FULLY FUNCTIONAL 4-WAY PASCAL SLI

Venturi

Venturi

Limp Gawd
Joined
Nov 23, 2004
Messages
291
I can't get into my prior old account, so I've had to use an alternate login

Usually post under VENTURI





Some critical updates for those technically minded individuals (all the members of this forum)
as far as i know, this is the first fully functional 4-way pascal rig where games and apps are actually using all 4 GPU's in SLi.




That's the U4 engine Ethan Carter, full 4-way sli....

Here are some shots in Star Citizen






Current build:
Supermicro X10DRG-Q
2x E5-2699 v4 (44 cores/ 88HT) (3.7ghz turbo)
512GB ram DDR4 2400mhz ecc reg
(QUAD SLI) 4 Titan X PASCAL
2x Samsung NVMe 961 Pro pcie 3.0 (os drives)
10x Samsung 850 Pro SSD RAID (apps drive)
LG 31MU97z 4096x2160 true 4K rev C
modded P5 case, Noctua heatsinks
Digital power supply 1650w
Windows Server 2012 R2 Data Center, Ubuntu 15





The cards came with a back plate which acted as a thermal insulator, removed the back plate and heat dissipation is so much better. If you buy these cards remove the back plate immediately. The back plate is paper this aluminum with a plastic layer on the inside. Obviously it was just for looks at the price of cooking the cards
One can remove the back plate without making any changes to the front of the card





Detailed pictures and explanation to follow next:

I am only using the game benchmark as way of using a reproducible standard

So I'm using the built in 'benchmark c5l1" and "benchmark c5l2"


So here is the setup
Driver 372.54

Test material apples to apples

Painkiller Black
Havok physics enhanced mod multi threaded
FXAA - more than that is wasted at that resolution
Visual enhancement mods
Resolution - 4096x2160 (true 4k)


Running full eye candy Sli 4-GPU AFR 2 custom profile

From the bios shot you can see the layout I selected, please notice the what cpu goes to what pcie slot



Here is the view with the glass side off




Here are the bridge choices



Here are some of my selected manual bridge builds, these picture is only an example, not my final config



Important - my motherboard type -the x10drg-q is the only board type in the world with reverse order pcie sockets. The primary video card is the first socket on the bottom of the board, NOT the closest socket to the cpu(s) like all the other motherboards. Yes, it comes from supermicro that way.

this means that my sli pattern is completely different not just upside down since the order is reversed, opposite and upside down.

So
This is the score I can get with default brige - 303Fps is not bad at 4096x2160 with the fullest eye candy, havok mod, custom profile is the same for all tests running benchmark c5l1



This is with the higher v2 bridge (2 year old bridge) a 50fps increase, not bad



Same bridge installed upside down so that primary card has both connections, score only went up a few fps, but look at the minimum frame count go up
this is also because my primary video card with the monitor is the lowest one on my type of motherboard- which makes the primary card the coldest.



And various manual sli ribbon configs with all 8 sockets connected
Manual build layout running the more intensive benchmark c5l2 with greater physics

This is a custom sli bridge of ribbons layout using the metal connectors from three destroyed 4-way evga v2 bridges The metal connectors have grab pins on both sides for the card sli plug this makes the "upgrade to a better bridge.." exclamation mark go away


392 FPS average, peak 1024 FPS (game engine limit)



the "benchmark c5l2" is heavy on explosions and object trajectories, particles etc, so its a good test, as well of course as carrying the heavy mods for havoc and visual enhancement


...and honestly, --with full eye candy and physics, HD mods, almost 400 FPS-- at 4096x2160, isn't all that bad...

If I take the default painkiller black build and the custom profile without the additional eye candy/mods I get over 500fps


I have other games I have running in excess of 200fps at 4096x2160

(**but right now I'm having a tough time getting "No Man's Sky" running smoothly past 40-60 fps at 4096x2160 - the gane just doesn't run well at all, something just plain feels wrong with it, but that's another story.)



So, just on bridge config at 4096x2160, I went from 302FPS average, to 390FPS average.
here is an example of "any" game:





dying light
image_4.jpg



Ps: you'll have to make your own profiles, that's the more complicated part



Thx

VENTURI
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks. Now I have to change my shorts.

Seriously, this is exactly the way I would imagine a proper rig should be configured. Kudos to your bank account and your taste.
 
Can't imagine adding that fully water cooled but man would it take a long time to set that up.
 
Astral Abyss said:
What kind of temp reduction would you say removing the backplates made?

And do you need a manservant?
Click to expand...

The back plate adds about 6C
I ran hours of benchmark loops such as heaven or valley, then measure while keeping room temp constant.

The problem in answering this is that in a benchmark the card will go till it hits its throttle limit. so the reality is that it eventually ends up hovering at 79-82c but the throttle on the gpu is lessened.
In a game, not a benchmark, the cards usually settle in around 74-75C, with my primary card around 71c
 
1. Acquire $5,000 in GPUs
2. Open 10 year old games no one cares about
3. Taking screenshots with a camera instead of the print screen button
4. ???
5. Profit

This does nothing to prove the setup is "fully functional".

