Elusive SLI option

[mrcirillo]

I've got an issue switching my system in and out of SLI. I have a pair of 580's. I really don't both of these cards when I'm playing CS:S or Starcraft. However, I do need them when I play Crysis, Stalker, etc.. so the ability to enable/disable SLI would be nice. (Trying to save on the power bill, seeing as I'm already blasting my i7 with watts)

The problem is that the "SLI and PhysX" option in nVidia's control panel seems to come and go as it pleases. I can enable SLI immediately after reinstalling drivers. After I restart my PC the option will disappear even though the cards still seem to be running in a linked configuration.

Anyone have any info on this? I'm using nVidia's latest (v266.58) and there doesn't seem to be any beta drivers out. Maybe I should just wait for another release.

Le Rig:
ASUS Sabertooth x58
i7-950 @ 4.5GHz (watercooled - EK HF Supreme)
6GB Corsair Dominator 1600MHz
2x Zotac GTX580 (both watercooled - EK blocks)
Creative X-Fi Titanium HD (watercooled... just kidding)
Corsair C300 on SATA III
Cougar CMX1000 watt
All stuffed in a Lian-Li PC-B10. External rad.
Win7 Pro x64

 

[omnisome]

Have you even hit the "Apply" button at the bottom-right corner of the window?

 

[mrcirillo]

Yes. I hit the apply button.

Just an update: I flashed a new BIOS and installed some new chipset drivers and the SLI option reappeared. Also enabled video re-post on system resume in case any power saving features were getting in the way. Hopefully that's the end of it.

 

[wolfram23]

Yeah sometimes it's the motherboard's issue. If it happens again try running FurMark or even just a game that supports SLI and see if it's working (check GPUZ or MSI Afterburner for usage).

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Just to give ya an idea and meybe put ya mind at ease..... that 2nd card saves you 239 watts when not used.

240 watts x 16 hrs / week x 4 weeks per month X $0.10 /1000 watts = $1.53 per month