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

[wermad]

I did driver sweeper first and installed as you described. After many failed attempts, I reformated, two times actually, and it was still not stable, especially windows sleep mode. I had saved the previous patch and I'm currently running that and drivers 257.21 very stable.

Though, Im still questioning doing it again, but since I was told drivers 260.xx work now I'm really hesitant because of the turmoil/confusion over this patch and which drivers, etc. I appreciate the effort by those behind the patch

 

[MatteoFlash]

Uhm, what did you use to patch the 257.xx drivers? I tried ModdedForceware B3, but I think they was for 258.xx (indeed, I lost the Aero function on Windows 7, I think that .sys file was updated). Maybe I need the B2 patch.. By the way, actually, SLI are not working yet for me

 

[Arisu]

Uhm, what did you use to patch the 257.xx drivers?

The 257 drivers run fine just with SLIPatch. Nothing else is needed.

just to confirm, what is the latest and most stable drivers supported by the patch? I keep seeing 258.96 and someone just told me it works w/ 260.xx.

Beginning with the 258 drivers, NVIDIA introduced a new protection mechanism to prevent us from running SLI.
Your machine will freeze randomly if you don't patch your driver by using either anatolymik's prepatched 258.96 or choose your own driver version and patch it yourself.

However, anatolymik is currently working on a new SLIPatch that is undetected by all current drivers. So stay tuned and give him some thanks
He's the mastermind behind everything that has been accomplished so far.

 

[MatteoFlash]

Just with SLIPatch? Wow.. Not working for me
If I am right, installing 257 drivers and being under the SLIPatch, my OS should say me about "Your system is SLI compatible. Click here to enable SLI-way", as it told me when I installed 190.xx + Patches" and, in nVidia Control Panel, I should find the SLI option inside Physx option, but nothing similar to this for me at the moment.
I also tried your Forceware 1.1 Patch Arisu, I checked the .sys properties and the certification is OK (Signer: NGO). Could I use this file in combination with ModdedForceware patch?

 

[Arisu]

Could I use this file in combination with ModdedForceware patch?

No, it does exactly the same thing as the ModdedForceware. The only difference is that it doesn't replace your whole driver with a pre-modified 258.96 one, but instead applies the modifications to your own already existing driver. This means it will work with any driver version: 258.69, 258.96, 260.63 and probably even future ones.

But this probably will not help in your case, because SLI should be detected no matter whether your driver is patched or not. The "Maximize 3D performance" option should be available in "3D Settings" -> "Set SLI and PhysX configuration" in the NVIDIA Control Panel if it is.

 

[MatteoFlash]

Ah okey, thanks for your answers. I'll try to install other releases of the original drivers (257 and 258 didn't work on SLIPatch), I can't understand the origins of my problem, according to our discussions, the problem can be redirected to SLIPatch on my system.. What if I try an older version of SLIPatch for Win7x64?

EDIT: I found this sentence on the main thread:

Q: I installed two videocards into motherboard, tried everything, but SLI don't appear
A: If you have old motherboard, based on mainstream chipsets like P965, P35, P45, P55 with lack of PCI-express lanes, you should check, which host feed PCI-Express slots for GPU's. For example if you have first PCI-E connected to northbridge PCI-E link, and second one connected to PCI-E from southbridge, then SLI can't be used. Graphics cards should have same host for SLI. For example, we tried three 8800 Ultra's on DFI UT P35 mainboard, but SLI enabled only for first two cards. On this motherboard, third GPU was connected to x1 PCI-Express of southbridge, no matter which slot size is. You can see this by looking pairs of traces from PCI-Express slot running to bridge.

A user (more experienced than me) said me that my motherboard has the second PCI-E slot connected from southbridge (I don't know well how to check it). Can be this the source of the problem? The strange thing is that I had no problems with 190.xx mod, so there are two possibilities:
- The new modding way (Drivers + SLIPatch + ModdedForceware with certificate) requires the second PCI-E slot connected from northbridge, not as the old modding way
- I have a wrong information about the southbridge

 

[Arisu]

A user (more experienced than me) said me that my motherboard has the second PCI-E slot connected from southbridge (I don't know well how to check it). Can be this the source of the problem?

