windows with both graphics cards installed so I can't get into the nVidia Control Panel to enable SLI (it doesn't offer the option when only one card is installed).  I believe the component that links the two graphics cards is the SLI bridge, and that is installed, but there are places on the graphics cards for two of those bridges right next to each other.  Do I need two?  Is that why Windows won't start with both cards installed but only a single bridge linking the cards?

 I appreciate the attempt to be helpful, though.

You have seen the new bridge and it is dual?  Thanks, that may be the problem.  I had assumed that the second bridge attachment spot on the card was just an extra spot for some potential future system configuration.

 As for the other, unless there is something I haven't found yet you cannot enable multi-GPU in nVidia Control Panel when only one GPU is installed.

 Thanks.

Not exactly my first choice in a 1kw PSU...
It has quite a ripple on the 3.3v and 5v rails when under a heavy load.

 http://www.jonnyguru.com/review_details.php?id=25&page_num=5

Well, I haven't had any real problems with the PSU.  I think Enermax is one of the better PSU makers.

 I visited a store called Computer-sonics today and the guy there said the 8800 Ultras only need one SLI bridge, even though they have two places where the bridge can attach.  The extra spot is for a future three or four card configuration.

 So I wonder if the reason I can't start Windows when both cards are in is because the fan enclosure underneath the top card is pushing on the SATA connections from the hard drives to the motherboard, but it doesn't seem like that should be a problem since the connectors are pretty snug and the fan enclosure barely touches them.

 I may try the other card by itself and see if maybe I just have a bad card.  I'm running out of ideas, though.

Are you really choosing to throw out my diagnosis?

Wow..... 

my diagnostic. waist of money. 1 8800 ultra= waste of money, 2 8800ultras=you could buy a small country and pronounce your self as king.bangthedoor

SLI is enabled in the BIOS because the system was previously used to run dual 7800 GTX 512s in SLI.  All we did was replace the power supply (which shouldn't affect the ability of Windows to start with dual cards installed) and replace the 7800s with 8800 Ultras.  Please read my initial post before posting.  I appreciate anyone who is genuinely trying to be helpful, but more help and less attitude is desired.  Has anyone encountered a similar problem before?

 Maybe I'll have to take my system to Computer-sonics and have their technicians look at it.

i just gotta say, all that speed is pointless, my 8800GTX still maxxes out games at 1680x1050riptoe222

My motherboard is an Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe nVidia nForce4 motherboard.  It supports true 16x16 SLI.  I haven't tried the other 8800 Ultra all by itself, so I guess that will be my next step.  Maybe it is a bad card.

I have been wondering if perhaps Windows XP Professional x64 Edition doesn't yet support dual 8800 Ultras, though I haven't seen anything about that anywhere online.  At some point I'm going to upgrade to Vista Home Premium (32-bit), because then I'll be able to run in DX 10, and I'm hoping there will be better support for it than for the 64-bit version of XP that I am currently using.  If necessary, I'll upgrade to Vista sooner, rather than later, but I was hoping I could wait a few months for them to work the kinks out of it.

For those who are curious I am using a Dell 3007WFP monitor with a native resolution of 2560x1600, which means my GPUs have to render 4.1 Mpixels per frame, so I absolutely do need a powerful system for my games to run smoothly.  And I work in retail, but I don't have a lot of expenses, so I save up to invest a bunch in hardware every couple of years so that the large percentage of my waking hours that I spend in front of my computer screen is more enjoyable.  It's a quality of life issue.

Hi,

I know this post is quite old now but did yoiu find out why the mobo isn't detecting the 8800 in the first Pci-Ex slot?

When the board first came out I bought one and setup my watercooling and cards etc, fired it up but couldn't get it to use the card in that Pci-Ex (blue) slot. Had to move it to the other.

Reading the Handbook I found a note tha said that Pci-Ex slot 1 will not take dual GPU cards or something about running them at 8x speed.

I'm assuming this was the problem although nowadays I would like to run my card in the 1st Pci-Ex slot.

Can you tell me if there is a bios update that they have done that now allows this please.

Best Regards

Marc

Hi,

I know this post is quite old now but did yoiu find out why the mobo isn't detecting the 8800 in the first Pci-Ex slot?

When the board first came out I bought one and setup my watercooling and cards etc, fired it up but couldn't get it to use the card in that Pci-Ex (blue) slot. Had to move it to the other.

Reading the Handbook I found a note tha said that Pci-Ex slot 1 will not take dual GPU cards or something about running them at 8x speed.

I'm assuming this was the problem although nowadays I would like to run my card in the 1st Pci-Ex slot.

Can you tell me if there is a bios update that they have done that now allows this please.

Best Regards

Marc

Buflonob

If you actually want someone to reply with an answer, feel free to make your own topic, because the TC who posted this almost a year ago probably isn't here to answer your question.