How to enable nvidia sli in a laptop. Enabling NVIDIA SLI on any motherboards, detailed guide. Features of connecting video cards in SLI and Crossfire modes

Hello, question!I bought two GeForce GTX 1070 video cards for 38 thousand each and installed them in my computer in an SLI connection, but the results weretests in Futuremark 3DMark show that performance (compared to a single video card) increased by only 10-15%, but I was expecting at least 50%. Also, in modern games, two video cards did not increase my FPS, and in some (in particular FAR CRY PRIMAL) even downgraded. It turns out that it would be better if I bought not two, but one video card for this moneyGeForce GTX 1080 or even GeForce GTX 1080 Ti. And so I threw money away. Please don't repeat my mistake. And yet, few people know that not all NVIDIA tenth series video cards can operate in bridge mode (SLI), for example, the GeForce GTX 1050 and GTX 1060 cannot, either. GTX 1070 cannot be paired with GTX 1080 . Please tell us about this on your website.

Why does installing two video cards in a computer in conjunction with SLI or CrossFireX in most cases make no sense? Or why video card manufacturers will never bring SLI and CrossFireX technologies to fruition!

Hi all! Almost all users who like to play various games have probably thought or heard about the fact that two or more video cards can be installed in the system to combine their power. Actually, the technology of combining two or more graphics processors for processing three-dimensional images presented by Nvidia is called SLI (scalable link interface, Russian scalable communication interface). The analogue from AMD is called CrossFireX. What are the pros and cons of each technology, is it worth using these technologies, how do they work? This is what I will talk about today.

• And most importantly, I will tell you why it is not profitable for video card manufacturers to have SLI or CrossFireX technologies increase the performance of a computer’s graphics system by 100%.

So let's start with the green ones (Nvidia). In order to add an SLI connection to your system, you will need 2+ video cards of the same series and model. Unlike the red ones (AMD) (which we'll talk about a little later), GPUs are more finicky in this regard. If older lines of cards made it possible to combine absolutely any model into a bridge (the main thing is that they were the same), then in the last tenth line everything changed. You can only build a bridge using GTX 1070, 1080 and 1080Ti. What this is connected with remains a mystery to me personally, but, unfortunately, now only these models can be combined. I can’t give any information about the titans.

(Two GTX 1080 Ti video cards connected by an SLI bridge)

As for the red ones, they have both advantages over the green ones and disadvantages. The main advantage is that absolutely any models can be combined, the main condition is that the video cards being combined are built on the same architecture. For example, AMD allows you to pair the RX 460 and RX 470. But putting the GTX 1070 and GTX 1080 together will no longer work. Well, the main disadvantage of CrossFireX is the performance increase. The power gain when using direct competitor cards for red ones is significantly lower than for green ones. And optimization in most games supporting video card combinations is much worse for AMD. Yes, not all games support SLI and CrossFireX. As for the secondary manufacturer of video cards, it has absolutely no significance. That is, if you have two GTX 970, one from MSI and the other from Palit, then this will not affect the result in any way. This rule applies to both Nvidia and AMD video cards.

To build a system based on SLI and CrossfireX you will need:

1. Motherboard with two or more PCI-express x16 slots that supports this technology. Not all motherboards that have two or more video card slots support a bunch of video cards! There is always a corresponding marking on the motherboard itself, it is written about this on the manufacturer’s website, and it is also always indicated in the accompanying instructions. Remember that if you do not need a motherboard that supports SLI and CrossFireX, then choose the appropriate board, since you will always overpay for the fact that the motherboard is equipped with support for video card communications.

2. Powerful power supply. Two video cards = high power consumption. A unit of 550 watts or more is recommended.

3. The video cards themselves support these technologies.

4. Bridge connecting video cards. As far as I know, AMD allows you to combine cards without using this bridge, that is, using software. However, in this case, the loss in performance will be about 15-20% than if you used a bridge.

In my opinion, it is not worth building a system based on these technologies. But it’s not worth it, because it’s better to buy one more powerful video card than two, but weaker ones. For example, two GTX 1070 will be weaker than one GTX 1080. And all because these technologies have very poor optimization for games and other resource-intensive applications; the green ones are of course better than the red ones, but still bad. The performance gain, as you might think, will not be 100% from using a second GPU. At best it will be 40-50%. And then, in the overwhelming majority it will be 15-25%. That is, the question of the feasibility of such a purchase remains open from a price/performance point of view. It makes sense to install such a system only if the power of the current top-end video card is not enough for you. And this happens only in very highly specialized cases. For example, to achieve a stable number of frames per second on a 144Hz monitor in very heavy games. In light games, the top 1080Ti easily copes with this task. Or if you want to play in high resolution - 4 or 8k.

Also, don’t forget about video memory. If you combine two video cards with different amounts of memory, then only the memory that is smaller in size is used. For example, you installed an RX 480 with 4gb and an RX48 with 8 gb. As you might think, you will have 12 gigabytes of video memory available to you. Unfortunately this is not the case. Only 4 gigs will be available. If you have two identical video cards, but operating at different frequencies, then both of them will also operate at the lower frequency. That is, for example, one operates at 1544Hz, the other at 1622Hz, both will operate at 1544Hz. In the future, with a complete transition to DirectX 12, we are promised complete optimization and full use of all resources of the combined video cards. That is, there will be a 100% increase in power and a complete summation of the available video memory. But this is all a promise; in reality, we have what we have. Of course, there are also interesting game projects where we can get 70% or 80% performance gains, but, unfortunately, there are very few of them and they are rather the exception to the rule. As I like to say, it’s ultimately up to you to decide, but I decided for myself a long time ago that at the moment SLI and CrossFireX are extremely impractical!

Why video card manufacturers will never bring SLI and CrossFireX technologies to fruition and why a second video card will never add 100% performance to your computer's graphics system

The answer is very simple. Imagine the situation. You bought a computer with a powerful video card and after a couple of years its power began to not be enough for you. You went to the store or the secondary market and bought an inexpensive second such video card, as a result of which you added 100% performance to the graphics system of your computer. But this will never happen! This is not profitable for the manufacturer, but it is beneficial for you to always buy a new product at an expensive price. That's the whole secret. That's all, see you soon!

Today we will get acquainted with the construction of SLI or CrossFireX configuration on ASUS ROG Maximus V motherboards.

In this manual, we will look at an example of building an SLI and CrossFireX system based on the ASUS ROG Maximus V Formula motherboard.

Install the first video card in the top red PCI-Express slot (x16).
Since we are interested in installing two video cards, the second one must be installed in the middle (also red) slot. In this case, the operating mode of each slot will be PCI-E 3.0 x8. This bandwidth will be enough (given the 3.0 standard), so there will be no loss of performance.
It remains to make sure that the latches on the slots hold the cards and that we have connected additional power.

