GeForce 6800 onboard video processor functionality

[asylummedia]

I just posted this over at anandtech.... for those that arnt members there....

I've been following this thread since day one and only now have I registered...

oh well it's a sad sad day.... I just got off the phone to nvidia UK, i'm really suprised she phoned me back as from past experience the customer service has been really bad with nvidia. She found out some information from the engineers.

Anyway... this is what she said: The video processing functions will never work on the 6800, this is due to a hardware failure within the processing unit. The later cards will work fine, e.g. 6600 series, 6200 series and soon to come 6700 series.

I asked if an updated driver would enable the video processing and she explained that the fault is hardware so even a driver update would not fix the problem.

I did not ask if this affected the PCI-E versions so this is only relevant to AGP version of the 6800.... maybe it affects the PCI-E too?

Anyway does anyone else feel they have been conned not just by nvidia but by it's reseller partners? It clearly says on my box about the video capabilities.

I'll be doing an RMA on this card and swapping it for something that is usefull to me.

Kind of ironic that the lower end cards have more "working" capabilities than the king of the hill 6800

shame on you nvidia and all it's partners that couldnt be bothered testing the cards before selling it. Hoping we wouldnt notice????

fools.

[asylummedia]

should have added...

here is the phone number for nvidia UK.

01189 033000
The secretary is a very nice lady so go easy on her.

[Chippy]

Originally Posted by asylummedia

Anyway... this is what she said: The video processing functions will never work on the 6800, this is due to a hardware failure within the processing unit. The later cards will work fine, e.g. 6600 series, 6200 series and soon to come 6700 series.

If this is true, then its very very bad news. I had kindof suspected the worst though since nVidia are saying "On-Chip Video Processor" for their 6600's and very very very worringly they have pulled that feature from their 6800 description.

I hoped I was just being too cynical, but it appears perhaps not. If the feature was basically OK but needed some driver work, I am sure they wouldn't have pulled the feature from the marketing material. I thought that the fact that they did was perhaps indicative of a more serious problem :-(

Chip

[Arjan20]

Haha, now that's plain stupid. I don't think that they'll get away with this (if it's true) without a large lawsuit.

Well I've returned my XFX 6800GT last week for having a borked VPU and bought a Sapphire x800 XT for €490. And....... no more stuttering, no more weird framedrops. Ohw, did I mention that the gameplay is smooth now?

I really hope that all you 6800 owners out there, who are having faulty VPU's will unite and give NVIDIA a hard time for this stupid way of behaving.

Good luck to all of you!!

[Chippy]

Originally Posted by Arjan20

Haha, now that's plain stupid. I don't think that they'll get away with this (if it's true) without a large lawsuit.

Well I've returned my XFX 6800GT last week for having a borked VPU and bought a Sapphire x800 XT for €490. And....... no more stuttering, no more weird framedrops. Ohw, did I mention that the gameplay is smooth now?

I really hope that all you 6800 owners out there, who are having faulty VPU's will unite and give NVIDIA a hard time for this stupid way of behaving.

Good luck to all of you!!

What a troll.

"this stupid way of behaving"???!?! WTF is that supposed to mean? They have a design fault in their chip. Its got feck all to do with how they are behaving.

And so your Sapphire gives you smooth gameplay? What, because of the video processor? Moron.

I am really angry at your post. There's a whole load of rather unhappy people here and we don't need completely twattish comments like yours.

Please visit www.rage3d.com and stay there.

Chip

[Arjan20]

No need to get angry at me an call me a moron?!

I don't give a f*ck if my card is made by nvidia or by ati. I've paid enough money for my 6800GT a few months ago, and I had nothing but stuttering and unsmooth gameplay. Not a driver that could fix that. Returned the card for another 6800GT and the problems remained. When I found out that there was also a problem with the VPU I had about enough of it. So excuse me for feeling screwed in some way.

