gtx 460 and gtx 460 se SLI compatiable? Get it to work?

[Vanitys_Enemy]

I checked with the other forums on the net and I get half of the people saying it is and it isnt. I was wondering if any of you guys have the same setup or any insight on this. For the past few days I have been pulling out my hair seeing if it works or not and so far it isnt. I'm aware of the SLI settings in my nvidia control panel but it is not showing up. Below are some of the step I have done in no particular order:

-Installed latest drivers
-Roll back drivers
-SLI bridges are hooked
-Clean registry (uninstall and install driver attempts: 5 times already)
-Tested cards/switch slots/ect.
-Physx option is shown but not SLI
-Latest driver updates for mobo

^Then again if the cards aren't compatiable then I have just been pulling my hair for the past few days for nothing.

[Coldfire]

It will not work. They are different cards. Blame nv for inventing such a crappy SLI (it makes different cards always incompatible on purpose). With Crossfire it only has to be the same chip type.
The only thing that may be different with SLI is clockspeed and manufacturer.

[Vanitys_Enemy]

It will not work. They are different cards. Blame nv for inventing such a crappy SLI (it makes different cards always incompatible on purpose). With Crossfire it only has to be the same chip type.
The only thing that may be different with SLI is clockspeed and manufacturer.

Thank you. Another question though. If I have both gtx 460 in the future and installed it and whatnot is it going to be a hassle of trying to figure out how to make it SLI enabled? And I'm still rather new to the whole SLI in general but how much more of an improvement for using SLI?

[Coldfire]

Thank you. Another question though. If I have both gtx 460 in the future and installed it and whatnot is it going to be a hassle of trying to figure out how to make it SLI enabled? And I'm still rather new to the whole SLI in general but how much more of an improvement for using SLI?

If SLI works and the framerate improvement depends on the game and driver. Firstly your mainboard should have two PCIe 16x slots with full electrical speed or at least one full and one 8x. The PSU should have at least 650W. You will never have double speed with dual SLI and there will always be a bit of micro stuttering. If the hardware and driver is okay you will have SLI options in the control panel. The rest depends on the game itself. There are some tools to play around with SLI and make it work even in unsupported games (unstable) but those should only be used by experienced users or people that are willing to read through big blocks of readmes.

[Geesus]

I agree with everything Coldfire says and support this post . ^

As you may have seen though, FFXIV has been knows though to be a bit flaky with SLI so you may have to play with the settings both in config for XIV and your Nvid control panel. Good luck!!

[Digirotta]

Just adding my two cents for using SLI in general.

I thought that my thirst for running games smoothly would be satisfied with a dual-460gtx-setup. It was a sad thing to build a new comp with just that in mind. It was a sad feeling to see my cards fire up to ~100 degrees celsius 30 seconds after logging in to XIV. It was the saddest feeling to spend twice the cash i spent for 2 460's just to get it all watercooled.

But, in the end, it's just money, and all the components lasts longer, if one takes some time to clean them every now and then. It's a nice feeling to see both cards with 35-40 degrees in celsius while playing FFXIV with full graphics and high overclocks, all smooth and jolly. Then again, it's way, way cheaper to get one good high-end graphics card, and ignore the noise aircooling makes. Oh, and less hassle. Much, much less hassle.

[Esk]

I have 2 totally different 260's that SLI'd fine.
One custom and one non custom PCB, both with different clocks (until I Oc'd them) and both running different Firmware.
A 260 is a 260, an as far as I understand it nothing has changed so it should work for 460's.

Only reasons i could see it not showing are lack of power to run both (you need the right 12v rails as well)
Mobo cant do SLI (rare now but) or the mobo is crossfire (I've actually seen people do this is why i say)

That will teach me to get a brew and Google before I answer when its not about OC'ing lol

90% sure the GPU core is different, so no it cant SLI. it shouldn't be called a 460 fs.
Return it and get a GPU with the same spec in the core (so most others).

If you link the full make/model of both cards I'll look make sure for you.

[Vanitys_Enemy]

I have 2 totally different 260's that SLI'd fine.
One custom and one non custom PCB, both with different clocks (until I Oc'd them) and both running different Firmware.
A 260 is a 260, an as far as I understand it nothing has changed so it should work for 460's.

Only reasons i could see it not showing are lack of power to run both (you need the right 12v rails as well)
Mobo cant do SLI (rare now but) or the mobo is crossfire (I've actually seen people do this is why i say)

That will teach me to get a brew and Google before I answer when its not about OC'ing lol

90% sure the GPU core is different, so no it cant SLI. it shouldn't be called a 460 fs.
Return it and get a GPU with the same spec in the core (so most others).

If you link the full make/model of both cards I'll look make sure for you.

Awesome thankyou.

[Geesus]

I have 2 totally different 260's that SLI'd fine.
One custom and one non custom PCB, both with different clocks (until I Oc'd them) and both running different Firmware.
A 260 is a 260, an as far as I understand it nothing has changed so it should work for 460's.

Only reasons i could see it not showing are lack of power to run both (you need the right 12v rails as well)
Mobo cant do SLI (rare now but) or the mobo is crossfire (I've actually seen people do this is why i say)

That will teach me to get a brew and Google before I answer when its not about OC'ing lol

90% sure the GPU core is different, so no it cant SLI. it shouldn't be called a 460 fs.
Return it and get a GPU with the same spec in the core (so most others).

If you link the full make/model of both cards I'll look make sure for you.

LMAO! Morning Esk hahahahaha.

[Eunys]

As above posters have said it would be a no go. SLI must be the same GPU and same RAM size on both cards, brand and clock speed can differ as SLI will just down clock to the lower card. Also make sure to just get a second 460, stay away from the SE as it is pretty worthless card and just terrible on price as you can even pick up a 460 for less then the SE even on most online stores.