Installing a second video card.
The second card should be as similar as possible to the first. For NVIDIA everything is simple - you need to install two identical video cards (you need to install a second GTX 670 to the first GTX 670). In this case, the driver will synchronize the frequencies of the GPU and video memory for correct operation.
But for AMD the situation is more interesting - you can use slightly different video cards. For example, with HD 7970 you can use HD 7950. We have also prepared a special table to simplify the choice:

Please note that you cannot install SLI or CrossFireX NVIDIA + AMD video cards.

On the Maximus V Formula board, the first and second PCI-Express slots (x16 size) are located in such a way that you can easily install even three-slot video cards, such as ASUS DirectCU II.

You should not install a video card in the lowest PCI-Express slot, since its bandwidth is always limited by x4 mode.

Well, when we have installed two video cards, it is worth connecting them with a special bridge. Bridges for SLI are usually included with motherboards, and CrossFire bridges are included with video cards. Bridges must be installed on the same contact pad of both cards.

When using one monitor, it must be connected to the video output of the top card. If you have a configuration of three monitors, then, when using AMD cards, the third must be connected to the DisplayPort output, while, as in the case of NVIDIA cards, you can connect all three via DVI outputs.

When we have everything connected, all that remains is to configure a few things in the BIOS and drivers.
We need the Advanced tab, then System Agent Configuration and in this menu NB PCIe Configuration. You need to change the “Auto” values ​​to “Gen 3”.

Now you can boot the operating system and install drivers.
When the installation is complete and the system is rebooted, we need to get into the video card control panel.
It needs to enable SLI or CrossFire, depending on our configuration.

And we need to make sure that everything works as it should. For example, using the Unigen Heaven 3.0 benchmark.
The gain from the second GTX 670 is obvious (results may vary for different systems):

For one and two HD 7970 respectively:

It must be said that the increase from installing a second video card may not be in every game. This may be due to both the game itself and the drivers. Therefore, you need to monitor driver updates and the game itself (patches).

All that remains is to add that you need a high-quality and powerful power supply. For a dual-GPU system, we recommend a minimum 700W power supply.

This material is a free translation

28.12.2017

SLI mode and solutions to problems associated with this mode

Finally, we have waited! At least those users for whom the performance of one video card today is not enough. Who cares how much such a solution costs if it provides unmatched speed at the highest resolutions with the maximum level of detail. Finally, nVidia was able to present a working implementation of SLI technology. The concept of SLI has long been familiar to us: two video cards running in parallel - remember the old Voodoo2 cards from 3dfx? Although nVidia's technology is also called SLI, its implementation is still somewhat different.

The revival of the principle of using two graphics cards became possible thanks to the advent of the PCI Express interface. With the release of the nForce4 chipset, nVidia was the first to introduce a PCI Express platform that was up to the task. You can get more information in the article nVidia implements SLI: the power of two GPUs in one computer .

Assembling components for an SLI system is not particularly difficult: you need to find two identical nVidia GeForce 6800 Ultra, 6800 GT or 6600 GT cards with PCI Express support, as well as an SLI-compatible motherboard on the nForce4 SLI chipset plus a bridge to connect the two cards. Manufacturers usually include this bridge in the delivery kit. Because manufacturers often change the distance between two x16 slots, some bridges allow their length to be adjusted.

For SLI, nothing else is required - except for the money that you will have to pay for all this equipment. The fact is that a motherboard with SLI support will cost you significantly more than the regular version, not counting the cost of a second video card. You should also get a powerful power supply with a 24-pin plug. Owners of LCD monitors may also have problems. The fact is that most displays have a native resolution of 1280x1024. However, the performance potential of the SLI system on two GeForce 6800 cards today can only be revealed at a resolution of 1600x1200. When reducing the resolution, the bottleneck will be the CPU, so you will have to invest in a more powerful processor.

In general, an SLI system is not cheap. In the following sections of our article, we will share our experience and test results of the first motherboards with SLI support from ASUS and MSI.

In the early stages of CrossFire development, it was impossible to assemble a bundle of two identical boards. Required one regular video card, and another from the same series, but with an additional chip Compositing Engine. Models Radeon, intended for the CrossFire mode, were called master cards, and the prefix was added to their names CF. To connect two video cards to each other, a special external Y-shaped cable was used, consisting of two DVI-I connectors (“female” and “male”) and one DMS-59. Need I say that the composition of a pair of boards and a cable dangling behind the system unit was far from perfect?

How Alternate Frame Rendering works using Radeon as an example.

Time passed, and technology actively developed. ATI offered a software version of CrossFire, which did not require connecting cables - video cards exchanged information via PCIe x16 connectors. The software connection was first tested on younger Radeon models, and only then on more powerful video cards. Modern ATI (or rather, AMD) boards, like NVIDIA boards, are connected using special bridges.

CrossFire technology is very democratic in terms of choosing video cards: any two models with similar architecture are suitable. For example, you can combine video cards Radeon HD 2600 Pro And Radeon HD 2600XT. But there is one point: the characteristics of a more powerful video adapter will be reduced to the values ​​of a weaker one. In the case of our example, we will get a CrossFire system on two Radeon HD 2600 Pro.

Chipsets compatible with CrossFire are produced not only by AMD, but also by Intel. However, of all the Intel chipsets, only one X38 boasts official support for this technology in the “x16+x16” mode. On other boards, CrossFire works according to the “x16+x4” scheme. In general, the difference between the modes is minimal. If you do not plan to set performance records, then there is no particular need for two full-fledged PCIe x16. On AMD chipsets, graphics connectors operate in symmetrical “x8+x8” or “x16+x16” modes. The only exception is AMD 570X.

Invasion of hybrids

AMD and NVIDIA are actively promoting the idea of ​​combining a regular video card and the integrated graphics core of the motherboard. The corresponding technologies are called Hybrid CrossFire and Hybrid SLI.

Integrated graphics have never been distinguished by outstanding operating speeds, so you should not hope for a significant increase in performance from the use of “hybrids”. And even then, only owners of inexpensive video adapters will be able to feel this increase. By the way, it is the younger models of video cards that should be the first to provide technology support.

The main advantage of using “hybrids” is related to energy savings. When a computer runs 2D graphics, the built-in kernel runs the show. But in games, the main video card will immediately join it.

According to forecasts, official announcements of Hybrid SLI and Hybrid CrossFire should take place this spring.

When tandem is not enough

The 3-Way SLI combination is the choice for the most desperate enthusiasts.

A combination of two video cards can significantly improve system performance. However, there are cases when even such speed is not enough. And at the end of last year, NVIDIA introduced a new version of SLI, which allows you to combine three video cards at once. The technology was named 3-way SLI.