Sweet rig though! :D
 
Last edited:
kalston said:
Strange choice of games to show off PASCAL (2016) Quad SLI, Painkiller Black (2004) and Bloodrayne 2 (2005)?
Click to expand...

Actually the top picture is using Unreal 4 engine in realism mode

Oh I agree. I could have used Witcher 3 wild hunt (playing that now) and Dying Light (playing that now too, here I'll insert pic) or something like that. I was just trying to give an example of the spread of complexity from the Unreal 4 Engine (top picture) to simple stuff (BloodRayne2)

(incidentally, that Blodrayne 2 is modded, uses 16 threads and much more)

now, if someone can tell me how to get No Man's Sky to not be a POS that would be great






dying light
 
Last edited by a moderator:
So someone with win8 or 10 can forget about getting quad 1080s or titans running?

I thought one had to contact Nvidia and pay for code to get more then 2 cards working together?
 
eclypse said:

So someone with win8 or 10 can forget about getting quad 1080s or titans running?
I thought one had to contact Nvidia and pay for code to get more then 2 cards working together?





Win 10 can get it going
and

... nVidia provided no code or assistance, they actually hindered the process
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Haha if I had unlimited budget your build is pretty much what I'd do. Epic [H] stuff.
Thanks for sharing.
 
Well he could use one for a PhyX card and run Batman, plus Nvidia VR Funhouse supports 3 Nvidia cards as well - wonder what it will do with these babies? Definitely a [H] rig indeed!
 
If I had your build I would have gone Virtual OS and made a 4 player Ownage machine for my friends and I. Pretty much a dream of mine. Thank you for sharing and awesome build man, I cannot wait until I get to the point where I could afford that.
 
I think this whole thing is a troll. There is no information on how to set it up, no information on relevant performance numbers (because zero people give a shit about 2005 benchmarks), and the OP is the originator of this which was posted repeatedly on different forums:

compensation from nvidia

Now at this point people way to think this works because OP got 400 fps in a 10 year old game?!?

Even if the OP has the cards, it's little more than a brag thread since he/she isn't participating in any of the forums in a meaningful way aside from reposting 4 way SLI content with missing information.
 
Ocellaris said:
I think this whole thing is a troll. There is no information on how to set it up, no information on relevant performance numbers (because zero people give a shit about 2005 benchmarks), and the OP is the originator of this which was posted repeatedly on different forums:

compensation from nvidia

Now at this point people way to think this works because OP got 400 fps in a 10 year old game?!?

Even if the OP has the cards, it's little more than a brag thread since he/she isn't participating in any of the forums in a meaningful way aside from reposting 4 way SLI content with missing information.
Click to expand...
So he gets the tech, makes it work as best he can and hes contributing nothing?
 
{NG}Fidel said:
So he gets the tech, makes it work as best he can and hes contributing nothing?
Click to expand...

"FULLY FUNCTIONAL"

I'm not seeing any evidence of it. I want to, I'm just not seeing it. And this doesn't even get into the issue of those flex bridges neutering SLI performance with two cards, so it must be a disaster with four:



I'd love to see benchmarks comparing two cards with a HB bridge to that four card flex bridge setup.
 
Last edited:
Ocellaris said:
"FULLY FUNCTIONAL"

I'm not seeing any evidence of it. I want to, I'm just not seeing it. And this doesn't even get into the issue of those flex bridges neutering SLI performance with two cards, so it must be a disaster with four:



I'd love to see benchmarks comparing two cards with a HB bridge to that four card flex bridge setup.
Click to expand...

Well then bitch at Nvidia, not at him for trying.
 
Unless I missed it, I'd love to see utilization graphs showing all 4 cards being used, because it even says there in the driver that games only support 2-way SLI.

In any case, badass rig.
 
Hello

Just trying out the star citizen alpha 2.5

The game obviously needs optimization
But I'm running smooth at max candy and 4096x2160 in 4-way sli

Here are some shots




 
Ocellaris said:
I think this whole thing is a troll. There is no information on how to set it up, no information on relevant performance numbers (because zero people give a shit about 2005 benchmarks), and the OP is the originator of this which was posted repeatedly on different forums:

compensation from nvidia

Now at this point people way to think this works because OP got 400 fps in a 10 year old game?!?

Even if the OP has the cards, it's little more than a brag thread since he/she isn't participating in any of the forums in a meaningful way aside from reposting 4 way SLI content with missing information.
Click to expand...


The troll is strong with this one , LOL
...it's always easier to tear down than to build




Nvidia refused to help
I finally figured it all out without nvidia's help
I had asked repeatedly but got no where

So reverse engineered it, figured it out tested it, and seeded it to a few people


My gpu utilization is close to even acros all 4, that was a little extra work above just getting pascal 4 way sli fully working.

