Will SLI work with this setup?

ParaNymph2858 · Jun 21, 2018

Hello everyone,

Wanted to ask about a problem I have with my SLI setup. I have GA-Z87X-OC Motherboard and two GTX 970s. The issue is I also have the NOCTUA NH-D15, so I'm limited in terms of PCIE slots I can use.

I cannot use the first slot because it is too close to the cooler and the card will simply not fit. So I decided to connect to cards into the slots 2 (PCIEX4_1) and 3 (PCIEX8). I connected them via the bridge supplied with the motherboard.

I cannot get NVIDIA control panel to recognize SLI option, but the two cards are recognized just separately.

My question is, will this kind of setup work in these slots? Is there anything I can do?

Thank you very much for your answers.

Mousemonkey · Jun 21, 2018

SLi will only work if both cards are in the PCIe x8 or x16 slots that the motherboard manual states they should be in, Sli will not work if one of the cards is in an x4 slot.

ParaNymph2858 · Jun 21, 2018

Okay, but the board is advertised to handle 4 cards connected at once. Is it at least possible to change some settings in BIOS for this? Or am I totally out of luck for this one?

Mousemonkey · Jun 21, 2018

Running four cards at the same time and SLi'ing two or more cards is not the same thing. I have the same CPU cooler as you and have no problems with SLi'ing my GTX970's so why don't yours fit?

iamacow · Jun 21, 2018

SLI does not work in a 4x slot. You must use 8x slots are above.

ParaNymph2858 · Jun 21, 2018

As I remember the first slot is partially covered by the fan even if it is few mm, will check this when I get home, however I was afraid that it might do some damage to the card if I try to put it in.

Mousemonkey · Jun 21, 2018

How is the cooler orientated?

rcald2000 · Jun 21, 2018

ParaNymph2858 What is the precise manufacturer and model of both of your GTX 970's? I ask because if both are EVGA, but different models, there is a known SLI incompatibility between the blower / ACX / SSC & FTW models: https://www.evga.com/support/faq/afmviewfaq.aspx?faqid=59534

RobCrezz · Jun 21, 2018

ParaNymph2858 :

Its prob referring to Quad SLI in the sense of two dual GPU cards.

But yeah, you really need to use the x16 and x8 slots.

ParaNymph2858 · Jun 21, 2018

I have made it so the first card is connected into X16 second into X8 connected via SLI bridge still do not have the option of SLI, reinstalled the drivers. Tried a different bridge same result.... any other ideas?

rcald2000 · Jun 21, 2018

ParaNymph2858 Yes, I have a few other troubleshooting questions:

Confirm that you have connected both the 24 pin and the 8 pin PCIe connectors from the power supply to the motherboard (motherboard stability)
Confirm that you have connected the 6 pin PCIe connector from the power supply to the motherboard (recommended by Gigabyte for two or more GPUs).

State the manufacturer and model numbers of both GPUs, as well as the mfg and model of the power supply itself.

When you state "the two cards are recognized just separately", do you mean that they are both installed on the motherboard simultaneously and you see both cards? If so, where do you see them? Device manager or Nvidia control panel. If in control panel, and you have confirmed the power connections that I have listed above, then remove the drivers one more time with DDU (https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/display-driver-uninstaller/) and reinstall latest drivers from Nvidia's website, while both cards are installed.

Addendum: Could you please take two pictures showing the inside of your build, upload to imgur and share the links here? I'd like to see the entire board, while viewing all of it's PCIe connectors, as well as the cables that are plugged into the GPUs themselves.

Mousemonkey · Jun 21, 2018

Also check the manual to see what slots you should be using and wether you have to change any settings in the BIOS to use those slots.

ParaNymph2858 · Jun 21, 2018

These are the photos, one shot of connectors from PSU, another of connectors leading to GRACA and one profile shot, if more is needed please let me know:

https://imgur.com/a/K0PmGnI
https://imgur.com/a/z9iPq4f
https://imgur.com/a/Cze0LPH

Note on the second photo notice the connector is loose, I fixed it but issue was not solved.

PSU is: Seasonic X-750 ( SS-750KM3 F3 ), 750W, Active PFC F3 80+ GOLD
GRACA is 2x GTX-970-GAMING-4G from MSI

I can see cards both in device manager and in NVIDIA Control Panel, just the option for enhanced performance is missing. In the manual of my board it says in order to make 2-way SLI connect card 1 to x16 and card 2 to x8 (slots 1 and 3) and connect the bridge. Nothing about any BIOS settings I could find.

Tried DDU did not worked.

Thanks for the help.

rcald2000 · Jun 21, 2018

I can see from your PSU photo, that you're currently utilizing three 8 pin connectors, and one 6 pin connector. Therefore I presume that you have the motherboard's 8 pin and 6 pin connectors attached to the PSU, along with the two GPUs. I'm honestly out of ideas. I recommend contacting Gigabyte support: (626) 854-9338 opt 3

Whatever they say, I'd appreciate if you shared your experience here in this thread.

ParaNymph2858 · Jun 21, 2018

I solved it. There was a Wireless card adapter connected in PCIE port 2, I changed it to port 4 and now SLI is working.

Thank you for all of your help.

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