MSI GTX 780 Ti Gaming 3 GB

[Cinderelli]

Have you considered building your own 3-way bridge from flexible 2-way bridges?

I've seen some very long SLI bridges which would let you route around the problem

Thanks Wizard, I have seen that picture, and I would be all to happy to try that setup.
I have ordered three 4.7 inch single, flexible sli bridges from Asus. However, I am not sure if
the length of the bridge will go from card #1 to card #3, as the metal back plate really does get in the way.

 

[Cinderelli]

That diagonal twist looks untidy and painful.

I agree Qubit, but we do what we must sometimes.

 

[qubit]

I agree Qubit, but we do what we must sometimes.

Oh yes, quite! I didn't mean to imply that this shouldn't be tried.

Excuse me for a potentially numpty question here, but I've now got one of these MSI cards and I can't see what you mean by interference from a backplate?

Here's an example of 3-way SLI using the legendary 8800 Ultra and you can see that it's no wider than two bridges. Also, the heatpipes on the MSI don't stick up so high that they interfere with the SLI cable.

*I actually have one of those, bought brand new and cheaply off eBay long after its heyday.

 

[Cinderelli]

I have found this comment in a different forum, basically stating what we see in the above diagram.........
For the OP, just use three flexible bridges. It will work as long as each card is connected to the other two cards. For instance, with there being two SLI gold fingers, connect the first gold fingers on cards 1&2, connect the second gold fingers on cards 2&3, and then connect the second gold fingers on card 1 to the first gold fingers on card 3.

 

[Cinderelli]

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_780_Ti_Gaming/images/card1.jpg
As you can see from this picture, the cooler blocks the second sli connector on the card,
preventing the use of a regular 3way sli bridge.

 

[qubit]

Ah yes, I see what you mean now. At the angle I looked at my card sitting in my rig (on my desk, to my right) this isn't so obvious.

It looks like MSI decided that it was worth having this problem to gain the benefit of superb cooler performance with those big fans. Aren't these cards quiet! I guess they didn't want to advertise it too much to put people off buying them. On the other hand, they've missed a golden opportunity to make custom SLI connectors that loop over the fans for these cards as it would only encourage enthusiasts such as yourself to buy more of them. If I had the money, I'd buy two for sure.

 

[Cinderelli]

Ah yes, I see what you mean now. At the angle I looked at my card sitting in my rig (on my desk, to my right) this isn't so obvious.

It looks like MSI decided that it was worth having this problem to gain the benefit of superb cooler performance with those big fans. Aren't these cards quiet! I guess they didn't want to advertise it too much to put people off buying them. On the other hand, they've missed a golden opportunity to make custom SLI connectors that loop over the fans for these cards as it would only encourage enthusiasts such as yourself to buy more of them. If I had the money, I'd buy two for sure.

Thanks. They are awesome cards, I bought them to replace my gtx480's. Well worth the wait. Nice and quiet, super cool temperatures, exactly what I wanted in a card. But this sli bridge issue is most annoying, as I may not be able to use my third card.
I cannot believe the lack of response from MSI regarding this issue, shame on them. They are missing out on a golden opportunity here. After almost two weeks of digging for answers, I am shocked to see that no one makes longer than 4.7 inch flexible sli bridges. Or bridges that allow you to use different spaces on your motherboard, should you want to leave a slot open between cards for better air cooling performance.

 

[qubit]

Oh yeah, the performance gain over a 480 is massive. I did a quickie bench with Metro 2033 (DX9 mode) comparing it to my 580 (which is no slouch) and it destroyed it. The 580 got 50fps average while the 780 Ti got 90fps average and that's at the stock 980MHz. What a beast of a card.

I'm really surprised that you can't find an extended SLI connector, what a bummer. I've done a bit of searching and come up with a 10cm SLI connector which should do the trick. At Amazon it costs a massive £84 though, while at Asus, just $6, but is out of stock.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/NVidia-Bridge-Connector-Cable-centre/dp/B000LXVFAA/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1391857248&sr=8-6&keywords=sli connector

http://us.estore.asus.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=2015

And here's a 12cm one for a very reasonable $13.50: http://us.ncix.com/products/?mode=productreviewread&product_id=28972

I searched for "extended SLI connector" in Google to find these.

Gotta hand it to AMD for doing away with the bridge connector on their latest range of cards and thereby eliminating problems like these.

