My GFX Cards are annoying me

fs123 · 15 Jul 2015 at 12:10

monitor the gpu voltage/usage in MSI afterburner and then move the windows around to reproduce the problem. This will show you if the voltage is fluctuating too much. You can also force constant voltage in AB and check if the problem goes away. This will confirm that is is a voltage problem.

Ace Modder · 15 Jul 2015 at 12:12

I have a sound card in my PCI-E slot but my motherboard states that it doesnt use my 16x lanes from my CPU, it uses seperate lanes from the motherboard PCH

So in terms of that image I hgave GPU 1 in top PCIE slot running at x8
My GPU 2 in the 3rd slot (as instructed by Gigabyte) running at x8 or x4 or x1 depending how it feels when it boots up.

And my soundcard in the bottom PCIe 2.0 laned slot.

Silent_Scone · 15 Jul 2015 at 12:54

More importantly what driver are you using. I would use the very latest hotfix and see if it persists

Ace Modder · 15 Jul 2015 at 13:21

Tried the latest drivers, and the latest BETA drivers, problems with both.

I have recorded some data. Tried 3 different games and all gave similiar results.

GPU1 not being used as much as GPU2. Shouldn't both GPUS be on the same usage?
See below.

The 2nd card is certainly working harder, even though MSI afterburner is set to do the same on both cards (overclocking wise)

meldarthx · 15 Jul 2015 at 14:32

what about mb drivers? which ones are you using?

Ace Modder · 15 Jul 2015 at 14:42

I just downloaded the latest drivers for my motherboard and reinstalled them, no change.

Ace Modder · 15 Jul 2015 at 15:59

Well I installed Windows 8.1 fresh (from Windows 10)

And still the same issues with only motherboard drivers, Nvidia drivers, and GPUZ, MSI afterburner and 1 game installed.

Strangely my FPS is better in games if I disable SLI now, I think it was the same for Window 10 install this morning, but didn't really focus on that.

new boy · 15 Jul 2015 at 16:07

I'd underclock the vram by 50MHz or so and see if that stops it.

troops · 15 Jul 2015 at 16:10

Have you tried running as pci-e gen 2 in bios?

andybird123 · 15 Jul 2015 at 16:12

If the cards are reporting weird pcie channels on different boot ups, and you have no other pcie lanes in use, it suggests your cpu is the problem, is it overclocked stable?
Sli wont work properly at anything less than x8

Also click the ? In gpu-z to click the render button and then recheck what it says as you need to load the gpus to see the right values for the pcie lanes

The pcie controller is on the cpu so if that is doing weird things it means faulty cpu

Gpu's being at different usages isn't normal either, no, so I'm thinking that points to the same thing

JediFragger · 15 Jul 2015 at 16:15

Mate, switch to a pair of 980Ti's. Problem.....solved

Ace Modder · 15 Jul 2015 at 16:28

I have run my GPU's on auto mode for PCI-E and Gen2 and also Gen3.

Same issue with them all.

I have a feeling it could be CPU related, I have set CPU back to stock since the trouble started, and hasn't helped either.

I think it is all related to the 2nd card only running at x2 or x4

I took both cards out and test each one on its own, both are fine FPS wise....
The 2nd card runs at x8 when the first card is removed too.... (but when both are in the second card is only being given 2 lanes)

ubersonic · 15 Jul 2015 at 16:55

Try disabling SLI and then connecting the monitor to the second card so it's primary, if you still get PCI-E x? nonsense and stuff it could explain something /shrug.

Amatsubu · 15 Jul 2015 at 17:03

If it's the CPU that's the possible culprit, it'd be great if you could test your setup with a different chip.

This will sound quite bonkers but try unplugging your soundcard and see if the issue persists. I know it doesn't use CPU lanes but it might be worth a shot. Logic doesn't always apply to PC hardware;p

Also, set the cards to "prefer maximum performance" in the nvidia control panel.

shankly1985 · 15 Jul 2015 at 17:26

What's the full motherboard model number? You say GPU1 top slot 8x and GPU2 3rd slot running 4x

Maybe you should have GPU2 in 2nd slot.. Manual will say what slots give you 8x - 8x

Amatsubu · 15 Jul 2015 at 17:34

It seems he's got the cards installed properly since you can manually configure slots 1 and 3 to run at x8 on that mobo. I'd definitely try switching slots to be on the safe side but the waterloop makes things more difficult.

ALXAndy · 15 Jul 2015 at 17:46

Did you change the SLI bridge?

Ace Modder · 15 Jul 2015 at 17:48

Amatsubu said:
If it's the CPU that's the possible culprit, it'd be great if you could test your setup with a different chip.

This will sound quite bonkers but try unplugging your soundcard and see if the issue persists. I know it doesn't use CPU lanes but it might be worth a shot. Logic doesn't always apply to PC hardware;p

Also, set the cards to "prefer maximum performance" in the nvidia control panel.

Hi, I did test my sound card last night - removed it no joy. I've just swapped my CPU out for a test CPU that I loaned from my mate at OcUK. And guess what??? First boot and both GPU's are at x8 / x8. SLI perfamnce is back to where it should be

Seems that my trusty old CPU may have issues with lanes. Gunna extensively test this now tonight, going to re-install Windows 10 again, as that seemed to show up the problems more frequently than Windows 8.1 did anyway.

Time for the 5th windows install in 36hours... lol

Ace Modder · 15 Jul 2015 at 17:58

ALXAndy said:
Did you change the SLI bridge?

yes tried 3 bridges

ALXAndy · 15 Jul 2015 at 18:11

Did you clean the cards' fingers with alcohol?