SLI with different cards

[XeroZen]

Here are the GPU-Z screenshots. i tried swapping the cards but got the same above mentioned results.

 

[oobymach]

Everything looks good, both same manufacturer and both same ram type. At this point I'm thinking the motherboard doesn't support sli, run cpuz and click on mainboard and take a screenshot please.

 

[XeroZen]

Cpu-Z screenshot
Motherboard Model-https://m.aliexpress.com/item/32941784993.html?trace=wwwdetail2mobilesitedetail&srcSns=Add%20to%20Firefox&tid=white_backgroup_101&tt=sns_Other&rdtUrl=https://www.aliexpress.com/item/329...&terminal_id=3bea0086e5fd45e9a778e6b77fd3ad4c

 

[P!nkpanther]

These no-name mobos usually lack an SLI certificate in BIOS, despite having the SLI logo printed on them.
So it's not surprising that SLI using the unmodded driver does not work.
However after patching, the SLI certification check is supposed to be bypassed.
So there must be something different in your case than in the case which has been tested by the creator of the patch.

You could try the old way of patching (1.7.1 with driver 388.71), as outlined in this post (start reading below the video):
https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/sli-with-different-cards.158907/post-3968942

 

[Pretentious]

Here are the GPU-Z screenshots. i tried swapping the cards but got the same above mentioned results.

I could be wrong but check the discussion that I had on page 117 and compare my screenshots to whatever you're seeing on your machine.

 

[XeroZen]

i tried the sli/crossfire test on gpu-z and found that the second gpu runs on pcie x16 3.0 @x16 1.1. Can this be the issue. I tried to compare the screenshots but mine was different. Both the gpu show the same location from the FileRepository. Even the certificate installed is perfectly correct.

These no-name mobos usually lack an SLI certificate in BIOS, despite having the SLI logo printed on them.
So it's not surprising that SLI using the unmodded driver does not work.
However after patching, the SLI certification check is supposed to be bypassed.
So there must be something different in your case than in the case which has been tested by the creator of the patch.

You could try the old way of patching (1.7.1 with driver 388.71), as outlined in this post (start reading below the video):
https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/sli-with-different-cards.158907/post-3968942

There are many new features such as low latency mode, Dxr,Dsr factors, etc which is not available on the old drivers

 

[Deleted member 185158]

i tried the sli/crossfire test on gpu-z and found that the second gpu runs on pcie x16 3.0 @x16 1.1. Can this be the issue. I tried to compare the screenshots but mine was different. Both the gpu show the same location from the FileRepository. Even the certificate installed is perfectly correct.


There are many new features such as low latency mode, Dxr,Dsr factors, etc which is not available on the old drivers

Curious why that board would have a PCI-E 3.0 in one slot but not the others.
As long as both cards are at 16x, shouldn't be an issue.
Would browse bios for any settings on the PCI-E.
You could try forcing the cards to 8x mode and see of SLI becomes available.

You really could use a cpu, mobo and memory upgrade. Don't say you can't afford it, you bought 2x 1070s.....

 

[P!nkpanther]

There are many new features such as low latency mode, Dxr,Dsr factors, etc which is not available on the old drivers

That's right (DSR is present though), but if SLI would work using the old driver, it would give you confirmation that the 4xx way of patching is not going to work with your system.
(And BTW, forget SLI if you care about low latency mode...)

You could try forcing the cards to 8x mode and see of SLI becomes available.

What I know is that to enable SLI, the driver does not check for actual PCIe speeds/modes used, but rather relies on fixed meta info about the PCIe slots.

Also it's normal that if a GPU sits idle, PCIe mode goes down to 1.1

 

[XeroZen]

I

Curious why that board would have a PCI-E 3.0 in one slot but not the others.
As long as both cards are at 16x, shouldn't be an issue.
Would browse bios for any settings on the PCI-E.
You could try forcing the cards to 8x mode and see of SLI becomes available.

You really could use a cpu, mobo and memory upgrade. Don't say you can't afford it, you bought 2x 1070s.....

I bought the cpu, mobo and ram new for cheap from aliexpress, got the 2 gtx 1070 used for quite less too. If i have to upgrade again just after i bought it, it wont do justice to the system, and it costs more to upgrade all three of them more than you think

 

[Deleted member 185158]

I

I bought the cpu, mobo and ram new for cheap from aliexpress, got the 2 gtx 1070 used for quite less too. If i have to upgrade again just after i bought it, it wont do justice to the system, and it costs more to upgrade all three of them more than you think

Well thats good you got the stuff cheap. But really it should have been....really really cheap. 20 bucks for the board and maybe 40 bucks for the cpu. Hopefully you didnt pay more than that....The cpu is 6 or 7 years dated, low frequency and ddr3. So the gpu sli isnt going to give you any gains even if you got it working.

