How To: Enable SLI on pre-i7/i5 hardware

[johnspack]

Yep, warhead works great in sli. I've got my win7 x64 install back up, and even prey works in sli now! Seems win7 is a bit more compatible with this sli patch.

 

[johnspack]

Cards not quite clocked as high as I'd like yet, Vantage results on my p5q-deluxe with sli gtx260s:

 

[eskaryo]

doesn't the p55 already offer SLI by default? or perhaps just the UD3 doesn't allow it? (bios locked option or something?)

P55 does support SLI, but you have to use a certified board. You are probably correct that there is a bios lock which is holding me back... I've tried about everything I can think to do, short of flashing my board with another Gigabyte board's bios. By that point I may as well just buy a new board or graphics card instead of playing Russian roulette with my motherboard.

Newegg had a deal for an MSI Big Bang with a 5770 for free... should have nabbed that and run triple card legit

 

[johnspack]

Still finding issues using this sli patch. I'm mostly running my gtx280 with a gtx260 as a backup(for physx and folding). Wish I had gotten a real sli board!

 

[ken2cky]

Still finding issues using this sli patch. I'm mostly running my gtx280 with a gtx260 as a backup(for physx and folding). Wish I had gotten a real sli board!

Still crashes in games? Which games?

 

[johnspack]

Oddly enough, crashing and locking up my computer as soon as I try to start Warhead. Same install runs perfect on my gtx280.(I went back after swapping 280 back in) May have to try some other things, such as even reinstalling warhead with the sli cards in, and maybe flashing one card to stock speeds so I don't have to set clock speeds everytime I reboot. I'm probably just being too impatient!

 

[ken2cky]

I read on another forum that game crashes are most of the time caused by an overclock instability. So try putting both 260s @stock and lower your CPU OC (put only 400FSB, so 3,6Ghz). Tell me if that helps.

 

[Ross211]

johnspack,

Just wanted to say a big thank you for posting all of your results.

I will be trying this out on my GA-EP45-UD3P when I get my XFX GTX 260 next week. I need to snag up an SLI bridge in between now and then too ;-P

I'll post back with my results after I try.

 

[johnspack]

Okay, tried again, and this time every game I throw at it so far is working. I learned you should add the game exe to your sli profile for one. Warhead and orig Crysis work perfect under sli now. Had to rename my warhead exe from crysis64 to crysiswars64. Still no dual monitor support under xp64, but I just have to disable sli in the cp to get them back, no biggie, as I only game on my 24" anyways.

 

[johnspack]

Ha ha, this is funny, just for the heck of it I fired up Painkiller Overdose in sli, at 1920x1200 all high I'm maintaining 500-700 fps! Looks like my gtx280 goes to my folding server now, these sli 260s kick it's butt!
Edit: oh and I have bad eyesight, I stay within a couple of feet of my monitor, I'm very aware of stuttering ect when I'm gaming. There is NO sli stuttering on GTX cards! Simple. Period.
Edit2: I have doing all this testing under XP64, and Win7 64. XP64 works perfect with slipatch for anyone interested.

 

[ken2cky]

Edit: oh and I have bad eyesight, I stay within a couple of feet of my monitor, I'm very aware of stuttering ect when I'm gaming. There is NO sli stuttering on GTX cards! Simple. Period.

Gonna get me another GTX 260

 

[Ross211]

I got a couple of results to give for GTX 260 SLI with a P45 (Check my specs for system). Please note that I do not have an SLI bridge yet for these cards. I just ordered one from eBay.

Thank you so much to whoever brought SLI Patch to us

Crysis Benchmark Tool 1.5 Comparison

GTX 260 @ custom config 32 bit dx 10 vsync off
5/6/2010 9:37:06 PM - Vista 64
Beginning Run #1 on Map-island, Demo-benchmark_gpu
DX10 1920x1080, AA=No AA, Vsync=Disabled, 32 bit test, FullScreen
Demo Loops=3, Time Of Day= 9
Global Game Quality: High

Custom Cvars:
r_UsePOM = 1
r_sunshafts = 1
e_water_ocean_fft = 1
q_Renderer = 3
r_colorgrading = 1

