Cannot get pc to configure to SLI....

waco said:
What he means, Chief, is altho each PCI-Express slot has a 16x bandwith, installing two cards, bridging them, and enabling SLI reduces each slot to 8x.
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My A8N32-SLI Deluxe with an AMD 4800+ and two 7800GTX's runs with both slots at 16x in SLI mode. However, I found no advantage in FSX so removed one of the cards.
 
Waco,

I believe the connectors are DVI, and I have DVI to VGA adapters on them, going to the CRT monitor and DLP projector, respectively.

When you say the "top" card, do you mean the top card installed in the case, as looking at it from the side?

Pete
 
Jbtate,

Am trying to improve running FSX, but the performance is not even poor with two cards. It stinks!

NC
 
Navychief

No matter what the orientation of the PC (Tower or Desk top model) the top of the mother board is always where the Key board, Mouse, Lan, USB or Firewire connectors are. Your PCI slots are probably numbered on the board PCI 0 to 5 (or 1 to 6) if you look close. Your top video card will be the lowest number or the one closest to the CPU.

You should (maybe you have) double check your PSU and make sure you have enough power to run not only the two cards but everything else.

published specs said:
425W PCI Express-compliant system power supply with a combined 12V current rating of 28A or more
One 6-pin PCI Express supplementary power connector -or- Two 4-pin Molex supplementary power connectors
Click to expand...

Both cards call for a minimum of 425 watt power supply then you need over a 1000+ watt supply to run your system. This is because nobody ever publishes true specs. They are always dumbed down so as to not scare customers off. They never take into account you are powering anything other than their device. So when nVidia says the Video card needs 425 watts that referres only to the card not the motherboard, CPU, DVD Drive or any other card on your system. So you need some kind of over head to power those devices. Now we add a second card with the same specs. We need 850 Watt power supply just for the two cards. How much we need for all the other hardware is hard to tell but if you don't have enough Quality will suffer if it runs at all.

I think Moe posted a site one time that had a power supply calculator you may want to check a google search and find one.

My ruff guess (only a guess) is you should have 300 to 400 watts for the over head or a power supply that puts out 1350 to 1450 watts.

And as always you can not have too big a power supply. The larger the supply the cooler and easier it runs. Stick to the good name brands for a PSU most of the no name cheapos are just what that.
 
That must be the problem, DangerousDave, as my power supply is a 510W.

So, correct me if I am mistaken here. The system Device Manager correctly says there are two 8800s, and the Nvidia Control Panel says I am running SLI, .............

But, my power supply is not large enough to run the cards?

And if this is the case, can you suggest what size/brand of power supply I should be looking at?

NC
 
I'm sorta muddying the water, but the machine that went down on me, Chief, was SLI enabled with a 939 socket AMD FX-60 CPU 2.6 GHz and had a Antec 500W powersupply. But it had been running good for a couple of years, altho it originally had an AMD X2 3800 2.0 GHz CPU in it.
 
waco said:
I'm sorta muddying the water, but the machine that went down on me, Chief, was SLI enabled with a 939 socket AMD FX-60 CPU 2 GHz and had a Antec 500W powersupply. But it had been running good for a couple of years, altho it originally had an AMD X2 3800 2.0 GHz CPU in it.
Click to expand...

My system has been running with zero problems, since I built it in January of 2006. I have added more RAM, but that's about it. Also changed the processor to AMD 64 X2 Dual Core Proc 4800+Speed 2.41GHz, shortly after building it.


Pete
 
From nVidias web site on SLI

This will be the answer to your PSU question and may solve some of your problems.

Will I Have Enough Power to Run my SLI PC?
Top

A high performance car doesn't perform to its potential without high performance gasoline, parts and fluids….and the same is true for your NVIDIA SLI PC! Don't starve your NVIDIA GPUs and other PC components of valuable energy. Because each GPU is sharing the graphics load equally and dynamically, it's very important that they each get a continuous, dedicated flow of power from your power supply. Even if you think your PC doesn't need the power now, it's always a great idea to set the table for future upgrades, and future-proof your SLI PC with an NVIDIA SLI-certified power supply. Learn more about the importance of an NVIDIA SLI-certified PSU here.
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They give a listing of nVidia certified PSU's here. Based on the model and number of video cards you are using.

http://www.slizone.com/object/slizone_build_psu.html

The numbers are not as high as I first thought but higher than your current system.

I personally have had Great service from Antec the 550 watt PSU I bought years ago feels like a lead brick and runs my system great.

Antec Quattro 850 (TPQ-850) <--Link
Antec Signature SG850 850W ATX12V <--Link
Antec TruePower Quattro TPQ-1000 1000W ATX12V <--Link

They do list a 650 watt power supply on the site for Antec but I would not suggest going that low since you will be powering two devices.

Select a power supply on nVidia's list and you can not go wrong.

Also as I look at nVidia's SLI pages I notice that they only show the top video card getting connected to a device. I may be wrong but I think that the bottom card is only used for its GPU and memory the output is non functional if I am not wrong (I maybe).

both monitors will connect to your top video card same as they always have.
 
That 4800 was the one I wanted for a replacement in the dead machine, but they're hard to find and the prices are high, also, in a 939 socket, so I settled on a 4200. And the vendor I ordered from is only an 8 hour drive away....when the whole state isn't blanketed under a winter snow storm. Besides, some of the vendors had flakey ratings at Resellerratings.com, and the vender I went with had a good rating. When my machine went down, it started out with a wavering display sorta like looking at something down on the lakebed when there's a little chop on the water. I'm no expert, but I'm inclined to think you'd get something on a monitor no matter how bad.
 
Thanks DangerousDave,

The first Antec link looks like a great deal. I think what I may do for now, is "deselect" SLI mode for this week. I have a feeling that after-Christmas sales may bring even better deals. Maybe?

Thanks.

Pete
 
I agree there should be a price drop after Christmas.

Feel free to shop around for price I don't know if that is the best but they always suit my needs.
 
I know NewEgg is highly rated among the online vendors, and I have bought from them on occasion. The only reason I shy away from them, usually, is because they charge Tennessee state tax.

NC
 
Thanks Butcherbird,

That pretty much confirmed things. Now, if the "after Christmas" sales are as expected..............:wiggle:

NC
 
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