At the moment, only two video card models support the triple version of SLI: GeForce 8800 GTX And GeForce 8800 Ultra. The reason for this discrimination is that only these video adapters have two connectors for connecting SLI bridges. The bridge itself is non-standard: it has not two, but six connectors. By the way, theoretically, video cards can be connected using three conventional bridges: two rigid and one flexible.

A modern board with four PCIe x16 slots and support for CrossFire X technology.

To build a 3-way SLI system, you will need a motherboard based on the NVIDIA system logic set and equipped with three PCIe x16 connectors. We are talking about models based on chipsets nForce 680i SLI And nForce 780i SLI. A more powerful processor, or better yet, the most powerful one, is also highly recommended. At the moment this can be considered Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9770. It should be noted that of all SLI-compatible motherboards, this processor is only compatible with models based on the nForce 780i SLI chipset.

As for performance gains, it all depends on the specific application. As practice shows, if you have a fast processor, the advantage of using three video cards compared to two can reach 30-35%. However, the technology reveals all its advantages only at very high resolutions (1920x1200 and higher) with high filtering and anti-aliasing settings. This is understandable: it is unlikely that the owner of a system with 3-way SLI will run games at a resolution of 1280x1024 with standard quality options.

The competitor in the form of AMD is not asleep. The company has been developing for quite some time CrossFire X- your answer to 3-way SLI. AMD plans to release a driver that will allow combining not only three, but also four video cards in one system. To connect to each other, video adapters will use the same flexible bridges as in the case of classic CrossFire.

Motherboards with four graphics slots are no longer uncommon - all thanks to the chipset AMD 790FX. Boards based on it provide two full-fledged PCIe x16 interfaces for regular CrossFire. When adding a third or fourth video card, the connectors automatically switch to x8 mode. The 790FX exclusively supports AMD processors, but Intel fans shouldn't despair. A number of companies (for example, MSI or ASUS) sell motherboards with four graphics connectors, but based on the Intel X38 system logic set. It is far from certain that the CrossFire X driver will provide support for the technology on such boards, but there are no obstacles to this.

If we compare SLI and CrossFire technologies head-on, NVIDIA's creation looks more powerful. But the times when CrossFire was frankly weaker than its competitor are already a thing of the past. True, NVIDIA still has fewer problems associated with using a graphics tandem.

How advisable is it to build a system with two video cards? First, you need to understand that SLI and CrossFire are not a panacea. If the PC is poorly balanced, and the processor or RAM acts as a bottleneck, then the graphics tandem will have little effect on performance. Secondly, two video cards consume a lot of power and generate a lot of heat. Therefore, before assembly, you should acquire a spacious case and a powerful, high-quality power supply. Third, both technologies rely heavily on driver and game optimization. It is difficult to predict how much performance in a particular application will increase from using a second video card. Sometimes there may be no growth at all.

Does it make sense to assemble a tandem of two boards in the mid-price segment? It all depends on your specific situation, but in most cases, buying one more powerful graphics card makes more sense. You won't need an expensive motherboard, and there will be fewer operational problems.

New quality standards

Scheme of operation of the Super AA algorithm.

SLI and CrossFire can be used not only to increase system performance, but also to improve picture quality. We are talking about anti-aliasing modes SLI AA(for GeForce video cards) and Super AA(for Radeon).

When SLI AA is enabled, each video card processes the same frame entirely, but with different full-screen anti-aliasing patterns. After this, the frames are superimposed on each other and the colors of the corresponding pixels are averaged. Thus, the quality of anti-aliasing is doubled. Available SLI AA modes: x8, x16 and x32.

The Super AA method works on the same principle as NVIDIA's development. The only difference is in the available anti-aliasing modes: 8x, 10x, 12x and 14x. The 8x and 12x modes are respectively “doubled” versions of 4x and 6x multisampling; in the 10x and 14x modes, 2x supersampling is added to multisampling.

Hello, question! tests in Futuremark 3DMark show that performance (compared to a single video card) increased by only 10-15%, but I was expecting at least 50%. Also, in modern games, two video cards did not increase my FPS, and in some (in particular FAR CRY PRIMAL) even downgraded. It turns out that it would be better if I bought not two, but one video card for this moneyGeForce GTX 1080 or even GeForce GTX 1080 Ti. And so I threw money away. Please don't repeat my mistake. And yet, few people know that not all NVIDIA tenth series video cards can operate in bridge mode (SLI), for example, the GeForce GTX 1050 and GTX 1060 cannot, either. GTX 1070 cannot be paired with GTX 1080 . Please tell us about this on your website.

Hi all! Almost all users who like to play various games have probably thought or heard about the fact that two or more video cards can be installed in the system to combine their power. Actually, the technology of combining two or more graphics processors for processing three-dimensional images presented by Nvidia is called SLI (scalable link interface, Russian scalable communication interface). The analogue from AMD is called CrossFireX. What are the pros and cons of each technology, is it worth using these technologies, how do they work? This is what I will talk about today.

• And most importantly, I will tell you why it is not profitable for video card manufacturers to have SLI or CrossFireX technologies increase the performance of a computer’s graphics system by 100%.

So let's start with the green ones (Nvidia). In order to add an SLI connection to your system, you will need 2+ video cards of the same series and model. Unlike the red ones (AMD) (which we'll talk about a little later), GPUs are more finicky in this regard. If older lines of cards made it possible to combine absolutely any model into a bridge (the main thing is that they were the same), then in the last tenth line everything changed. You can only build a bridge using GTX 1070, 1080 and 1080Ti. What this is connected with remains a mystery to me personally, but, unfortunately, now only these models can be combined. I can’t give any information about the titans.

(Two GTX 1080 Ti video cards connected by an SLI bridge)

As for the red ones, they have both advantages over the green ones and disadvantages. The main advantage is that absolutely any models can be combined, the main condition is that the video cards being combined are built on the same architecture. For example, AMD allows you to pair the RX 460 and RX 470. But putting the GTX 1070 and GTX 1080 together will no longer work. Well, the main disadvantage of CrossFireX is the performance increase. The power gain when using direct competitor cards for red ones is significantly lower than for green ones. And optimization in most games supporting video card combinations is much worse for AMD. Yes, not all games support SLI and CrossFireX. As for the secondary manufacturer of video cards, it has absolutely no significance. That is, if you have two GTX 970, one from MSI and the other from Palit, then this will not affect the result in any way. This rule applies to both Nvidia and AMD video cards.

