- Jul 29, 2013
- 9
- 0
- 10,510
Hey all!
As I've already posted this in Reddit, my link is below:
http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/1j8ky9/gtx_770_sli_performance_worrying_me_part_2/
For those that don't trust links, warning of TLDR:
--------------------------------
First off, I'd like to thank everyone that has commented in my previous post. If I came across as rude in any of my replies, my apologies.
I haven't built a PC in years and I've obviously forgotten the annoyances one can come across. I was obviously very pissed off when I wrote the problem looking back at it.
My rig for reference again:
If anyone wants my mobo settings, I can try and find the guide I followed on Youtube to show the settings I changed.
I THINK, hyperthreading is ON. I Will confirm this tomorrow as I need to crash now, work tomorrow etc.
(There was a temp issue with the 3770k which was reaching almost 90c under full load, this was due to a H100i backplate orientation issue causing the block to not have full contact with the CPU. This has been fixed, and now max temps are at around 65c).
-------------------------------
** CHANGES SINCE FIRST POST **
The only change I made was to turn off VSYNC completely in the NCP settings. This has caused the "low 44fps" to stop happening in the same place I was getting it in the initial problem (ie the reason for this post).
FPS now seems more stable, but still drops below 60 into the low 50s at times, which still seems very, very low for 2 GTX 770s unless proven otherwise.
I have ordered a 120hz BenQ XL2420T monitor to get rid of my 60hz monitor, as it was pointed out that is ridiculous to be running over 100fps with a 60hz monitor. This is now by far the most I've spent on a PC, but hey, who needs savings when mortgages are so hard to get anyway.
-------------------------------
** CASE, SETTINGS AND SOFTWARE **
I was told to install Afterburner, turn off ULPS which I can't as it's Nvidia, have 2 instances of GPU-Z running to monitor both cards (yes I made sure each card was selected), show GPU load in Afterburner etc.
ALL RESULTS ARE CAPTURED IN THE SAME SPOT OVERLOOKING TUNDRA EXPRESS IN BORDERLANDS 2, AT MAX SETTINGS @ 1920x1080 NATIVE
TEST WAS DONE BY ENABLING THE FPS COUNTER IN BL2 THROUGH A REG EDIT AND THE "STAT FPS" CONSOLE COMMAND. ONCE ON, I WAS FACING THE SAME AREA OF "LOW" FPS FOR 1 MINUTE, THEN TURNING, RUNNING FOR ABOUT 5 SECONDS TO A "HIGH" FPS AREA, AND WAITING FOR 1 MINUTE THEN ALT-TABBING AND SCREEN-SHOTTING MY DESKTOP TO CAPTURE THE AFTERBURNER, GPU-Z AND CPU-Z RESULTS.
WE ARE ULTIMATELY LOOKING FOR ANY OBVIOUS GPU/CPU FLUCTUATIONS BETWEEN THE "LOW" FPS AREA(s) AND THE "HIGH" FPS AREA(s).
FPS FIGURES ARE ANYWHERE BETWEEN 240 AND ABOUT 50-55 WHEN SHIT GETS CRAZY IN BL2 WITH PHYSX THROWING FRAGMENTS BLOODY EVERYWHERE, IT'S INSANE TO LOOK AT.
Okay, image overload time as these should answer any driver, SLI or NCP setting questions:
650D Case Setup And Airflow WITH PREVIOUS SP FANS ON H100i http://i.imgur.com/uCK3q3M.jpg
I suck at cable management, I know.
SLI Setup And Inner Case http://i.imgur.com/IQcYqy6.jpg
Drivers Used http://i.imgur.com/wRUqHqL.jpg
Proof SLI Is Enabled http://i.imgur.com/dBLtBBI.jpg
NCP Settings 1 http://i.imgur.com/xvfe7G6.jpg
NCP Settings 2 http://i.imgur.com/WUMECdL.jpg
Temperature wise, the figures show below the max temp as being 61c. For some reason, I selected "max" as the settings so it's not really a fair figure. They usually run around 55c.
EVGA constantly shows Card 1 as running higher than Card 2 by about 10c, which is always the case in SLI setups (card above runs hotter).
-------------------------------
** BORDERLANDS 2 FPS RESULTS, GPU LOAD ETC **
I have done 2 images of "high" and "low" with the mouse over the Afterburner results to show the actual figures so you don't have to guess by the Y axis.
Anyway, results time:
SLI Low FPS http://i.imgur.com/sFFhROM.jpg
SLI High FPS http://i.imgur.com/sNjeLUJ.jpg
I then disabled SLI and removed the lower card (Card 2), leaving just 1 card inside (Card 1), installed in PCI-E slot 1 on the motherboard (http://i.imgur.com/RGo1MGO.jpg).
Card 1 Low FPS http://i.imgur.com/q19hJ9G.jpg
Card 1 High FPS http://i.imgur.com/xFPj3uI.jpg
I then removed Card 1 completely, and installed Card 2 in the same slot, using the same PCI-E cables as used on Card 1.
