GPU support and Nvidia SLI

LC
Posted By
Loren_Cook
Oct 15, 2008
Views
479
Replies
15
Status
Closed
It would appear that even with Nvidia’s new Vista drivers 178.24 (today Oct 15) you will only get GPU support if you turn off SLI. Seems like a waste of a second video card. Hopefully Nvidia will get this sorted in the next release.

My system:
Intel QX6888 (quad core)
3 GM RAM
2x GeForce 8800 GTX (normally in SLI)

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G
gowanoh
Oct 16, 2008
This is the first commercial product that supposedly taps the processing power of the GPU.
That CS4 taps the GPU at all for processing power is the most revolutionary development in software since multi-threading (and we all know how much multi-threading has penetrated software coding–NOT!).
Complaining that CS4 does not support dual/triple GPUs is like complaining that the talking dog only speaks French and not English. What I have read about CS4 makes it a big disappointment to me because what I consider the lunacy of the triple headed Bridge/ACR/desktop has not been cured. The automated functions, that it apparently shares with Elements 7, are useful but not inherently must-have.
However CS4 is worth the price of admission just to see how it taps a quad core processor and a fast GPU, both of which are largely wasted except for the occasional high end game in my uber machine.
Adobe promised shipment yesterday.
They lied.
Who could have predicted that?
M
Mylenium
Oct 16, 2008
Yeah, but then again, why do you even have SLI? It has no value whatsoever for professional apps (beyond providing better antialiasing performance in some 3D programs), so even if NVidia will find a way to re-enable it in the manner you desire, it will not magically boost PS into the next century…

Mylenium
NS
Nick_Solema
Oct 22, 2008
That’s a stupid question to ask, Mylenium. Many of us have SLI because we play games, in addition to doing graphic design. Sure, we know we won’t see any performance improvement in Photoshop with SLI over a single GPU, but that’s not why we want PS to support it. It’s just a pain-in-the-ass to have to disable SLI every time we use Photoshop.

If you’ve ever used SLI in its modern incarnation, you’d know what we’re talking about. Enabling/disabling SLI causes Windows to restart the Explorer shell, and it also closes other apps. So not only is it inconvenient, it can cause us to lose visible system tray applications.

I can confirm that SLI is NOT compatible with CS4 with the new nVidia 180.43 beta drivers posted to their site yesterday. Adobe, please fix this if at all possible.

Thanks,
Nick
RB
Robert_Barnett
Oct 22, 2008
Nick,

Lets face facts here. At least on the Windows system Microsoft and other companies including Adobe have done a right poor job of multiple monitor support. Microsoft being the biggest problem. You can’t have your task bar span all of your monitors. In Vista you can’t undock the QuickLaunch to move it to another monitor. Most screen savers don’t do multiple monitors that well and on and on and one.

When companies can’t even get the basics of multiple monitor right why on earth would you expect sophisticated support?

The why Microsoft is going you would think that multiple monitor setups are a fade, less than a new year and used by few.

Just so you know I have dual ATI Radeon 1650 cards running two 20" and one 27" monitor. They are not linked together as I don’t do games. PC’s… er…. Windows is too unstable for serious game play in my opinion.

Robert
BC
Bart_Cross
Oct 22, 2008
You can move the Quick Lanch bar to the second monitor in Vista 64 and you can put it on any side of either monitor except the one with the ‘Gadgets’ bar.
M
Mylenium
Oct 22, 2008
That’s a stupid question to ask, Mylenium.

I don’t think so.

Many of us have SLI because we play games, in addition to doing graphic design.

Ah, and there we go. What do games have to do on a work computer? Sorry, this is exactly the wrong attitude that makes me wanna slap in peoples’ faces every time. You know, people are constantly whining about configuration and installation problems, and while I will concede that Windows’ own updates sometimes mess up things, too, it’s severely disappointing to see how people put their systems at risk by letting games and their atrocious installation and configuration procedures ruin their systems. It’s the same s*** like over zealous video kids installing every CoDec pack or alternate media player they can find and then crying for help when After Effects or premiere don’t work. Sorry, I don’t have the slightest bit of understanding for your position.

Mylenium
LC
Loren_Cook
Oct 22, 2008
Mylenium – You are so wrong.

