EVGA 1080 SC SLI Black Screen

[schlitzbull]

I started running SLI 1080s earlier this week using a SLI ribbon cable. I use the EVGA Precision X OC tool for my overclocking and fan curve adjustments. I have not overclocked either since I started doing SLI. I am using the aggressive fan curve. By default Precision X had the cards "linked". I'm not sure what that setting does. My assumption is it keeps both cards running at the same clock/memory speeds. I loaded up Witcher 3 and started playing at 4k. I did not check my GPU usage but did notice my temps were passable. In intense scenes, my top GPU was 82C an the bottom was 68C. One (or both, couldn't tell) of the fans would spin up to what sounded like 100% for a few seconds then back down to a normal speed. It would constantly do this until I eventually got a black screen and the game would crash with no error message.

I started playing Killing Floor 2 at 1440p and I got similar fan noises and GPU temps. Although I could play longer prior to crash, I ended up getting the same results.

I would assume if it was a temperature issue, the cards would throttle down. I want to say the GPU speeds were around 1920MHz.

I got my HB bridge installed yesterday and "unlinked" the GPUs in Precision X. I booted up Killing Floor 2 and noticed a significant drop in temps. Both cards were running at sub 70C with no weird fan spikes. I booted up The Witcher 3 and was able to play significantly longer than before. My game did not crash this time, however I still go the black screen. Alt+tabbing out showed the game was minimized? I was able to click on the game, get back in and I was right where I left off.

Any guidance on what the positives/negatives for leaving my GPUs linked an Precision X would be greatly appreciated. I've had one 1080 for months and have had no problems since I got it. So I'm unsure if this is a SLI issue or an issue with my card. Am I just pushing the cards playing The Witcher 3 at 4k? I am playing at ultra settings excluding shadows at high, water at high, and hairworks turned off. I didn't have GPU usage% enabled on my OSD while playing so I can go back and do that sometime later this week.

I did read some black screen issues online but from what I can tell those were with the FTW editions. PC specs in build (6700k machine). I have not updated my bios on my mobo or the cards. Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

 

[Village Idiot]

This sounds like the overheating VRAM issue that's been reported. All of the ACX 3.0 cards apparently may have the issue. I would venture to guess that running two 1080's at full tilt, core temp @ 82c with little or poor airflow would definitely fall into the may have the issue category.

I would highly suggest you update the BIOS of both cards and look into the thermal pad mod EVGA has offered

 

[schlitzbull]

Village Idiot

Thanks for the response. I ended up updating the bios on both cards and things seem to be a bit better. The Witcher 3 no longer crashes but I did get one black screen/game minimized in about 1 hour worth of gameplay at 4k. I ended up dropping the visual settings to the high preset and that seems to be the sweet spot. My hottest GPU hovers just below 80C and the other card just over 70C. All my other games I've been playing have been on my 1440p monitor and I haven't had any issues at 1440p since.

I wish the "frame target" on the precision x tool didn't see to act so buggy. I have to play with vsync on when I'm playing on my ks8000 and keeping the frames limited to 60fps seems to help the temperatures. Finding out fast-sync isn't compatible (at least to my knowledge) with SLI was quite the bummer.

 

[schlitzbull]

Just submitted to have thermal pads shipped for both cards. I'll update after they are installed with the results.