To build a system based on SLI and CrossfireX you will need:

1. Motherboard with two or more PCI-express x16 slots that supports this technology. Not all motherboards that have two or more video card slots support a bunch of video cards! There is always a corresponding marking on the motherboard itself, it is written about this on the manufacturer’s website, and it is also always indicated in the accompanying instructions. Remember that if you do not need a motherboard that supports SLI and CrossFireX, then choose the appropriate board, since you will always overpay for the fact that the motherboard is equipped with support for video card communications.

2. Powerful power supply. Two video cards = high power consumption. A unit of 550 watts or more is recommended.

3. The video cards themselves support these technologies.

4. Bridge connecting video cards. As far as I know, AMD allows you to combine cards without using this bridge, that is, using software. However, in this case, the loss in performance will be about 15-20% than if you used a bridge.

In my opinion, it is not worth building a system based on these technologies. But it’s not worth it, because it’s better to buy one more powerful video card than two, but weaker ones. For example, two GTX 1070 will be weaker than one GTX 1080. And all because these technologies have very poor optimization for games and other resource-intensive applications; the green ones are of course better than the red ones, but still bad. The performance gain, as you might think, will not be 100% from using a second GPU. At best it will be 40-50%. And then, in the overwhelming majority it will be 15-25%. That is, the question of the feasibility of such a purchase remains open from a price/performance point of view. It makes sense to install such a system only if the power of the current top-end video card is not enough for you. And this happens only in very highly specialized cases. For example, to achieve a stable number of frames per second on a 144Hz monitor in very heavy games. In light games, the top 1080Ti easily copes with this task. Or if you want to play in high resolution - 4 or 8k.

Also, don’t forget about video memory. If you combine two video cards with different amounts of memory, then only the memory that is smaller in size is used. For example, you installed an RX 480 with 4gb and an RX48 with 8 gb. As you might think, you will have 12 gigabytes of video memory available to you. Unfortunately this is not the case. Only 4 gigs will be available. If you have two identical video cards, but operating at different frequencies, then both of them will also operate at the lower frequency. That is, for example, one operates at 1544Hz, the other at 1622Hz, both will operate at 1544Hz. In the future, with a complete transition to DirectX 12, we are promised complete optimization and full use of all resources of the combined video cards. That is, there will be a 100% increase in power and a complete summation of the available video memory. But this is all a promise; in reality, we have what we have. Of course, there are also interesting game projects where we can get 70% or 80% performance gains, but, unfortunately, there are very few of them and they are rather the exception to the rule. As I like to say, it’s ultimately up to you to decide, but I decided for myself a long time ago that at the moment SLI and CrossFireX are extremely impractical!

Why video card manufacturers will never bring SLI and CrossFireX technologies to fruition and why a second video card will never add 100% performance to your computer's graphics system

The answer is very simple. Imagine the situation. You bought a computer with a powerful video card and after a couple of years its power began to not be enough for you. You went to the store or the secondary market and bought an inexpensive second such video card, as a result of which you added 100% performance to the graphics system of your computer. But this will never happen! This is not profitable for the manufacturer, but it is beneficial for you to always buy a new product at an expensive price. That's the whole secret. That's all, see you soon!

Judging by the tests of modern adapters with two top GPUs (Radeon HD 7990, GeForce GTX 690) or similar configurations based on individual cards, NVIDIA SLI and AMD CrossFireX technologies have generally overcome the period of painful maturation. In many games, a dual-processor system demonstrates an almost twofold advantage over the same single GPU, while in others you can quite count on a bonus in the range of 50-70%. At least this is the case among AAA games. Less popular toys usually escape the attention of IT publications, and we cannot judge how well they are optimized for SLI and CrossFireX. In addition, the generally optimistic picture is spoiled by failures in individual games, where either performance does not scale well, or developers are partial to one of the competing technologies, ignoring the other.

In general, video cards with two GPUs have already proven their right to exist at the very top of the NVIDIA and AMD model ranges. Meanwhile, SLI and CrossFireX connectors are now installed even on adapters that are weak by gamer standards, like the Radeon HD 7770 and GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST. And every time you get your hands on another cheap video card with SLI or CrossFireX support, you want to check how a couple of these little guys behave? On the one hand, the interest is purely academic. The processors in low-end gaming video cards are approximately half the size of top-end GPUs in terms of the number of functional units. Here's another way to test the effectiveness of technologies that parallelize the computing load between two GPUs - try to get performance from the two halves that is close to 100% of the result of a top-end processor.

⇡ Do we need it?

But let’s try to find some practical benefit in such an experiment. In theory, a tandem of weak video cards can be a better purchase than one top-end adapter. The older AMD models are now the permanent Radeon HD 7970 and its overclocked brother HD 7970 GHz Edition. Among NVIDIA products, a similar pair can be considered the GeForce GTX 680 and GTX 770. Well, the Radeon HD 7790 and HD 7850 (for AMD), GTX 650 Ti BOOST and GTX 660 (for NVIDIA) can be considered as their approximate halves.

Let's compare the retail prices of these models. Radeon HD 7790 with a standard memory capacity of 1 GB can be purchased in Moscow online stores for an amount of 4,100 rubles, HD 7850 2 GB - for 4,800 rubles. At the same time, the Radeon HD 7970 is sold at a price of 9,800 rubles, which is only 200 rubles more expensive than a pair of HD 7850. But the HD 7970 GHz Edition is already difficult to find for less than 14,000 rubles.

Thus, CrossFireX on two inexpensive AMD cards seems to be a dubious idea, if only because the Radeon HD 7850, although it is half the HD 7970 in terms of the number of active computing units in the GPU, is significantly inferior to the latter in terms of core and memory clock speeds. The HD 7790 runs the processor at 1 GHz, which partly compensates for its more modest configuration compared to the HD 7850, but the weak point of the HD 7790 is the 128-bit memory bus, and most importantly, its 1 GB capacity, which will certainly affect performance in heavy environments. graphic modes (and it is for them that we are assembling such a tandem).

From the point of view of pure experimentation, not burdened by financial considerations, in terms of the configuration of computational units and GPU frequency, the combined power of a pair of low-end AMD adapters capable of operating in CrossFireX mode (we don’t take the Radeon HD 7770 into account; an assembly of two of these would be completely ridiculous) , is a little short of the flagship mark. Let's not forget this circumstance when discussing the benchmark results. However, the 256-bit memory bus plays in favor of the HD 7850 pair - something that NVIDIA cannot offer in this price segment.