SLI has always been promised as doubling (or more) video performance. Nivida also sells very high video cards for CAD/CAM users. So if we buy one of those ($1500 plus cards) should they work with Photoshop?

IMHO – Yes, just as SLI should. But I don’t blame Adobe this is more of a Nvidia problem – that Adobe could put pressure on them to solve.
M
Mylenium
Oct 22, 2008
Read the fineprint and don’t listen to the marketing fluff. NVidia never has made any promises that it would double the available texture resolution nor double the number of polygons a 3D program could display or any other real feature relevant for the performance as perceived by the user. All it does is extend your desktop resolution or improve a few things on the texture filtering and antialiasing by providing different cooperative methods of the two GPU working on the same problem at once, but even a quad SLI can not override the rules of OpenGL or any other display API else for that matter. There is really very little measurable benefit to SLI in combination with professional apps, even for the always resource hungry CAD people, and I don’t exactly call paying twice the money for a meagre 5 – 20% gain a good deal. This may be different for others, but point in case: SLI has no place with most current commercial mainstream apps and unless NVidia open up the API so others can really understand and use what SLI does, this will not change in the foreseeable future.

Mylenium
J
jcates
Oct 22, 2008
What do games have to do on a work computer?

Many people, myself included, have Adobe software at work and at home; often work owns the work copy and home users own their own copy (again, myself included).

Many of us who have the home software also like to play games on that same computer because it is simply not economical to own two sweet computers, one for gaming and one for graphics work. Those who can afford that, git it all over you and congrats on the income.

Spout whatever you want, but it is reasonable for us to expect that our gaming graphics cards should be able to work in some degree toward rendering in graphics applications. Will there be complete crossover? No. Should there be some? Absolutely. After all, graphics applications are used to create games, too.
BC
Bart_Cross
Oct 23, 2008
I have my taskbar attached to the top of my main monitor. Seems strange that it not possible in 32bit, I have VISTA Ultimate and ran a dual boot (32/64), but don’t remember if I ever moved it to the top in 32.

This tech quasi-quote seems funny, why is it only confusing in 32 bit but not in 64?

Nothing personal, but can anyone else confirm this?
RB
Robert_Barnett
Oct 23, 2008
wrote in message
You can move the Quick Lanch bar to the second monitor in Vista 64 and you can put it on any side of either monitor except the one with the ‘Gadgets’ bar.

Not in 32-bit Vista. you Can either have it on or off. You can’t undock it from the task bar at the bottom. You could in XP, but not in vista. Microsoft according to one of the tech’s felt it was too confusing for the idiot user’s to have the quick launch movable.

Robert
RB
Robert_Barnett
Oct 23, 2008
wrote in message
I have my taskbar attached to the top of my main monitor. Seems strange that it not possible in 32bit, I have VISTA Ultimate and ran a dual boot (32/64), but don’t remember if I ever moved it to the top in 32.
This tech quasi-quote seems funny, why is it only confusing in 32 bit but not in 64?

Nothing personal, but can anyone else confirm this?

You can move the taskbar yes. That is not what I am saying. What I am saying is the Quick Launch bar can not be undocked from the task bar and docked someplace else by itself. It has to remain part of the taskbar. This is Vista, you could do what you wanted with it in XP.

Robert
BC
Bart_Cross
Oct 23, 2008
OK, I misunderstood. Doesn’t seem relative to me, just more junk floating around the screen that I really do not need. Now I understand the ‘confusing’ part (Eeeeeek! Why is the Quick Launch suddenly floating around? How do I dock it again?).
S
Sangrak
Oct 25, 2008
Just an FYI. The new nvidia beta 180.43 driver finally supports sli with dual monitors. So if you’re using a cintiq like me, you can keep sli running and have full acceleration in photoshop. Just make sure you have both monitors plugged into your main card for multimonitor support.

I definitely see a difference in performance, at any rate.
NS
Nick_Solema
Nov 3, 2008
Sangrak,
I am using the 180.43 drivers and while they do support SLI with dual-monitors, they still DO NOT enable acceleration in Photoshop. The acceleration checkbox is greyed out in Photoshop preferences.

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