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Computer won't run my second Graphics Card

Tags:
  • Nvidia
  • Computers
  • Graphics Cards
  • Lag
  • Graphics
Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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May 9, 2014 1:35:20 PM

Good day to all, I recently overhauled my once lagging computer with the whole package including an ASUS X79 motherboard, intel i7 3930K processor, two Nvidia 760 GTX graphics cards and a power supply to move it all. However while rendering or playing any heavy games only one of the video cards seems to be taking all the heat and weight of the entire task while the other sits cool and unused. The computer is recognizing both of them, but only one is doing all the work. I updated the cards to the latest software and I'm currently running EVGA Precision X and CorsairLINK 2 to monitor and control the fans of the system. I'm wondering if there's something I'm missing or if something else is causing the problem. Many thanks to you all in advance and keep on building!

More about : computer run graphics card

a b Î Nvidia
a c 77 U Graphics card
May 9, 2014 1:38:24 PM

Hi there,

Is the SLI bridge in place, and SLI turned on in the nVidia Control Panel?
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a b U Graphics card
May 9, 2014 1:38:56 PM

Did you enable SLI in the Nvidia control panel?
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Related resources
May 9, 2014 1:39:53 PM

The bridge is installed and on in the Control Panel.
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a b Î Nvidia
a c 77 U Graphics card
May 9, 2014 1:41:53 PM

Can you give some examples of the 'heavy games' where you observe only one card being used?
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May 9, 2014 1:49:00 PM

Examples would be Skyrim and Sims, but mostly I work with rendering and designing software which produce a lot of heat from video cards.
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a b Î Nvidia
a c 77 U Graphics card
May 9, 2014 2:08:09 PM

Hmm, strange... I know Skyrim doesn't get the biggest of boost from SLI, but still, the load should be split more or less equally between the multiple cards, which isn't the case here (the onscreen display that Precision X has; that shows only one card with any load?).

Just to clarify, can you list your components, and also say what PCIe slots you have the two 760s in?
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May 9, 2014 2:34:18 PM

It shows both with load, but when I start rendering or playing only one heats up and reaches high MHz while the other stays in the low numbers.

The components on the computer are:
Motherboard = Asus X79 Sabertooth
Processor = Intel i7 3930K
Graphics Card = Nvidia GeForce 760 GTX (x2)
Memory = Kingston 16GB 1600 MHZ
Power Supply = 1000 W
Main Hard Drive = OCZ Vertex 4 128GB SSD
Cooling = Corsair H100i Liquid Cooling (4 fans dedicated to processor)
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Best solution

a b Î Nvidia
a c 77 U Graphics card
May 9, 2014 3:02:55 PM

Admittedly I don't know enough about rendering programs and how well they work with SLI (how well the load is split between the two), but I do know that you should not be having these problems on the game side of things.

It's a very tricky one really, as of the people you read that have issues with SLI not working (even when turned on in the control panel), it seems like there are 1001 different causes and subsequent solutions.

Things to try, based on what I've read/seen (some of these are rather generic pieces of advice):


    Complete uninstall (with driver sweeper or similar ideally) and re-installation of the drivers (you'll likely have to re-enable SLI in the control panel after re-installation).
    Trying some of the older drivers.
    Swapping the positions of the two 760s
    Trying a different SLI bridge
    If your PSU has additional unused 6/8 pin PCIe power connectors, try a different combination to power the 760s (odd one, but I've heard of at least one person who had identical issues tracking the problem down to a single wonky power cable to one of the cards).


That's all I can come up with at the moment, I'm afraid. Hopefully someone else will add some input to the discussion if none of those are of any use.
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May 9, 2014 3:06:42 PM

Thanks, I'll try the alternatives and see what happens. Hopefully that will solve whatever is causing the problems on the system.
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a b U Graphics card
May 10, 2014 10:27:44 AM

What games does it happen with? I know some games just donty work with SLI like Company of Heroes 2 for example. So I guess the same could be true for the rendering programs.
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a b U Graphics card
May 12, 2014 7:57:19 AM

Presler said:
Check each card individually if they are catching up with full load that way?


+1 if one card is still low by it self then you know what the issue is.
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