Issue running sli on MSI Z170A M7

[PeanutButter]

Hey guys, long time lurker, new poster here. I read the rules, I'm no English major, but I will do my best to present this issue as clearly and easy to understand as I can.

To start off, I would like to first state that I have read through the forum over and over, but can't really find others reporting this problem. This leads me to believe that my issue is either operator error, or faulty hardware. I am in hopes that you guys can help me determine which.

My system specs:

MSI Z170A M7 Motherboard
Intel 6700k Skylake 1151 processor
16 gigs (2x 8 GB sticks) EVGA 3200 MHZ RAM
Rosewill 850 Watt PSU, I have used in 2 builds
Corsair H100I GTX CPU cooler
Samsung 850 PRO 256 gig SSD
WD Black 2 TB 7200 RPM storage HDD
NZXT Full tower Phantom
EVGA 980 TI non reference model cards (Currently running 1, attempting to run 2)

Please correct me if any of my specs are a little off, as I'm writing this all from memory.

Alright so here we go. I would like to start off by saying my system runs flawlessly. I have been running the setup for 2 months now, minus the second 980 ti.

Today I received my second card from EVGA, popped my side panel off and installed it. Everything went well on the install. Hit the power button, everything posted.

Loaded to the desktop, and here's the issue. Device manager only reading one card. No sli option in the Nvidia menu, no trace anywhere of a second card being installed.

Rebooted the machine into the BIOS. Clicked the button to explore the motherboard, everything is showing other than the second card. The PCIE slot it's in is reading empty.

Weird, maybe the card is faulty. Pulled my verified working card out, and moved the new card into the first slot. Posted, boots perfectly, reads correctly in the BIOS.

Shut it down, installed the verified working 980 TI into the second slot. Hooked up the connectors, sli bridge, booted the bios. Still reading that the slot is empty.

I am installing the cards in the 2 metal plated x16 slots, everything is seating perfectly, both cards light up and fans work, it just doesn't recognize that there is a card in the second slot.

Due to orientation of the motherboard inside of the case, I cannot check the very bottom x4 lane. Power supply is too close, and there are no cut outs on the case for the stuff on the back of the card to poke through.

Is it safe to assume here that my second PCI lane is faulty, or should I do some more testing before I rip the system apart and return the motherboard?

Hopefully this wasn't too long, thank you for anybody who takes the time to read this and assist me.

 

[ShadowDragon423]

Hey guys, long time lurker, new poster here. I read the rules, I'm no English major, but I will do my best to present this issue as clearly and easy to understand as I can.

To start off, I would like to first state that I have read through the forum over and over, but can't really find others reporting this problem. This leads me to believe that my issue is either operator error, or faulty hardware. I am in hopes that you guys can help me determine which.

My system specs:

MSI Z170A M7 Motherboard
Intel 6700k Skylake 1151 processor
16 gigs (2x 8 GB sticks) EVGA 3200 MHZ RAM
Rosewill 850 Watt PSU, I have used in 2 builds
Corsair H100I GTX CPU cooler
Samsung 850 PRO 256 gig SSD
WD Black 2 TB 7200 RPM storage HDD
NZXT Full tower Phantom
EVGA 980 TI non reference model cards (Currently running 1, attempting to run 2)

Please correct me if any of my specs are a little off, as I'm writing this all from memory.

Alright so here we go. I would like to start off by saying my system runs flawlessly. I have been running the setup for 2 months now, minus the second 980 ti.

Today I received my second card from EVGA, popped my side panel off and installed it. Everything went well on the install. Hit the power button, everything posted.

Loaded to the desktop, and here's the issue. Device manager only reading one card. No sli option in the Nvidia menu, no trace anywhere of a second card being installed.

Rebooted the machine into the BIOS. Clicked the button to explore the motherboard, everything is showing other than the second card. The PCIE slot it's in is reading empty.

Weird, maybe the card is faulty. Pulled my verified working card out, and moved the new card into the first slot. Posted, boots perfectly, reads correctly in the BIOS.

Shut it down, installed the verified working 980 TI into the second slot. Hooked up the connectors, sli bridge, booted the bios. Still reading that the slot is empty.

I am installing the cards in the 2 metal plated x16 slots, everything is seating perfectly, both cards light up and fans work, it just doesn't recognize that there is a card in the second slot.

Due to orientation of the motherboard inside of the case, I cannot check the very bottom x4 lane. Power supply is too close, and there are no cut outs on the case for the stuff on the back of the card to poke through.

Is it safe to assume here that my second PCI lane is faulty, or should I do some more testing before I rip the system apart and return the motherboard?

Hopefully this wasn't too long, thank you for anybody who takes the time to read this and assist me.

 

[ShadowDragon423]

I wish I could help you but I have the same problem. MSI z170a M7 motherboard, 6700K CPU, 2 MSI GTX980Ti Golden edition GPU. Bios does not see card in PciE-5. I switched the two cards,( thought one lead one followed), no change. Moved card from 5 to 7, sees both cards, but not the bridge, ie. no SLI config. Installed a Gigabyte Z170 board and no video out put from any position, so I do not know if they worked. Installed a second different MSI Z170a board, all it did was throw debug codes at me so I got no where with that either. Everything works with one card in PciE-2, tomorrow I will pull card from 2 and put in 5 to see if it "sees" the card. If not I will delete drivers and try to install 2nd MOBO again from start. If that doesn't work I might do it again with Gigabyte board???

 

[PeanutButter]

I actually solved my issue. It seems that the socket was bad. I returned my motherboard, and the new one worked properly. I would like to note however, that the new board had issues running ram in the 3rd ram slot. After some tweaking of the cpu cooler, I did manage to get all ram slots to work. It does seem that these boards are very finicky. Once working correctly they work well, but you have to mess around with it a bit to get everything working right.