==============================================================
TimeDemo Play Started , (Total Frames: 2000, Recorded Time: 111.86s)
!TimeDemo Run 0 Finished.
Play Time: 58.73s, Average FPS: 34.05
Min FPS: 25.95 at frame 1966, Max FPS: 44.09 at frame 1017
Average Tri/Sec: -29636480, Tri/Frame: -870305
Recorded/Played Tris ratio: -1.05
!TimeDemo Run 1 Finished.
Play Time: 52.22s, Average FPS: 38.30
Min FPS: 25.95 at frame 1966, Max FPS: 49.22 at frame 100
Average Tri/Sec: -32811222, Tri/Frame: -856636
Recorded/Played Tris ratio: -1.07
!TimeDemo Run 2 Finished.
Play Time: 52.31s, Average FPS: 38.24
Min FPS: 25.40 at frame 1957, Max FPS: 49.95 at frame 68
Average Tri/Sec: -32730124, Tri/Frame: -856009
Recorded/Played Tris ratio: -1.07
TimeDemo Play Ended, (3 Runs Performed)
==============================================================

Beginning Run #2 on Map-island, Demo-benchmark_gpu
DX10 1920x1080, AA=No AA, Vsync=Disabled, 32 bit test, FullScreen
Demo Loops=3, Time Of Day= 9
Global Game Quality: High

Custom Cvars:
r_UsePOM = 1
r_sunshafts = 1
e_water_ocean_fft = 1
q_Renderer = 3
r_colorgrading = 1

==============================================================
TimeDemo Play Started , (Total Frames: 2000, Recorded Time: 111.86s)
!TimeDemo Run 0 Finished.
Play Time: 56.68s, Average FPS: 35.29
Min FPS: 25.62 at frame 1964, Max FPS: 46.17 at frame 1007
Average Tri/Sec: -30707484, Tri/Frame: -870213
Recorded/Played Tris ratio: -1.05
!TimeDemo Run 1 Finished.
Play Time: 51.97s, Average FPS: 38.48
Min FPS: 25.62 at frame 1964, Max FPS: 50.14 at frame 98
Average Tri/Sec: -32982864, Tri/Frame: -857074
Recorded/Played Tris ratio: -1.07
!TimeDemo Run 2 Finished.
Play Time: 52.00s, Average FPS: 38.47
Min FPS: 25.62 at frame 1964, Max FPS: 50.35 at frame 75
Average Tri/Sec: -32936580, Tri/Frame: -856270
Recorded/Played Tris ratio: -1.07
TimeDemo Play Ended, (3 Runs Performed)
==============================================================

Completed All Tests

<><><><><><><><><><><><><>>--SUMMARY--<<><><><><><><><><><><><><>

2/19/2010 2:37:06 PM - Vista 64

Run #1- DX10 1920x1080 AA=No AA, 32 bit test, Quality: High ~~ Overall Average FPS: 38.27
Run #2- DX10 1920x1080 AA=No AA, 32 bit test, Quality: High ~~ Overall Average FPS: 38.475


GTX 260 @ custom config 32 bit dx 10 vsync off 3.8 Ghz SLI

5/6/2010 11:43:37 PM - Vista 64
Beginning Run #1 on Map-island, Demo-benchmark_gpu
DX10 1920x1080, AA=No AA, Vsync=Disabled, 32 bit test, FullScreen
Demo Loops=3, Time Of Day= 9
Global Game Quality: High

Custom Cvars:
r_UsePOM = 1
r_sunshafts = 1
e_water_ocean_fft = 1
q_Renderer = 3
r_colorgrading = 1

==============================================================
TimeDemo Play Started , (Total Frames: 2000, Recorded Time: 111.86s)
!TimeDemo Run 0 Finished.
Play Time: 45.42s, Average FPS: 44.03
Min FPS: 34.56 at frame 64, Max FPS: 58.49 at frame 901
Average Tri/Sec: -27001900, Tri/Frame: -613252
Recorded/Played Tris ratio: -1.49
!TimeDemo Run 1 Finished.
Play Time: 38.22s, Average FPS: 52.33
Min FPS: 34.56 at frame 64, Max FPS: 68.46 at frame 112
Average Tri/Sec: -31956658, Tri/Frame: -610700
Recorded/Played Tris ratio: -1.50
!TimeDemo Run 2 Finished.
Play Time: 38.30s, Average FPS: 52.22
Min FPS: 34.56 at frame 64, Max FPS: 69.36 at frame 106
Average Tri/Sec: -31840546, Tri/Frame: -609715
Recorded/Played Tris ratio: -1.50
TimeDemo Play Ended, (3 Runs Performed)
==============================================================

Beginning Run #2 on Map-island, Demo-benchmark_gpu
DX10 1920x1080, AA=No AA, Vsync=Disabled, 32 bit test, FullScreen
Demo Loops=3, Time Of Day= 9
Global Game Quality: High

