Nvidia SLI Advice and insight badly needed

[Benevlan]

I recently purchased another GTX 760 so I could combine them with SLI, but it seems everywhere I check it shows my computers SLI status as disabled. I put together a large montage of every bit of information available to me about my specifications and control panel settings/display.

It should be enough to allow anyone the information needed to help me with this problem but in the off chance it isn't just tell me what you'd need to look over and i'll try to provide it as best as I can. I've tried everything and nothing seems to work, so it would be more than greatly appreciated if anyone could assist me in this matter. I'm not sure how the picture will scale with the forum so it's probably best to just right click and open in a new tab.

 

[Carfax83]

I checked Gigabyte's website, and it appears that motherboard doesn't have SLI support. It only supports Crossfire, so that's why you can't enable it. To enable SLI you'll have to get a different motherboard.

 

[Benevlan]

are you sure its the Z68P-DS3 and not the GA-Z68P-DS3 you read about?

 

[Carfax83]

GA just stands for Gigabyte, the manufacturer so they're the same thing.. Sorry man, your motherboard doesn't support SLI..

 

[Benevlan]

ah damn.. would there be any you recommend in the medium to low price range? I spent most of the budget on the GPU/CPU and have very little left over to deal with a new mobo..

 

[Carfax83]

Off the top of my head? No. But SLI capable motherboards are definitely pricier, so if money is an issue, I would recommend buying a used motherboard, rather than a new one.

Used motherboards can be worth it, especially if you buy them from a retailer like Amazon that has a 30 day return policy..

 

[Ryanrenesis]

The only difference between Crossfire-capable and SLI-capable motherboards is that SLI-capable mobos MUST be able to do at least 8x/8x PCI-E, while Crossfire can do 8x/4x.

You can see in the screenshot your 2nd GPU is only running at 4x and PCI-E 1.1. That is why your motherboard cannot do SLI. You'll need to look for the cheapest mobo with ability to do at least 8x/8x PCI-E.

With the LGA 1155 socket, you should definitely go the 2nd-hand route. You can probably find a really good SLI-capable mobo for under $100 for LGA1155 socket right now. Look on craigslist and ebay.

 

[psolord]

Aren't there hacked drivers that allow sli on any mobo with two pcie 16x sized slots, regardless of their bandwidth?

 

[Keysplayr]

Or sell both the 760s and pickup a 970. Or even a used 780.

 

[KaRLiToS]

Or sell both the 760s and pickup a 970. Or even a used 780.

^This

GTX 970 no doubt.

 

[Termie]

Gigabyte Z97X-SLI is a good option.

But yeah, selling the 760s and buying a 970 is a better one. Won't save you money, but will save you trouble of switching out the motherboard.

 

[RaulF]

Or sell both the 760s and pickup a 970. Or even a used 780.

^This

GTX 970 no doubt.

I concur.

 

[njdevilsfan87]

Is Nvidia SLI compatible with 16x/x4 configuration? I don't believe it is, and that may be your problem. Notice in your image you have one GPU running "@ x16" and the other "@ x4". Trying running 8x/8x (via BIOS) and if your board can't do that you may unfortunately be SOL with this setup.

Edit : Someone else already mentioned this. So I guess I'm just confirming it.

 

[Teizo]

Or sell both the 760s and pickup a 970. Or even a used 780.

^This

GTX 970 no doubt.

I concur.

I concur, concur.

I like my 760 SLI, but you will get very comparable performance out of a GTX970 and use less power.

 

[Benevlan]

I appreciate all the responses, but I have one more question. For some reason, when I try explaining all of this to the guy I usually see when I need new hardware, and who built the computer in the first place, he insists that all my data is wrong and that the SLI is working fine. Because he, "Updated the BIOS, and ran benchmarks proving it was working."

can anyone ascertain the truth for me, what exactly could he have even done to bypass a MOBO's restrictions? And if it did work, how could I replicate the process, since something has obviously gone wrong since then?

 

[Termie]

I appreciate all the responses, but I have one more question. For some reason, when I try explaining all of this to the guy I usually see when I need new hardware, and who built the computer in the first place, he insists that all my data is wrong and that the SLI is working fine. Because he, "Updated the BIOS, and ran benchmarks proving it was working."

can anyone ascertain the truth for me, what exactly could he have even done to bypass a MOBO's restrictions? And if it did work, how could I replicate the process, since something has obviously gone wrong since then?

Run 3DMark Fire Strike and report back with your Graphics Score. This is not a subtle difference we're talking about. Either you have double the performance or you don't.

And next time, build your own system, don't have this guy do it for you.

 

[XiandreX]

Run 3DMark Fire Strike and report back with your Graphics Score. This is not a subtle difference we're talking about. Either you have double the performance or you don't.

And next time, build your own system, don't have this guy do it for you.

+1 .... especially the build your own computer part

 

[Teizo]

Nvidia 760 SLI requires two PCI-E 3.0 x 16 slots. Some mobos have one PCI-E 3.0 and one PCI-E 2.0 slot...therefore only CF works since it is capable of running in 2.0 mode. You only have 2.0. Single 3.0 cards are capable of running backwards compatible with 2.0, but I don't think this is the case with SLI. Nvidia SLI requires TWO 3.0 slots.

That is the difference.

Also...you do have to enable SLI in the nvidia control panel. It doesn't do it for you automatically.

I don't know. It may technically still be working, though it is not showing up...but if it doesn't give you the option in the NV control panel to enable it...then that is the sure fire problem with why it is not showing enabled.

 

[Keysplayr]

Should be a stark contrast between one and two GTX 760s.

 

[Benevlan]

Run 3DMark Fire Strike and report back with your Graphics Score. This is not a subtle difference we're talking about. Either you have double the performance or you don't.

And next time, build your own system, don't have this guy do it for you.

Was running around 30fps for every test except the combined one, which kept it up at around 10-15fps

 

[Termie]

Was running around 30fps for every test except the combined one, which kept it up at around 10-15fps

You are running a single GTX 760. Here's my old GTX 670 on a 3770K@4.4:

http://www.3dmark.com/fs/319632

It's a bit faster than your 760.

So either sell the 760s and get a 970, or get a new motherboard that can run SLI. Given that you've had someone else building for you, I'd start with the easier upgrade - switching out the video cards.

 

[Benevlan]

Well I've decided it'd be much more convenient and cost-effective to just upgrade the MOBO, do you guys have any suggestions on SLI-allowed models in the $100 price range?

 

[KaRLiToS]

This guy here http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2407921&highlight=z77

Is selling a used board.

 

[Termie]

You can't get new SLI boards for $100, and since you're on a dead platform, it will be harder to find one that's a good value at all. Buying used is probably your only option.

 

[Ryanrenesis]

You can't get new SLI boards for $100, and since you're on a dead platform, it will be harder to find one that's a good value at all. Buying used is probably your only option.

You can get the Gigabyte Z97X-SLI for $99.99. However that is for the LGA1150 socket.

For the OP, just look on craigslist, kijiji, or ebay for used LGA1155 board with SLI capability.