3930K has absolutely unleashed my two GTX 670 4GB

[skipsneeky2]

With those new windows 8 drivers i posted i'm getting 97-98% gpu usage on the 690 in BF3. With 670 SLI i was getting mid 90 % usage

What driver version and what os you using?You must be gaming in a resolution higher then 1080p cause my usage is not even close to that at all.

 

[Don Karnage]

What driver version and what os you using?You must be gaming in a resolution higher then 1080p cause my usage is not even close to that at all.

I'm running the windows 8 .82's on windows 7 @ 1920X1080

http://www.nvidia.com/object/win8-64bit-302.82-whql-driver.html

Now i was told not to use them on windows 7 but i have had zero issues with them whatsoever

 

[Annisman*]

Hi there. I want to stop the bad information right away because this will lead to some people wasting money. I had a 2600K with 2x 670's and moved to 3930K hoping for higher min fps in BF3 multiplayer. It didn't increase by even a single FPS.
The increase you are seeing is because you are using a sandy bridge cpu vs your old chip. The game uses 4 cores at a maximum despite what task manager shows you. Disable 2 cores in bios and check your FPS again.

The last thing I want to do is encourage people to blow money on useless upgrades, but the fact remains, for me personally, that moving to the 2011 platform, whether it be because of increased CPU speed, core count, memory speed or other reasons etc. that I have gotten ridiculously increased performance in certain games.

Could part of it be drivers ? Possibly these Nvidia drivers are better tuned for this platform resulting in increased gpu usage ? Sounds far-fetched to me, but it could be part of the gains.

 

[Annisman*]

I'm running the windows 8 .82's on windows 7 @ 1920X1080

http://www.nvidia.com/object/win8-64bit-302.82-whql-driver.html

Now i was told not to use them on windows 7 but i have had zero issues with them whatsoever

If things weren't running so darn smooth for me at the moment, I would try these out for myself.

 

[Annisman*]

Cosmos is a beautiful case but an absolute ripoff at 350

Hard to agree with you here, considering the Cosmos 2 is hands down superior to my old Corsair 800D which was about 300 dollars, and most people consider that a case worth spending that much on.

Also, I was able to use a 50$ off code, dropping it to 300 bucks. :thumbsup:

 

[Don Karnage]

Hard to agree with you here, considering the Cosmos 2 is hands down superior to my old Corsair 800D which was about 300 dollars, and most people consider that a case worth spending that much on.

Also, I was able to use a 50$ off code, dropping it to 300 bucks. :thumbsup:

I have no problem spending lots of money on video cards and such but a case that expensive is alittle hard to swallow. 200 is my limit on case's

 

[moonbogg]

If you play on a server with 12 people in an enclosed space like Metro, then yeah you'll get decent usage. Go to 64 player Oman and look at the map from one of the edges with all the action in view and tell me if your cards don't slam down to around 65% usage like mine do, lol.

 

[Rvenger]

Don, I knew you were going back to an X79. I was going to go the 3820 route but instead I bought a 3770k.

 

[Don Karnage]

If you play on a server with 12 people in an enclosed space like Metro, then yeah you'll get decent usage. Go to 64 player Oman and look at the map from one of the edges with all the action in view and tell me if your cards don't slam down to around 65% usage like mine do, lol.

The reported gpu usage comes from a 64 player map on kharg with 63 players

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Haha, thanks for asking, just finished a brand new build:

Core i7 3930K (4.4Ghz)
EVGA Superclocked GTX 670 4GB SLI
Gigabyte Assasin 2 X79
16GB G. Skill Ripjaw @ 2133Mhz
256GB Samsung 830 SSD (OS)
512GB Crucial M4 SSD (Games)
2TB WD Black (Backup)
CoolerMaster Pro Gold 1000W
CoolerMaster Cosmos 2 Case
Corsair H100 w/4 Corsair high static pressure fans in push/pull
3X Asus VG236 120Hz monitors in Surround

You know if I came into a windfall of cash and money wasn't an object I'd probably build a very similar rig to what you have. That is a dream machine. :thumbsup:

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

I have no problem spending lots of money on video cards and such but a case that expensive is alittle hard to swallow. 200 is my limit on case's

That Cosmos 2 is awesome. I really do believe cooler master makes the best high end cases. I have a cooler master atcs 840 Ive had for years now. It started with a q9300 and a ga ep45 ud3p motherboard. Even today its still a kick A case and I'll probably have it a few more years.

 

[Annisman*]

You know if I came into a windfall of cash and money wasn't an object I'd probably build a very similar rig to what you have. That is a dream machine. :thumbsup:

Thanks so much man, the Lord has blessed me with a very good job recently (considering the economy) so I have spent more than I usually do on this build.

 

[Annisman*]

The thing about cases is that (usually) a good case will last you 5 or more years, where as video cards can be upgraded constantly, or at least every 2-3 years to stay current. So why not blow a fair chunk of change on your longest lasting component ?

