Workstation SLI

[Venturi]

I was told that this is where the thread should really be since I'm using Quadros

need help on this - as I have no other idea how to solve this.

On Windows 2003 32 bit and 64 bit - the official 71.84 driver does not enable SLI.

I can recreate the problem on two workstations 100% of the time.

The problem can be recreated with a pair of 6800ultra as well as a pair of Quadro 4400 's.

With 66.93, 67.22 and 70.78 the SLI is always recognized and able to be selected.

With the official 71.84 ther is no hint of SLI.

No - there is no pop-up for SLI enable
No - there is no SLI enable section in the menu
No - there no device errors

Yes - if it was not a pristine load, the old drivers were always removed.

Yes - both cards are recognized
Yes - both cards show up in device manager without any exlamation marks after the driver is installed.
Yes - I have turned on hardware acceleration for both cards.
Yes - I have the SLI connector in place correctly.
Yes - Both cards have the same bios revisions for each pair.
Yes - I have enable DXDiag's 3d accel
Yes - I have done this on a clean installation with out prior drivers in the registry
Yes - the OS is up to date.

Why would Nvidia not provide a driver for their flagship card? On the Nvidia webpage it cleartly states support from this driver for Server 2003 in the 32 bit vesrsion as well as the driver for the 64 bit version.

I have 2 Quadro 4400fx that currently will not SLI with any official driver from Nvidia after 70.78. All previousd drivers, even if they provide SLI - do not provide adequate support for the Quadro 4400s.

So I pose the question to Nvidia and the community. How do I SLI 2 quadro fx 4400s with the official 71.84???


Please provide help on the issue as I have run out of ideas.

Please read the post fully so that you are aware of the criteria and attempts that have been tried.

Please read the signature for system spec.

Drivers that do enable SLI in Win Server 2003 - 66.93 (crashes with Quadros), 67.22 and 70.78.

Drivers that do not enable SLI - 67.20, 67.21, 71.20, 71.24, 70.80, 74.10, 75.90, 76.10.

It seems that the 76.10 have the best Quadro support, but no SLI.


Hope this was enough information to render a functional solution

[superklye]

There are no words to express how jealous I am of you and your system.

[gbee]

Well, I'm using 71.84 with 2 4400's in XP Pro on dual Xeons and SLI shows up with no problem so it isn't strictly a driver issue. Haven't tried them in XP64 yet, but will do so shortly. Hope that helps you narrow down the possibilities.

[Venturi]

The issue is that on any flavor of Server 2003 the driver does not enable SLI - yet on their web page it shows 2003 support

[executor]

Just tried my 2 PNY Quadro FX 4400 on a Tyan K8WE and SLI doesnt work with any drivers I tried. I get a message telling me that my system is properly SLI configured and when I check the box to enable SLI it gets unchecked instead of re-starting the system. SLI never gets enabled. Any ideas? Also what brand of Quadro's are u guys using? maybe its my PNYs?

[Venturi]

Tricky, make sure that when you install the driver hardware accel is enabled for the 1st card, second, when you restart do not enable sli: go to the properties/advanced tab and enable hardware accel for the second card.
Now, on the third start, enable SLI.

2. Make sure that the SLI bridge is on securely on both cards.

3rd. Make sure both card bioses are the same EXACTLY

4th. Use the 70.78 drivers for server 2003 and the 76.4 drivers for xp.


Hope this helps.

Jay

[executor]

Tricky, make sure that when you install the driver hardware accel is enabled for the 1st card, second, when you restart do not enable sli: go to the properties/advanced tab and enable hardware accel for the second card.
Now, on the third start, enable SLI.

2. Make sure that the SLI bridge is on securely on both cards.

3rd. Make sure both card bioses are the same EXACTLY

4th. Use the 70.78 drivers for server 2003 and the 76.4 drivers for xp.


Hope this helps.