 

[Cinderelli]

Oh yeah, the performance gain over a 480 is massive. I did a quickie bench with Metro 2033 (DX9 mode) comparing it to my 580 (which is no slouch) and it destroyed it. The 580 got 50fps average while the 780 Ti got 90fps average and that's at the stock 980MHz. What a beast of a card.

I'm really surprised that you can't find an extended SLI connector, what a bummer. I've done a bit of searching and come up with a 10cm SLI connector which should do the trick. At Amazon it costs a massive £84 though, while at Asus, just $6, but is out of stock.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/NVidia-Bridge-Connector-Cable-centre/dp/B000LXVFAA/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1391857248&sr=8-6&keywords=sli connector

http://us.estore.asus.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=2015

And here's a 12cm one for a very reasonable $13.50: http://us.ncix.com/products/?mode=productreviewread&product_id=28972

I searched for "extended SLI connector" in Google to find these.

Gotta hand it to AMD for doing away with the bridge connector on their latest range of cards and thereby eliminating problems like these.

Yes, good for AMD. Years ago when they were still owned by ATI, I had one of their cards. Way to many driver issues, and I switched to Nvidia. No turning back for me, I will be staying with the green team.

Regarding longer sli bridges, I am amazed there is not a company/person cashing in on longer, or custom made sli bridges.

Also, on a different note, here is a link regarding the need to flash the bios on these cards to an UEFI ultra fast uefi boot in Windows 8.1
https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=176958.0
It makes me wonder if MSI rushed these cards to market.

 

[W1zzard]

You could just cut off a piece of the metal on one card

 

[Cinderelli]

You could just cut off a piece of the metal on one card

I would need to cut off a piece of metal on two cards, and hope to hell the fan blades don't touch the sli bridge.
And of course you know it will void the warranty on both of those cards. I'll pass, thanks anyways.

 

[remedy1978]

Does anyone else have stock clocks of 980mhz? I only achieve clocks of 1020mhz with the MSI gaming app.

 

[qubit]

Does anyone else have stock clocks of 980mhz? I only achieve clocks of 1020mhz with the MSI gaming app.

Yes, I've got that and it's normal. The idea is to overclock it with that app. See the MSI page:

http://uk.msi.com/product/vga/GTX-780Ti-GAMING-3G.html

Note that even at 980MHz that's still significantly overclocked compared to the reference card's 876MHz.

 

[KneelbfZod]

Yes, I've got that and it's normal. The idea is to overclock it with that app. See the MSI page:

http://uk.msi.com/product/vga/GTX-780Ti-GAMING-3G.html

Note that even at 980MHz that's still significantly overclocked compared to the reference card's 876MHz.

Yes, earlier in this thread I was asking Wiz this. It seems like reviewers got a different BIOS that put the stock speed at 1020MHz. Cards that shipped to consumer however were clocked at 980MHz.

 

[qubit]

Yes, earlier in this thread I was asking Wiz this. It seems like reviewers got a different BIOS that put the stock speed at 1020MHz. Cards that shipped to consumer however were clocked at 980MHz.

tsk, sounds a bit cheeky of MSI, lol.

 

[7950 Flex]

I think I've seen it at 980 but that's rare. I normally see 1020, 1084, and 1097.

 

[Aethna]

Ok so I tried to update the BIOS to the .30 version. Here is the message I got from NV Flash.

WARNING: Firmware image PCI Subsystem ID (1462.2985)
does not match adapter PCI Subsystem ID (1462.2983).

I guess MSI just shipped that BIOS to reviewers, while consumers get the 2C version with the 980MHz Core.

Sorry to go so far back on the posts, but getting this error too, but seeing the .30 and wanting to update it. i'm afraid of doing something wrong. It's safe to update the bios from 2C to .30?

 

[W1zzard]

It should be safe, assuming the boards are 100% identical. If you run into issues you can always flash back, worst case is you need a 2nd graphics card to boot from

 

[Prima.Vera]

Just a question.
Are your MSI cards also crash like madness on Watch Dogs with the latest drivers?

 

[Cinderelli]

Watch Dogs keeps crashing to the desktop. Grrrr

 

[Prima.Vera]

So I am not the only one? Or just trolling?

 

[Cinderelli]

You definitely are not the only one. The game has severe optimization issues, which is such a shame. Hopefully as time passes these issues will be resolved. One patch has already been issued, I am sure more will follow.