SLI question...

Since I'm not up on the latest SLI knowledge, and the XFX site and manual were useless, I figured I'd ask here... the mobo in question is an XFX 790i Ultra SLI. The video card is an NVidia 9800GX2. I'm getting no video from the card, and just one long beep at post; not real long, but over a second in length, but not 2 seconds long. And that's it: no video, the one long-ish beep. I have used a different PCIe video card (an older NVidia 6800 Ultra) and it works, and the system boots to Windows. So I know the hardware (besides the 9800GX2) is OK. However, since the 9800GX2 is 'technically' an SLI card (isn't it?), I was thinking maybe something on the mobo needs to be configured for SLI, but I found nothing in the manual or on the mobo that 'switches' the system to SLI mode. Are SLI mobos now auto-sensing the video configuration? My limited experience with SLI always showed me that there was slot on the mobo that looked like a laptop RAM slot, and it had a 'chip' that would be installed in one direction for SLI, and a different direction for a single card -OR- the mobo would have a setting in the BIOS to enable SLI. But this XFX 790i Ultra SLI motherboard has neither a BIOS setting or motherboard 'jumper'... and there's no mention of SLI hardly at all in the manual except for "this motherboard is capable of 2-way and 3-way SLI video". The XFX support page is useless; if you've ever been there, then you know what I mean. You must register before you can do ANYTHING, and even then, you can't download drivers, or manuals, or anything. You must register each piece of hardware with the serial number, then apply for a 'support ticket' and wait for an e-mail response. Lame. Anyway- hopefully someone out here in MG land can shed some light on this: are SLI motherboards now auto-sensing the video configuration? Do I need to set something to SLI for the 9800GX2 to work correctly? What does the one long-ish beep at POST mean? Is the video card dead?

(I have double checked all the power connections to everything including using a multimeter to be sure the PCIe power connectors were functioning correctly; they are; I don't have another system currently that I can install the 9800GX2 into; it's too freekin' long and doesn't fit in any of the cases I have, and I don't have a motherboard laying around not in a case that I can use :banghead even if I did, I don't have a PSU with both an 8pin and 6pin PCIe power connector!! :guns )

 

Hi,

My SLI knowlage is also limited but I know a couple of things (maybe obvious things :confused):

1, Is the 9800GX2 a master or slave SLI card, I hear they actually fool people into buying the slave without the master or even any intention of SLI.

2, You need an SLI bridge to connect 2 cards usually supplied either by the mobo manufacturer or the card manufacturer.

Just to confirm you have gotton 2 9800GX2's right? Otherwise thats not SLI.

Sorry if any of that sounded patronising :confused

:major2-Bit-Geek:major

 

Nope... just one video card: an NVidia 9800GX2. It's basically a 'dual core' video card; two GPU's in one card, supposedly a single-card SLI solution (or so I've read). We're like 95% sure the card is DOA, but we're holding on to the hope that it's an SLI problem, but I don't think it is

 

SLI is set by the drivers for that card since they are internally bridged. Master cards and slave cards were a crossfire issue that they have since discontinued using, they are all capable of being master or slave. What wattage is the psu dlb? It does sound like a doa card since the 6800 ultra works fine but if the 9800gx2 is underpowered you can also have that issue.