Jay

Thanks for trying to help Venturi. Sadly It doesnt work on my particular setup. Both PNY quadro's have the following bios:
5.40.02.38.10
Perhaps you could share your bios version?.
The SLI connector is seated securely on both cards, I am using WindowsXP professional SP2 with the 76.41 forceware drivers.
Under the Advanced Settings, harwadware acceleration I have the choice of:
Single display mode, multi-display compatibility and multi-dispaly Performance Mode. It was set to performance and I switched to single display first and tried with no luck. Then I switched to the other modes and still no luck. What drives me nuts is that the driver has a pop up every time I restart my system that tells me SLI is properly configured and asks me to enable it. Once I enable it the check box doesnt stay checked and SLI doesnt ask me to restart. Also another weird bug I have is that even tough my displays are connected to the first SLI card on the first PCI express slot (IE the slot closer to the processors) the driver identifies that card as the second quadro. Venturi if you could check your bios version and share it with me I would apreciate it. Also are you using PNY quadros?. Thanks

[executor]

I was able to finally enable SLI on my setup. It appears as if SLI is not compatible with my 30 inch Apple LCD. Perhaps there isnt support for the Dual link ports on the quadro, of course that would be so stupid since most people with quadro's will use SLI at resolutions higher than 1600x1200 otherwise we would just stick to plain 6800s. Whatever the case, once I use a regular monitor that doesnt require dual-link DVI, SLI is enabled and works fine. I sure hope Nvidia fixes this mess.

[shortie]

Hi all,

@executer. I'm using the quadro FX3400 and a Apple 30" display without any problems. The drivers I'm using are the latest for the quadros.

If you need help, feel free to contact me.

Kind regards shortie

[moazed]

Just tried my 2 PNY Quadro FX 4400 on a Tyan K8WE and SLI doesnt work with any drivers I tried. I get a message telling me that my system is properly SLI configured and when I check the box to enable SLI it gets unchecked instead of re-starting the system. SLI never gets enabled. Any ideas? Also what brand of Quadro's are u guys using? maybe its my PNYs?

I have the same exact problem on a Gigabyte GA-K8N Ultra-SLI with two Dell 6800GTO (rebranded Quadro FX 3400s with 12 pipes enabled). I check the SLI box, and it gets unchecked. I'm hooked up to a 30" Apple as well.

[moazed]

I have the same exact problem on a Gigabyte GA-K8N Ultra-SLI with two Dell 6800GTO (rebranded Quadro FX 3400s with 12 pipes enabled). I check the SLI box, and it gets unchecked. I'm hooked up to a 30" Apple as well.

I FOUND A SOLUTION!!!

I hooked up a small flat panel, and was able to set the SLI checkbox and have it stick! Something about the Apple 30" screws up the process, probably due to a bug in the drivers. Then when I rebooted with the 30" attached, the checkbox is still on!!!

This is after a week of tweaking and downloading drivers and hacks and stuff... I'm happy and frustrated at the same time!!!

BTW, I get 3990 3DMark05's with single card and 7970 3DMark05s with SLI. Sweet!!! :)

Not everything is working, though. I only have two resolution settings now, instead of the original six or seven settings. One is native 2560x1600 and another is quarter resolution 1280x800. Some games run fine but others only run in quarter resolution and get garbled in native resolution. Nalu demo runs fine in high resolution, but 3DMark2005 and BrothersInArms only work right in low resolution.

[silicone hoses]

I FOUND A SOLUTION!!!

I hooked up a small flat panel, and was able to set the SLI checkbox and have it stick! Something about the Apple 30" screws up the process, probably due to a bug in the drivers. Then when I rebooted with the 30" attached, the checkbox is still on!!!

This is after a week of tweaking and downloading drivers and hacks and stuff... I'm happy and frustrated at the same time!!!

BTW, I get 3990 3DMark05's with single card and 7970 3DMark05s with SLI. Sweet!!! :)

Not everything is working, though. I only have two resolution settings now, instead of the original six or seven settings. One is native 2560x1600 and another is quarter resolution 1280x800. Some games run fine but others only run in quarter resolution and get garbled in native resolution. Nalu demo runs fine in high resolution, but 3DMark2005 and BrothersInArms only work right in low resolution.

You're simply amazing.. LOL I just couldn't imagine you being frustrated and happy at the same time.. However, the resolution is all mixed up, and how was it? I mean, not talking about games or anything - how about watching movies or something else..

[ViN86]

Just FYI, this thread is over 5 years old...