NVidia 9800 GTX recognized as 9800 GX2

masterplots01

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Intel Pentium D 940 Prescott 3.2 gHZ oc 3.36
Asus P5N-T Deluxe 780i
Crucial Ballistix 2x2GB (4GB) DDR2/800
nVidia 9800 GTX 500 mb
WD sATA 1TB 32mb cache
iHAS 422 sATA 22xDVD w/lightscribe
Windows Vista 64 home

In my BIOS and Post, it shows my true GPU as the nVidia 9800 GTX, but in windows device manager it shows it as a 9800 GX2. I also checked Bellarc Advisor, Sandra Lite and nVidia website scanner has it listed as a 9800 GX2. I'm guessing the scanners are not really scanning the hardware but really scanning the programs.

For now, it seems like it is not a big problem because the driver updates for the 9 series are the same. But, I'm wondering, since it is reading like a GX2, is it performing as a GX2 or truely the 9800 GTX? Has anyone else had this problem? Is it Vista or did I doing something wrong building my computer?

Any imput will help and be appreciated.

 
I have a evga 780i and it works fine for me...does the Asus version sux that much?

and lol it would be funny if you actually have a GX2 :D
Someone accidentally put a GX2 card in the 9800 GTX box, or the GX2 chip in the 9800GTX GPU
 

masterplots01

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I doubt it is anything other than a Vista 64 bit error. It shows 9800 GTX in Post and it is Vista that changes it. I have a work order into Microsoft. I don't expect much from them other than trying to charge me the service charge and blaming my hardware, but we''ll see.
 

masterplots01

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9800GTX is the single best GPU in the nVidia 9 series. Not including the 9800GTX + which is the same GPU just factory overclocked. That's why it is $100 more expensive than the GX2. The GX2 is only better when coupled with another GX2. I have both Microsoft and nVidia tech support working on this issue, however I do believe it is the Vista 64 or the BIOS. I do want to troubleshoot it to the max before I do any BIOS flashing. That'll be my last resort. Although I have 4 computers, I don't have another board or computer capable of the needed 500W with PCI-E. I could try it in a friends computer but he probably won't want to give it back.
 

raybob95

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But really, you're sure that you don't actually have a GX2?

Go into DxDiag.

Also, how many PCI slots does your card take up, and how many power connectors did it need?

Also dude, if this isn't causing any problems, then why are you making a fuss over it?
 

masterplots01

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Yes, I am sure it is a 9800 GTX as it states in my BIOS/POST. It takes up just one of my three PCI-E slots. It uses 2 power connectors. I'm not making a fuss. I just want my computer to perform like I paid for it to, so I simply asked a question hoping someone has had the same problem and corrected it. If Vista lists it as a GX2, maybe it is performing as such, which is less than a GTX should perform. But I have never had a decent card like this, so I have no clue how it should perform. They are the same drivers for all of the 9 series cards. I sent a GPU-Z reading to nVidia with serial numbers etc. and they say it is a 9800 GTX. If in the end, they say it is performing as such, I'll disregard what it says on the device manager and go with it. I will do the DxDiag. though. Thanks
 

Dekasav

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I'm pretty sure the 9800 GX2 is significantly faster than the 9800GTX. The 9800GX2 performs very similarly to the GTX 280, which is much faster than the 9800GTX+.

 

raybob95

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Exactly. If he has a GTX, and even though it performs like a GTX Windows is saying it's a GX2, either it's performing like a GTX (In which case you ARE getting what you paid for) or it's performing like a GX2 (Obviously it's not)

So either way, no problem here. :)
 

masterplots01

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I'm not going to get into a pissing contest on what GPU is the fastest. It is irrellivent to my original question and is not helpful to a solution.

 

jennyh

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Ok lets say you have a car that looks like a ferrari on the outside but has a ford engine. Is it performing like a ferrari or a ford?

Is that really so hard to figure out by yourself? Jeez.
 

Dekasav

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What I'm trying to say is your question is irrelevant. If it performs like a GX2, you've gotten a better deal than you expected, if it performs like a 9800GTX you have exactly what you expected. Pretty much, it doesn't matter which card it is because you payed for the weaker of the two, so either be happy it might be a GX2. There is no actual problem, just a few things likely reporting wrong.
 

masterplots01

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If it performs like a GX2, then I should have gotten 2 GX2's since that would equal the price I paid for the GTX. I understand what you're saying. My BIOS is reading correctly but when it goes into windows screen it states another. Maybe because all of the 9 series are using the same drivers. No problem at this point, but, in the future when maybe one specific update for my card only comes available. I can't update because my computer is reading another card. Nor can I benchmark it accurately.

And, the GX2 is not as powerful as the GTX. It has a larger memory but was designed to run in Duel SLI mode and thus the $100 cheaper card. As per the nVidia site, the 9800 GTX is the single most powerful GPU in the 9 series. All irrellevant anyway.
 

jennyh

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The 9800 gtx is the most powerful single 9 series gpu, but the 9800gx2 is TWO 8800gts on a single board, and one 8800gts = one 9800gtx.

It's quite a bit more powerful and more expensive than a 9800gtx, unless you paid far too much for the gtx. Anything more than $125 or so is too much for a 9800gtx these days.
 

Dekasav

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I feel bad for you if you paid $100 more for a 9800GTX than a 9800GX2.

I don't think you're understanding, though. The 9800GX2 has TWO gpu's on it, it always runs in SLI mode. You don't need to buy two, it's always more powerful than the 9800GTX (assuming SLI is supported in-game).

But it's irrelevant, it's fine. You don't need to worry, the whole "problem" isn't a problem.
 

masterplots01

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I never claimed to be a genious, and my question was never what card is more powerful or faster. I have a 9800 GTX. That was never in question, and it is also verified by nVidia tech support. Whether a GX2 or GTX is more powerful has nothing to do with the question, or solution. Even if my GPU is running faster than it should, there is no way to really benchmark it. GTX has a max power of 140 W and the GX2 is 197 W. GTX 675 mHZ and GX2 600 mHZ. So, if it is running dependant on Vista, it will be running at 57 watts above max of my card specifications, and 75 mHZ below. That is a problem in my book, and if you had this problem, I'm guessing you would also be trying to solve it and not just write it off as if nothing was wrong. I thought this was a tech forum, so maybe I did make a mistake.
 
Could it be something like the wrong BIOS on the card? Just seems weird that GPU-Z could be tricked like that. I can't remember exactly back when I had SLI (which a GX2 is) but isn't there an option to enable/disable SLI? Do you have that on yours? Very, very weird.
 

masterplots01

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I do believe it is possible that the BIOS is wrong. I've heard mixed reviews about this ASUS board. I'm going to flash the new 1402 BIOS soon. What is confusing is that in the BIOS and POST it is reading correctly. Just in windows it changes to the GX2. I'm ready to try anything, even though I think it is maybe Vista 64 bit.

I've used GPU-Z, Belarc Advisor, sandra and a number of other software and they say the same thing. Problem is, they are not actually scanning the hardware but scanning what is in the device manager.

I'll flash the BIOS in a couple days, as soon as I get the time to get all of the downloads together on my flash drive.

I did send my GPU-Z readings to nVidia tech support and by the serial number they verified it to be truely a 9800 GTX. They also mentioned the BIOS, but I wanted to leave that as a last resort because I can't afford another mb if I fry it

Thanks a bunch for the imput and I will try it.