P8P67 SLI problem

[martynpops]

Hi there im in need of a little help people !

1. Me and my bro upgraded to new computers back in march we have the same systems apart from CPU and SSD i choose to not get a new monitor and put all my money in to the system but my bro got a new BenQ which can get 1920 x 1080 and im still using 1280 x 1024.

2. We both ran Mafia 2 benchmark and he gets over 100fps at a resolution of 1920 x 1080 and i get about 55 - 60 fps at the lower resolution of 1280 x 1024 now i thought this could be the monitor holding SLI back but ive recently been told this would'nt be the case.

3. I have tested both MSI 560Ti's on their own in the system and i get the same 55 - 60 fps that id expect to get from one card so in SLI ive been getting NOTHING !

4. Now ive put the cards back in the system refuses to see the 2nd card ive uninstalled drivers and reinstalled them to no avail would anyone have any idea what this could be ?? would a reformat be an idea ?? or could my motherboard be screwed ?

Hope some of you's can help as id really like to get this sorted !

Thanks peeps !

 

[itzdanielp]

What are the specs of your system?

MB, RAM, GPU, OS, CPU....

 

[martynpops]

MB = ASUS P8P67 Pro
RAM = CORSAIR VENGENCE 1600mhz
GPU 2 x MSI 560 Ti's 1gb
OS = Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit
CPU = Intel I7 2600K

 

[jaquith]

1. Lower resolutions to a point generate higher frame rates.
2. Depends on the Details, AA, DirectX, Physics and if looking at High/Low or average frame rates. Apples to Apples comparisons.
3. Make certain SLI is enabled in the nVidia Control panel and the SLI bridge is connected.
4. Test the GTX 560 individually in the top PCIe slot, AND then in the second PCIe slot to make certain BOTH the GPUs AND PCIe slots are working.

 

[itzdanielp]

1. Lower resolutions to a point generate higher frame rates.
2. Depends on the Details, AA, DirectX, Physics and if looking at High/Low or average frame rates. Apples to Apples comparisons.
3. Make certain SLI is enabled in the nVidia Control panel and the SLI bridge is connected.
4. Test the GTX 560 individually in the top PCIe slot, AND then in the second PCIe slot to make certain BOTH the GPUs AND PCIe slots are working.

The confusing part is that his *lower* resolution is getting lower FPS than his brothers Higher Res, lower powered computer.

 

[martynpops]

ive just looked at the manual for the ASUS P8P67 Pro 3.0 Rev and it has 3 PCI E slots blue grey and black and now im wondering if ive got them in the right slots ! ive got blue and grey populated ! Would either of you 2 know if this is correct ?

Nvidia Control panal does'nt even give me the option for sli it can only see one card ! SLI bridge is 100% connected !

Testing in the 2nd slot is this ok to do ? its not gonna cause any problems ?

 

[jaquith]

You use the Blue x16/x8 slot and the White x8 slot for x8/x8 SLI. The Black is not part to the 16 GPU PCIe lanes for the CPU, and is really meant for e.g. RAID Cards, PCIe SSD, etc.

 

[itzdanielp]

yes, testing the second slot is fine. It won't cause any problems.

Yes you want it in the Blue and Grey slots.

My steps would be....

Remove SLI link and boot with Card A in blue slot, verify in OS card is functioning properly.

Switch Card A with Card B in blue slot, again verify in OS

Remove Card B from blue slot, place Card A in grey slot, verify in OS

Switch Card A with Card B in Grey slot, verify in OS

if all those steps are working place Card A in blue, card B in grey, boot

download most recent certified nvidia drivers (280.xx) and reinstall

Go into the nvidia settings and see if both cards are showing up,.

 

[martynpops]

ahhhh cheers m8 ! just read that in the manual god this problem is sooo annoying ! get the feeling the 2nd PCIe (white) might be broken ! gonna test it with single card now !

 

[martynpops]

thank you both very much !! just tested the 2nd slot with a single card in it and was greeted by POST firing beeps at me and no signal to the monitor !!! id say thats a sure fire way of saying my white PCIe slot is DEAD ! this is the 2nd ASUS motherboard ive bought in my life and the 2nd to mess up !! i sooo shud have gone with gigabyte ! cant believe it !!

 

[itzdanielp]

Yep, it's a dead board

Strange since Asus is usually a great brand.

Gigabyte is a solid brand as well, better luck next time!

 

[martynpops]

cheers m8 !! now comes the fun having to drive down to bolton to get this replaced :S how the hell am i gonna live with out a comp for a few days !

 

[itzdanielp]

go ahead and use a single card in the blue slot until you can get a new MB.

 

[jaquith]

Just to make certain, some MOBO's won't run the 2nd PCIe for GPU -- re-install the SLI in both the top 2 PCIe slots to see if the 2nd GPU works in SLI now. In your manual on page 2-14 it shows 'Single VGA...' N/A.

For now it seems both GTX 560's work. So try re-seating and test the SLI again.

edit: On many MOBO's you can pick and choose the PCIe slots for the GPU and some MOBO's have PCIe switches -- yours doesn't. I should have popped open your manual.

 

[martynpops]

yeah will do ! just hope scan will replace this without a fuss !

 

[martynpops]

do you mean reinstall the nvidia drivers ?? the SLI drivers are in their drivers are'nt they ? am not missing SLI drivers here am i as ive just installed the nvidia 275.33 should i try updating to the latest just to make sure ? i have had this driver on the system btw !

 

[martynpops]

ahhh yes Jaquith i understand what you mean now !! 2nd slot is not designed to run a card on its own !! i'll try installing the driver again !

 

[martynpops]

reinstalled the drivers 280.26 and when i load up the nvidia control panel it only shows one card ! it does not offer any SLI choices at all !

 

[jaquith]

Borrow your brother's SLI bridge. I assume the monitor is connected to the top GPU.

So to my understanding that both GTX 560's work and were tested individually.

BIOS:
Initiate Graphic Adapter -> PEG/PCI

 

[martynpops]

ok i'll try that !! yeah both cards work individually in the top (blue) slot tried one of them in the 2nd slot and got nothing from it have;nt yet tried the other tho ! i'll check the bios now !

 

[martynpops]

yep bios set to PEG/ PCI

 

[jaquith]

Narrows it to SLI Bridge or MOBO, and again I assume the monitor is ONLY connected to the (TOP) GPU. Otherwise as a last ditch effort try an 'earlier' driver i.e. from the nVidia site or yuck the CD.

 

[martynpops]

yeah its only connected to the TOP GPU, would a dodgy SLI bridge make the 2nd card not show up in the device manager tho ?

 

[jaquith]

Download GPU-z -> http://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/ and see if it 'sees' the second GPU.

Note the pop-up tab in the lower-left:

 

[martynpops]

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looks like it does'nt see it at all !

has no other card in the drop down box on the left !