One of two 8800GT cards stopped working

[linus5171]

I have a 3 year old Dell XPS 630 with two 8800GT video cards in sli configuration. I recently noticed games started to lag and stutter. i updated drivers to latest version but still a problem. I just went to device manager and noticed second video card had a yellow flag and said " Windows has stopped this device because it has reported problems. (Code 43)" Is there any test i can do to find out the problem or do i need to replace the card? I googled to find another 8800GT but Newegg and Tiger Direct and the like are out of stock apparently none has made these cards in a while. If i replace the card, can I use another model for the bad card or do i have to buy two new cards.? I always thought you had to have exact same model for sli to work. Any suggestions?

 

[iam2thecrowe]

sounds like a faulty card. try each card on its own to make sure. you dont have to buy 2 new cards, you can just buy 1. if your happy with your current performance, a gtx460 would perform similarly to 2 8800gt's + it supports dx 11. you are right that you need the same model for sli. you may be able to get a used 8800gt from ebay. if i were you id get a new faster single card if you have the funds

 

[linus5171]

I'm not sure how to isolate each card. Only one card had video output on the back. I tried unplugging power cable into cards one at a time with power off and rebooting but neither worked by itself, just blank screen and a high pitched whine