Nvidia SLI vs NVLink functionality?

[Kalm_Traveler]

Does anyone have a link to a good source of information on understanding how these two similar connections work? 

 

I'm not talking about the motherboard NVLink in those IBM servers, just the card to card version like on the Quadro GP100, and technically on the Titan V (yes I know Nvidia says the V doesn't support it and blocked the pcb fingers - I own 2 of them). 

 

I've been googling a bit but haven't been able to find anything explaining functional differences, they seem to pretty much be the same thing, just that NVLink provides much more card-to-card bandwidth. 

 

I understand that Quadros, Teslas and the Titan V are "for machine learning", "not for gaming" etc but what I'm trying to figure out is if this link functions essentially in the same way as the old SLI, doesn't that mean technically if you had 2 cards connected with a pair of NVLink bridges that they 'could' function in the same fashion as a pair of SLI'd cards? 

 

Notice how all the Titan cards previous to V support SLI and were touted as deep learning / rendering / etc hence my curiosity. 

 

The root of this is basically I want to see if the V's can have NVLink enabled somehow (assuming it is actually disabled at all, and that Nvidia just blocked the connector hoping nobody would mod a $3000 card) and if it has the same function as the older bridge game-wise since as far as I can tell SLI is handled by the driver, not explicitly by the game (yes I understand that some games do have specific support coded in for SLI and most do not). 

 

Anyway sorry for such a long post but if you guys can point me to any information I would really appreciate it. 

[Bhav]

If you send me your Titan Vs I can investigate this for you. I'll keep them as payment though.

[Dissitesuxba11s]

Check out this reddit thread.

[Kalm_Traveler]

On 2/16/2018 at 7:17 AM, Dissitesuxba11s said:

Check out this reddit thread.

Thanks again - I read through it but it also doesn't seem to have anything indicating that the pcb fingers are in fact useless. 

At this point I think I'm going to just order a pair of bridges and check for myself, nothing to lose but money and a little bit of time I suppose

[Dissitesuxba11s]

1 hour ago, Kalm_Traveler1 said:

Thanks again - I read through it but it also doesn't seem to have anything indicating that the pcb fingers are in fact useless. 

At this point I think I'm going to just order a pair of bridges and check for myself, nothing to lose but money and a little bit of time I suppose

Looks like the PCB fingers are physically blocked (source). If you still want to connect/try them with the $600 NVlink bridge, you would have do some modification. Either way, keep us updated on your findings.

[Kalm_Traveler]

16 minutes ago, Dissitesuxba11s said:

Looks like the PCB fingers are physically blocked (source). If you still want to connect/try them with the $600 NVlink bridge, you would have do some modification. Either way, keep us updated on your findings.

you are correct, I was comparing it to a FE 1080 Ti last night and basically the back plate will need to be cut (dremel) as well as some of the shroud plastic cut away to allow the connector to physically connect. 

I'll post some pictures later this week when the bridge arrives and I can sit down for a few minutes with the dremel.

[Dissitesuxba11s]

1 minute ago, Kalm_Traveler1 said:

you are correct, I was comparing it to a FE 1080 Ti last night and basically the back plate will need to be cut (dremel) as well as some of the shroud plastic cut away to allow the connector to physically connect. 

I'll post some pictures later this week when the bridge arrives and I can sit down for a few minutes with the dremel.

Good luck and be careful. Safety first 

[Kalm_Traveler]

On 2/18/2018 at 10:08 PM, Dissitesuxba11s said:

Good luck and be careful. Safety first 

indeed and thanks - I finally remembered to order them just now - nearly $1300 after tax for a pair of them. Stings the wallet but this is for science!

[Kalm_Traveler]

Bridges are in so I can start testing. Hope they let me return the unused set since I didn't realize a unit included 2 bridges... 

[meki01]

And did it work? 

[Kalm_Traveler]

On 8/22/2018 at 10:55 PM, meki01 said:

And did it work? 

no, I tried pushing a Quadro GV100 BIOS with a ROM flasher but it wasn't flashing correctly, the data kept being just slightly off from the source file. Finally gave up, built a separate rig with an 8086k, 32gb 3200mhz DDR4, and one of the Titan V's, sold the other on eBay and swapped a pair of Titan Xp's into my larger rig.