FIFO overflow error using the NI 1429 frame grabber

[ralfseidelXXX]

Hi Elmar,

it looks now that we got the the 1429 to work without FIFO error by using the 16x PCIe slot, in which the original graphics card was plugged in, and using a very old simple PCI graphics card. Placing the 1429 into the 4x PCIe slot in combination with the simple PCI graphics card did not work. So either the 4x slots have a lower priority or a smaller FIFO buffer, if something like this exists. What is a bit still unsatisfactory to me is that prior ordering it is not obvious at all which computer system would fullfill the requirements. Just spending quite some money and later realizing that it is not working is a painful process. Maybe one can find a solution with the developers that either there is e.g. a registry setting that makes now the 4x slots working or one can identify dedicated chipset specs, which allow the user in advance identifying the right chipset. The current "Choosing the Right PC for the NI PCIe-1429" page is not too helpful since it is slightly outdated and the motherboards have not been checked whether they really achieve the right throughput. We will also contact Dell to see if they have a solution for this.

Best,

Ralf

[ralfseidelXXX]

Just a little add-on, which might help to resolve the issue. Still using the 4x PCIe slot, which produces FIFO overflows, we figured out that we gain very much in stability if we record smaller frames, e.g. 1280x100 pixels but running it at a higher speed, e.g. about 5000 Hz such that the data throughput is about the same. This shows that the 4x PCIe slot is well capable of transmitting data at the specified speed. However, there must be somewhere a buffer or something like this, which cannot handle large junks of data like a full frame. So maybe the problem is therefore very much chipset specific. On google I also found that the Intel 5000 series chipsets have a new and different architecture.

Ralf

[DarkLordOfG]

We have similar (and additional) issues with the 1429. I think it goes beyond the PCIexpress chipset and also has something to do with the camera pixel length and tap configuration.  We can use two identical machines and one works fine with an ATMEL 4010 linescan camera running at 25MPixels/Sec (4096 x 2048 @ 3fps) whereas it fails with a Dalsa HS-80 running at 7.8 MPixels/Sec (8192 x 96 @10fps).  The machine is a HP xw8200.  Both say it negotiated 4X lane bandwith.  It looks like it uses a Intel 5000 series PCIe chipset??

The response from NI was the hardware isn't compatible.  This is bad news for us since our company uses all HP products.  I also don't know any other frame grabber manufacturer that limits their products to certain motherboards.

John

[ralfseidelXXX]

Hi John,

it looks like that the FIFO buffer overflow is a more common problem. Especially in your case you have quite low data/frame rates. I think the whole issue is somehow hardware related, although it is not the limiting bandwidth, especially not for a recently bought computer. The question however is, if the 1429 driver can be improved to insure proper frame grabbing without such an overflow. Using our troublesome 4x PCIe slots, we can get rid of the FIFO overflow, if we aquire smaller frames but at an accordingly higher rate. Maybe a new driver could therefore help? As you can see above NI is now looking into it and I hope that they find a solution.

Best,

 Ralf

[TiTou]

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@Elmar NI wrote:
Hello Ralf,

thanks for the fast feedback.
I think i know why aou get the error message.
FIFO Overflow error indicates that the data from the frame grabber card was transfered to slow to the RAM memory of the pc.
This happends if the PCIExpress Interface of the motherboard use a less number of lanes.
A customer get the same error with the 1430 device.

http://forums.ni.com/ni/board/message?board.id=200&message.id=11024&requireLogin=False

Choosing the Right PC for the NI PCIe-1429

http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/websearch/1FD6E5B5A08C1E0786256F9B0079D449?OpenDocument

Are you able to test it on another PC with a different motherboard?

Kind regards,

Elmar

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I'm having the same issue and just see this thread now

Elmar, I dare you to buy any PC in the list you point out on NI KB... Or maybe second hand on eBay... This page needs to be updated with PCs that are on the shelf now.
I can tell you that HP xw4600 with core 2 quad 2.66 GHz is not compatible although it's the evolution of the HP xw4300 PIV 3.2GHz which was compatible but no longer purchasable...

[Elmar_NI]

Hey all,

i got a feedback from the US please look at the attachment.
Unfortunately a new compatibility list dosent exist.

Kind regards,

Elmar

[TiTou]

Thanks for the feedback Elmar ; it's pretty bad news though...

Suggesting we should buy & test PC untill we find one that doesn't have this "incompatibility" with PCIe 1429 board is not serious.
If there are special requirements to use this board it must be clearly written on its datasheet.

I really expect NI to work on this and come with a list of requirements soon !

[ralfseidelXXX]

Thanks also from my side, Elmar!
I hope that NI will solve the problem soon, since choosing the right computer configuration should not just be gambling.

Best,

Ralf

[TiTou]

Hi,

Just to let you all know that a formal support request has been made on this issue and people at NI are working on it :

SRQ: 7201661 -PCIe 1429 which PC will work with it ?

I'll post whatever news I get.

[TiTou]

News I got about this issue at NI Week :
NI knows about the issue, the hardware team is working hard to solve it ASAP.
As regards the reason, if I got it well, the new chips work quite differently from the old ones which could explain why old PC were working and not brand new ones.

Stay in tune.