Graphics Problems GT640

[jwar]

I have been having graphics problems the whole time I've had a hackintosh (8 months)

I used to have a Zotac GT 440 and it kind of worked with GraphicsEnabler=Yes. The problem is that I would have a system freeze almost every day. The cursor would move but the system stopped working. I would get a beach ball and would need to do a hard reset. I tried many things on the forum with no success. I believe its called the fermi freeze.

I thought that getting an out of the box video card like the GT 640 would fix my problems. Now things are much worse. I use GraphicsEnabler=No and the system boots fine. The problem is that when I try to do anything the cursor moves slow and the system freezes. If I wait 60 seconds I can move the cursor 1 inch before it freezes again.
This is the video card that I bought.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008UAW6W2/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00

My motherboard is Asus P8Z77-V. I have a 3770K

I have tried both MacPro 3,1 and MacMini 5,1

I have tried a fresh install with no success. I am on 10.8.2

I don't think it's a faulty video card since its running fine in Windows 8. I tried a video card benchmark test and everything is normal.

Any ideas would be appreciated. I'm so frustrated.

 

[Macblack4]

You wouldn't by chance have an XBOX 360 controller hooked-up to your computer, running a Tattiebogle driver? I tried this two days ago - this driver caused all the symptoms you described. Instructions on how to remove this driver are here http://www.youtube.com/watch?annota...&feature=iv&src_vid=GKH_qwJ55Hs&v=OwMpV8p26xc

If you don't have this driver installed, I suspect one of your USB input devices (mouse, keyboard) is misbehaving - try disconnecting all and trying each device one at a time.

 

[Middleman]

Hi Jwar,

I would suggest you have a look at your installed memory? It is quite possible you have faulty RAM. Try using something like Memtest+86 to check out your memory.

In addition, if your graphics drivers are fully installed there's no reason why they shouldn't work with the GT640. I would suggest to do this you do another clean install of 10.8.2 with Unibeast 1.5.3 then Multibeast 5.1.3 (look in the archive sections). Then once you've installed OSX, install the 3rd graphics option from this MB (for OpenGL GTX670+). And then, also install the Nvidia Mac GEForce drivers from the Nvidia site > http://www.nvidia.com/object/macosx-304.00.05f02-driver.html - and then run Disk Utility and Repair Permissions before rebooting.

Also check if you have updated your Asus BIOS to the latest modded one for your board (to enable native power management). Google Asus Biosrepo.

Try that first and report back if you got any more symptoms.

 

[jwar]

Unfortunately I don't have the Xbox 360 controller. I wished the solution was that easy.

At one point I was having trouble with USB3 but I seemed to have fixed that. I have removed all unnecessary USB devices for testing. I have also used multiple keyboards for testing. I don't think USB devices are the problem at this point.

I am going to try Middleman's suggestions tonight and report back. I am using Samsung 30nm memory. 2x8gb.

I wonder if it's possible that the specific video card that I purchased is not compatible. Maybe I should return it and switch to a different Nvidia 6xx card. Does anyone have a recommendation? I would prefer single slot but I can go with 2 if required.

Thanks for the help.

 

[jwar]

Hi Jwar,

I would suggest you have a look at your installed memory? It is quite possible you have faulty RAM. Try using something like Memtest+86 to check out your memory.

In addition, if your graphics drivers are fully installed there's no reason why they shouldn't work with the GT640. I would suggest to do this you do another clean install of 10.8.2 with Unibeast 1.5.3 then Multibeast 5.1.3 (look in the archive sections). Then once you've installed OSX, install the 3rd graphics option from this MB (for OpenGL GTX670+). And then, also install the Nvidia Mac GEForce drivers from the Nvidia site > http://www.nvidia.com/object/macosx-304.00.05f02-driver.html - and then run Disk Utility and Repair Permissions before rebooting.

Also check if you have updated your Asus BIOS to the latest modded one for your board (to enable native power management). Google Asus Biosrepo.

Try that first and report back if you got any more symptoms.

Ok I tried all of the above and still the same problem. I am on the most recent stock bios firmware to eliminate that as an issue. I had a modded bios in the past with the same issues.

It's the exact same no matter how I set it up. It gets in to a mode where the graphics are slow. The cursor can only move an inch before freezing for 10-60 seconds. It move again after the lag.

My memory was tested and works fine.

HD 4000 works fine but limits my resolution since I have DVI (Apple 30" display).

Any other ideas? It seems like the card for whatever reason doesn't work in OSX.

 

[jwar]

Ok I was using Windows 8 tonight and the video card crashed on a flash video. In the bottom right corner there was an error saying the nvidia kernel crashed and had to be recovered. So, I'm returning it and ordering the EVGA GT 640 recommended on the customac page.

Fingers crossed.

 

[Middleman]

So it looks like you had a faulty card?

 

[jwar]

So it looks like you had a faulty card?

That's what I'm thinking and hoping. According to other users, it should just work out of the box.

 

[potemkin]

I have a Galaxy GT 640.
I bought it at Best Buy around Christmas for under $70.
It does not need the mini HDMI adapter the EVGA does.

When this card came out late in summer there were 2/3 threads on it. ( EVGA)
You might want to check them out ,use search.
These threads went quiet so I guess the solutions and suggestions in there proved correct
or Apple updates solved problems.

Windows 8 is new. One crash is nothing strange. Drivers may go through development and same for software.

Over weekend I will try Windows 8 preview with my card.

I know people on this forum have had luck with Zotac items.
In the past whenever I checked a Zotac product failure rate was very high.

 

[jwar]

I received the EVGA GT 640 2GB and I have the exact same issues!!! Many people have this card.

I ran novabench and got a pitiful 40fps. A normal GT 640 gets at least 10x the fps. It seems like the card isn't supported properly.

Launchpad struggles.

I tried the nvidia drivers and the same results.

I did a brand new install prior to testing as well.

Geekbench gets normal benchmarks with the processor and ram (it doesn't test GPU). 12k+

What could the issue be? I'm baffled.