Custom Cvars:
r_UsePOM = 1
r_sunshafts = 1
e_water_ocean_fft = 1
q_Renderer = 3
r_colorgrading = 1

==============================================================
TimeDemo Play Started , (Total Frames: 2000, Recorded Time: 111.86s)
!TimeDemo Run 0 Finished.
Play Time: 43.93s, Average FPS: 45.53
Min FPS: 34.83 at frame 161, Max FPS: 60.27 at frame 980
Average Tri/Sec: -27962764, Tri/Frame: -614220
Recorded/Played Tris ratio: -1.49
!TimeDemo Run 1 Finished.
Play Time: 38.26s, Average FPS: 52.28
Min FPS: 34.83 at frame 161, Max FPS: 70.09 at frame 84
Average Tri/Sec: -31960962, Tri/Frame: -611339
Recorded/Played Tris ratio: -1.50
!TimeDemo Run 2 Finished.
Play Time: 37.79s, Average FPS: 52.93
Min FPS: 34.83 at frame 161, Max FPS: 70.21 at frame 83
Average Tri/Sec: -32306398, Tri/Frame: -610394
Recorded/Played Tris ratio: -1.50
TimeDemo Play Ended, (3 Runs Performed)
==============================================================

Completed All Tests

<><><><><><><><><><><><><>>--SUMMARY--<<><><><><><><><><><><><><>

5/6/2010 11:43:37 PM - Vista 64

Run #1- DX10 1920x1080 AA=No AA, 32 bit test, Quality: High ~~ Overall Average FPS: 52.275
Run #2- DX10 1920x1080 AA=No AA, 32 bit test, Quality: High ~~ Overall Average FPS: 52.605




P19100 3DMarks in 3D Mark Vantage

3D Mark Vantage Compare Link - http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dmv=2158927

 

[Ross211]

 

[ken2cky]

Ross211, did you experience any crash or micro-stuttering in other games?

 

[Ross211]

No, I just played a good session of Bad Company 2 and I had no issues at all. My framerate in the game seemed to be better and it was more consistent.

I'll definitely post back more results whenever I get my SLI bridge. I'm sure its going to help a lot.

 

[Justmeez]

Hey Ross211 I was wondering what temps your getting with those 260's in BFBC2(also what fan setting) and what do you get for idles?

Im running:
Q9550@ 4.0
Gskill 2x2gb 1066
2x Evga Gtx275@stock
Corsair 750w psu

My lowest card is idling at about 58 while my top is idling at 44 100% fan.
Need to figure out a way to better cool the lower card.

 

[johnspack]

Right now my top 260 is idling at 47c and the bottom one at 43c. Top one is a 65nm and the bottom is a 55nm, so makes sense. Don't usually see much higher than 64c when gaming, just barely hit 68c while folding. Just pulled a 21.5k in vantage, think I'll try for 22k!

 

[Justmeez]

Not too bad I hope.

 

[Ross211]

Hey Ross211 I was wondering what temps your getting with those 260's in BFBC2(also what fan setting) and what do you get for idles?

Im running:
Q9550@ 4.0
Gskill 2x2gb 1066
2x Evga Gtx275@stock
Corsair 750w psu

My lowest card is idling at about 58 while my top is idling at 44 100% fan.
Need to figure out a way to better cool the lower card.

My cards idle around 48-50 C (each - I have my XFX 55nm on top and EVGA 65nm on bottom). The print screen I took first was on a warm day and I haven't turned on my AC yet, so ambient temp was definitely higher then.

I use MSI Afterburner to configure my cards. I love the way Unwinder made Afterburner so easy to make an aggressive fan profile. I really don't understand why vendors don't use an appropriate fan speed according to temperature by default in the cards BIOS.

Anyways, with MSI Afterburner, I use this setting for both my cards -

I'm really looking forward to getting this SLI bridge. Hopefully it makes a huge difference

 

[TiN]

Anybody tried with fermbis?

 

[Ross211]

The SLI Bridge has helped out quite a bit. Here is updated results -


P21579 3DMarks - http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dmv=2170495

My little helper

 

[Mussels]

pew pew pew, firin mah dog lazors.

you should use that as your avatar.

 

[Ross211]

hahahah

 

[johnspack]

Ross211, almost exact same score as I get with my 260s, check the new Vantage thread...!

 

[johnspack]

That's it, I got to hunt down a used 280. Daaaammm, sli 260s in Grid at 1920x1200, all high, 16x csaa, MIN fps 100... max 170. Scales or what!! I think sli 280s probably = 1 480.
Edit: I use high quality driver settings, multisampling enabled ect. I'll throw super at it next...