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

[sprach]

That's correct, I installed SLIPatch first and then the drivers. I rebooted after installing the drivers, the system asked me to do it it anyway. I installed the drivers in SLI boot. When I installed the 270.61 drivers first, I had the 266.58 drivers + SLIPatch v.1 final running, which worked flawlessly. Then I upgraded to 270.61 + 1.42 SLIPatch, which is when I uninstalled everything and did did driver cleaning.

 

[Darkbluesky]

That's correct, I installed SLIPatch first and then the drivers. I rebooted after installing the drivers, the system asked me to do it it anyway.

ok, tx.

I installed the drivers in SLI boot.

Sorry if I have not understood completely, but if you did not reboot between SLIPatch and driver install, what do you mean with "I installed the drivers in SLI boot" (when you have installed them, you have not yet rebooted)? Excuse me for being nit-picking; I just want to be sure, because I think some problems could come from the install procedure.

When I installed the 270.61 drivers first, I had the 266.58 drivers + SLIPatch v.1 final running, which worked flawlessly. Then I upgraded to 270.61 + 1.42 SLIPatch, which is when I uninstalled everything and did did driver cleaning.

ok, tx.

 

[sprach]

Sorry if I have not understood completely, but if you did not reboot between SLIPatch and driver install, what do you mean with "I installed the drivers in SLI boot" (when you have installed them, you have not yet rebooted)? Excuse me for being nit-picking; I just want to be sure, because I think some problems could come from the install procedure.

I apologize if I've been unclear, so here's what I did:
1. uninstalled 266.58 drivers and rebooted
2. did driver cleaner and rebooted
3. installed SLIpatch v1.42 (latest), then rebooted
4. booted in SLI mode and installed 270.61 drivers
5. rebooted and activated SLI
6. rebooted and activated 3D

L.E. Found this thread http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=198407&st=0 ;think I'll try it out as well .

 

[Ea9le1]

Hi Guys,

First let me say thanks to whoever is reponsible for the creation and distribution of the SLi patch. It truly is fantastic.

Unfortunately I'm having a few issues.

My rig is as follows:

ASUS crosshair IV Formula 890FX SB50 mobo,
AMD Phenom 1090T (oc 3.8GHz)
8GB G.Skill DDR3 RAM (oc 1900MHz)
. . . and the important bit:
ASUS GTX480s in SLi oc (850 | 1700 | 2000 using MSI Afterburner)

I was using SLi patch 1.0 with driver version 258.96 because later versions of the driver wouldn't work. NVidia control panel crashed when requesting SLi on newer drivers until I found this forum and updated to patch 1.42b (Thanks again).

I'm currently running driver version 270.61 with SLi patch 1.42b. I have no problems with visual quality or performance as such however even under load (MSI Kombustor burn in test) GPU 1 does not go over 20% use and is not running at the same clock speed as the other card. (Please see below).

Have I installed the patch correctly? Is my system performing properly? If no; Please could someone point me in the right direction?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Darkbluesky]

I apologize if I've been unclear, so here's what I did:
1. uninstalled 266.58 drivers and rebooted
2. did driver cleaner and rebooted
3. installed SLIpatch v1.42 (latest), then rebooted
4. booted in SLI mode and installed 270.61 drivers
5. rebooted and activated SLI
6. rebooted and activated 3D

L.E. Found this thread http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=198407&st=0 ;think I'll try it out as well .

I am going to experiment. That thread, I forgot, I tested it and didn't work for me, but it is worth to test another time. Thanks for posting it.

Will see why SLIpatch + 3D Vision has problems...

 

[DiogoCDS19]

Hi Guys,

First let me say thanks to whoever is reponsible for the creation and distribution of the SLi patch. It truly is fantastic.

Unfortunately I'm having a few issues.