Card 2 Low FPS http://i.imgur.com/Zh43nvm.jpg
Card 2 High FPS http://i.imgur.com/t6OxBYO.jpg
Pretty much the same results when both cards are used seperately. Card 2 performing SLIGHTLY better, maybe 1 or 2 more frames.
Again, SLI off, same CPU settings, same location and same test for each card in the specific area of Borderlands 2.
I have to confess, these results worry me.
Not only is the SLI GPU usage really low (to me anyway), but it seems Borderlands 2 runs just as fast on one card as it does on 2. That seems...impossible (over-dramatic much?).
Both single cards in slot 1 reach 97-99% load in the same test, with rougly the same FPS.
This leads me to believe this isn't a hardware issue.
In SLI though, each card is using <60% or so.
WHY!?
Every benchmark I've read with the same setup as mine, or even worse CPU, shows higher FPS results of 130+. I'm getting lows of just over 50. Granted it goes to 200+ at times, sure, but running around and just playing, it's around 100, sometimes 80s.
This is the same in Battlefield 3 as well. I SHOULD be getting 150+ fps, where I'm ACTUALLY seeing anything between 60 and 200.
I look at their setups, and I see their FPS results and I panic. At times, they're using 2560 rez and STILL getting higher FPS than me.
-------------------------------
** CONCLUSIONS SO FAR, POTENTIAL PROBLEMS AND FUTURE TO-DO-LIST **
So, for those of you that have kept reading, I thank you, and it seems pretty clear that the GPU load is very low in these "low" fps areas in SLI, but high when individual cards are used.
Or at least they seem low to me.
So, changes I need to make that I can think of:
This may all be Borderlands 2 specific, but I also receive suspiciously low FPS figures of around 55, max settings @ 1920x1080 at times in Battlefield 3.
Could this be a driver or hardware issue?
Is this all an over-reaction and it's just the way it is? I just find it really, really hard to believe that 2 GTX 770s aren't capable of maintaining 100+ FPS constantly in these 2 games, LET ALONE keep above 60 FPS which they're failing to do at times.
Any input welcomed, and thanks for reading!
[edit - formatting]
As I've already posted this in Reddit, my link is below:
http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/1j8ky9/gtx_770_sli_performance_worrying_me_part_2/
For those that don't trust links, warning of TLDR:
--------------------------------
First off, I'd like to thank everyone that has commented in my previous post. If I came across as rude in any of my replies, my apologies.
I haven't built a PC in years and I've obviously forgotten the annoyances one can come across. I was obviously very pissed off when I wrote the problem looking back at it.
My rig for reference again:
Asus Sabertooth Z77
Intel i7-3770k 3.5ghz (OC'd to 4.5ghz - confirmed using CPU-Z, stable at 1.25 volts)
Corsair H100i Liquid Radiator for the CPU, now with stock fans instead of SP120s.
2 x EVGA GTX 770 2gb @ 1100hz "superclocked".
8gb Corsair Vengeance @ 1600hz (initially 1333hz but forced manually to 1600hz in the CPU OC process).
Samsung 840 Pro 256gb SSD.
Asus Xonar Phoebus Sound Car
Corsair HX850 Modular PSU (850w).
Corsair Obsidian 650d Case. Still need a 3rd party 200mm fan for the front of the case.
Windows 7 64-bit OEM.
If anyone wants my mobo settings, I can try and find the guide I followed on Youtube to show the settings I changed.
I THINK, hyperthreading is ON. I Will confirm this tomorrow as I need to crash now, work tomorrow etc.
(There was a temp issue with the 3770k which was reaching almost 90c under full load, this was due to a H100i backplate orientation issue causing the block to not have full contact with the CPU. This has been fixed, and now max temps are at around 65c).
-------------------------------
** CHANGES SINCE FIRST POST **
The only change I made was to turn off VSYNC completely in the NCP settings. This has caused the "low 44fps" to stop happening in the same place I was getting it in the initial problem (ie the reason for this post).
FPS now seems more stable, but still drops below 60 into the low 50s at times, which still seems very, very low for 2 GTX 770s unless proven otherwise.
I have ordered a 120hz BenQ XL2420T monitor to get rid of my 60hz monitor, as it was pointed out that is ridiculous to be running over 100fps with a 60hz monitor. This is now by far the most I've spent on a PC, but hey, who needs savings when mortgages are so hard to get anyway.
-------------------------------
** CASE, SETTINGS AND SOFTWARE **
I was told to install Afterburner, turn off ULPS which I can't as it's Nvidia, have 2 instances of GPU-Z running to monitor both cards (yes I made sure each card was selected), show GPU load in Afterburner etc.
ALL RESULTS ARE CAPTURED IN THE SAME SPOT OVERLOOKING TUNDRA EXPRESS IN BORDERLANDS 2, AT MAX SETTINGS @ 1920x1080 NATIVE
TEST WAS DONE BY ENABLING THE FPS COUNTER IN BL2 THROUGH A REG EDIT AND THE "STAT FPS" CONSOLE COMMAND. ONCE ON, I WAS FACING THE SAME AREA OF "LOW" FPS FOR 1 MINUTE, THEN TURNING, RUNNING FOR ABOUT 5 SECONDS TO A "HIGH" FPS AREA, AND WAITING FOR 1 MINUTE THEN ALT-TABBING AND SCREEN-SHOTTING MY DESKTOP TO CAPTURE THE AFTERBURNER, GPU-Z AND CPU-Z RESULTS.
