[SOLVED] 2x3090's, can't turn on SLI(NVLink)

[toshibitsu]

MSI X570 Godlike - Can't turn on SLI(NVLink) in Nvidia Control Panel (2 x 3090 + NVLink) ?

Firstly, please don't respond with "SLI is dead", "why are you using SLI?", etc...

Secondly, I confirmed that this paritcular motherboard is the only X570 board that has the proper 4-slot spacing for 3090 NVLink(only reason I bought it).

I had an X390 board w/ an i9-9900k and was able to use SLI just fine. I recently acquired a 5950X processor and thus, went with the Godlike board. On the Z390, I had to use 2 GPU riser cables as that board did not have the proper 4-slot spacing.

Anyway, I've since re-installed Windows, installed all drivers/updates and yes, tried installing the 3090's 1 at a time. When I go into Nvidia Control Panel, it shows that SLI is disabled. If I try to enable it, it attempts to, then reverts back to disabled. I've confirmed that the PC is registering both 3090's correctly and there's no errors in Device Manager:

I did notice at least in the BIOS, it's showing something that seems odd to me. Under the PCI_E1 & E3 lanes, it only allows me to choose "Auto" or "x4+x4":

Also, under 'Board Explorer', it's showing that both the PCIe x16 & PCIe x8 slots are both running at x8:

As you can see, the GPU's are installed in PCI_E1 & PCI_E3 (only way they will fit).
Additionally, I do have NVMe drives installed in both M.2 Slot 1 & M.2 slot 2.
I also have 3 2.5" SSD's installed in SATA2, SATA4, & SATA6.

I am wondering then if I have too many storage drives installed(or installed in the wrong places).
I will have to go through the manual some more(which can be found here: https://www.manualslib.com/products/Msi-Meg-X570-Godlike-10511480.html )
I'm getting ready for work at the moment and won't be able to troubleshoot further until I get home this evening.
I just figured I'd ask here in case anyone is aware of the issue and knows what the solution is.


Thank you !

 

[Lutfij]

You could try and remove all storage drives that are not needed by the OS, just to verify that lanes aren't being allocated to other arenas. What OS version are you on? Did you reinstall the OS after recreating your bootable USB installer using Windows Media Creation Tools after you migrated to the new platform?

What BIOS version are you working with on your motherboard? What is the make and model of your PSU and it's age(if it's been recycled from the older i9 platform)? It's a good idea to always list these in the body of the thread as opposed to telling people to look into your sig space. Sig space specs can and will change over time, due to that, the solution/suggestion given on this thread will eventually become moot to the person in the same boat as you're in now.

 

[toshibitsu]

UPDATE:

I thought I'd let anyone know(who cares) what I've found. I've tried doing everything from removing SATA drives(only leaving 1 NVMe in SLOT_3), DDU in Safe Mode, re-seating the GPU's & NVLink, etc... basically nothing worked.

I then tried reverting back to a driver from January and magically SLI is enabled again! --- however, once I update the driver, SLI goes back to being disabled. According to Nvidia's release notes, they've intentionally disabled SLI now for Ampere cards:

 

[Timeless168]

UPDATE:

I thought I'd let anyone know(who cares) what I've found. I've tried doing everything from removing SATA drives(only leaving 1 NVMe in SLOT_3), DDU in Safe Mode, re-seating the GPU's & NVLink, etc... basically nothing worked.

I then tried reverting back to a driver from January and magically SLI is enabled again! --- however, once I update the driver, SLI goes back to being disabled. According to Nvidia's release notes, they've intentionally disabled SLI now for Ampere cards:

Hi there, I have the exact same system set up as you do, I am also trying to fix the SLI problem which is a big headache, thank you very much for sharing the solution!

 

[bm2022]

Hi, I have a similar issue. So, the solution is to install an older version of the driver? However, that will create another issue, as many latest graphics APIs, e.g., OptiX, CUDA requires the latest version of the driver, and it won't run decently.