My rig is as follows:

ASUS crosshair IV Formula 890FX SB50 mobo,
AMD Phenom 1090T (oc 3.8GHz)
8GB G.Skill DDR3 RAM (oc 1900MHz)
. . . and the important bit:
ASUS GTX480s in SLi oc (850 | 1700 | 2000 using MSI Afterburner)

I was using SLi patch 1.0 with driver version 258.96 because later versions of the driver wouldn't work. NVidia control panel crashed when requesting SLi on newer drivers until I found this forum and updated to patch 1.42b (Thanks again).

I'm currently running driver version 270.61 with SLi patch 1.42b. I have no problems with visual quality or performance as such however even under load (MSI Kombustor burn in test) GPU 1 does not go over 20% use and is not running at the same clock speed as the other card. (Please see below).

http://i837.photobucket.com/albums/zz296/RaWEagle1/SLi-1.png

http://i837.photobucket.com/albums/zz296/RaWEagle1/SLiconfig.png

Have I installed the patch correctly? Is my system performing properly? If no; Please could someone point me in the right direction?

Thanks in advance.

In msi afterburner thats normal, the 2nd gpu never is used, try with some other program like furmark and you will see both gpus in use.
Also because only 1 gpu is being used the other is in power saving mode thats why the lower clocks.

 

[Ea9le1]

In msi afterburner thats normal, the 2nd gpu never is used, try with some other program like furmark and you will see both gpus in use.
Also because only 1 gpu is being used the other is in power saving mode thats why the lower clocks.

Thanks for the swift reply. Having messed about with the 3D settings in NVidia control panel and set it to alternate frame rendrerring the load on both GPUs increases considerably. Got a decent benchmark having shifted the physX onto the CPU.

890FX chipset, Windows 7 (64), AMD Phenom x6 1090T, ASUS GTX480 SLi, SLi patch 1.42b working.

Thanks for the support.

 

[Biggsy]

3d vision sync problems fixed!

I get some similar symptoms with 3d vision glasses enabled and running on latest 270.61 drivers in combination with 1.42 SLIPatch. The glasses tend to get outta sync. Basically this is what happens: the game starts and it runs fine in 3d vision mode, however after a couple of minutes I'm starting to see the image doubled as if I hadn't put the glasses on. The only way i can remedy such fact is by deactivating and re-enabling the 3d vision controller by pushing the green led off and back on. This only lasts again for a couple of minutes whereas I gotta re-apply the same procedure over and over. I can't tell you how annoying it gets. I haven't found any solution yet and I can't tell for sure whether it's the SLIPatch or something else. Everything went well with 266.58 drivers. My bets are on the nvidia guys, who embedded something into those drivers. Any solutions/feedback is much appreciated.

Hey sprach I had same problems since the latest nvidia patch (they changed something and it only affects amd boards) you can fix it one of 2 ways, either run games in 100hz mode not great but it works or find out in system which usb hub is running the ir emitter and disable usb2 support, I did that and am now enjoying 120hz 3d gaming again ><

 

[RiC@RDOC]

Good news...

We'll be releasing a new driver later this week which will add Witcher 2 compatibility. Driver 270.61 has known issues with this game so we advise users to update to the newer driver once it has become available.

 

[Darkbluesky]

Will try this new driver of course, although I don't think it will solve the SLIPatch + 3D Vision problem (although I wish it'll do).

Yesterday I re formatted hard disk reinstalled Win7x64 SP1, installed mobo (maximus 2 formula) drivers, 257.21 drivers combo (which is the only that works, although with bad sync), and tested the thing of USB2, result? nothing changes, completely out of sync except in 100 Hz which is still out of sync but "playable" with flickering each several seconds, which in fact renders it non-playable...

Tried also 270.61, and 266.58 combo. OS freeze as soon as I try to activate 3D with SLI enabled. With the last combo (266.58) I have tested SLIPatch 0.9, 1.0, 1.2, 1.4 and 1.42. It freezes always.

I am beginning to desesperate, maybe I have to throw my system through the window...