Three is more to it than just bridges. The bridge is just a requirement


I'm not into video recording gaming sessions so:

HERE in the YouTube links, I showed this guy exactly how to do pascal 4-way sli for any game with balanced gpu usage and scaling, check the vids and utilization, read comments, read banners,

He gives credit where he got exact instructions from, it's also in the info in banner overlay on several sessions such as gt and battlefield


Utilization in GT, Star Wars, etc etc
Utilization per gpu, temp and clock

Ciao












Thee are other posts since those
 
Last edited by a moderator:
AND

HERE ARE DETAILED SCALING AND USAGE

(remember that gpu 1 is running colder because it's open to air the most as my motherboard cards are in reverse order)

So, heavy duty example, the vanishing of Ethan carter redux running photorealistic and Unreal Engine 4 with, light mod, higher textures, full eye candy at 4096x2160 with 100% resolution, 60 frame lock





This is without frame lock, 150% of 4096x2160 resolution




This is without frame lock and 200% of 4096x2160 resolution




AND
This is without frame lock and 200% of 4096x2160 resolution
AND every single visual setting maxed





I hope this explains my scaling, gpu usage and that it's really pretty BALANCED 4-WAY SLI and it works the same in most of my games

(Same as the YouTube video posters I seeded it to in prior post)


Anyhow, so again
It's FULLY FUNCTIONAL 4-WAY SLI ON PASCAL TITAN X


Ps
Is 200% of 4096x2160 the same as saying "8K' ?


Ciao
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Nice! Pretty much a shame that sli 3/4 way works but Nvidia don't want you to use it for some reason?? Maybe they don't want one to just grab another card to get this same performance insted of buying the new latest and greatest cards or they just don't want to use resources dealing with driver issues for 3/4 way sli. Prob the latter.
 
I agree

I has to be that 3 and 4 way SLI prevents/lessens some folks from always buying the latest card, instead they add more of the card they already have.

I don't think its driver support issue since I have had no problem implementing 4 way sly on any sli capable game. In the custom profile builds, I've been able to SLI games that when they were made, there was no such thing as NVidia sli.
The whole thing is a marketing strategy.

Regardless
3 and 4 way SLI work great, and if you are willing to make your own profile - SCALING is much better than NVidia's default profiles
 
Minimalist said:
I agree

I has to be that 3 and 4 way SLI prevents/lessens some folks from always buying the latest card, instead they add more of the card they already have.

I don't think its driver support issue since I have had no problem implementing 4 way sly on any sli capable game. In the custom profile builds, I've been able to SLI games that when they were made, there was no such thing as NVidia sli.
The whole thing is a marketing strategy.

Regardless
3 and 4 way SLI work great, and if you are willing to make your own profile - SCALING is much better than NVidia's default profiles
Click to expand...

Kyle should hire you to write optimization articles
 
I'd guess that 3/4 way is too niche. It costs them money to support and they mostly get bad rep for doing so.

I haven't heard many good reports regarding 3/4 way SLI but many bad reports of poor scaling.

I guess this generation the revenue coming from the whales is not enough to offset the actual cost of software development to support it and so they decided to drop it.

I'm 100% sure they said they won't support such configs, not that they've made it impossible to do so. It now just requires the user to do everything instead of NVIDIA doing everything.
 
That was some serious hyperbole borderline delusion there. As a longtime quad gpu user, I have to seriously disagree. While mgpu does work well in limited games, the majority of the time it sucks ass. And working with profiles lol, if you're lucky it works but 95% of the time its a stutter fest. The BF4 videos look stutterific as well.
 
thesmokingman said:
That was some serious hyperbole borderline delusion there. As a longtime quad gpu user, I have to seriously disagree. While mgpu does work well in limited games, the majority of the time it sucks ass. And working with profiles lol, if you're lucky it works but 95% of the time its a stutter fest. The BF4 videos look stutterific as well.
Click to expand...

Not only that, why didn't the person upload the video in 8K resolution? At least 4K resolution would have been easy. YouTube has 8K videos on it.



So these guys figured out what Nvidia, thousands of game developers, Microsoft, and AMD couldn't figure out? Without more proof I have to wonder about this.
 
GTA V looks almost unplayable to me going by the amount of stuttering in this video:



Dunno what's going on there, even as someone sensitive to microstutter I never had stuttering that bad with SLI. Never tried 4-Way though.
 
Last edited:
I'm not getting micro stuttering



It could be how one sets up v synch, adaptive vs on(smooth) or just on. Off will generate issues depending on how far ahead it renders if it's set for unlimited frame rate

Or it could still need to be otimized further for that user/build


After all the tweaks, when it comes to enjoying the game, I usually put v-synch on adaptive and omit tearing, I also usually limit the in game frames to 60 vs unlimited.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Can you do the following games please.

Ass Creed Syndicate
Witcher 3 Wild Hunt
Deus Ex Mankind Divided
Fallout 4
Division
 
OP can you run Firestirke Ultra? I'd love to see that physics score.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top