And regarding the 'this stupid way of behaving' part, I meant that they have a major problem with this whole VPU thing, and they just pull it of the site like there is nothing wrong. Excuse me for my bad English sometimes.....

I guess that you are putting a label on my head 'Ati lover nvidia hater' or something like that. I have the feeling that you are more like that....

Didn't mean to upset you, I don't hate nvidia, and I don't love ati.

[fivefeet8]

Originally Posted by Arjan20

I meant that they have a major problem with this whole VPU thing, and they just pull it of the site like there is nothing wrong.

The VPU feature is still on their site. Even link on the homepage.

[YOGIx213]

I went to nvidia's website and sent them a question regarding the video processor issue. I had to act like I was going to purchase the 6800 because they only answer to potential customers, current customers have to contact the specific manufacturer (PNY, eVGA, etc.).

Anyway, this is what I wrote:
I am considering purchasing a Geforce 6800 GT because it has great performance numbers for the price. The only thing is, I have been doing my research and have read in numerous forums on the web that the onboard video processor is broken or is currently disabled. I am considering this card or the x800 pro vivo because I love to game but also work alot with video editing. Can you tell me if this function works or not?

nVidia's response (via e-mail):
We will be releasing drivers and software in the future to take advantage of the Geforce 6800 onboard video processor. Please check back on our website for more information.

They answered me in about 20 minutes. Pretty fast if you ask me. Anyway, this of course doesn't mean anything yet, as any company trying to cover their ass will say just about anything. I still have my fingers crossed though.

[Knot3D]

Hi !
I got a Gainward golden sample GT. Gainward & Nvidia have this 'strategical' partnership and we are told the golden sample cards are produced from hand picked quality components which have passed the 'golden sample tests' ; how much more, does all this, make it likely that my golden sample GT is 100% functional, incl. the videochip ?

[ragejg]

The video processor is not a part of those tests, knot3d. All it is is higher speed grade cores, higher speed grade memory, and tighter or thicker or less noisy PCB's.

[fivefeet8]

From the 66.81 release notes:



quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Video Enhancements
Video enhancements in Release 65 include
・Optimized motion compensation and video processing to take advantage of the capabilities of the newest generation of NVIDIA GPUs.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Strange. Doesn't seem to be working. Maybe they mean for MPEG2 DVD movies. It seems to use less CPU resources now when playing the same DVD.

[Knot3D]

Originally Posted by ragejg

The video processor is not a part of those tests, knot3d. All it is is higher speed grade cores, higher speed grade memory, and tighter or thicker or less noisy PCB's.

Yeah, but one would at least expect Nvidia's 'strategical' partners like Gainward to get nothing but the best components. Anyway, Maybe I should find a trustworthy method soon to see if my Gainward card's videochip works or not....(hints anyone ? ctrl alt del performance tab i know already...)

[fivefeet8]

http://www.nvidia.com/object/dvd_decoder.html

Seems like Nvidia has released a DVD decoder. But it's not free.

[Knot3D]

Originally Posted by fivefeet8

http://www.nvidia.com/object/dvd_decoder.html

Seems like Nvidia has released a DVD decoder. But it's not free.

Well, as a token of goodwill, Nvidia could give THAT for free to the ppl whose NV40 card has a doa videochip, instead of a massive RMA.

[fivefeet8]

Someone posted this at guru3d.com:

"Ok, people here is some first hand info from a friend that works for NVIDIA:
-The AGP version of the 6800 chip has a broken video processor, it will never work properly due to a design problem. They will have to redesign the chip (either a new 6800 stepping or a completely new 6900 chip) to get it working properly.
The PCI-Express versions of the 6800 and the 6200 and 6600 series have a perfectly working video processor."

It might have something to do with PCIe/AGP after all. Doesn't look good for 6800 agp owners. I think a formal Recall by Nvidia to replace all sold 6800 cards with broken OVP would be nice, but it's highly unlikely.