8800GTS - slow display at POST & in BIOS

[Nlight95]

I recently purchased and installed a BFG 8800GTS OC 640MB in my PC. When my system POSTs, the text is displayed slow. When I'm navigating the Commando (AMI) BIOS the screens display slow as well. Also, text is rather fuzzy in Ghost (DOS version). The card works just fine in WinXP (158.22 drivers). My previous X1900XTX exhibited no such strange behavior.

Is this some sort of anomaly or should I consider RMAing the card?

 

[Rubycon]

No need to RMA. They are like that. Slow DOS and line drawing speed in windows. The text in DOS apps reminds me of a VGA screen with poor RF (slight distortion around characters). I've had several 8800 GTS' and GTX's and they're identical.

 

[mercanucaribe]

Why would they do that? And why has Rubycon had several GTS and GTX cards??

 

[Nlight95]

It's been sometime since I've purchased an Nvidia card and one of the main reasons was because I like ATIs image quality. I've read where Nvidia's IQ is now on par with ATI's so I decided to purchase an 8800GTS. It surprises me that the DOS speed and IQ is so bad. I posted here to see if it's just something with my card or typical with all 8800 cards.

 

[Rubycon]

I don't know if they did it on purpose. But it exists and is annoying. Thank goodness I don't spend lots of time in DOS.

Sometimes hardware can get trashed in minor mishaps so I ask for more than one. Nothing worse than being without a decent gpu for a week or more.

 

[Nlight95]

Originally posted by: Rubycon
I don't know if they did it on purpose. But it exists and is annoying. Thank goodness I don't spend lots of time in DOS.

Sometimes hardware can get trashed in minor mishaps so I ask for more than one. Nothing worse than being without a decent gpu for a week or more.

I don't spend much time in DOS other than Ghost and the BIOS. What mobo(s) are you using? I was thinking maybe there's an issue with Nvidia cards on Crossfire (P965/975 or ICFX3200) boards.

 

[Rubycon]

They've been in Dell systems, SuperMicro workstation boards, Asus Workstation boards with all the same result. I've also used X1800XT, X1900XTX, and X1950XTX boards without the issue. (but the ATi board has the random flicker)

 

[Nlight95]

Thanks Rubycon (superb caps BTW--never had one fail on me). At least now I know it's not the card. I've returned untold amounts of hardware over the past several months and really didn't want to face returning the 8800GTS because it's comparatively heavy.

 

[Nlight95]

Actually I must change my previous reply to clarify.

The problem I'm experiencing is not with DOS boxes under WinXP (whether full-screen or windowed). The behavior is only present at POST (boot-up) or when navigating the BIOS.

Apparently something is still amiss with either the Commando or the 8800.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: Nlight95
text is rather fuzzy in Ghost (DOS version).

Wouldn't this be from your LCD scaling?

 

[Rubycon]

Originally posted by: Zap

Originally posted by: Nlight95
text is rather fuzzy in Ghost (DOS version).

Wouldn't this be from your LCD scaling?

No this is different. There are artifacts like you see in a JPEG image. This does not happen with the ATi cards. I have 3007's (30" diag) and the size augments the issue.

 

[Nlight95]

My BenQ monitor scales quite nicely to VGA res. I noticed the 8800 GTS doesn't scale to the full edge of the screen like the 1900XTX. The 1900XTX has very sharp text in Ghost and no lag exists while navigating the BIOS. On the GTS text is fuzzy in Ghost but sharp in the BIOS. There is quite a lag when going from one menu screen to another and I guess this is the the thing that bothers me the most.

It might have something to do with the AMI BIOS that ASUS uses because I tried the GTS on my friend's DFI ICFX3200 (Award BIOS) and there was no lag. I'm rather surprised that this "problem" hasn't been reported more often, especially on review sites, considering how many boards ASUS sells.

 

[integramodder]

I just installed the latest drivers from eVGA's site for my 8800 GTS and the display got fuzzy. After research I found a thread on the nVidia forums that told me to do this to correct it:

1. NVIDIA Control Panel > Display > Manage custom timings.
2. Click both "Treat as HDTV" and "Allow modes not exposed by the display"
3. Click [Create...]
4. Under Custom display mode values:
Horizontal desktop pixels: 1440
Vertical desktop lines: 900
GDI Refresh rate: 60
Bits per pixel: 32
(don't have "Interlaced" checked)
5. Click [Advanced >>] (by the way this is where I didn't go when NVIDIA emailed me)
6. Under "Back-end parameters":
Timing standard: DMT
Desired refresh rate: 60
(the rest of the fields are grayed out)
7. Under "Front-end parameters"
Scaling type: Display (none)
8. Click [Test]
9. Click [OK]

I doubt that it will make a difference outside of windows.

 

[n7]

I have the exact same experience w/ my 8800 GTX vs. my previous X1900 XT.

During post status, & the bios, & actually basically anything before Windows, everything is fuzzy & slow/laggy with the 8800 GTX.

X1900 XT had no such anomalies, so i chalk this up as another nV "feature".

 

[Roguestar]

Originally posted by: n7
I have the exact same experience w/ my 8800 GTX vs. my previous X1900 XT.

During post status, & the bios, & actually basically anything before Windows, everything is fuzzy & slow/laggy with the 8800 GTX.

X1900 XT had no such anomalies, so i chalk this up as another nV "feature".

Probably have to turn "be crap at startup" off in the driver settings .

 

[kilnsea]

Sorry for resurrecting this but I've got the same problem as the OP. pm sent.