Check in Everest under Motherboard -> Chipset to see which PCIe slots / devices are connected to which bridge.

But I'm quite sure that this isn't your problem because it worked with 190.xx and this isn't specific to SLIPatch, but rather, if they were connected to two different bridges, this would also mean that the two graphic cards would be on separate PCIe buses and thus can't directly communicate with each other.

 

[MatteoFlash]

These are informations from Everest:

North Bridge: Intel Lynnfield IMC
PCI-Express Controller: Using x16 (Zotac GeForce 8800GT Video Adapter)

South Bridge: Intel Ibex Peak P55
PCI-Express Controller: [...], Using PCI-E 2.0 4x (Zotac GeForce 8800GT Video Adapter)

So they are on two different bridges.. Now I have lot of "???" in my mind!

 

[Arisu]

These are informations from Everest:
So they are on two different bridges.. Now I have lot of "???" in my mind!

Wow, I didn't expect that. Did your old 190.xx setup actually improve performance compared to just one single card?

Your new insights explain why it doesn't work with current drivers, but I'm wondering whether the old drivers really did enable some kind of SLI or if the NVIDIA developers just didn't consider this setup at that time (because it's not official) and it's just some kind of display error in the NV Control Panel?

 

[MatteoFlash]

I tried "Far Cry 2" benchmark tool with certain graphic configuration and I obtained a +50% performance, compared to Single VGA (same config, obviously), so I think the SLI was really applied to my system.
I've just reinstalled 190.xx drivers+mod and enabled SLI again, so.. Is this a mistery?
By the way, from CpuZ I can see this:

- 190.xx drivers+patch -> Chipset: Intel X58. Southbridge: Intel P55
- 258.xx drivers+patch -> Chipset: Intel P55

 

[Arisu]

I've just reinstalled 190.xx drivers+mod and enabled SLI again, so.. Is this a mistery?

That means that either NVIDIA implemented an additional check or they've implemented SLI differently in the new drivers so it can't work as a matter of principle.
I'm not sure because I'm using SLI just for a few months now, but I guess nothing can be done about that right now.

There were other users here, for example this one, who had the same problem: SLI never was detected. I didn't think you were the same case, because your old drivers worked.

 

[MatteoFlash]

I see.. So, probably, I have to surrender about updating my drivers with the possibility of using SLI. Or maybe, if in future some developers here will be able to solve also this additional check, we'll be able to upgrade our drivers, also if bridges are different.

By the way, thanks again for your technical support. I'll be happy to support this Forum Page linking and translating in another Italian Forum, do I have to ask someone about this or can I do this in free-way?

 

[listen to remix]

The 257 drivers run fine just with SLIPatch. Nothing else is needed.



Beginning with the 258 drivers, NVIDIA introduced a new protection mechanism to prevent us from running SLI.
Your machine will freeze randomly if you don't patch your driver by using either anatolymik's prepatched 258.96 or choose your own driver version and patch it yourself.

However, anatolymik is currently working on a new SLIPatch that is undetected by all current drivers. So stay tuned and give him some thanks
He's the mastermind behind everything that has been accomplished so far.

I think he should post his paypal account, I'm sure a bunch of us wouldn't mind giving donations.

 

[Velvet Wafer]

I think he should post his paypal account, I'm sure a bunch of us wouldn't mind giving donations.

if anatolymik could finance the parts necessesary to keep the patch updated, that surely would make things a lot easier

 

[MadBoy89]

Hi all,

I am new to SLI setup ( on NON SLI board )...

And i have one problem.

I instal drivers, ( 258.96 ) , then SLIPatch tool , then ForceWare x64 SLI Patch v1.1.exe .. and restart.

And i see SLI mod, but when i try to enable it.. It freezeses my PC.... ( most of the time before or on Welcome screen ).

Is there something that i am doing wrong ?

But strangley, it worked for 30 min on 197.45 drivers ( unmodified ) ( i inserted second card and instal SLIPatch tool , restarted and it worked... and then freezeng began ...

MY cnofiguration:

Q9650 @ 4200 Mhz
4 Gb DDR2 G Skill Black edition
Asus P5E
2x GTX 260 ( XFX black edition + Zotac AMP2 )
Corsair TX 650W...


