NVidia SLI

[HARVEY]

As a PTE user I regularly visit the PTE Forum however this is my first posting.

I would like to pass on some information that may be of help to others.

I have added a 1080 (1920 x 1080) LCD TV to my system to maximise display presentation. My PC monitor is 1680 X 1050 and in order to enjoy the maximum image quality I have been building my AV's to that resolution.

Playing these AV's as exe files on the new 1920 x 1080 TV via DVI to HDMI gives stunning image quality. Sound is via Hi Fi amp/speakers. Using exact scan setting on the TV gives a 1 to 1 pixel mapping and whilst obviously there are some black borders due to the different resolutions the picture quality is simply outstanding. You can of course expand the image to fill the screen and whilst there is some picture loss the quality is still far better than DVD.

The point I wish to make is that in my attempts to get the system up and running, having suffered numerous crashes and freezes, I find that as my pc is equipped with twin NVidia graphic cards they have been installed in SLi mode. In this mode you do not get the dual monitor option. Even with the TV as the sole screen I still could not get the PC to accept the TV.

There is little information on the NVidia site to help but with considerable web browsing I stumbled across information that helped. Eventually I found how to disable SLi mode via NView software in the control panel and was then able to use dual view to enable me to set the maximum resolution of the monitor to 1680 x 1050 and TV to 1920 x 1080 respectively and seperately.

So if you have twin NVidia graphic cards coupled in SLi mode you need to, and can, disable via the graphic card software. Do not disable via hardware.

I certainly will not be producing further DVD's for my own use as I am now enjoying quality that I thought was not possible.

Brian

[davegee]

Well done Brian,

I have been promoting this for the last six months here at the PTE forums. You have to see it to believe it.

The DVI / HDMI hook-up is essential for the best quality and it surpasses DVD. Even when Blu-Ray becomes common place to convert PTE shows to DVD the PTE EXE played this way is still going to be better quality-wise.

DaveG