Reposting the Vista Hotfixes, a couple pertain to SLI setups. Might help
your situation.
If it makes you feel better I have half a guild running Vista with few
issues, so it can be done. Hang in there.
-Andy.
This is just a comprehensive listing of MS Hotfixes that should be
downloaded and installed specifically for those who play games with one
GPU or 2 in SLI. They all deal with Graphics/DX 10/SLI/Memory/etc.
There are a number of hotfixes that have been released to address the
Vista gaming/graphics/memory problems many have been complaining of.
Some of them you all know about, but some are hidden in the MS TechNet
and MSDN download areas. Below is a listing of the hotfixes that all
gamers should download...both SLI and Single GPU users.
The following take you directly to the TechNET Download Site and there
you can choose either 32 bit or 64 bit.
Download KB945149 'Graphics performance can be improved in certain
multiple-GPU scenarios on a Windows Vista-based computer - Enhances SLI
Performance in DX 9 and 10' (
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/945149)
Download KB940105 'Virtual address space usage in Windows game
development - Fixes problems with certain games (BF 2, BF 2142, etc.)
involving low frame rates and crashes/lockups.'
(
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/940105)
Download KB936710 'Hotfix for SLI users running DX 10 Games -
Improves frame rates - For new games (BF 2, COD 4, FSX, etc)'
(
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/936710)
Download KB938194 'An update is available that improves the
compatibility and reliability of Windows Vista - For all GeForce users -
Enhances graphics performance across the board'
(
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/938194)
Download KB938979 'An update is available that improves the
performance and reliability of Windows Vista - Again...for all GeForce
users - Enhances Performance overall'
(
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/938979)
The following patches are those which I came across while digging
through TechNET and the MSDN download sites. They are pertain to gaming,
graphics, memory and performance. I have them on my own FTP, so you
should obtain as much bandwidth as your provider allows.
All of the following patches are for 64 Bit Vista. Respond if you need
the 32 bit versions.
'MS KB932246' (
http://tinyurl.com/26v82z)
'MS KB92977 - Allows for > 3GB ' (
http://tinyurl.com/ywsrya)
'MS KB933590' (
http://tinyurl.com/2exm3q)
'MS KB93671' (
http://tinyurl.com/ytb3h6)
'MS KB938194' (
http://tinyurl.com/23dhze)
'MS KB940199' (
http://tinyurl.com/you74y)
'MS KB941600' (
http://tinyurl.com/26226h)
'MS KB942763' (
http://tinyurl.com/yvwl59)
'MS KB945149' (
http://tinyurl.com/2d4g7p)
NOTE: Not all users will need all of the above patches. Just install
them to see if you do.
My personal experience in running Vista 64 has been overall very well.
With respect to gaming, there are some games that run just great and
there are those that suffer because they have not been optimized fully
to take advantage of multiple CPU's and GPU's.
I really only play Flight Sim X and even with the extreme setup I have,
I still run into problems. I guess we just have to wait until game
developers optimize their code extensively to fully utilize multiple
cores.
I hope the listing of fixes above helps at lease one person out there.
