Pointless to run SLI mode on a Asus P5K Mobo?

10006 Views 23 Replies 9 Participants Last post by brettjv, Dec 20, 2009

DannyLaw

Discussion Starter · Nov 27, 2009

Not long ago my uncle gave me his P5K Asus mobo and 2 Palit 8800 GS 384mb cards with the SLI bridge connector.

So i bought the other parts so that I could get a working pc for my brother to use for gaming. What I want to know is it worth running sli mode (or can I even run sli mode) with the Asus mobo, because it only has 1 16x PCI-E slot and a 4x PCI-E slot, so does this mean that when I plug the graphics card in the 4x the speed of the graphics card is reduced by 75%?

I had both graphics card plugged in (while they were bridged) when I installed the os and the required drivers for the cards (not sure if I shouldnt have done this). However on the nVidia control panel it doesnt give me the SLI tab, it has the usual tabs and an extra tab for PhysX, which I have no idea what it means or does. So what have I done wrong during the process and how can I change it so that it does run in SLI mode? Could the bridge connector be upside down? (not sure if that is actually possible though). If I havent done anything wrong, what else have I missed?

Any suggestions/Help would be really appreciated as Im trying to get it up and running asap

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metallicamaster3

· #2 · Nov 27, 2009

Not at all. Definitely run those two cards in SLI, because the 8800GS while in x4 mode, the bottleneck will be minimal, if at all (if the motherboard is PCIe 2.0, think of it as PCIe 1.0 x8 mode).

Go for it!

EDIT: The P5K is not a SLI-enabled board.
EDIT 2: Sorry, misread again. You're using a P5K not a P45 (was looking at your sig). I'm not sure that you'll be able to use SLI.

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metallicamaster3

· #3 · Nov 27, 2009

Moved to nVidia Forum for you.

bumsoil

· #4 · Nov 27, 2009

the p5k does not support sli, but i would have a look here.
http://www.overclock.net/hardware-ne...therboard.html

DannyLaw

Discussion Starter · #5 · Nov 27, 2009

Thanks for the link bumsoil, but im still a pc n00b and I dont want to mess around with things i dont understand atm.

Ok so I wont bother with that any more then. So if it says CrossFireX that means its the ATI graphics card that can run together at once? (Sorry for the n00bish question) Just want to clarify this.

accskyman

· #6 · Nov 27, 2009

Yes ati graphics cards can run in crossfire on your motherboard. I don't think the hack for sli is all that hard, if I had two nvidia cards I'd definitely try it.

DannyLaw

Discussion Starter · #7 · Nov 27, 2009

How about u run a step by step guide for me =p

With no pc experience into hacking/modding/over clocking. I feel its a bit risky for me.

metallicamaster3

· #8 · Nov 27, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by DannyLaw

View Post

Thanks for the link bumsoil, but im still a pc n00b and I dont want to mess around with things i dont understand atm.

Ok so I wont bother with that any more then. So if it says CrossFireX that means its the ATI graphics card that can run together at once? (Sorry for the n00bish question) Just want to clarify this.

Shame. Do keep us informed if you decide to sell those 8800GS's!

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DannyLaw

Discussion Starter · #9 · Nov 27, 2009

Nah I wont be selling them as my uncle gave me then expecting me to use them instead of selling them.

OMG. The mod can be done in 3 easy steps.......I might give it a try.

Whats the worst that could happen? Would it damage any hardware?

tha d0ctor

· #10 · Nov 27, 2009

it would turn your motherboard into a paper weight but that chances of that are highly unlikely if you do it correctly

it's well woth it IMO, those cards should be able to handle crysis (not maxed) and they overclock real well, worst case scenario you can pick up another SLI-enabled motherboard for like 50-60 probably

DannyLaw

Discussion Starter · #11 · Nov 27, 2009

Motherboard im not worried about much as its been giving my uncle problems in the past, he was going tp bin it but I took it off his hands instead. What exactly would happen to the motherboard? Nothing would happen to the graphics card though?

tha d0ctor

· #12 · Nov 27, 2009

All i cna think of going bad would be a bad bios flash/modification that would corrupt your current bios and make you motherboard completely unresponsive. I doubt it oculd be fixed short of installing a new bios chip (which is possible as well).

The GPUs should be fine during the whole ordeal even if you kill the motherboard. If you are concerned only do it with one card in or with the motherboard's onboard graphics system (if the board even has it)

DannyLaw

Discussion Starter · #13 · Nov 27, 2009

Thanks for the help d0ctor. =) Much appreciated.

One more question. Atm moment it has PhysX enabled, what does that mean and do? I googled it but got kinda confused. Could someone simplify it a little?

metallicamaster3

· #14 · Nov 27, 2009

Gotcha about the non-selling part.

But keep in mind that a 680i could be had for around $60, so don't hold back on modding that board.

metallicamaster3

· #15 · Nov 27, 2009

Here's my FAQ on PhysX.

http://www.overclock.net/nvidia/589202-faq-physx.html

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DannyLaw

Discussion Starter · #16 · Nov 27, 2009

Thanks again =)

TheSandman

· #17 · Nov 27, 2009

darn nice cards lol, if you ever decide to change your mind on selling i would love one lol.

as for a bad flash with ASUS I belive if you let it sit for 5 minutes the bootblock will engage and let you flash from floopy or USB, at least it does for me lol

BigpoppaFrary

· #18 · Nov 27, 2009

you could always fold on the 4x slot.

DannyLaw

Discussion Starter · #19 · Nov 28, 2009

A bit off topic but how come SpeedFan can not read the temperatures of the GPU?

tha d0ctor

· #20 · Nov 28, 2009

speedfan is kind of weak. I'd use everest ultimate edition for an all around program, or real temp for cpu temps and gpu-z - sensor tab for GPU temps

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