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    Recieved M1730 - Peculiar video stutter when not using SLI. Forceware driver reccomendation?

    Discussion in 'Dell XPS and Studio XPS' started by oxybate, Oct 27, 2009.

  1. oxybate

    oxybate Notebook Guru

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    I notice that when I have SLI turned off, there is a stutter effect when maximizing and minimizing windows - this was occurring both in the Vista pre-installed as well as the Windows 7 x64 currently installed. When running SLI, no such issues occur.

    As I want to disable SLI to avoid the excessive fan noise and save on battery life (I don't ever play videogames, and this was sent as a replacement), I want to figure out why this is happening.

    1. What could be the cause of this? I can't imagine that a single 8700m GT isn't capable of smoothly rendering window max and minimization.

    2. Would a forceware driver be better than the stock Dell drivers? If so, can someone recommend the latest, well-liked and stable forceware driver for Windows 7 x64? I know that some are better than others but navigating laptopvideo2go.com is a bit confusing for me.

    Thanks a bunch!.
     
    oxybate, Oct 27, 2009
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  2. TimeWriter

    TimeWriter Notebook Evangelist

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    The latest WHQL driver from nVidia is 186.81, browse nVIdia's website to find it.
    Just disabling SLI will NOT turn off the second GPU (it will still be powered). You can turn it off by turning on the machine using the Dell Media Direct button (if you don't have Dell Media Direct installed, it will boot to Windows/Linux or whatever you have).
     
    TimeWriter, Oct 27, 2009
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  3. gaah

    gaah Notebook Deity

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    Actually there are a lot newer WHQL drivers available. Keep track of them on laptopdrivers2go.com. 191.56 is the latest right now.
     
    gaah, Oct 27, 2009
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  4. oxybate

    oxybate Notebook Guru

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    I understand that there are new drivers, but I know that some are more unstable than others and in the past people have shown preferance for a particular version of driver more recent than an official nVidia release but not necessarily the latest beta.

    Is there any understanding why I am getting the stuttering only when I have SLI disabled?

    EDIT: Installation of the latest Nvidia drivers (186.82), solved the stutter. Thanks for your help everyone.
     
    oxybate, Oct 27, 2009
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  5. Slammin

    Slammin Notebook Consultant

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    FWIW 190.40 has been great for me.
     
    Slammin, Oct 27, 2009
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  6. oxybate

    oxybate Notebook Guru

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    Thanks, Slammin. I'll update accordingly! :)
     
    oxybate, Oct 28, 2009
    #6