That's right (DSR is present though), but if SLI would work using the old driver, it would give you confirmation that the 4xx way of patching is not going to work with your system.
(And BTW, forget SLI if you care about low latency mode...)

What I know is that to enable SLI, the driver does not check for actual PCIe speeds/modes used, but rather relies on fixed meta info about the PCIe slots.

Also it's normal that if a GPU sits idle, PCIe mode goes down to 1.1

Why would PCIE mode go to revision 1.1 while gpu is idle. Either the slots are 3.0 or not. The board is new enough for 3.0 in all slots. Its not or should not derate to some earlier revision just because the gpu is idle.
I dont have a set up like his, but my 580 sli works fine. All slots are reported as 3.0 at all times.

 

[P!nkpanther]

Why would PCIE mode go to revision 1.1 while gpu is idle. Either the slots are 3.0 or not. The board is new enough for 3.0 in all slots. Its not or should not derate to some earlier revision just because the gpu is idle.
I dont have a set up like his, but my 580 sli works fine. All slots are reported as 3.0 at all times.

PCIe mode throttles down to lower levels to save power when that GPU is idle.
Depending on whether your tool of choice actually reports meta info or real time data, you might see 3.0 all the time.
nVidia Inspector will report something like PCIe 3.0 @ 1.1 x8, which indicates 3.0 as a maximum, but throttled to 1.1 on idle.

 

[XeroZen]

Well thats good you got the stuff cheap. But really it should have been....really really cheap. 20 bucks for the board and maybe 40 bucks for the cpu. Hopefully you didnt pay more than that....The cpu is 6 or 7 years dated, low frequency and ddr3. So the gpu sli isnt going to give you any gains even if you got it working.



Why would PCIE mode go to revision 1.1 while gpu is idle. Either the slots are 3.0 or not. The board is new enough for 3.0 in all slots. Its not or should not derate to some earlier revision just because the gpu is idle.
I dont have a set up like his, but my 580 sli works fine. All slots are reported as 3.0 at all times.

If words would allow you would even say u can get an rtx 2080ti for just 10 bucks. No one is so dillusional to get it at the price u stated. Whether sli is gonna give more performance or not is going to be decided by me.

 

[Deleted member 185158]

If words would allow you would even say u can get an rtx 2080ti for just 10 bucks. No one is so dillusional to get it at the price u stated. Whether sli is gonna give more performance or not is going to be decided by me.

Well no. Its decided by the hardware and software used... Not you.
I said nothing on purchase price of your vga but rather the board and cpu which is a nice little bottle neck on your 3d adventures.

Just putting some facts down for you.
The game or bench must utilize the SLI. If not you may actually loose frame rates.
Thats why SLI for many is considered dead...

PCIe mode throttles down to lower levels to save power when that GPU is idle.
Depending on whether your tool of choice actually reports meta info or real time data, you might see 3.0 all the time.
nVidia Inspector will report something like PCIe 3.0 @ 1.1 x8, which indicates 3.0 as a maximum, but throttled to 1.1 on idle.

Ok thanks for that explaination.

 

[XeroZen]

Well no. Its decided by the hardware and software used... Not you.
I said nothing on purchase price of your vga but rather the board and cpu which is a nice little bottle neck on your 3d adventures.

Just putting some facts down for you.
The game or bench must utilize the SLI. If not you may actually loose frame rates.
Thats why SLI for many is considered dead...


Ok thanks for that explaination.

I meant that whether the performance gain benefits me or not is decided by me and not by the software or hardware. U just stated the cost of buying the cpu motherboard & Ram very unrealistic thats why i stated it down for you. This cpu can handle both the gtx 1080ti & Rx 5700XT without any bottleneck. The Gtx 1070 Sli is just a little better if games scale well enough so the cpu is definitely good enough.

PCIe mode throttles down to lower levels to save power when that GPU is idle.
Depending on whether your tool of choice actually reports meta info or real time data, you might see 3.0 all the time.
nVidia Inspector will report something like PCIe 3.0 @ 1.1 x8, which indicates 3.0 as a maximum, but throttled to 1.1 on idle.

I too had the same doubt. Thanks for clarifying it.

 

[Deleted member 185158]

The cpu isnt the only bottle neck, the ddr3 ram....
Oh nvm. You have the system and it does as you need. Ill get off that subject for now....

But SLI inop.... I know that when SLI is enabled that it derates the first card Gpu and mem clocks to the slowest card in the system.
That said, will you gain or loose performance with that clock difference I saw from your screen shots?????
Perhaps you could try and match the card clocks and as mentioned earlier perhaps forcing 8x mode on both cards.
Unless you try all the things, even the ones you think stupid, you may be stuck without SLI.

 

[XeroZen]

The cpu isnt the only bottle neck, the ddr3 ram....
Oh nvm. You have the system and it does as you need. Ill get off that subject for now....

