I recently just bought two new Gigabyte G1 Gaming GTX 960's to go in my EVGA X58 SLI LE [141-BL-E757].
The issue is when I have both cards installed, 1 in the PCI-e 2.0 x16 slot, and 1 in the PCI-e 2.0 x8 /or PCI-e 2.0 x4 slot and power on, the PC passes POST but won't load Windows. I don't even get the Loading Windows screen. It then reboots, beeps again passing POST and keeps doing this - looping infinitely. The BIOS does detect that I have 2 GPU's on the initial loading screen when it's detecting your hardware, but won't load Windows. I don't see any options in the BIOS to enable SLI, and I've had two graphics cards in this running SLI before in the past (4+ years).
Troubleshooting:
1. I've tried each card solo in both the PCI-e x16 and the PCI-e x8 slots, and I didn't have any issues, so I know both cards work as well as both PCI-e x16 and PCI-e x8 slots.
1a. When trying each card solo, I tested each card with a different set of 12v rails from my PSU to make sure nothing was wrong with the PSU 12v rails or the PCI-e 6pin connectors; no issues.
2. I've tried every combination of using both GPUs in the PCI-e x16, PCI-e x8, and PCI-e x4 slots. **Reboot Loop**
3. I've tried swapping the PCI-e 6pin power cords with each of the cards (with both cards installed). **Reboot Loop**
4. I've tried uninstalling/deleting the drivers for the GTX 960 back to Windows default. Shutdown. Installed the 2nd GPU and rebooted. **Reboot Loop**
5. I've tried disabling OC Recovery in the BIOS. It's unlikely to be this, but read another forum suggesting to try this. I'm not over-clocking at the moment, so that did not work either. **Reboot Loop**
6. I flashed the BIOS on my motherboard. **Reboot Loop**
7. I updated the chipset drivers on my motherboard. **Reboot Loop**
8. I reset the CMOS chip. **Reboot Loop**
9. I tried with and without the SLI bridge installed. **Reboot Loop**
10. I disconnected 3 of my HDD thinking it might be a power issue with the PSU. **Reboot Loop**
11. I tried both cards installed, but only 2x PCI-e 6pin connectors connected to 1 of the GPUs, and vice versa. **Reboot Loop**
12. I also tried both cards in another PC with very similar motherboard specs (PCI-e x16 and PCI-e x8 slots), and the PC booted up, installed the drivers, and enabled SLI. No issues! The only major difference was the PSU. The PSU in that PC was a 1200w 80+ Gold Certified.
The results of 2. through 11. all resulted in the same infinite reboot loop described above.
I've tried everything I can think of aside from re-formatting my PC, which I don't think is necessary. I'm left to think that it's my PSU not putting out enough power, or it's my motherboard. I'm leaning more towards the PSU since my motherboard is 3-way SLI ready and PCIe 3.0 is backwards compatible with PCIe 2.0, and being able to run each card solo in each slot proves that. I've read a ton of forums saying 600w-850w PSUs are plenty to run a GTX 960. However another reason I'm leaning towards the PSU is because peak performance of my 12v rails is spec'd at 18Amps. I read that the GTX 960 requires at least 20Amps on the 12v rail. Is this true? Any suggestions as to what is causing this to happen? Is either my PSU or motherboard incompatible with my new Gigabyte G1 Gaming GTX 960's?
Here are my specs:
4 x 120mm Fan
3 x 230mm Fan
1 x 140mm Fan
1x DvD Drive
1x DvD-RW Drive
[strike]1x 3 Speed Fan Controller + LED Control[/strike]
4x Internal Sata HDD (2x 2TB, 1x 1TB, 1x250GB)
2x External USB HDD (1x 6TB, 1x250GB)
6GB RAM (3x2GB) & 12GB RAM (3x4GB) Total: 18GB
Intel Core i7 2.6Ghz
Windows 7 64bit
2x Gigabyte G1 Gaming GTX 960
EVGA X58 SLI LE Motherboard
[strike]Antec Power Quattro 1000w PSU 80+ Bronze[/strike]
EVGA 120-G2 80 Plus Gold 1300W PSU
02/08/2016 - Edit:
My assumption that it was the PSU has been proven wrong. I bought a new EVGA 120-G2 80 Plus Gold 1300W PSU, and the issue is still happening. I've now got a new motherboard (and CPU) added to my cart on Newegg however I'd prefer to not have to buy a new motherboard if at all possible because this means getting a new CPU as well since apparently the LGA1366 CPU socket type is no longer supported/manufactured.
