SLI leaving me disappointed

[slightlyhuman]

Hey guys, recently joined the SLI world.

My setup:

xfx 780i sli
q9550(2.83ghz 12mb L2) stock
4gb DDR2
120GB SSD
600W silvertone PSU(sli-cert'd)
2x 560TI 1024MB in SLI
drivers 306.97


I only have dayZ installed and CS:GO. I just installed 3dmark and am about to run a few test. On (1) 560ti I ran dayZ 1600x900 res, everything on low(post proc. off), AA and AF both on high. everything else low and shadows disabled. I didn't run fraps with a single GPU in dayz but I am since being SLI'd. I'm running 20FPS running around the bigger cities with 25/50 people on the server.

What kind of FPS increase/performance should I be expecting going from 1 to 2 560ti's? AFAIK I only bridge them then turn them on via NVIDIA options. Am I missing something? One is EVGA, the other is XFX. I will post 3dmark scores(benchmark only) shortly.

 

[Ventanni]

Brand doesn't matter.

If you notice your fps is roughly the same regardless of the resolution/settings, then you're CPU limited. And on a big, open ended game like that, I'd almost guarantee you're CPU limited.

As for Counter-Strike, SLI is just absolute overkill.

 

[Termie]

You should go from about 4000 in 3dMark11 to about 7500. That will indicate whether it's working correctly.

 

[slightlyhuman]

well, i guess the GPU score is proving there's a difference. damn it, i thought this CPU would handle just about anything. would it be worth overclocking it to achieve better FPS?

 

[slightlyhuman]

Brand doesn't matter.

If you notice your fps is roughly the same regardless of the resolution/settings, then you're CPU limited. And on a big, open ended game like that, I'd almost guarantee you're CPU limited.

As for Counter-Strike, SLI is just absolute overkill.

i know CSGO doesn't need SLI, just assumed it would have a benchmarking tool like source did.

 

[Zap]

well, i guess the GPU score is proving there's a difference. damn it, i thought this CPU would handle just about anything. would it be worth overclocking it to achieve better FPS?

That CPU is pretty ancient in computer years. Overclock gramps stat!

 

[blackened23]

Not sure if anyone mentioned it, but those are the wrong games to search for large SLI performance increases. Those two games in particular are cpu limited, rather than gpu limited.

 

[Austin8868]

I would upgrade your cpu, and maybe your psu to be safe

 

[Insomniator]

Definitely cpu limited... core 2 quad at stock speed? I think my 9550 got to around 3.5 pretty easily on a corsair h50.

That won't totally solve you're problem but it would help!

 

[Tuna-Fish]

damn it, i thought this CPU would handle just about anything.

That CPU is almost 5 years old. You seriously thought it could still handle just about anything? A modern cpu is something like 2x as fast per core than that thing.

would it be worth overclocking it to achieve better FPS?

Since the CPU is now very cheap, and your rig is obviously cpu limited, OC is a very good idea. You should almost get 1% of more fps for every 1% of frequency you get out of it. And most Yorkfields should easily run at well above 3GHz even with the stock cooler and a minimal voltage bump.

 

[dguy6789]

A modern cpu is something like 2x as fast per core than that thing.

That's just completely untrue

 

[Pedroc1999]

A high end c2q is about similar to an i3, if not a tad slower

 

[Ketchup]

As others mentioned, you should get a pretty good overclock on that chip slightlyhuman, especially if you are running some good aftermarket cooling. I remember getting my Q6600 up to 3.6.

 

[Fx1]

Hey guys, recently joined the SLI world.

My setup:

xfx 780i sli
q9550(2.83ghz 12mb L2) stock
4gb DDR2
120GB SSD
600W silvertone PSU(sli-cert'd)
2x 560TI 1024MB in SLI
drivers 306.97


I only have dayZ installed and CS:GO. I just installed 3dmark and am about to run a few test. On (1) 560ti I ran dayZ 1600x900 res, everything on low(post proc. off), AA and AF both on high. everything else low and shadows disabled. I didn't run fraps with a single GPU in dayz but I am since being SLI'd. I'm running 20FPS running around the bigger cities with 25/50 people on the server.

What kind of FPS increase/performance should I be expecting going from 1 to 2 560ti's? AFAIK I only bridge them then turn them on via NVIDIA options. Am I missing something? One is EVGA, the other is XFX. I will post 3dmark scores(benchmark only) shortly.

DayZ has seriously bad engine problems that has nothing to do with GPU power.

Why dont you play an actual decent 3D game before passing judgment.

CS:GO is crap in terms of 3D quality and DayZ is based on ARMA 2 which is a terribly bad optimised engine.

 

[lehtv]

A modern cpu is something like 2x as fast per core than that thing.

That's just completely untrue

Is it now?

 

[Fx1]

Is it now?

it doesnt make as much difference in games

 

[Ferzerp]

Maybe he uses AMD CPUs and thinks they're as fast as Intel's

 

[Tuna-Fish]

it doesnt make as much difference in games

Only when the game isn't actually CPU limited. Most console ports are like that, because the console cpus are really anemic compared to modern ones.

When the game is CPU limited, you absolutely can see the fact that modern cpus are twice as fast.

 

[Termie]

well, i guess the GPU score is proving there's a difference. damn it, i thought this CPU would handle just about anything. would it be worth overclocking it to achieve better FPS?

50% scaling in 3dMark11 is not great, but clearly SLI is enabled. As others have mentioned, you'll be seriously bottlenecked in games by your cpu. Basically, you upgraded the wrong component first. That being said, 560ti SLI on a modern platform will be very fast, close to a gtx670 in many games. A new platform would cost $320 for an i5 3470, H77 motherboard, and 8GB of ram.

 

[TakeNoPrisoners]

DayZ is an awful game with a terrible engine, bad example. CSGO is just not very intense.

DayZ, game so bad they pulled it from Steam used to test SLI? Really?

Try something like Crysis 2, The Witcher 2 if you want to test SLI.

 

[Tuna-Fish]

DayZ, game so bad they pulled it from Steam used to test SLI? Really?

You're mixing up games. DayZ hasn't been pulled from anything. WarZ was the awful game that was written in like 6 weeks after the mod DayZ got popular.

 

[Fx1]

Only when the game isn't actually CPU limited. Most console ports are like that, because the console cpus are really anemic compared to modern ones.

When the game is CPU limited, you absolutely can see the fact that modern cpus are twice as fast.

No game should be CPU limited. Games run mostly on GPU power.

Only things like huge multiplayer battles are CPU intensive so you can rule out CPU in 90% of games.

You certainly wont double your FPS

 

[Bman123]

If I were you I would sell your cpu mobo and ram on ebay while it is still worth something and upgrade to a I5 3570k, Z77 board and 8gb ram and be done with it for the next 5 years again

 

[biostud]

Is it now?

And specially if it runs @ 4.8Ghz

 

[blackened23]

No game should be CPU limited. Games run mostly on GPU power.

Wrong.