The price range among NVIDIA video cards is more favorable for assembling a tandem of two low-performance SKUs compared to a single powerful adapter. GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST can be purchased at a price starting from 5,200 rubles, GeForce GTX 660 - for 5,800 rubles. Both have two gigabytes of onboard memory. At the same time, prices for the GeForce GTX 680 and the newly arrived GTX 770, which is actually an updated version of the GTX 680, start at 13,000 rubles. According to the specifications, the GTX 650 Ti BOOST - the youngest graphics accelerator in NVIDIA's range that supports SLI - corresponds to half of the GTX 680 (GTX 770) and even has a larger number of ROPs, but only operates at lower frequencies. The GTX 660, at the same frequency as the GTX 650 Ti BOOST, is more densely equipped with CUDA cores and texture units. Both models are burdened by a relatively narrow 192-bit memory bus.

⇡ Deceptive gigabytes

A significant problem in any configuration with multiple GPUs is the amount of memory on the video adapters. The fact is that the RAM of individual video cards does not add up to one large array. Instead, their content is duplicated. Thus, even if the combined computing power of two “trimmed” GPUs is comparable to the power of a single flagship core, the tandem has a frame buffer equal to the memory of one card. And heavy graphics modes, you know, can be extremely demanding on memory. Take games known for their thirst for extra megabytes, which we use as benchmarks. Metro 2033 at a resolution of 2560x1440 with maximum settings takes up up to 1.5 GB of RAM, Far Cry 3 - 1.7, and Crysis 3 - almost 2 GB.

Well, since it is precisely for such games and such settings that we are ready to resort to such a strange solution as two relatively budget cards in the SLI/CrossFireX configuration, video adapters with a RAM capacity of less than 2 GB are not suitable for us. In this regard, NVIDIA products are a little more fortunate, since even the GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST, according to official specifications, comes in a 2 GB memory version, not to mention the GTX 660. In addition, even the GTX 680 does not have more memory (GTX only 770 versions with 4 GB GDDR are allowed 5).

The Radeon HD 7790 is designed as an adapter exclusively with 1 GB of memory, although AMD partners produce models with double frame buffer on their own initiative. The HD 7850 version with 1 GB of memory, on the contrary, officially ceased to exist due to the advent of the HD 7790. And most importantly, the flagship, Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition, is equipped with 3 GB of memory - one and a half times more than the “average” ones from AMD.

In general, let's stop guessing. Honestly, the performance of assembling two mid-range gaming video cards in SLI or CrossFireX is difficult to predict based on bare theory. We need to test, and we are ready for any surprises. But before moving on to practical work, let's discuss another aspect of our exotic project - energy consumption. Based on the typical power of AMD adapters, the HD 7850 tandem should not consume much more power than a single Radeon HD 7970: 2x130 versus 250 W, respectively. The HD 7790 build is even more economical: it's twice 85 watts.

NVIDIA cards of comparable performance are more power hungry. GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST and GTX 660 have the same TDP - 140 W. When paired, such adapters are far superior to the GeForce GTX 680 (195 W) and even the GTX 770 (230 W).

⇡ Test participants

Our task is to assemble four dual-processor configurations: based on the GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST and GeForce GTX 660, on the one hand, and on the Radeon HD 7790 and HD 7850, on the other, and then compare their performance with the performance of powerful adapters on the same GPU.

• 2 x GeForce GTX 660 (980/6008 MHz, 2 GB)
• 2 x GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST (980/6008 MHz, 2 GB)
• 2 x Radeon HD 7850 (860/4800 MHz, 2 GB)
• 2 x Radeon HD 7790 (1000/6000 MHz, 1 GB)

And these models were chosen as competitors:

• AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition (1050/6000 MHz, 3 GB)
• AMD Radeon HD 7970 (925/5500 MHz, 3 GB)
• AMD Radeon HD 7950 (800/5000 MHz, 3 GB)
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 (863/6008 MHz, 3 GB)
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 (1046/7012 MHz, 2 GB)
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 (1006/6008 MHz, 2 GB)
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 (915/6008 MHz, 2 GB)

⇡ Test participants, details

Most of the cards in multiprocessor assemblies are provided for testing by NVIDIA partners, and differ from the reference design adapters in clock speeds. For the purity of the study, they had to be brought to reference specifications. However, showing respect for the work of manufacturers, below we will briefly list the advantages of each of the testing participants.

• AMD Radeon HD 7850
• ASUS GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST DirectCU II OC (GTX650TIB-DC2OC-2GD5)
• ASUS Radeon HD 7790 DirectCU II OC (HD7790-DC2OC-1GD5)
• Gainward GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST 2GB Golden Sample (426018336-2876)
• GIGABYTE Radeon HD 7790 (GV-R779OC-1GD)
• MSI GeForce GTX 660 (N660 TF 2GD5/OC)
• ZOTAC GeForce GTX 660 (ZT-60901-10M)

ASUS GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST DirectCU II OC (GTX650TIB-DC2OC-2GD5)

ASUS sent us a slightly overclocked version of the GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST 2 GB with the base core frequency increased by 40 MHz compared to the reference specification. The board is equipped with the well-known DirectCU II cooling system, which includes heat pipes that are in direct contact with the GPU crystal. Hence the name DirectCU. But, unlike more expensive models, the GTX 650 Ti BOOST cooler has only two heat pipes, not three.

Gainward GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST 2GB Golden Sample (426018336-2876)

Gainward also produces an overclocked version of the GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST, with the difference from the ASUS implementation that the base GPU frequency is increased by only 26 MHz, but there is an increase of 100 MHz to the resulting video memory frequency. The video card cooler is also an open type and contains two copper heat pipes.

MSI GeForce GTX 660 (N660 TF 2GD5/OC)

The GeForce GTX 660 by MSI is equipped with a solid Twin Frozr III cooling system with three heat pipes. The manufacturer increased the base clock frequency of the GPU by 53 MHz relative to the reference value, without affecting the video memory frequency.

ZOTAC GeForce GTX 660 (ZT-60901-10M)

This video card has already appeared on 3DNews in the initial testing of the GeForce GTX 660. There is a slight overclocking of the GPU: from a base frequency of 980 to 993 MHz. The cooling system is an open type design with two heat pipes and a copper plate at the base.

AMD Radeon HD 7850

This is a one hundred percent reference video adapter provided by AMD itself. Accordingly, the core and memory frequencies correspond to the reference ones with an accuracy of one megahertz. Unlike all other test participants, the reference Radeon HD 7850 is equipped with a turbine cooler. The radiator has a copper base and is penetrated by three heat pipes.

ASUS Radeon HD 7790 DirectCU II OC (HD7790-DC2OC-1GD5)

The overclocker version of the Radeon HD 7790 from ASUS is overclocked by 75 MHz in processor frequency and 400 MHz in video memory. In general, AMD GPUs allow for greater factory overclocking compared to their NVIDIA counterparts. The card's cooling system is similar to that of the above-described ASUS GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST DirectCU II OC. This is a simplified version of the DirectCU II cooler with two heat pipes pressed against the GPU die.

