What is the status of Nvidia SLI support?

[Hobbit_Pizza]

I have noticed from monitoring my GPU performance that FFXIV:ARR is not utilizing my second GPU. Windows and other applications do. I have the latest Nvidia drivers, and I've even tried the latest Beta drivers, but to no avail. I have added a profile in the Nvidia Control Panel for FFXIV:ARR but this did nothing. It appears that FFXIV:ARR still does not support Nvidia SLI. Any official word whether or not it ever will or when?

Similar topics that were closed and marked as resolved (obviously not resolved though):

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...or-SLI-support

[Ahielia]

SLI works. If it doesn't, it's on your end.

[Dragon_Lord]

I have crossfire and I have to be in fullscreen or it will go into a one GPU only mode. I'm not sure this will work for the Nvidia SLI but check just to make sure. Good Luck.

[Hobbit_Pizza]

Ahielia
SLI works. If it doesn't, it's on your end.

How so?

Dragon_Lord
I have crossfire and I have to be in fullscreen or it will go into a one GPU only mode. I'm not sure this will work for the Nvidia SLI but check just to make sure. Good Luck.

Yes I have run both Fullscreen and windowed to check. It does not utilize the second GPU in Fullscreen mode.

Again, in other applications I can see that both GPUs are utilized (I use MSI Afterburner to monitor). As soon as I launch FFXIV:ARR the 2nd GPU drops to near zero utilization and the 1st GPU approaches maximum utilization. I have confirmed that SLI is working and configured properly in Nvidia control panel.

Has there been any official statement regarding SLI/DX11/etc. since release, or can someone perhaps provide helpful troubleshooting steps or advice? Not just saying "SLI works, it's on your end..."

[RaineMagus]

I have crossfire and I have to be in fullscreen or it will go into a one GPU only mode. I'm not sure this will work for the Nvidia SLI but check just to make sure.

Agreed -- Always a good idea to play in true-fullscreen if you have a multi-GPU system.

NVidia is an exception here / has an edge over AMD though. NVidia actually DOES have SLI scaling in Windowed mode, yet performance is far better when using true fullscreen-mode (to the point that it's not worth playing in Windowed mode). One card works harder than the other and raw display passthrough isn't used when Windowed (the rendered scene has to be passed via texture to the master, then displayed).

Has there been any official statement regarding SLI/DX11/etc. since release, or can someone perhaps provide helpful troubleshooting steps or advice? Not just saying "SLI works, it's on your end..."

What driver version are you running? It sounds like you have a profile issue (*or no profile for FFXIV:ARR at all*).

For example, if you're running version 314.22 [R313] or R310 and are one of those people who were reluctant to update due to TDR issues (with a 560 ti or 460) ... then you'll need to define an SLI profile manually in order to get proper scaling.


Here's the latest SLI profile for the game [exported from NVidia Inspector -- Driver version 331.93]:

--FFXIV_ARR.nip--
===============================
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?>
<ArrayOfProfile>
<Profile>
<ProfileName>Final Fantasy XIV Realm Reborn</ProfileName>
<Executeables>
<string>ffxiv.exe</string>
</Executeables>
<Settings>
<ProfileSetting>
<SettingID>1448195</SettingID>
<SettingValue>1</SettingValue>
</ProfileSetting>
<ProfileSetting>
<SettingID>271830721</SettingID>
<SettingValue>3</SettingValue>
</ProfileSetting>
<ProfileSetting>
<SettingID>271834322</SettingID>
<SettingValue>4</SettingValue>
</ProfileSetting>
<ProfileSetting>
<SettingID>278257400</SettingID>
<SettingValue>37756933</SettingValue>
</ProfileSetting>
<ProfileSetting>
<SettingID>283958146</SettingID>
<SettingValue>5</SettingValue>
</ProfileSetting>
<ProfileSetting>
<SettingID>1881060439</SettingID>
<SettingValue>574728993</SettingValue>
</ProfileSetting>
<ProfileSetting>
<SettingID>1889182065</SettingID>
<SettingValue>882564603</SettingValue>
</ProfileSetting>
</Settings>
</Profile>
</ArrayOfProfile>
===============================

Copy and and paste the above contents between the = dividers and save that to a .nip file, then import this profile using NVidia Inspector. That'll ensure you have the proper SLI compat bits set and likely fix your performance issues.

If that doesn't work, let me know. I've a few other ideas that we could try here.



Edit: Even though you state you've tried running the latest beta drivers, have you done a fresh install? Perhaps you have an old profile that's being transitioned and conflicting.

--You may want to try using the 'clean install' option in the NVidia installer.

Edit #2: After a fresh install of the drivers. Run a search using NVidia Inspector through your profiles for ffxiv.exe .. If you have any other profiles that have the executable defined, you'll need to remove these / ensure there's only one.

[Lurkios]

Have two 760's in SLI, haven't changed anything, added profiles, etc. Run on "Desktop High" settings, bordless window. Everything is working as expected.

[Ahielia]

How so?

As in, while the game doesn't "officially" support SLI, a shitload of people are utilizing both GPUs.

Whether it's a driver problem, OS/setting problem or an application that blocks it, it is somewhere in your computer that the problem lies. The game engine works with SLI.