No option to SLI in nVidia control panel?

[DakAttack]

Re: No option to SLI in nVidia control panel?

How would I update their BIOS? I can't actually access it from the PC's BIOS...

[TheGrandMom]

Re: No option to SLI in nVidia control panel?

Beginners Guide: Flashing a Video Card BIOS - PCSTATS.com

Try that.

[DakAttack]

Re: No option to SLI in nVidia control panel?

Gigabyte doesn't appear to have official BIOS updates. I see that people are releasing their own BIOS updates, but these appear to be for overclocking. Advise?

[TheGrandMom]

Re: No option to SLI in nVidia control panel?

Personally, I wouldn't bother then but I usually play things more to the safe side. Futzing with the BIOS is not for the faint of heart.

[Aeni]

Re: No option to SLI in nVidia control panel?

Gigabyte doesn't appear to have official BIOS updates. I see that people are releasing their own BIOS updates, but these appear to be for overclocking. Advise?

Very odd because I had visited their website looking up information on the GTX 460 and there was a BIOS update for the 1GB version. They seemed to have yanked it off their website for some reason. Faulty BIOS? Or maybe it was their test BIOS that allowed users to do a lot more to their card other than "updating" it? This was in late August. In any event:

Gigabyte GTX 460 1GB SLI HELP!

Some dude provided links to BIOS that seems to be the official ones but you'd need to compare versions with yours.

Caveat: make sure you know what you're doing. it's one thing to pull it off directly from Giga's site and then screw up and have them replace your card, it's another to get it from another site (even if it is technically the same files)

[DakAttack]

Re: No option to SLI in nVidia control panel?

I think that guy simply OC'd it, which I can do through MSI Afterburner. It would be nice to make the changes at the BIOS level, though, instead of applying them at start-up through software.

[Aeni]

Re: No option to SLI in nVidia control panel?

I think that guy simply OC'd it, which I can do through MSI Afterburner. It would be nice to make the changes at the BIOS level, though, instead of applying them at start-up through software.

The settings listed is actually the base setting. Core 715, memory 900, that's about what shipped on the 1GB (You do know the cards are OC'd, right?) It's nowhere near Palit's 800 core 1200 memory monster (or something like that) but the actual reference is something like 685 and 800 memory (my memory might be off)

Mine currently is at 725 and 1000.

[DakAttack]

Re: No option to SLI in nVidia control panel?

I set mine to 820 and 1640, and it's doing pretty well. Temperature sit around 80C while playing FFXIV. The fans don't normally operate above 80%, so I have to use MSI's Afterburner to unlock them, and it helps.

[Aeni]

Re: No option to SLI in nVidia control panel?

Temperature sit around 80C while playing FFXIV.

This could be because you have two cards situated nearby each other but that's hot. My 460 never goes beyond 73C during the day (I don't have A/C here so the temp in the room can get up to 88F) and usually the card is at around 65C for the most part even with the slight OC.

[DakAttack]

Re: No option to SLI in nVidia control panel?

Well, the fans weren't operating at 100%, so I'm going to give that a try before changing anything. Played for a solid five hours last night without issue.

I'm intersted in upgrading the case, or looking into some other cooling options. I'm sort of out of space when it comes to PCI slots, and the last x16 one will drop one of my GPUs down to x8 if I attempt to use it.

[Aeni]

Re: No option to SLI in nVidia control panel?

I'm intersted in upgrading the case, or looking into some other cooling options. I'm sort of out of space when it comes to PCI slots, and the last x16 one will drop one of my GPUs down to x8 if I attempt to use it.

Could you update us on what case you decide to go with? I may not get the kind of case you're looking for if I decide not to bother with SLI but it's nice to think about it now and figure out my upgrade path while I save money up. Thanks as always, Dak!

[DakAttack]

Re: No option to SLI in nVidia control panel?

This is what I'm currently running, and while I like it, mostly for a large window, it has poor airflow. One exhaust fan in the back means the CPU cooler's fan must be point that way, but that messes up the direction of the pipes. I'm told they should run in a direction that doesn't pool all the liquid inside towards one side. I guess, either way, I'm still losing out in one aspect. I'm also lacking an intake fan in the front, relying on only one in the side. Overall, it's decent, but I want things cooler.

Newegg.com - NZXT Apollo Black SECC Steel Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

The following case is one of the best and definitely has better cooling options. I'm disappointed with the size of the window, but the case has two intake fans on the front, one on the side, and one exhaust fan on both the back and the top. The one on the top is huge. That one would allow me to change the orientation of my cooler to max its performance.

Newegg.com - Antec Nine Hundred Two Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

This next one is just an upgraded version of the last one, including more fans. Again, the window leaves much to be desired, but in terms of airflow it probably doesn't get any better than this.

Newegg.com - Antec Twelve Hundred Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case


I haven't bought a new case yet, as I'm dealing with other expenses. It might be a while before I do, though, because it isn't quite the necessity the other parts I've purchased were.

[DakAttack]

Re: No option to SLI in nVidia control panel?

So, here's what I've ordered for my final computer upgrade

x 1

Prolimatech Megahalems Rev.B CPU Cooler
Item #: N82E16835242001 (Thanks to TGM for turning me on to Prolimatech!)

Standard Return Policy

$62.00



x 4

Rosewill RFA-120-BL 120mm 4 Blue LEDs LED Case Fan
Item #: N82E16835200049

Standard Return Policy

$23.96
($5.99 ea)



x 2

AeroCool Shark 140mm Black Edition 140mm Blue LED Case Fan
Item #: N82E16835129058

Standard Return Policy

$35.98
($17.99 ea)



x 1

ZALMAN MFC1-Combo 5 Channel Fan Controller
Item #: N82E16811999220 (For easy fan managment)

Standard Return Policy

$49.99



x 1

NZXT TEMPEST EVO Crafted Series TEVO-001BK Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Item #: N82E16811146062 (Potentially awesome airflow with a nice window, everything I wanted)

$89.99

[Aeni]

Re: No option to SLI in nVidia control panel?

This went from "I need a PC good enough to run FFXIV beautifully" to "I'm building the bridge operations of the Enterprise".

Prepare for warp speed.

[TheGrandMom]

Re: No option to SLI in nVidia control panel?