Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 User manual

INSTALLATION GUIDE

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980
GEFORCE GTX 980 INSTALLATION GUIDE

TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction 1
About This Guide 1
Minimum System Requirements 2
Unpacking 3
Equipment 3
Hardware Installation 5
Safety Instructions 5
Before You Begin 6
Installing the GeForce Graphics Card 6
Software Installation 11
GeForce Express Software Installtion 11
Driver Installation 13
Configuring SLI 15
Accessing NVIDIA Control Panel 15
Enabling/Disabling SLI 16
Configuring HDMI 17
Enabling Audio Over HDMI 17
Features 19
Compliances 23

TABLE OF CONTENTS


INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
Thank you for choosing the NVIDIA®GeForce®
GTX 980 graphics card.
The GTX 980 is a powerful graphics card that
gives you the fast, smooth, quiet gaming you’re
looking for in all your favorite titles. With features
like GPU Boost 2.0, NVIDIA TXAA, and NVIDIA
PhysX, this graphics card will give you the best
your games have to offer.
Plus, with NVIDIA’s GeForce Experience built
right into its drivers, you can take advantage of
NVIDIA’s tens of thousands of hours of testing to
optimize your gameplay settings with one click.
About This Guide
This installation guide discusses the installation and operation of
the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 graphic card.
Note: It is important to register your product in order to
receive online and phone support. Consult the registration
card included in the retail packaging for more information on
registering your product.


INTRODUCTION
 Minimum System Requirements
>Motherboard
PCI Express®or PCI Express 3.0-compliant motherboard
with one dual-width x16 graphics slot.
>System Power Supply
Minimum 500 W or greater system power supply with two 6-pin
PCI Express supplementary power connectors.
>Operating System
zMicrosoft Windows 8, 32-bit or 64-bit
zMicrosoft Windows 7, 32-bit or 64-bit
zLinux, 32-bit or 64-bit
zFreeBSD x86
>System Memory
2 GB system memory (4 GB recommended)
>DVD-ROM drive or internet connection for driver installation
>300 MB of available hard disk space


UNPACKING
UNPACKING
Prior to unpacking your new NVIDIA GeForce
GTX 980 graphics card, it is important to make
sure you meet all the system requirements listed
on page 2 for a smooth installation.
Be sure to inspect each piece of equipment
shipped in the packing box. If anything is missing
or damaged, contact your reseller.
Equipment
The following equipment and documentation are included in the
GeForce GTX 980 graphics card box.
NVIDIA Driver Installation Disc
Contains:
• GeForce Experience Software
For other operating systems and to keep your
drivers current, visit www.nvidia.com/drivers
and download the latest drivers
• Digital version of this Manual and Driver
Quick Start Guide
Fast and easy steps to install the GeForce
graphics card.


UNPACKING
 WELCOME
Registration Card
Register to gain priority access to online and
phone support.
GeForce GTX 980 Graphics Card
DisplayPort
Connector
HDMI
Connector
DVI
Connector
Two 6-Pin Connectors
SLI
Connector
DisplayPort
Connectors


HARDWARE INSTALLATION
HARDWARE INSTALLATION
Installing the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 graphics
card hardware involves opening up your
computer. Follow all of the safety instructions
provided here to ensure that there is no damage
to you, your computer, or the graphics board.
Safety Instructions
To reduce the risk of fire, electric shock, or injury, always follow basic
safety precautions.
Note: All hardware must be installed prior to installation of
the drivers.
>Remove power from your computer by disconnecting the AC main
source before installation.
>Do not operate this product near water or when your hands or
body are wet.
>Do not place this product on soft surfaces that could block the
ventilation slots and cause overheating.
>Do not place this product near a heating register or radiator.
>Place this product securely on a stable surface. Serious damage
to this product may result if it falls.
>Do not allow anything to rest on the power cord. Do not place
this product where a person can step or trip on the power cord.


HARDWARE INSTALLATION
 Before You Begin
The GeForce GTX 980 graphics card is a PCI Express 3.0 ×16 graphics
card. Your computer may already have a graphics card installed in the
PCI Express slot. If so, you will need to remove that graphics card and
replace it with the GeForce GTX 980 graphics card.
If you do not have a graphics card, this means that your motherboard
has on-board graphics (there is a graphics chip installed on your
motherboard or integrated in the motherboard chipset). If this is the
case, there is no action that needs to be taken before installing your
new graphics card.
Installing the GeForce Graphics Card
Because there are so many different computer systems on the
market, the procedure to install the GeForce GTX 980 graphics card
can vary from system to system. Use the following instructions as
a guideline and consult the documentation for
your computer system for any further information on your
individual system.
Note: It is important that all power to the computer be
disconnected before you install the graphics card.
Discharge your body’s static electricity by touching a grounded
surface before touching the graphics card. A grounded surface is the
computer chassis, or some other surface you know to be grounded.
Use the following procedure to install the GeForce GTX 980 graphics
card into your computer system.
1 Turn off your computer and monitor and disconnect the power cord.
Depending on your computer system, you may need to disconnect the
cable going to the back of your system. Mark the cables so you can
make sure you reconnect them properly.
2 Open your computer by removing the cover/side panel. Refer to
your computer documentation from the original manufacturer
for assistance.

