Guru 3D SLI Users Guide

hmm.... well... when u put it like that...

 

Hey cheer up mate! Just kiddin ya, hope ya get back up & runnin ASAP.

 

yeah, im pretty cool about it... at least they r replacing them, thats the main thing!

 

i'm just glad my rig is finally acting normal.... anyways, what's up with PureVideo? I heard rumors about it being disabled in some gpu's because of manufacturing errors or something....

 

Good Info.

 

Disabled in the high end cards GT/Ultra why i dunno. But what i read u still get some benefit if you own any 6000 series card.

 

6800 SLI BIOS versions

As per my previous questions regarding whether you can mix the same model cards from different manufacturers, it got me thinking about the BIOS issue raised by MikeMK. I searched all around the Internet to see exactly what versions of 6800 Ultra PCIe BIOSes I could find. Interestingly enough, other than the version in my BFG card, I only found one other version.

My question is, could people with 6800 Ultra's (PCIe only) post their BIOS version numbers? I have a feeling there aren't really too many out there. Thanks.

 

I know for a fact that Leadtek dont release their Bios's for download, which is why I got both of mine replaced (in case the new one differed) and probably why you cant find one for them at least. Dont know how many other companies are like this though.

 

SLI

OK, to get back up on the bleeding edge: Anybody tinkering with 64bit and SLI? Anybody know of any drivers that support SLI w/ 64bit?

I've got everything downloaded and ready to install except the drivers for my two 6600GT's. - mitch

AMD643200+/A8N-SLI/1Gb/MSI6600GTx2/Antec-NeoPower480

 

Nope, not heard of anybody trying it yet, I was debating myself, but decided it was too much hassle with SLI being so new. I think (but am not sure) that the latest official Nvidia 64bit drivers support SLI. Might be worth locating them and checking the release notes.

 

be handy to have ghost handy and make an image of win XP 32 so you can play with XP 64 to see whats it like and not have to worry about going through long reinstalls to get a stable XP up.

I had a friend of mine tell me that its not ready yet and was glitchy. Part of that could be just problems with drivers, you never know. That and an ATi card running on a NV board could have been giving him other problems.

 

It seems as though no matter how current I get, there is always something just around the corner I gotta have! Feel like a greyhound chasing that mechanical rabbit - and I still think I can catch it. Better cool my jets for awhile. Thanks. - mitch

 

lol.... thats the world of computers my friend.... remember... a computer is never finished!

 

oh dear, i think i'm out of my depth now!

i use my pc for my business mainly but as i hold the purse strings i'm lucky enough to be able to get the kit i wnt.

so, 3 weeks ago i decided it was time for a new rig. i read the article here on this site about high end pc's and basically used it as my shopping list.

thing is, i'm ued to ati cards and i've never had probs with them. i assumed getting thi rig would be just a case of turnin i on and enjoying icredible frame rates etc

what i need is some simple step-by-step advice/instructions on how o configure my sli cards from the bios upto the drivers. all he options in th desktop thingy blow me away - i have o idea what they all do.

this thread has helped but 75% of the lingo is beyond me - whilst i understand the drivers i don't know where to start with the rest.

so, how abou an idiots guide?

 

oh dear, i think i'm out of my depth now!

i use my pc for my business mainly but as i hold the purse strings i'm lucky enough to be able to get the kit i wnt.

so, 3 weeks ago i decided it was time for a new rig. i read the article here on this site about high end pc's and basically used it as my shopping list.

thing is, i'm ued to ati cards and i've never had probs with them. i assumed getting thi rig would be just a case of turnin i on and enjoying icredible frame rates etc

what i need is some simple step-by-step advice/instructions on how o configure my sli cards from the bios upto the drivers. all he options in th desktop thingy blow me away - i have o idea what they all do.

this thread has helped but 75% of the lingo is beyond me - whilst i understand the drivers i don't know where to start with the rest.

so, how abou an idiots guide?

 

btw - typing 1 handed due to 12 week bbyin arms so pls excuse typing and misse leters!!

 

"Condensing fact from the vapor of nuance."
You bought a custom computer from a systems fabricator like Alienware or Falcon or whoever does that kind of thing in the UK?

If 'yes', you need to contact them for a little after market customer service and support. I'm sure they want their product image to be positive, especially if you mention them in this forum.

If 'no', and you researched, specified, bought and assembled all the components yourself (like I did), it's hard to imagine SLI configuration would/could stump you.

"Condensing fact from the vapor of nuance."
'The desktop thingy'.....??? You really got me on that one! Guess - AI Booster window? nVidia Start up tab? Something in the launch window? A browser window of some kind?

'so, how abou an idiots guide?'..... to custom high end computer configuration? Sounds a bit oxymoronic doesn't it?

I think I've been had! but thanks for playing. mitch

 

Right then, two handed this time and yes, I am slightly sleep deprived to be honest.