Help..

PS;
Nice JOB ALL, continue it that way

 

[Triton.se]

I've still got remains of that "bad SLI Mod 258 driver code" in Rev 3/258.96/0.8b...yesterday driver recovered after I opened Live Messenger... Also 5 mins ago when a youtube video started.

Weird thing with F1 2010:
Best fps with SLI setting "one gpu" for game in nvcpl. But 2nd card shows activity...
With "normal" (SLI setting Nvidia Recommends) both gpus work, but 50% more fps with above settings!
Disabling SLI completely: card 2 shows no activity, card 1=80% usage...very poor fps

Keep up the good work ! My fever is down (5 days 40C ! now +37C after 2 days penicillin ! Oh, and I read about alcohol and penicillin: NP ! Guess I'll have an ale for the evening F1 2010 !)

EDIT ///

Best SLI performance so far by tweaking NVIDIA Inspector 1.92 (from Guru3D download section, it's has gfx tweaking capabilites like nHancer ):
0. Add F1 2010 (f1_2010_game.exe) to nv game list if it doesn't appear in nvcpl.
1. Leave all settings for this game default in NVIDIA Control Panel (nvcpl)
(Bring out the tweakable list by clicking the blue Config icon by driver version)
2. In Inspector, change SLI compability bits value to 0x02C00005 (I chose this value coz Dirt 2 uses the same)
3. Press Apply Profile.
4. Change NVIDIA predefined SLI mode to SLI_PREDEFINED_MODE_FORCE_AFR2
5. Apply profile.

All settings absolutely MAXED OUT, except 4xMSAA @2048x1152, 40-80fps, gpu usage up to 91%


Pic showing Inspector 1.92. Card #2 is stuck @ 3D High clocks.

 

[tdbone1]

hey all i kind of got big problems.

i am not sure which version of the sli patch i have installed...i think its 0.7 but i really dont know.
its been to long since i did the mod.

anyhow i have:
msi 890gxm-g65 motherboard
(2) msi 8800gts 512mb
vista x64
and currently running driver 260.52
i am not in an sli configuration
video card number 2 = dedicated for PhysX

so can someone tell me what i need to do?
i really dont know which sli mod i have installed.

 

[Velvet Wafer]

Hi all,

I am new to SLI setup ( on NON SLI board )...

And i have one problem.

I instal drivers, ( 258.96 ) , then SLIPatch tool , then ForceWare x64 SLI Patch v1.1.exe .. and restart.

And i see SLI mod, but when i try to enable it.. It freezeses my PC.... ( most of the time before or on Welcome screen ).

Is there something that i am doing wrong ?

But strangley, it worked for 30 min on 197.45 drivers ( unmodified ) ( i inserted second card and instal SLIPatch tool , restarted and it worked... and then freezeng began ...

MY cnofiguration:

Q9650 @ 4200 Mhz
4 Gb DDR2 G Skill Black edition
Asus P5E
2x GTX 260 ( XFX black edition + Zotac AMP2 )
Corsair TX 650W...


Help..

PS;
Nice JOB ALL, continue it that way

if your board is not in the support list on xdevs, then it may be that it wont work until a newer patch of the hack is out... or alternatively, that you board has some physicial problems with SLI... thats very rare, tho

 

[MadBoy89]

hey all i kind of got big problems.

i am not sure which version of the sli patch i have installed...i think its 0.7 but i really dont know.
its been to long since i did the mod.

anyhow i have:
msi 890gxm-g65 motherboard
(2) msi 8800gts 512mb
vista x64
and currently running driver 260.52
i am not in an sli configuration
video card number 2 = dedicated for PhysX

so can someone tell me what i need to do?
i really dont know which sli mod i have installed.

Kill me if i am wrong, but i think u have to uninstall old version of SLI patch , and take the new one from here , u need to download Windows Vista SP2 64bit SLI Patch, version 0.8b , and then try with new drivers.

 

[MadBoy89]

if your board is not in the support list on xdevs, then it may be that it wont work until a newer patch of the hack is out... or alternatively, that you board has some physicial problems with SLI... thats very rare, tho

I find it very strange that it have worked,... and i was able to run full test on 3DMark06 on SLI... (197.45 )

 

[bbjayo]

Hi Guys,

I've had fun tonight trying to get SLImod to work with two GTX260s on a GA-EP45-DS4P.