But SLI inop.... I know that when SLI is enabled that it derates the first card Gpu and mem clocks to the slowest card in the system.
That said, will you gain or loose performance with that clock difference I saw from your screen shots?????
Perhaps you could try and match the card clocks and as mentioned earlier perhaps forcing 8x mode on both cards.
Unless you try all the things, even the ones you think stupid, you may be stuck without SLI.

I went into the bios and changed the bifurcation setting to x8 & x8, but then windows did not boot up properly

 

[P!nkpanther]

Perhaps you could try and match the card clocks and as mentioned earlier perhaps forcing 8x mode on both cards.
Unless you try all the things, even the ones you think stupid, you may be stuck without SLI.

As i already said, the unlocking of the SLI button in nVidia panel is not decided upon real time values, but on static meta-values provided by the mobo.
So if the PCIe slot meta-info says at least x8 and an SLI certificate can be associated with the mobo, it should be unlocked.
Which is supposed to be bypassed by the DifferentSLIauto patch. With its old versions, all checks had been removed, even that for different cards.
The 4xx version by Pretentious however only removes one specific check and is tested only on his system, so it's still open whether it works in any situation.

 

[Deleted member 185158]

As i already said, the unlocking of the SLI button in nVidia panel is not decided upon real time values, but on static meta-values provided by the mobo.
So if the PCIe slot meta-info says at least x8 and an SLI certificate can be associated with the mobo, it should be unlocked.
Which is supposed to be bypassed by the DifferentSLIauto patch. With its old versions, all checks had been removed, even that for different cards.
The 4xx version by Pretentious however only removes one specific check and is tested only on his system, so it's still open whether it works in any situation.

So then what would cause the issue? Just the board itself?

 

[P!nkpanther]

I don't know about the exact inner workings of the old patch. From looking into the source code, it seems that it bypasses like 4-5 calls, but I have no idea about what they represent. One must be the certificate check, another one the different cards check, maybe the other ones are about certain additional hardware requirements. So it might well be that the OPs board does not fulfill one of these.
That's why i suggested trying the old patch & driver, just to find out whether this is the reason.

 

[Pretentious]

My patch only addresses SLI compatibility at the motherboard level. As long as the GPU's are a match (e,g 1070 with 1070) it should work just fine as majority of people have reported it to be working.
I'm still pretty sure the issue is the same as I described on 117 but @XeroZen hasn't confirmed if he has checked it. Some xeon motherboards (especially if they are dual socket) have 2 separate instances/dll's for the same driver. Unless they are both patched SLI won't work (It took me a day to develop the patch and 3 days to realize that's what was preventing it from working...).

 

[XeroZen]

My patch only addresses SLI compatibility at the motherboard level. As long as the GPU's are a match (e,g 1070 with 1070) it should work just fine as majority of people have reported it to be working.
I'm still pretty sure the issue is the same as I described on 117 but @XeroZen hasn't confirmed if he has checked it. Some xeon motherboards (especially if they are dual socket) have 2 separate instances/dll's for the same driver. Unless they are both patched SLI won't work (It took me a day to develop the patch and 3 days to realize that's what was preventing it from working...).

I already replied that i checked if there are two different instances/dll's for same driver but no they are the same for both of them

 

[Learsi]

For me the hex edit method only works up to driver 425.31. I tried editing newest versions, but nothing happens. I am using a 1070ti+1070.
Any idea as to why hex editing the DLL doesn't work in newer drivers?

Anyway I extracted the sli profile from the newest driver and it seems to be working on Fallen Order:

 

[XeroZen]

For me the hex edit method only works up to driver 425.31. I tried editing newest versions, but nothing happens. I am using a 1070ti+1070.
Any idea as to why hex editing the DLL doesn't work in newer drivers?

Anyway I extracted the sli profile from the newest driver and it seems to be working on Fallen Order:

What do you mean by extracting the sli profile from the newest driver?

I don't know about the exact inner workings of the old patch. From looking into the source code, it seems that it bypasses like 4-5 calls, but I have no idea about what they represent. One must be the certificate check, another one the different cards check, maybe the other ones are about certain additional hardware requirements. So it might well be that the OPs board does not fulfill one of these.
That's why i suggested trying the old patch & driver, just to find out whether this is the reason.

Can you please link the post on the instructions for installing the older drivers on Win10

 

[Learsi]

What do you mean by extracting the sli profile from the newest driver?


Can you please link the post on the instructions for installing the older drivers on Win10

Forgive my wording.
What I meant is that I installed the newest driver and exported the profiles using nvidia inspector. Then I installed the driver 425.31 plus different sli, and imported the profiles back using the nvidia inspector.

 

[XeroZen]

Forgive my wording.
What I meant is that I installed the newest driver and exported the profiles using nvidia inspector. Then I installed the driver 425.31 plus different sli, and imported the profiles back using the nvidia inspector.

Oh okay i got it. Thanks for ur quick reply