GIGABYTE Radeon HD 7790 (GV-R779OC-1GD)

This card is similar in configuration to the Radeon HD 7990 from ASUS: the GPU operates at the same frequency of 1075 MHz, but the memory frequency is left at the standard 6000 MHz. The cooler is a simple design consisting of a solid aluminum radiator and a large fan. The GIGABYTE adapter cannot boast of heat pipes or an additional metal radiator base.

Extensiveness and intensity are two key concepts in the development of human progress. Extensive and intensive paths of development of society, technology, and all of humanity as a whole have succeeded each other over the course of many centuries. There are many examples of this in all areas of economic activity. But today we are not interested in agriculture and cattle breeding; we are interested in information technology and computers. As an example, let's briefly look at the development of central processing units.

Let's not delve into the distant 80-90s, let's start right away with the Pentium 4. After a long intensive development of NetBurst technology, increasing the “steroid” megahertz, the industry hit a wall - it turned out to be very difficult to further “overclock” single-core processors and, in order to get more more powerful processor, higher costs required. And then dual-core processors appeared - an extensive solution to the problem. Soon they, too, ceased to provide the required performance, and a new Core architecture appeared, which at lower clock speeds provides greater performance - an intensive solution to the problem. And so it will continue.

But what happens with the development of the second component, which is important for a fan of spectacular games on a PC - the video card? And the same thing happens as with processors. At this stage of development, single-chip video cards can no longer provide the required performance. Therefore, both leading companies in the video card market (NVIDIA and AMD) are developing and actively implementing their own technologies to increase video system performance by combining two, three, or even four video cards in one PC. In this article we will look at the first company (since it was the one that presented its development first) NVIDIA and its SLI technology.

What is SLI technology?

NVIDIA SLI technology is a revolutionary approach to scaling graphics performance by combining multiple NVIDIA graphics cards into a single system.

Story

In 1998, 3dfx introduced the Voodoo2 graphics processor, among other innovations of which was SLI (Scan Line Interleave) technology, which involved two Voodoo2 chips working together to form an image. Even cards from different manufacturers, as well as cards with different amounts of memory, could work with SLI technology. The SLI system allowed working with resolutions up to 1024x768, which seemed incredible at the time. The disadvantages of SLI from 3dfx were the high cost of accelerators ($600) and high heat dissipation. However, soon video cards are moving from the PCI bus to the faster dedicated AGP graphics port. Since there was only one port on motherboards, the production of video cards with SLI support ceased for a while.

In 2000, with the release of the new VSA-100 chip, 3dfx was able to implement SLI on AGP, but this time within a single board that housed two or four such chips.

However, boards based on the SLI system had high power consumption and failed due to power supply problems. About 200 Voodoo5 6000 boards were sold throughout the world, and only 100 of them actually worked. Such an unsuccessful promotion of a promising accelerator, in which very large amounts of money were invested, actually led to the bankruptcy of the company. In 2001, NVIDIA buys 3dfx for $110 million.

In 2004, with the release of the first solutions based on the new PCI Express bus, NVIDIA announced support in its products for multi-chip data processing technology SLI, which stands for something else - Scalable Link Interface (scalable interface).

At first, the advancement of SLI technology did not go very smoothly, primarily due to constantly identified flaws in the drivers, as well as the need to “sharpen” them for each specific application, otherwise the player would not receive any benefit from purchasing a pair of accelerators. But generations of accelerators changed, drivers were improved, and the list of supported games expanded. And so, at the end of 2007, Triple SLI technology was put into operation, allowing three NVIDIA video cards to be combined:

The manufacturer promises a performance increase of up to 250% compared to a single chip. But this was not the limit, now Quad SLI is next in line, making it possible to force 4 GPUs to work on visualizing the game scene, albeit as part of a pair of dual-chip video cards.

Imaging algorithms

Split Frame Rendering

Split Frame Rendering algorithm diagram

This is a frequently used mode when the image is divided into several parts, the number of which corresponds to the number of video cards in the bundle. Each part of the image is processed completely by one video card, including geometric and pixel components. ( Analogue in CrossFire - Scissor algorithm)

The Split Frame Rendering algorithm easily scales to 3, 4, and in the future, possibly even more GPUs.

Alternate Frame Rendering

Alternate Frame Rendering algorithm diagram

Frames are processed one by one: one video card processes only even frames, and the second - only odd ones. However, this algorithm has a drawback. The fact is that one frame can be simple, and another difficult to process. In addition, this algorithm was patented by ATI during the release of a dual-chip video card.

Quad SLI technology also uses a hybrid mode, which combines SFR and AFR.

SLI AA (Anti Aliasing), SLI FSAA (Full Scene Anti Aliasing)

This algorithm is aimed at improving image quality. The same image is generated on all video cards with different anti-aliasing patterns. The video card smoothes the frame with a certain step relative to the image of another video card. The resulting images are then mixed and output. Thus, maximum image clarity and detail is achieved. The following anti-aliasing modes are available: 8x, 10x, 12x, 14x, 16x and 32x. ( Analogue in CrossFire - SuperAA)

Construction principles

To build a computer based on SLI you must have:

• a motherboard with two or more PCI Express slots that supports SLI technology (as a rule, the name of the motherboard contains the word SLI).
• A fairly powerful power supply (usually recommended from 550 W);
• GeForce 6/7/8/9/GTX or Quadro FX video cards with PCI Express bus;
• a bridge connecting video cards.

However, we note that support for chipsets for working with SLI is carried out in software, not hardware. But video cards must belong to the same class, and the BIOS version of the cards and their manufacturer do not matter.

Currently, SLI technology is supported by the following operating systems:

• Windows XP 32-bit
• Windows XP 64-bit
• Windows Vista 32-bit
• Windows Vista 64-bit
• Linux 32-bit
• Linux 64-bit (AMD-64/EM64T)

An SLI system can be organized in two ways:

• Using a special bridge;
• Programmatically.

In the latter case, the load on the PCIe bus increases, which has a bad effect on performance, so this method is not widely used. This mode can only be used with relatively weak accelerators.

If the SLI bridge is not installed, the driver issues a warning that the SLI mode will not work at full capacity.

For example, this is what a special bridge for connecting video cards might look like if it is made on PCB. In addition, flexible bridges have now become widespread as they are cheaper to manufacture. But to activate the 3-Way SLI technology, only a special hard bridge is used so far, which actually accommodates three conventional ones in a “ring” mode.

As mentioned above, the Quad SLI system is also popularized. It involves combining two dual-chip boards into a single system. Thus, it turns out that 4 chips are involved in creating the image, but this is still the lot of avid enthusiasts and has no practical significance for ordinary users.

