No SLI Options for the 8500GT?

DGold01 · 04-01-2008, 09:46 PM

Hi there,

I've read several posts about people not being able to enable SLI on their 8500GTs over at NVIDA's forums, but I've yet to find a definitive answer to the problem.

I have two 8500GTs, have installed them both (the second one more recently), and both are recognized by my Hardware Device Manager. Everywhere I look on the net tells me that I should see a bubble automatically pop up after installing the second card that asks me to enable SLI mode. That never happens. When I go into the Nvidia control panel, there are NO SLI options under "3d Settings"... all I have are "Adjust Image with Preview" "manage 3d settings" and "monitor temperature levels". I tried going in to "Manage 3d settings", but again there are no options, not even a mention of SLI anywhere.

I do have the latest drivers downloaded and installed. I've tried it with the bridge, without the bridge, with older drivers... nothing. It's pretty frustrating that I don't even have the option anywhere...

My specs are:

MOTHERBOARD: (Socket AM2)GigaByte GA-M57SLI-S4 nForce 570-SLI Chipset DDR2/800 SATA RAID PCI-Express MBoard w/GbLAN,IEEE1394,USB2.0,&7.1Audio

RAM: 2GB (2x1GB) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory

CPU: (Socket AM2) AMD Athlon™64 X2 5200+ Dual-Core CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology

Pulling my hair out here... I realize that the peformance of the 8500GT even in SLI mode isn't great, so I really don't need to hear that I should just buy an 8800GT (as many people have been told), I just want to know if anyone has been able to resolve this problem and how.

Thanks for considering this... any help is appreciated.

**FreoHeaveho** · 04-02-2008, 10:50 AM

Ok mate,

I would do the following:

Download the latest motherboard bios (make sure you get the right revision): http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Support/M...ProductID=2287
Restart and update the motherboard bios and load optimised defaluts.
Save settings, restart and go back into the bios and set the onboard graphics to off, and any other settings you need. Save settings and restart normally.
Download and reinstall the motherboard chipset drivers (make sure you get the right revision): http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Support/M...ProductID=2287
Restart.
Download this and install it: http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?det=745
Run it for nVidia and ATi.
Download this (but don't install yet): http://us.download.nvidia.com/Window...glish_whql.exe
Restart in safe mode (tap F8 on start)
Install the nVidia driver.
Restart.

Try your SLI settings again and post results and the PSU you have (model and make).

DGold01 · 04-02-2008, 06:10 PM

Alright, I will try that.

Interestingly enough, though, when I go to Start->Run and type in rundll32 nvcpl.dll,LaunchMultiGpuApplet, it gives me the following:

Your graphics cards feature NVIDIA Scalable Link Interface (SLI) technology. However, your motherboard is not qualified to run in SLI mode.

What the... ? My motherboard is supposed to support SLI - that's one of the reasons I bought it. Seems pretty peculiar...

Also, my PSU is a 500W NZXT PP500.

**FreoHeaveho** · 04-02-2008, 06:44 PM

Do as i say above and see how you go, but your psu can only provide 20A on the 12V (combined power of 250W / 12V = ~20A) : here: http://www.nzxt.com/products/pp500/

I think it would be wise to get a new PSU too.

DGold01 · 04-02-2008, 08:35 PM

Okay, completed the steps you listed, although I had some trouble with some: namely, I've never updated a BIOS before, and I'm not sure if I've done it properly. After downloading the updated BIOS from the website, it extracts three files: autoexec, FLASH895, and m57slis4.f14. I wasn't sure what to do with these, so I double-clicked autoexec, and got a BIOS-looking screen that I had no idea what to do with.

Other than that, I followed all of the other steps, and nothing is different.