The issue is when I have both cards installed, 1 in the PCI-e 2.0 x16 slot, and 1 in the PCI-e 2.0 x8 /or PCI-e 2.0 x4 slot and power on, the PC passes POST but won't load Windows. I don't even get the Loading Windows screen. It then reboots, beeps again passing POST and keeps doing this - looping infinitely. The BIOS does detect that I have 2 GPU's on the initial loading screen when it's detecting your hardware, but won't load Windows. I don't see any options in the BIOS to enable SLI, and I've had two graphics cards in this running SLI before in the past (4+ years).
Troubleshooting:
1. I've tried each card solo in both the PCI-e x16 and the PCI-e x8 slots, and I didn't have any issues, so I know both cards work as well as both PCI-e x16 and PCI-e x8 slots.
1a. When trying each card solo, I tested each card with a different set of 12v rails from my PSU to make sure nothing was wrong with the PSU 12v rails or the PCI-e 6pin connectors; no issues.
2. I've tried every combination of using both GPUs in the PCI-e x16, PCI-e x8, and PCI-e x4 slots. **Reboot Loop**
3. I've tried swapping the PCI-e 6pin power cords with each of the cards (with both cards installed). **Reboot Loop**
4. I've tried uninstalling/deleting the drivers for the GTX 960 back to Windows default. Shutdown. Installed the 2nd GPU and rebooted. **Reboot Loop**
5. I've tried disabling OC Recovery in the BIOS. It's unlikely to be this, but read another forum suggesting to try this. I'm not over-clocking at the moment, so that did not work either. **Reboot Loop**
6. I flashed the BIOS on my motherboard. **Reboot Loop**
7. I updated the chipset drivers on my motherboard. **Reboot Loop**
8. I reset the CMOS chip. **Reboot Loop**
9. I tried with and without the SLI bridge installed. **Reboot Loop**
10. I disconnected 3 of my HDD thinking it might be a power issue with the PSU. **Reboot Loop**
11. I tried both cards installed, but only 2x PCI-e 6pin connectors connected to 1 of the GPUs, and vice versa. **Reboot Loop**
12. I also tried both cards in another PC with very similar motherboard specs (PCI-e x16 and PCI-e x8 slots), and the PC booted up, installed the drivers, and enabled SLI. No issues! The only major difference was the PSU. The PSU in that PC was a 1200w 80+ Gold Certified.
The results of 2. through 11. all resulted in the same infinite reboot loop described above.
I've tried everything I can think of aside from re-formatting my PC, which I don't think is necessary. I'm left to think that it's my PSU not putting out enough power, or it's my motherboard. I'm leaning more towards the PSU since my motherboard is 3-way SLI ready and PCIe 3.0 is backwards compatible with PCIe 2.0, and being able to run each card solo in each slot proves that. I've read a ton of forums saying 600w-850w PSUs are plenty to run a GTX 960. However another reason I'm leaning towards the PSU is because peak performance of my 12v rails is spec'd at 18Amps. I read that the GTX 960 requires at least 20Amps on the 12v rail. Is this true? Any suggestions as to what is causing this to happen? Is either my PSU or motherboard incompatible with my new Gigabyte G1 Gaming GTX 960's?
Here are my specs:
4 x 120mm Fan
3 x 230mm Fan
1 x 140mm Fan
1x DvD Drive
1x DvD-RW Drive
[strike]1x 3 Speed Fan Controller + LED Control[/strike]
4x Internal Sata HDD (2x 2TB, 1x 1TB, 1x250GB)
2x External USB HDD (1x 6TB, 1x250GB)
6GB RAM (3x2GB) & 12GB RAM (3x4GB) Total: 18GB
Intel Core i7 2.6Ghz
Windows 7 64bit
2x Gigabyte G1 Gaming GTX 960
EVGA X58 SLI LE Motherboard
[strike]Antec Power Quattro 1000w PSU 80+ Bronze[/strike]
EVGA 120-G2 80 Plus Gold 1300W PSU
02/08/2016 - Edit:
My assumption that it was the PSU has been proven wrong. I bought a new EVGA 120-G2 80 Plus Gold 1300W PSU, and the issue is still happening. I've now got a new motherboard (and CPU) added to my cart on Newegg however I'd prefer to not have to buy a new motherboard if at all possible because this means getting a new CPU as well since apparently the LGA1366 CPU socket type is no longer supported/manufactured.
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