For the average user, something else is important, the reason for which this technology was actually conceived. By purchasing a motherboard that supports SLI, you are setting yourself up for future PC upgrades by allowing you to add another graphics card. No other “upgrade” method, other than a complete system change, even comes close to the increase in gaming performance that a second video card provides.

It looks something like this. You are buying a good PC with a good modern video card. You can easily play modern games, but after a year and a half, your system can no longer satisfy you with the image quality and speed in the latest games. Then, instead of replacing the old video card (or even the entire PC), you simply add another one and get almost double the video system power.

However, everything sounds so simple in theory. But in practice, the user will have to face many difficulties.

The first is the games and applications themselves. No one has yet come up with a cure for the terrible word “optimization” - yes, not only drivers, but also games must be optimized for SLI technology in order to work correctly with it. NVIDIA states that SLI technology supports " longest list of games ». If the game you're interested in is not on the list, the company suggests creating your own settings profile for it.

Unfortunately, there are still a lot of games that are not compatible with SLI, and creating a profile does nothing to fix this. There is only one way out - wait for patches from game developers and new drivers from NVIDIA. However, these games mainly include old ones, which a single modern video card can handle without problems, or less popular ones, which are not interesting to the vast majority of players due to poor “playability”. But new powerful games already provide for the use of two video cards. For example, in the game Call of Duty 4 there is a very specific switch in the graphics settings section.

You can find out that the SLI function is enabled by special indicators right in the game, with the appropriate “test” driver settings.

If you see horizontal or vertical green bars on your monitor screen, this means that the Show SLI Visual Indicators option is enabled in the NVIDIA Display Control Panel. When you enable this option, you can see how the graphics load is distributed on the GPU, and the names of the SLI components in your system will be changed: SLI for two GPUs will be called “SLI”, the name 3-way NVIDIA SLI will be replaced with “SLI x3”, and Quad SLI will be called “Quad SLI”. For games rendered using Alternate Frame Rendering (AFR), the vertical green bar will grow or shrink depending on the extent of the expansion. For games rendered using Split-Frame Rendering (SFR), the horizontal green bar will rise and fall to show how the load is distributed across all GPUs. If the level of detail on the top and bottom halves of the screen is the same, the horizontal bar will be close to the middle. To enable or disable this feature, simply open the NVIDIA Control Panel and select 3D Settings.

The second common problem with computing with multiple graphics chips is synchronizing the latter. As mentioned above, the AFR rendering method has one peculiarity: one frame can be simple, and another difficult to process. If there is a large difference in the complexity of processing a frame, one video card can process it much faster than the second. This leads to “microlags” - small delays in the image, like jerks, but at the same time the overall number of FPS looks comfortable. This effect appears quite rarely, but even the developers don’t know how to deal with it. There is a simple solution for the user - in games where “microlags” are observed with the AFR method, switch to the SFR method, indicating it in the game profile.

In SFR mode, the display is split into two parts. The first card shows the top part of the picture, and the second card shows the bottom. With dynamic load balancing, the driver distributes the load evenly between the two cards.

The third problem is the processor. The fact is that when using several video adapters, the load on the processor increases not only due to the use of heavy graphics modes, but also due to the synchronization of video chips. Therefore, in order to unleash the full potential of a combination of several video cards, you will need a powerful processor. Although today this is not such a pressing issue as it was a couple of years ago.

Additional features of the new technology

The new generation of SLI-enabled motherboards and graphics cards provide users with much more features than conventional 3D graphics acceleration.

Hybrid SLI provides for a more rational use of the mode of sharing the graphics core built into the chipset and a discrete video card.

The technology consists of two parts: GeForce Boost And HybridPower.

The first will be used in applications that intensively work with 3D graphics. With GeForce Boost, part of the calculations of the three-dimensional scene will be taken over by the accelerator integrated into the system logic set, which will give a noticeable increase in performance to those systems that do not have the fastest discrete adapter installed, for example GeForce 8500 GT or GeForce 8400 GS.

HybridPower, on the contrary, will allow the use of integrated graphics, disabling the external accelerator when the user is browsing the Internet, office applications or watching videos. According to NVIDIA, the greatest benefit from this technology will be received by owners of laptops with a dedicated graphics card, whose battery life will increase significantly.

Currently, Hybrid SLI is supported by: desktop GPUs GeForce 8500 GT and GeForce 8400 GS for GeForce Boost; powerful GeForce GTX 280, GeForce 9800 GX2, GeForce GTX 260, GeForce 9800 GTX+, GeForce 9800 GTX and GeForce 9800 GT in HybridPower mode; as well as motherboards for AMD processors based on nForce 780a, nForce 750a, nForce 730a (GeForce Boost function only) with built-in GeForce 8200 graphics accelerator.

As you can see, energy savings can reach impressive values.

Many experienced computer users, and especially gamers, sooner or later come across technologies to improve the graphic capabilities of the device. In various manufacturing variations it can be SLI or Crossfire, the only difference is in the manufacturer.

What is SLI and Crossfire

The entire process of considering the current problem should begin with an analysis of the general concept of SLI and Crossfire technologies. They are modes of operation of personal computers that make it possible to install and operate several video cards in the device simultaneously. To activate this mode in a desktop computer, you simply need to insert two video cards into the motherboard, but there are cases in which a graphics chipset is already built into the main board. Then you just need to add another one to it using a special slot. Each of the possible options for activating the technology should be examined in more detail, and then the issue of disabling functions should be resolved.

Concept of SLI

This technology was developed by nVidia only for video cards from their production. It involves the simultaneous use of the resources of several video cards, giving the user the opportunity to combine them into one. In fact, the technology in question is a kind of adapter that connects several graphics adapters.

Crossfire concept

This technology, in principle, is absolutely similar to the previous one, the only difference is in the developers. Crossfire technology was presented to the world by representatives of the AMD campaign. Users will be interested in information about the material benefits of this technology. After all, purchasing and combining two video adapters from this campaign will cost significantly less than purchasing several video cards from nVidia. In addition, the more expensive version of the graphics adapter combination does not have the ability to be active on any motherboard. Although the process of decontamination of any version of such a bridge will be the same. First, let's look at the features of how technology works.

Specifics of connecting technologies

The main thing in carrying out this process is a suitable motherboard for it. Not all models support this feature, so you should first familiarize yourself with the capabilities of the system. The motherboard must have the appropriate markings, otherwise, even if there are several slots, the video cards will not work in pairs. The same system applies to installing discrete and integrated adapters; there is the option of using only one of them.