HARDWARE INSTALLATION 
3 Remove any existing graphics card (if there is one). Save hardware
(such as screws and brackets) to use when installing the NVIDIA
graphics card.
!Attention: If your system has been running for a period of
time prior to opening the panels, it is very important that you
wait until the graphics card in your system has cooled before
taking the card out of the system. Graphics cards get very hot
when they have been operating for any length of time.
4 Remove two adjacent slot covers if you do not have a graphics card
installed.
Note: The GeForce GTX 980 card is double-wide so it will require
removing two slot covers.

HARDWARE INSTALLATION
 5 Plug the GeForce GTX 980 graphics card into the Primary PCI Ex-
press x16 slot on your motherboard. This is often the slot closest to
the CPU but may be the second or third slot. Look for the slot labeled
×16. It will likely be the only PCI Express slot with a retention lever on
the end of the slot or the one closest to the CPU
Note: It is recommended that you install the graphics card
into the primary PCI Express x16 slot. If you install the graphics
card into the secondary slot, your system may not recognize the
graphics card and there will be nothing displayed on the monitor.
Also note that on some motherboard SBIOS, the physical
location of the primary slot can be configured when there are
more than one PCI Express x16 slots.
If you are installing additional GeForce GTX 980 graphics cards for an
SLI configuration, continue with step 6 (2-way SLI) or step 6 and 7 (3-
way SLI). If you are only installing one GeForce card, go on to step 8.
Note: All of the graphics cards in an SLI configuration must be
identical. Therefore, you must have all GeForce GTX 980 graphics
cards.

HARDWARE INSTALLATION 
6 Install a second GeForce GTX 980 graphic card (2-way SLI):
a) Install the second GeForce card into the outer most PCI Express
x16 slot on the motherboard.
b) Connect the two GeForce GTX 980 cards together using the dual
SLI bridge connector that came with your SLI-ready motherboard.
7 Install a third GeForce GTX 980 graphic card (3-way SLI):
a) Install the third GeForce card into the middle PCI Express x16 slot
on the motherboard.
b) Connect the three GeForce GTX 980 cards together using the
tripple SLI bridge connector that came with your SLI-ready
SLI
SLI

 HARDWARE INSTALLATION
motherboard.
8 Connect two 6-pin PCI Express auxiliary power connectors to the top
edge of the GeForce GTX 980 graphics card. Note that the connectors
and sockets on the graphics card have a unique shape and connect
one way only.
9 Reinstall the cover on your computer and reconnect any cables that
you removed earlier in the installation.

DisplayPort Connector (Qty Three)
Supports single-lane transfer rates
over a single cable. The interface
is primarily used to connect a video
source to a display device such as a
computer monitor.
HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia
Interface) Connector
Supports output of both video and
audio from the PC to a high-defini-
tion television.
DVI Connector
Use this to connect a digital display.
Note: If you are connecting a VGA
display, you will need to obtain a
DVI-to-VGA adapter,


DRIVER INSTALLATION
DRIVER INSTALLATION
With the hardware installed, it is now time to
install the GeForce Experience software and the
graphics driver.
GeForce Experience Software Installation
1 Go to http://www.geforce.com/geforce-experience/download. to
download GeForce Experience software.
2 Accept the NVIDIA software license agreement by selecting AGREE
AND CONTINUE.


 DRIVER INSTALLATION
 The GeForce Experience software begins to install.
3 Select Close to finish the installation.

DRIVER INSTALLATION 
NVIDIA Driver Installation
To install/update your graphics driver, use the newly installed Ge-
Force Experience. GeForce Experience automatically checks NVIDIA
servers for the latest GeForce drivers each day, and notifies users if a
new driver is available
1 Open GeForce Experience and select the Drivers tab.
2 Select Download driver.
Your GPU driver begins to download.

 DRIVER INSTALLATION
3 Select Express installation when the download finishes.
GeForce Express begins to install the graphics driver.
Note: It may take several minutes for the installation to take
place. Your screen may go blank for a few seconds one or
more times during installation. This is normal.
4 Click CLOSE when the driver install completes.
Note: Visit www.nvidia.com/support to access our 24x7x365
online support system. GeForce customers purchasing
NVIDIA-branded products also have access to toll free
technical support at 1-800-797-6530 from 8:00AM-5:00PM
Pacific Time, M-F. The technical support line is accessible
from the U.S. and Canada only.



CONFIGURING SLI
CONFIGURING SLI
SLI is a revolutionary technology developed
by NVIDIA that allows you to connect identical
GeForce graphics cards together to deliver
increased performance.
You can enable SLI by either clicking on the SLI capable system
balloon in the system tray or by going to the NVIDIA Control Panel.
Note: You must have an SLI-ready motherboard and 2 or 3
identical SLI-ready GeForce graphics cards installed in your
PC in order to enable SLI.
Accessing the NVIDIA Control Panel
1 To access the NVIDIA Control Panel, you can right-click the Windows
desktop and select NVIDIA Control Panel from the menu. Other ways
to access the NVIDIA Control Panel depends on the operating system.
>Windows 8
Using a mouse, point to the upper-right corner of the screen,
click Settings Control Panel Hardware and Sound and
select the NVIDIA Control Panel icon.
>Windows 7
Go to Start Control Panel Hardware and Sound and select
the NVIDIA Control Panel icon.

CONFIGURING SLI