Of course at the same time, I understand why you would want to spend most of your money on video cards, we are afterall playing games with our computers not just looking at the cases all day long : )

 

[Don Karnage]

Cosmos 2 is 279.99 refurbished on CM's site if anyone is interested

http://www.cmstore-usa.com/cosmos-i...extend-atx-200mm-led-fan-120mm-fan-usb-3-0-1/

 

[Annisman*]

Or 300$ new at the Egg until 6/30 (ten dollar shipping)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119252

 

[lehtv]

The thing about cases is that (usually) a good case will last you 5 or more years, where as video cards can be upgraded constantly, or at least every 2-3 years to stay current. So why not blow a fair chunk of change on your longest lasting component ?

Because a case half the price would be easily sufficient? It's impossible to argue that a $300 case is good bang for buck. A $150 case will most likely last just as long. I find it extremely hard to justify a case more expensive than $150-200 for anyone except those who require some specific feature(s) on the higher end case (like support for high end water cooling) and have no shortage of cash.

 

[Termie]

This discussion of cases probably comes down to how someone views the case. If it's just to hold (and keep cool) your components, than $300 is too much. If you also have it on display, I could see the imposing design and size mattering (hmmm, compensation for...?!?).

As a counterpoint, I just purchased a Fractal Design Core 3000 to replace my Antec 900, specifically because I wanted something smaller. The Cosmos is nice looking, but frankly, someone would have to pay me to cram it into the overcrowded area I call my desk space.

 

[moonbogg]

Regarding the case, its good for OCd parts to let them breathe, but I myself changed to mid sized towers. The full towers are just too big with lots of vacant space. my mid tower looks properly sized for the hardware inside. Having all that power in a small case makes the PC look more advanced and high tech IMO.

 

[ocre]

Jacky60

dude you got i7 920 on 4.0 ghz with 2 6990 and got 99% gpu usage ???


i have i7 950 3.1 ghz ,,,, on stock clock can i handle single gtx 680 ? or even gtx 670 s in sli ???

you can handle a 680 or 670 fine. You will see improvements with more powerful GPUs especially at higher resolutions or with higher IQ settings. Your CPU is no slouch and is plenty powerful enough for those cards.

As far as bottlenecking goes, there is always a bottleneck. Always. There might be a case where you could get a more performance with a more powerful cpu or by overclocking yours. This is an indication that your CPU is bottlenecking. But it doesnt mean that you wont see gains from upgrading to these more powerful GPUs. There is always a bottleneck, even with 2600k cpus.

We usually want to get the most out of our expensive GPUs. We try to reduce the CPU bottleneck to achieve this. One way is to have the fastest CPU you can get and then overclock it even further. This reduces the chances of a CPU bottleneck and will hopefully let the GPU take all it can handle. Another way to reduce the chances of a cpu bottleneck is by increasing the GPU load by increasing IQ and resolutions. You can transfer the bottleneck from CPU to GPU just by doing this.

Remember there is no way to not have a bottleneck. You do not need the fastest CPU in order to have a great GPU. You can use a GTX680 with your i7 950, it will "handle" it just fine

 

[moonbogg]

Bottlenecking, yet above post is right. The bottleneck always exists. Its just that it dynamically shifts from CPU to GPU, even in the same game, depending on the number of players, being indoors or outdoors, heavy action etc. This is assuming CPU and GPU are a reasonable match for eachother and your CPU is a reasonable match for any single GPU available. Going to two high end GPUs is another bottlenecking nightmare of a story however at 1080p especially.

 

[SolMiester]

The last thing I want to do is encourage people to blow money on useless upgrades, but the fact remains, for me personally, that moving to the 2011 platform, whether it be because of increased CPU speed, core count, memory speed or other reasons etc. that I have gotten ridiculously increased performance in certain games.

Could part of it be drivers ? Possibly these Nvidia drivers are better tuned for this platform resulting in increased gpu usage ? Sounds far-fetched to me, but it could be part of the gains.

PCIe 2.0 v PCIe 3.0?

 

[SolMiester]

Cosmos 2 is 279.99 refurbished on CM's site if anyone is interested

http://www.cmstore-usa.com/cosmos-i...extend-atx-200mm-led-fan-120mm-fan-usb-3-0-1/

WOW, that is a nice case, however if I was to build SLI or XF, I would go with the Raven 3. With the air blowing up from the bottom straight at the GPUs, there is no penalty with 1 card running hotter than the next!

 

[brandon888]

ocre

than you for such a full answer now i know that i can handle gtx 680 or gtx 590 ... not more powerful card or cards ^^

im fine now with my gtx 480 ... so gtx 770 will be nex for me witch will match gtx 590

 

[Annisman*]

PCIe 2.0 v PCIe 3.0?

That's another thought, but I'm pretty sure there's an article floating around that compares PCI-E bandwidth and pretty much summarizes that to cripple your gpu it has to be like PCI-E 1.0 X4 or something small like that.

However, if I recall, they never tested SLI or CF setups.

 

[moonbogg]

That's another thought, but I'm pretty sure there's an article floating around that compares PCI-E bandwidth and pretty much summarizes that to cripple your gpu it has to be like PCI-E 1.0 X4 or something small like that.

However, if I recall, they never tested SLI or CF setups.

Going from PCI-E 2.0 X8 to 2.0 X16, I noticed a large increase in MAX FPS, but no increase in minimums at all. It gets highs of around 150-200 now where before it would top out at around 130. There is a bandwidth test on some site that shows the increased bandwidth shows in the higher framerates due to increased info streaming through the bus or something like that.