WE ARE ULTIMATELY LOOKING FOR ANY OBVIOUS GPU/CPU FLUCTUATIONS BETWEEN THE "LOW" FPS AREA(s) AND THE "HIGH" FPS AREA(s).
FPS FIGURES ARE ANYWHERE BETWEEN 240 AND ABOUT 50-55 WHEN SHIT GETS CRAZY IN BL2 WITH PHYSX THROWING FRAGMENTS BLOODY EVERYWHERE, IT'S INSANE TO LOOK AT.
Okay, image overload time as these should answer any driver, SLI or NCP setting questions:
650D Case Setup And Airflow WITH PREVIOUS SP FANS ON H100i http://i.imgur.com/uCK3q3M.jpg
I suck at cable management, I know.
SLI Setup And Inner Case http://i.imgur.com/IQcYqy6.jpg
Drivers Used http://i.imgur.com/wRUqHqL.jpg
Proof SLI Is Enabled http://i.imgur.com/dBLtBBI.jpg
NCP Settings 1 http://i.imgur.com/xvfe7G6.jpg
NCP Settings 2 http://i.imgur.com/WUMECdL.jpg
Temperature wise, the figures show below the max temp as being 61c. For some reason, I selected "max" as the settings so it's not really a fair figure. They usually run around 55c.
EVGA constantly shows Card 1 as running higher than Card 2 by about 10c, which is always the case in SLI setups (card above runs hotter).
-------------------------------
** BORDERLANDS 2 FPS RESULTS, GPU LOAD ETC **
I have done 2 images of "high" and "low" with the mouse over the Afterburner results to show the actual figures so you don't have to guess by the Y axis.
Anyway, results time:
SLI Low FPS http://i.imgur.com/sFFhROM.jpg
SLI High FPS http://i.imgur.com/sNjeLUJ.jpg
I then disabled SLI and removed the lower card (Card 2), leaving just 1 card inside (Card 1), installed in PCI-E slot 1 on the motherboard (http://i.imgur.com/RGo1MGO.jpg).
Card 1 Low FPS http://i.imgur.com/q19hJ9G.jpg
Card 1 High FPS http://i.imgur.com/xFPj3uI.jpg
I then removed Card 1 completely, and installed Card 2 in the same slot, using the same PCI-E cables as used on Card 1.
Card 2 Low FPS http://i.imgur.com/Zh43nvm.jpg
Card 2 High FPS http://i.imgur.com/t6OxBYO.jpg
Pretty much the same results when both cards are used seperately. Card 2 performing SLIGHTLY better, maybe 1 or 2 more frames.
Again, SLI off, same CPU settings, same location and same test for each card in the specific area of Borderlands 2.
I have to confess, these results worry me.
Not only is the SLI GPU usage really low (to me anyway), but it seems Borderlands 2 runs just as fast on one card as it does on 2. That seems...impossible (over-dramatic much?).
Both single cards in slot 1 reach 97-99% load in the same test, with rougly the same FPS.
This leads me to believe this isn't a hardware issue.
In SLI though, each card is using <60% or so.
WHY!?
Every benchmark I've read with the same setup as mine, or even worse CPU, shows higher FPS results of 130+. I'm getting lows of just over 50. Granted it goes to 200+ at times, sure, but running around and just playing, it's around 100, sometimes 80s.
This is the same in Battlefield 3 as well. I SHOULD be getting 150+ fps, where I'm ACTUALLY seeing anything between 60 and 200.
I look at their setups, and I see their FPS results and I panic. At times, they're using 2560 rez and STILL getting higher FPS than me.
-------------------------------
** CONCLUSIONS SO FAR, POTENTIAL PROBLEMS AND FUTURE TO-DO-LIST **
So, for those of you that have kept reading, I thank you, and it seems pretty clear that the GPU load is very low in these "low" fps areas in SLI, but high when individual cards are used.
Or at least they seem low to me.
So, changes I need to make that I can think of:
Apply new CPU paste.
Default the CPU back to 3.5ghz and see if that makes a difference.
Change orientation of SLI Bridge (apparently this can help for some weird reason).
Try different PCI-E cables to Card 2 when in SLI as the results are the same in Card 1's slot using the same PCI-E cables.
Wipe and reinstall drivers?
Accept that this is how it is meant to be in Borderlands 2.
Run GPU load test on Battlefield 3 in multiplayer/singleplayer.
This may all be Borderlands 2 specific, but I also receive suspiciously low FPS figures of around 55, max settings @ 1920x1080 at times in Battlefield 3.
Could this be a driver or hardware issue?
Is this all an over-reaction and it's just the way it is? I just find it really, really hard to believe that 2 GTX 770s aren't capable of maintaining 100+ FPS constantly in these 2 games, LET ALONE keep above 60 FPS which they're failing to do at times.
Any input welcomed, and thanks for reading!
[edit - formatting]
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