Zotac AMP 480gtx wont work in x8 mode

little jay

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May 11, 2012
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Hi i have a zotac 480 and recently i got a second hand msi 480 so i could sli but i couldn't get it too work the zotac wouldn't give me a signal in the first pci-e slot and when it was in the second slot it wasn't being detected at all in windows.

the zotac will only work in the first pci-e slot with nothing in the second the msi card will work in any slot and with another card in the other slot.

i have an old 8800gtx and when i put that in with the msi card it works and they both show up in windows but when i try it with the zotac it doesn't give me a signal but the 8800 will.

I've tried these cards in 3 other motherboards all that are 1 x16 mode or x8 sli so its not the boards i tried posting on the zotac forums and didn't get much help i also tried zotac live support and there they told me they only guarantee the card to work in x16.

i doubt it there's any way to fix this other then maybe getting a mobo that has x16 sli but i just got this mobo 4 days ago i'm all outta idea so if any one could help me i'd appreciate.

msi z77a-gd55 - 3570k - Corsair 1200ax - msi 480 - zotac 480
 
Yea same here matto. I checked his board and both are x16 except for the one at x4... Could either be a bad board, or your board may not even support SLI... which a intel board not natively supporting SLI.... never heard of it.
 
This one definitely supports SLI. Is the bridge connector in place?

Not to scare you, but I went through a bunch of troubleshooting steps and component RMA's before I figured out I had a defective MSI motherboard.
 
Very good, Mal. I'm holding out for the MSI TF IV GK110.

little jay, hopefully you are updating your BIOS to version 1.3. I bought a defective MSI motherboard, returned it, and received a defective MSI replacement motherboard. It was a headache, so much, that I went out and got another new one, rather than return the second one again (which I still have if anyone wants it P55-GD65).
 

little jay

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May 11, 2012
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I thought this board was two x16 and a 4 too but if i put the msi card in the 2nd slot gpu-z says its running at x8 and this review here says its sli x8 http://www.techpowerup.com/160054/MSI-Z77A-GD55-Motherboard-Pictured.html there's nothing wrong with this board i've tested this in a few motherboards the zotac just wont work in x8.

I have the latest bios on the board and its still the same i've even tried flashing the cards bios but nothing works.
 

little jay

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May 11, 2012
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I suspect user error, but yes RMA is a easy way out :p

what user error can there be the card wont work in the 2nd pci-e slot that is x8 and the card wont work in the 1st pci-e slot in sli when its running at x8 theres nothing i can do i've tested it in 4 broads the msi card works in both slots and with the 8800gtx in the 2nd slot for physx.

I cant find a zotac RMA page for the uk any one got a link ?
 

little jay

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May 11, 2012
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Would you say that a video card not working in a pci-e x16 slot running at x8 is a fault i mean whats the point in the sli ready sticker if it wont work in x8 most broads run sli at x8/x8 and say sli ready.
 

little jay

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May 11, 2012
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i'm away from that computer right now but i have the zotac 480 i'll upload some pictures later i'm playing Arma 2 DayZ right now
 
Not that it makes too much difference at this point, but I'm having a hard time figuring out why you think the card is running in an x8 slot. Your board has two full x16 slots and 1 x8 slot. If you are using the x16 slots, you are getting the full x16 bandwidth. In this photo, the only x8 slot on the board is the left most blue PCIe slot. It just seems like focusing on x8 vs x16 is not really getting at the heart of the problem.
2012013006595122.jpg

Quote:
"Expansion slots include 3 PCI-e Gen 3 out of which two offer Full x16 bandwidth while one is x8 as seen from the back of the board allowing CrossFireX and SLI GPU support, 4 PCI-e x1 3.0 slots are also included."
http://wccftech.com/msi-z77agd65-motherboard-pictured-detailed/


msi-z77a-gd55_slots.jpg

Quote:
"MSI use an all PCIe slot configuration on this board and it is PCIe Gen3 capable which ensures that we can run two high spec graphics cards, full PCIe speed, on the board at one time (SLI and CF supported). The exact layout is 1x, 16x, 1x, 1x, 16x, 1x and 8x."
http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews/1469/pg6/intel-z77-chipset-launch-roundup-msi-z77a-gd55.html
 

little jay

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May 11, 2012
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well like i said when i put the msi card in pci-e slot 2 gpu-Z says its running at x8 i'll upload screenshot of this tomorrow also you can turn PCIe Gen3 on and off in the bios and i've tried it with both.

When i bought this broad i thought is was two x16 doesn't say use slot 1 for best performance like a lot of broads that only have one x16