What we know until now:

1. It hangs with dx9 not with dx10, as lokhup reports. I'll check myself when I have some free time (maybe today).
2. It hangs only when using the emitter, not 3D Vision Discover (red and cyan glasses)
3. The drivers 257.21 seems the only that avoid the freeze, although they show other problems (bad sync) which I think are not related to SLIPatch.
4. It is not a problem of certain gpu model/generation, as it has been found for GTX260, GTX285 and GTX470 (http://www.overclock.net/nvidia/885162-sli-470-3d-vision-problems.html)
5. It does not seem a problem of certain chipset/mobo as it has been found in Maximus II Formula (P45) and in X58 (see link above). Note: I have PM'd the OP of the topic linked asking confirmation and details of his experience and I have not received any answer yet.
6. It does not seem to be related to the different protections nvidia had in each driver, as it freezes no matter which version of SLIPatch is used.
7. It does not seem a protection of nvidia, because for some people it works correctly.

IMO, the point 2 is the most interesting, as it shows that it is not a graphic/gpu problem of compatibility generating the two stereo frames in SLI with SLIPatch: it works, and it works perfectly. The bug/problem comes when it has to activate the USB IR emitter and/or show the frames alternatively with SLIPatch installed!

Anatolymik, does these details say something to you? Could it be possible to find the problem, or even make a fix?

I don't know if I miss something, but if you have some other comments, please add. Maybe it could be found something interesting or helpful to fix this "bug".

EDIT: Added 7th point

 

[sprach]

Hey sprach I had same problems since the latest nvidia patch (they changed something and it only affects amd boards) you can fix it one of 2 ways, either run games in 100hz mode not great but it works or find out in system which usb hub is running the ir emitter and disable usb2 support, I did that and am now enjoying 120hz 3d gaming again ><

Thanks for your input. The only thing which "fixed" somewhat my de-sync / double image problem was to lower the frequency to 110 Hz, which resulted in flickering of the glasses, still it was playable like before the 270.61 driver release. Unfortunately running it in 110 Hz mode gave me a terrible eyestrain and a bad headache after only 1 hour of gameplay. And yes, I own an AMD board with the 790FX chipset.
I'll try the suggested hub trick and report back asap.

 

[Zyon]

Does the SLI patch work with P67 series?

 

[DiogoCDS19]

Anyone already tried the new beta drivers (275.27)?
I'm downloading right now.

Edit: Hmm it just failed after i enabled sli... I guess its "protected"
I just hope that the non-beta drivers don't come with this problem.

Although ill try reinstall again.

Definitely nop doesn't work :S

 

[RiC@RDOC]

275.27 Beta Drivers

275.27 Beta Drivers:

I can't enable Sli.

Nvidia control panel just hangs....

A new protection?? Damn

Only tried Win 7 x64 though

Nvidia should work more in fixing driver issues than in triggers to screw up Sli patch

 

[juanchacin]

It would be great that everytime that any of you try a new driver at least extract the SLI profile that the new driver has, that way we can inject this profile in older drivers.
Well that's just my opinion.

Have a nice day and keep patching!!!

 

[DiogoCDS19]

It would be great that everytime that any of you try a new driver at least extract the SLI profile that the new driver has, that way we can inject this profile in older drivers.
Well that's just my opinion.

Have a nice day and keep patching!!!

Woot! Thats a great idea, I'll do that right now

But... i just forgot, unless theres another way of doing it you can't import sli profiles from newer drivers to older drivers. At least i can't do it. (in sli profile tool) i get an error.

But there you go, profiles from beta driver 275.27 View attachment NVIDIA Profiles.txt

 

[Darkbluesky]

I can confirm that, the pre 275.27 drivers (270.61, etc) work with SLIPatch, SLI enabled and 3D Vision enabled with DirectX10 games. But NOT with dx9, which is the main problem.

And I can confirm too that the new 275.27 drivers don't allow to enable SLI in Nvidia control panel, it does as if it was to change it, switch to low res and then it stays like that indefinitely, until you force to close it, and of course SLI is not active. But the pc does not freeze. Anyway, it is likely a new protection. With all these problems I am wondering if I should sell my two eVGA GTX285 and go for an Asus GTX580...

