EVGA

SR-X, PCIE 3.0 and GTX 670

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shawkie
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2012/06/21 04:32:22 (permalink)
Has anyone had any luck getting this motherboard working in PCIE Gen3 mode with the GTX 670? From what I've read this motherboard specifically omits the NF200 chip in order to support Gen3 so presumably its meant to work. I have two EVGA GTX 670 SC 4GB cards which I'm trying to get to work in a similar motherboard (Supermicro X9DR3-F) and when I try to enable Gen3 in the BIOS I have lots of stability problems. I'm wondering if the problem is common to the C606 + Xeon E5 platform. One other thing that I've noticed is that despite this platform being officially PCI-Express 3.0 certified the nVidia driver is refusing to operate in Gen3 mode without the same registry change that is needed on the X79 platform. Can anyone shed any light on this?
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    lehpron
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    Re:SR-X, PCIE 3.0 and GTX 670 2012/06/21 08:28:16 (permalink)
    All LGA2011 processors already have PCIe 3.0 built-in ready to use, except the nVidia drivers do not enable it with their graphics cards, thus you'd have to use a registry hack to re-enable it.  Just so you know, if you used an AMD card like HD7000's, PCIe 3.0 is default enabled in their drivers.  In otherwords, this is nVidia's fault considering that with every new beta driver, it still isn't enabled, i.e. no accident.   The nF200 chipset can only deal with 2.0 signals, otherwise there should be PLX chips or a revised "nF300", it can be changed in BIOS or via registry hacking.
     
    There is a 3-page thread in the X79 series subforum that talks about re-enabling 3.0 for nVidia cards, I think you'll find the registry hack there but it isn't an easy process without patience.  No gaurantee it will work for SR-X though.
     
    That said, the implication behind this review where even at 2560x1600 using a GTX690 for games, performance loss is less than 5% performance in PCIe 2.0 x16 versus PCIe 2.0 x16.  One could conclude you don't loose much with your GTX670 in a 2.0 x16 slot because it basically half the performance of GTX690.  Computational work like general CUDA or folding will loose a bit more though.  But it is up to you if the registry hack is worth the effort.
    post edited by lehpron - 2012/06/21 08:31:45

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    #2
    CyberstormXIII
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    Re:SR-X, PCIE 3.0 and GTX 670 2012/06/21 09:49:30 (permalink)
    lehpron
    [snip]
    That said, the implication behind this review where even at 2560x1600 using a GTX690 for games, performance loss is less than 5% performance in PCIe 2.0 x16 versus PCIe 2.0 x16.  One could conclude you don't loose much with your GTX670 in a 2.0 x16 slot because it basically half the performance of GTX690.  Computational work like general CUDA or folding will loose a bit more though.  But it is up to you if the registry hack is worth the effort.

     
    I's sure you made a slight typing mistake and it should read : PCIe 2.0 x16 versus PCIe 3.0 x16
     
    Best regards : CyberstormXIII
     

     
    Motherboard :  1x EVGA Classified SR-X - BIOS 015, serial number ...007
    CPU              :  2x Intel Xeon E5-2687W SR0KG
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    #3
    shawkie
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    Re:SR-X, PCIE 3.0 and GTX 670 2012/06/21 10:47:24 (permalink)
    Iehpron: Thanks for your reply. Yes, I already discovered the X79 thread and the registry hack (which I have tried with partial success). My problem is that as soon as I enable Gen3 in the BIOS my system becomes unstable. I guess I was wondering if there was a reason nVidia is being so reluctant to enable Gen3 in their drivers. Is there a more fundamental problem with Gen3 support in the GTX 600 series and/or some Intel processors? If I switch from the Supermicro board to the SR-X then has anyone tested this configuration and found it to work reliably at Gen3 speeds? I realise that the difference when gaming is marginal but this is for a HPC application using CUDA. I need total reliability but if I can get an extra 10% performance then I'll take it.
     
    CyberstormXIII: I see from your sig that you have an SR-X with two GTX 690s. Are they running in Gen3 mode without problems? Have you confirmed this with benchmarks?
     
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    CyberstormXIII
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    Re:SR-X, PCIE 3.0 and GTX 670 2012/06/21 10:59:05 (permalink)
    shawkie
    [snip]
    CyberstormXIII: I see from your sig that you have an SR-X with two GTX 690s. Are they running in Gen3 mode without problems? Have you confirmed this with benchmarks?

     
    Hello.
     
    The GPU-Z report it as : (PCI-E 3.0 x16 @ x16 1.1), and when running the "?" right next to it,
    it shows as (PCI-E 3.0 x16 @ x16 3.0)
     
    And the reason it shows it as @ 1.1 is because it clocks down when not in use, and this is especially true for quad-sli systems ;-) 
     
    So, yes, it is running at 3.0 speeds - this I have tested both with 011 and 013 roms,
    and also with nVidia's : 301.10, 301.24, 304.42 and 304.48 beta drivers.
     