So, to summarise my earlier rambles...

I specced the machine from articles and research on this site mainly. The machine has two purposes - 1) Top end PC to handle all my resource hungry apps I use for work and 2) Play games a few times a week. I then got a local PC shop to build it for me.

I guess I jumped into the SLI thing without enough research as it doesn't handle 2 monitors right now and I need that for work - but, as I only play games a few times a week clicking on SLI enable and rebooting is no real hassle.

My main problem is (and always has been) understanding how to configure the graphics card/s. When you righ click on desktop, goto settings, click advance and click on Nvidia tab it brings up rather a complicated set of options. What I want to know is what is best for SLI twin 6800 GT's? I suppose mainly under the performance & quality settings. How do you basically "max everyting up"?? I have a nice rig and I want it to work well!!

Also, what about BIOS - which is best? How do you "flash" the bios?

In regards to drivers - with it being SLI is there anything special I need to do other than download the ones people recommend in this thread? I've installed drivers before but is it any different for SLI?

Finally, what about the games themselves? Do I need to do anything with them? I tried Far Cry earlier (original v1.0) and it was awful. So, I've just downloaded v1.3 patch and I'll see if that makes any difference.

Whilst reading my previous thread yes it was bloody awful but that's what you get when sleep deprived with a 6 week old baby attached to you and you're typing one handed whilst balancing a notebook on one knee!!

Anyway, so much for summarising! I hope I've explained myself a little better this time!!

So, trying to summarise:
1) Best configuration through Nvidia control panel for SLI 6800 GT's
2) Best drivers - any special care or instructions on installation? How do I tell what current drivers are?
3) Flashing Bios - how? Is it worth it? How do I tell what the Bios is now?
4) Games - any special instructions on getting the "approved" ones to run? Do I need to do some patches or something?

Phew, now I know an idiots guide to high end computer configuration maybe "oxymoronic" (I had to look that up - nice!) but some of us just have the money and not the knowledge and rely on really helpful people in forums like this to educate us!

CYA

 

Right, configuring SLI in terms of quality settings is pretty much the same as any other single nvidia GPU, just u have more power! Put the performance/quality settings on High quality for a start. With AA and AF, in games that support SLI you should be able to max this as well (HL2 for example FLIES with 16xaf and 8xaa) however, because not all games support SLI then some will use a single GPU which will not be able to handle this. Its better therfore to set it to application preference or set up your own game profiles. The best way of doing this is to use Nhancer (see 1st post for link) which will let you set up seperate quality settings for every game, which will apply when u start the game in question. You can even select SLI mode and force SLI on games that dont support it with this app. You can do this in the nvidia CP, but nhancer is much more straight fwd and easy to use!
drivers - No you dont need special drivers. read around this thread and see what different ppl are using (again, check the 1st post) I have been really happy with the 71.81's recently, so give them ago, although different ppl have different preferences. 67.03's and 67.66's are also nice for SLI.
bios your bios version should (I think) flash up the top of the screen when the PC posts. Hit pause when it posts or it will probably disappear to quickly. The bios i have is v1002 (I had an early board - since december) and now they go up to 1004. Personally, if you are new to this, and your current bios isnt giving you any issues then I would stay away from flashing it - if it aint broke dont fix it . ppl generally flash to either fix bugs, or to see if they can get a better overclock, or if there are new features. I dont think there are any new features for the asus, and if it isnt buggy leave it.
Games - All of the approved games will run in SLI mode straight away from when u enable SLI in the nvidia CP. Some games that arent listed on the site are also supported (UT2k4 for example) but matbe dont benifit as much. As I said previously, you can force SLI on games that dont support it using nhancer.
Hope that helps!

 

askipper: reply

"My main problem is (and always has been) understanding how to configure the graphics card/s"

Understanding how a GPU does what its doing gave me some insight to configuration.

This is a nice tutorial on the '3d pipeline': < http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,9722,00.asp >. At the very least one can come away from this with a good understanding of nomenclature.

"2) Play games a few times a week." Arcade, FPS, RPG? If it's 'Counter Strike Source on line then the choke point is the net code.

Resolution: 16 x 12 is great (except I can't read the text in console and options) so, I use 10 x 7 on a 19" CRT. Refresh rate: above 70 (Flourescent lighting runs at 60Hz here and so becomes problamatic if refresh is set to 60Hz also). AA & AF: CSS is so fast, if I stop to enjoy the scenery, I get capped.

I don't use a keyboard for game play, I use a Belkin Nostromo N52 game pad, My mouse is a 'Razer Diamondback' (Makes a MX1000 Laser feel like a truck)

Bottom Line: Good game play is a lot more than a couple of GPU's in SLI and if you don't plan to 'p\/\/n 74 1337 Fatal1ty', then stay loose, relaxed, have a good time and enjoy- mitch