This is how I went:

Installed SLIPatch 0.8
Installed 260.63, rebooted
Applied Arisu's ForceWare x64 SLI Patch v1.1.exe, rebooted
Bluescreen just before login screen. System_Service_Exception error with nvlddmkm.sys
rebooted into safe mode and renamed .bak file, rebooted and blue screened with same message
reboot to safe mode, uninstall driver and run driver cleaner pro install 258.96, rebooted
Bluescreen with same message
tried again and again - same thing.
tried patching 258.96 in safe mode using anatolymik's prebuilt patcher but sssame result when trying to boot normally into windows.

Am running Win 7 64bit

So I'm sitting here, running one card with 258.69 and wondering what next to try!

Any suggestions?

Thanks

bb

 

[MadBoy89]

Hi Guys,

I've had fun tonight trying to get SLImod to work with two GTX260s on a GA-EP45-DS4P.

This is how I went:

Installed SLIPatch 0.8
Installed 260.63, rebooted
Applied Arisu's ForceWare x64 SLI Patch v1.1.exe, rebooted
Bluescreen just before login screen. System_Service_Exception error with nvlddmkm.sys
rebooted into safe mode and renamed .bak file, rebooted and blue screened with same message
reboot to safe mode, uninstall driver and run driver cleaner pro install 258.96, rebooted
Bluescreen with same message
tried again and again - same thing.
tried patching 258.96 in safe mode using anatolymik's prebuilt patcher but sssame result when trying to boot normally into windows.

Am running Win 7 64bit

So I'm sitting here, running one card with 258.69 and wondering what next to try!

Any suggestions?

Thanks

bb

EDIT: For moment my SLI is working

1. )Instaled driver sweeper
1a )uninstalled drivers in control panel
2. ) Restart
3. ) Safe mod
4. ) deleted all that has left from uninstalation with driver sweeper
5. ) Restart
6. ) Instal SLI patch ( AS ADMINISTRATOR )
7.)Installed 258.69 drivers
8.) Restart
9.) Booted in SLI mod
10. ) Instaled ForceWare x64 SLI Patch v1.1 ( as ADMINISTRATOR)
11. ) Restart
12. ) enabled SLI configuration in NVidia control panel and it is working


EDIT:
SLI is stil working , but i have strange "problem" i get only 16 xxx Score points in 3dmark06 ?? ( Now i am on 258.69 )
yesterday i got 22260 points on 197.45 drivers ?? How is that posible ?

 

[tdbone1]

i uninstalled my old slimod 0.7
then shutdown and powered on computer
i then installed 260.63 and set physx from auto to vcard #2
then i shutdown and powered on
i then installed the slimod 0.8b
then shutdown and powered on.
disabled sli and still made sure physx set to vcard #2 dedicated
i then installed the latest sli patch #3 and got an error "takeown.exe" when i ran the installer but it did still keep installing
so after installin i shutdown and powered back on but there was no evidence of nvcontrol paner any more when i right click desktop
so i researched the takedown.exe error and found i needed to take C:\Windows\System32\takedown.exe and copy it to the slipatch 0.8b dir
i then reran the installer with no errors
i shutdown and powered backon but my entire screen was black except my i could see my mouse cursor
i could move my mouse cursor and still login by entering my password and it made it to desktop but still all black and could see my mouse cursor.

i not sure whats going on

still running vista x64
260.63 drivers

 

[JDougNY]

SLI is stil working , but i have strange "problem" i get only 16 xxx Score points in 3dmark06 ?? ( Now i am on 258.69 )
yesterday i got 22260 points on 197.45 drivers ?? How is that posible ?

You should be using 3d Mark Vantage for benchmarking. 3dmark06 is more cpu dependent, so it's obsolete as a benchmarking tool. For me, those synthetic tests mean nothing.

Try benchmarking your games with one card and in SLI for a real test.

Regards

 

[bbjayo]

I'm going to try a new PSU tonight and see how I go.

Will post update then.

MadBoy89 - thanks for the Skype offer. Might take you up on it later if I have no luck

bb