04-01-2008, 09:46 PM	#1 (permalink)
DGold01 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 24 OS: WinXP SP2	No SLI Options for the 8500GT? Hi there, I've read several posts about people not being able to enable SLI on their 8500GTs over at NVIDA's forums, but I've yet to find a definitive answer to the problem. I have two 8500GTs, have installed them both (the second one more recently), and both are recognized by my Hardware Device Manager. Everywhere I look on the net tells me that I should see a bubble automatically pop up after installing the second card that asks me to enable SLI mode. That never happens. When I go into the Nvidia control panel, there are NO SLI options under "3d Settings"... all I have are "Adjust Image with Preview" "manage 3d settings" and "monitor temperature levels". I tried going in to "Manage 3d settings", but again there are no options, not even a mention of SLI anywhere. I do have the latest drivers downloaded and installed. I've tried it with the bridge, without the bridge, with older drivers... nothing. It's pretty frustrating that I don't even have the option anywhere... My specs are: MOTHERBOARD: (Socket AM2)GigaByte GA-M57SLI-S4 nForce 570-SLI Chipset DDR2/800 SATA RAID PCI-Express MBoard w/GbLAN,IEEE1394,USB2.0,&7.1Audio RAM: 2GB (2x1GB) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory CPU: (Socket AM2) AMD Athlon™64 X2 5200+ Dual-Core CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology Pulling my hair out here... I realize that the peformance of the 8500GT even in SLI mode isn't great, so I really don't need to hear that I should just buy an 8800GT (as many people have been told), I just want to know if anyone has been able to resolve this problem and how. Thanks for considering this... any help is appreciated.

04-02-2008, 10:50 AM	#2 (permalink)
FreoHeaveho TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Australia Posts: 3,227 OS: Windows Vista Ultimate 64 SP2, Windows XP Professional SP3, Mac OSX Leopard My System	Re: No SLI Options for the 8500GT? Ok mate, I would do the following: Download the latest motherboard bios (make sure you get the right revision): http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Support/M...ProductID=2287 Restart and update the motherboard bios and load optimised defaluts. Save settings, restart and go back into the bios and set the onboard graphics to off, and any other settings you need. Save settings and restart normally. Download and reinstall the motherboard chipset drivers (make sure you get the right revision): http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Support/M...ProductID=2287 Restart. Download this and install it: http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?det=745 Run it for nVidia and ATi. Download this (but don't install yet): http://us.download.nvidia.com/Window...glish_whql.exe Restart in safe mode (tap F8 on start) Install the nVidia driver. Restart. Try your SLI settings again and post results and the PSU you have (model and make). __________________ PC Wizard-VGA 2009 Charts-Power Supply Info-Multi/Single Rail PSU?-Speedfan-Driver Sweeper Last edited by FreoHeaveho; 04-02-2008 at 10:55 AM.

04-02-2008, 06:10 PM	#3 (permalink)
DGold01 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 24 OS: WinXP SP2	Re: No SLI Options for the 8500GT? Alright, I will try that. Interestingly enough, though, when I go to Start->Run and type in rundll32 nvcpl.dll,LaunchMultiGpuApplet, it gives me the following: Your graphics cards feature NVIDIA Scalable Link Interface (SLI) technology. However, your motherboard is not qualified to run in SLI mode. What the... ? My motherboard is supposed to support SLI - that's one of the reasons I bought it. Seems pretty peculiar... Also, my PSU is a 500W NZXT PP500.

04-02-2008, 06:44 PM	#4 (permalink)
FreoHeaveho TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Australia Posts: 3,227 OS: Windows Vista Ultimate 64 SP2, Windows XP Professional SP3, Mac OSX Leopard My System	Re: No SLI Options for the 8500GT? Do as i say above and see how you go, but your psu can only provide 20A on the 12V (combined power of 250W / 12V = ~20A) : here: http://www.nzxt.com/products/pp500/ I think it would be wise to get a new PSU too. __________________ PC Wizard-VGA 2009 Charts-Power Supply Info-Multi/Single Rail PSU?-Speedfan-Driver Sweeper

04-02-2008, 08:35 PM	#5 (permalink)
DGold01 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 24 OS: WinXP SP2	Re: No SLI Options for the 8500GT? Okay, completed the steps you listed, although I had some trouble with some: namely, I've never updated a BIOS before, and I'm not sure if I've done it properly. After downloading the updated BIOS from the website, it extracts three files: autoexec, FLASH895, and m57slis4.f14. I wasn't sure what to do with these, so I double-clicked autoexec, and got a BIOS-looking screen that I had no idea what to do with. Other than that, I followed all of the other steps, and nothing is different.