It should also be noted that the technology provided by nVidia allows combined operation only for video cards produced on the same chips. That is, these can be two completely identical models, or at least representatives of the same series. Other linking options simply won't work. But when using Radeon video cards, the situation changes radically. It doesn’t matter at all what configurations the graphics adapters have. Representatives of the R9 series, for example, working in pairs, give the computer the opportunity to use the maximum from games. Many users of such combinations increase the frequency of storyboards, achieving high performance.

In addition, to use the SLI bridge, you need to attach a special adapter. It may come with a video card that supports this feature, or it may be bundled with the graphics adapter itself. Without its installation, the technology will not work.

Misconceptions about Dual Graphics mode

Many beginners, without fully understanding all the intricacies of increasing productivity, thus make hasty conclusions. For some reason, users believe that if you install a bridge with two identical video cards, the performance will double, and the same, respectively, with other combination options. But in fact, the increase occurs only by twenty to thirty percent, and then based on the performance of the weakest adapter. Here is a striking example: if you install two video cards with a memory capacity of one eight gigabytes and the other two gigabytes, then in the end the user will not receive more than two gigabytes of output. A similar situation occurs with cards that have the same amount of memory. The output will be an indicator of only one of them. The same feature applies not only to memory. For example, if MSI and EVGA cards are installed simultaneously, the total output frequency will be calculated using the lowest value. In general, you should not place high hopes on such technology.

Deactivation of technologies

After a detailed review of the main functions and capabilities of SLI and Crossfire, it’s time to move directly to the subject of the article. It is clear that the whole point of disabling these modes comes down to removing one of the video cards. When working with a desktop computer, this will not be a problem. You just need to remove one graphics adapter from the slot and the problem will be solved. This method can be called mechanical and at the same time the simplest, but the question remains open if this mode of operation is active on the laptop. Modern laptop models also have the ability to install additional video adapters and, in particular, Crossfire technology. Thus, mechanically removing the video card will not work here; you need to use another method. Next, we will consider software options for solving the problem.

Disabling technology through BIOS

This method is suitable for both variants of the function. A basic data input/output system is present on any device and with its help you can solve a lot of problems. First you need to log in, this is done by pressing the button when you start the computer. Which one depends on the version of the base system, most often it is Del. After logging in, you need to go to the menu to the Advanced tab, if using a discrete adapter, and opposite the graphics adapter, set the necessary settings. When using an integrated system, you need to find the Onboard or Integrated Devices tab and specify Disabled or simply Off in the parameters, it all depends, again, on the version. Of course, this option is not complicated, but if the user has problems understanding English, then he may not be able to find the necessary parameters on his own. In this case, you will have to consider another method.

device Manager

To solve the problem, you can use standard tools of the installed operating system. Windows allows the user to independently configure the use of all installed devices through the “Device Manager”. You can find it using the “control panel” or “administration”. For advanced users, you can suggest entering devmgmt.msc into the command line. After opening the required window, you need to find a section in it indicating the installed video cards. Now you simply select the adapter that needs to be disabled and right-click on it to open the properties menu. It has a button to turn off the device. That's all, actually. This method of disabling SLI-Crossfire mode does not even require a subsequent system reboot to activate the new settings. In addition, you can execute this command directly from the context menu.

Deactivation through standard programs

Despite the simplicity of using the above methods, the safest is still the use of “native” programs that are installed on the computer along with the drivers for the graphics adapter. Also, similar utilities can be added to the system additionally. Such programs are extremely easy to use and the user does not have to perform any additional actions to change parameters. Using this method is more efficient; in particular, it eliminates possible conflicts between equipment.

Conclusion

In general, all possible options for disabling SLI-Crossfire modes were discussed above. But after considering all the details of how such technology works, the question becomes relevant: is such a system needed at all? There are many different opinions both in support of these regimes and against them. The fact is that you shouldn’t expect any significant performance gains, and besides, a hardware conflict may occur. The simultaneous operation of several video cards raises the temperature in the system unit too much, overheating it. One downside is the increased power consumption when operating in this mode, because two cards, whatever one may say, “eat” more than one. In addition, not all games support this technology and may simply not run on a system with SLI-Crossfire.

Considering that the output performance is equal to that of a worse video card, the best option would be to purchase one powerful one for the same money as two weaker ones. Thus, the performance of the system will definitely be increased and unnecessary problems will not arise. Of course, in some cases, using bridges between several video cards is necessary. The main thing is to turn off the extra video adapter in a timely manner when not using them, in order to avoid overheating of the system and increased power consumption. It is advisable to use specialized software, although if it is not available, you can use other methods. Exactly which ones have already been described in detail today.

Hello, today we will talk about Nvidia video cards working in SLI mode, namely about their problems and ways to solve them, but first we will understand what SLI mode is. Nvidia SLI is a technology that allows you to use multiple video cards simultaneously and at the same time significantly increase system performance. One of the main requirements is to use the same GPU on the video cards used. Below are more detailed requirements for building a computer that will work with this technology.

1. The motherboard must have two or more connectors that support this technology;
2. A good power supply that can power our system (SLI-Ready units are recommended);
3. Video cards that support this technology;
4. A bridge that can be used to connect video cards;
5. A processor with a high clock frequency that can unleash the potential of video cards so that there is no drop in frame rate and overall performance.

From the above, it turns out that building NVIDIA SLI is not something unattainable, but on the contrary, it is practically no different from building a regular home computer.

Problems

Well, the information above was presented about why SLI is needed, its advantages, and now let’s move on to the problems and their solutions.

• The first problem is the dependence on drivers; drivers need to be updated very often, since serious changes are made and optimizations are made for specific games or applications;
• The second problem is that not all games/applications support this technology and in some games/applications you need to make several of your video cards work;
• The third problem with this technology is in the same updates, since with each driver update you need to carry out some manipulations so that all video cards work, and this is not convenient every time and not all owners of this technology are ready to “rummage” through the settings and deal with their problems.

Troubleshooting:

1. The first problem is solved quite simply. Download the utility from the official website of NVIDIA GeForce Experience, register to use this program, log into your account, and click the “Check for updates” button. If a more recent driver is found, it will be downloaded and you will be prompted to install it.
2. The second problem is not always solvable, since not all application manufacturers optimize their applications for this technology, but you can still try to fix performance problems with some simple manipulations in the settings of the driver itself for your SLI system.

Below I will present to you an example of setting up the game The Sims 2, which by default is not optimized for SLI mode.

Open the “Nvidia Control Panel” - manage 3D parameters - program settings and click on the “Add” button - specify the path to the file that launches our game - look at the second section “Specify settings for this program” - SLI rendering mode, if available “ Nvidia recommends (SLI)”, then select this item, if not, then select “Perform alternative frame construction 2”.

We also need to configure power management, and to do this, go to “Power management mode” and select “Prefer maximum performance mode”.