 

[DiogoCDS19]

I can confirm that, the pre 275.27 drivers (270.61, etc) work with SLIPatch, SLI enabled and 3D Vision enabled with DirectX10 games. But NOT with dx9, which is the main problem.

And I can confirm too that the new 275.27 drivers don't allow to enable SLI in Nvidia control panel, it does as if it was to change it, switch to low res and then it stays like that indefinitely, until you force to close it, and of course SLI is not active. But the pc does not freeze. Anyway, it is likely a new protection. With all these problems I am wondering if I should sell my two eVGA GTX285 and go for an Asus GTX580...

well they got protections we get "bombs". Maybe they will release a new SLIPatch who knows.
As for selling your cards... The gtx580 is better than sli gtx285 so maybe you should do it. At least i would

 

[lokhup]

Well at least you are not alone Darkbluesky, I have been trying to get the 3d vision sli dx9 working for a while. Why it works with dx10 and not dx9 is the thing that drives me crazy in thinking that it can work.

Try and find a copy of Just Cause 2, and at least that will keep you entertained until you decide to upgrade or not.

As for the 580 idea - 3d vision really does needs so much power.

 

[Darkbluesky]

Well at least you are not alone Darkbluesky, I have been trying to get the 3d vision sli dx9 working for a while. Why it works with dx10 and not dx9 is the thing that drives me crazy in thinking that it can work.

Try and find a copy of Just Cause 2, and at least that will keep you entertained until you decide to upgrade or not.

As for the 580 idea - 3d vision really does needs so much power.

Yep, thanks for the answer. In fact I doubt because:

1. I have just bought my second GTX285 1 week ago for 100 €, and I feel silly selling it now.

2. I guess the gtx580 is overkill for my system (Maximus II formula, Q6600 -replaced in 1 week by a Q9650 @ 4 Ghz at least, adn 8Gb DDR2 1066 @ 1106 Mhz). I would have preferred to wait with my current setup until GTX6xx. But maybe it is not so wrong to get the GTX580 now. I don't know...

 

[Kool Aid Pack Ripper]

275.27 BETA Drivers doesn't work for me.. when I try to enable SLI it BSOD.

 

[juanchacin]

Woot! Thats a great idea, I'll do that right now

But... i just forgot, unless theres another way of doing it you can't import sli profiles from newer drivers to older drivers. At least i can't do it. (in sli profile tool) i get an error.

But there you go, profiles from beta driver 275.27 View attachment 42231

Thanks for the SLI Profile.txt mate, as always I manage to merge the newest profiles with the oldest in a single file.
The result is a fusion of the SLI Profiles from the drivers;
267.24
268.03
270.51
270.61
275.27 beta

Always keeping the newest parameter established by NVIDIA.
DOWNLOAD HERE

Have a nice day and keep hunting those SLI Profiles

 

[DiogoCDS19]

Thanks for the SLI Profile.txt mate, as always I manage to merge the newest profiles with the oldest in a single file.
The result is a fusion of the SLI Profiles from the drivers;
267.24
268.03
270.51
270.61
275.27 beta

Always keeping the newest parameter established by NVIDIA.
DOWNLOAD HERE

Have a nice day and keep hunting those SLI Profiles

Thanks a lot it worked

 

[Kool Aid Pack Ripper]

275.27 Beta Drivers:

I can't enable Sli.

Nvidia control panel just hangs....

A new protection?? Damn

Only tried Win 7 x64 though

Nvidia should work more in fixing driver issues than in triggers to screw up Sli patch

Same here.. 275.27 either BSOD or hangs when I try to enable SLI.

 

[slicrckuser]

Thanks for the SLI Profile.txt mate, as always I manage to merge the newest profiles with the oldest in a single file.
The result is a fusion of the SLI Profiles from the drivers;
267.24
268.03
270.51
270.61
275.27 beta

Always keeping the newest parameter established by NVIDIA.
DOWNLOAD HERE

Have a nice day and keep hunting those SLI Profiles

Dumb question here but how do you merge the profiles
Edit: tried to google this but im not able to find how to do this.