    Best regards : CyberstormXIII
     
     

     
    Motherboard :  1x EVGA Classified SR-X - BIOS 015, serial number ...007
    CPU              :  2x Intel Xeon E5-2687W SR0KG
    GPU              :  2x EVGA GeForce GTX 690
    RAM             : 12x Hynix DDR3 16GB 1333MHz ECC Registered Dual Rank
    PSU              :  1x Enermax Platimax 1500W
    CPU Coolers  :  2x Noctua NH-D14 SE2011
    Cabinet         :  1x Lian Li PC P80N Armorsuit (Black Anodized Aluminum)
    SPU              :  1x ASUS Xonar Essence One + Sennheiser HD800
     
    #5
    shawkie
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    Re:SR-X, PCIE 3.0 and GTX 670 2012/06/21 13:49:43 (permalink)
    CyberstormXIII: Thanks. So the EVGA GTX690 works on the SR-X. I've also heard reports of an GTX680 working on an HP ML350. I guess my problem is either my Supermicro motherboard or something weird about the EVGA GTX670 SC 4GB.
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    shawkie
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    Re:SR-X, PCIE 3.0 and GTX 670 2012/06/22 11:07:04 (permalink)
    Just to add to the confusion, it seems that the use of a PLX bridge/switch chip on the GTX 690 means it may not suffer from the same problems as the rest of the GTX 600 series...
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    moore327
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    Re:SR-X, PCIE 3.0 and GTX 670 2012/06/26 16:19:41 (permalink)
    shawkie,
     
    Did you have SLI working on that Supermicro board? Because I think they only support crossfire... not SLI.
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    shawkie
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    Re:SR-X, PCIE 3.0 and GTX 670 2012/06/27 23:28:32 (permalink)
    moore327

    shawkie,

    Did you have SLI working on that Supermicro board? Because I think they only support crossfire... not SLI.


    No, I haven't even tried it. It did come up with a suggestion to install the SLI bridge but I don't have one. This is a work project for CUDA applications so I'm not interested in SLI.
     
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    clayton006
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    Re:SR-X, PCIE 3.0 and GTX 670 2012/06/29 05:37:42 (permalink)
    shawkie

    Iehpron: Thanks for your reply. Yes, I already discovered the X79 thread and the registry hack (which I have tried with partial success). My problem is that as soon as I enable Gen3 in the BIOS my system becomes unstable. I guess I was wondering if there was a reason nVidia is being so reluctant to enable Gen3 in their drivers. Is there a more fundamental problem with Gen3 support in the GTX 600 series and/or some Intel processors? If I switch from the Supermicro board to the SR-X then has anyone tested this configuration and found it to work reliably at Gen3 speeds? I realise that the difference when gaming is marginal but this is for a HPC application using CUDA. I need total reliability but if I can get an extra 10% performance then I'll take it.

    CyberstormXIII: I see from your sig that you have an SR-X with two GTX 690s. Are they running in Gen3 mode without problems? Have you confirmed this with benchmarks?


    I had similar stability problems when I moved my 4 GTX 670 4GB cards from my SR-2 to my x79 system and enabled PCI-E 3.0. It turns out that one of my cards would not operate at all in an x8 slot (and all of my other ones would). Not saying you do, but I had a bad card. The other three 670's are running like champs, but with that fourth card in I couldn't boot windows in PCI-E 3.0 and the system was very flaky.

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    shawkie
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    Re:SR-X, PCIE 3.0 and GTX 670 2012/06/29 05:59:18 (permalink)
    clayton006
    I had similar stability problems when I moved my 4 GTX 670 4GB cards from my SR-2 to my x79 system and enabled PCI-E 3.0. It turns out that one of my cards would not operate at all in an x8 slot (and all of my other ones would). Not saying you do, but I had a bad card. The other three 670's are running like champs, but with that fourth card in I couldn't boot windows in PCI-E 3.0 and the system was very flaky.

    There is nothing so far to suggest the problem is linked to one specific card but you have a valid point. I have a total of 4 cards available. The other 2 are running perfectly in PCI-E 3.0 mode on an ASUS Maximus V Gene with Ivy Bridge CPU. I can (fairly) easily swap them over.
     
    #11
    RobertFontaine
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    Re:SR-X, PCIE 3.0 and GTX 670 2012/06/29 11:01:05 (permalink)
    pci 3.0, intel, nvidia 6xx' and x79 is a mess.
    Might work, might not work, depends on card, mobo and cpu combination and specific instances
    amd's 79xx cards have a much higher chance of working under this configuation.
     
    There is a real problem with manufacturers releasing hardware that is out of spec or missing entire use cases.   The rush to be first to market seems to outweigh having drivers and hardware implementations that actually work.
     
    #12
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