Mobo recognition of video card

tjanko04

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Mar 11, 2011
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Hello,

My system includes an eVGA P55 SLI mobo and 2 SLI'd 9800 GTX+ video cards. I decided to upgrade the coolers as they run hot under load and I wanted to do some overclocking as well.

I'm using a pair of Accelero Twin Turbos which work awesome, silent and about a 20-30 degree drop, however, the cards will not fit in my PCI-e x16 and x8 slots due to the thickness. Currently, I am only running one because of this.

I ordered a PCI-e extension ribbon cable which allows me to plug the male end up into the PCI-e x8 slot in the board with just enough clearance behind the fan shrouds and allowed me to relocate the 2nd card. Success?

Nope. The motherboard does not recognize the card through the extension. There is no display, no recognition in the device manager, and when used to connect the first card to the motherboard, the LED readout shows a 2e code indicating no graphics card. Here are the steps I've taken:

Put the 2nd card in the PCI-e x4 slot below, but I was informed that you can not use this for SLI, it is dedicated for only a 3rd card for PhysX.

Uninstalled and reinstalled the latest versions of the drivers.

Ordered a second extension ribbon in case the first was faulty.

Tried both cards in both slots with and without the ribbon (the ribbon is for sure the issue).

Contacted eVGA tech support who
said they have no experience with these ribbons, but suggested their Power Boost to provide additional power to the PCI-e bus. Yes, I bit and I bought. No good.

I really enjoy the performance I'm getting with my cards and I love the fact that no matter what load test I run, I can't heat them past 71 degrees. I don't want to give up on this project when it seems that I'm ALMOST there (and I can make it look nice too :)) Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

-Tim
 

tjanko04

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Mar 11, 2011
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Yes, I have considered it, but I'm trying to exhaust all other options first.
 

tjanko04

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Mar 11, 2011
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I'm thinking there may be a quality issue from these cables made in Hong Kong. I'm going to try a domestic manufacturer, but yes, I may try my hand at watercooling otherwise. This is my first build and I've been adding on/modding it for the last year and a half; it's all been a big learning experience.

Thanks for your input :)
 

COLGeek

Cybernaut
Moderator

You are most welcome. Good luck!
 

tjanko04

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The more I think about it and look into it.....I think you may have lit a fire under my butt to do some water cooling. I'm a machinist by trade and I think it would be awesome to design and make my own water blocks. :D
 

COLGeek

Cybernaut
Moderator

Cool beans! If you take the plunge, you should post pix of your efforts for all of geekdom to enjoy. Remember to retain some good airflow with any liquid cooling rig to keep the rest of the system in a comfortable temp range.

Have fun!
 

tjanko04

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Mar 11, 2011
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Will do! I'll keep you updated.
 

tjanko04

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Wow, my mother would blow a gasket if she ever heard that I did that! :lol:

....still.......

I wonder what kind of anti-corrosive properties divinity glycol has......
 

COLGeek

Cybernaut
Moderator

It drives out the demons of evil heat from your system...... [:cool: