GTX 780 SLI performance low

ThaTsunamiKid · Jan 3, 2014

So just recently I bought two GTX 780s for my PC. However, the performance increase from my old GTX 670 seems to be almost nothing. I've been calling NVIDIA support and I just can't figure this out. The game that I've been testing it on is BF4. I know the game isn't completely optimized, but even with a single card 780, the performance increase is minimal, so I'm lead to believe it's some other hardware that is causing the problem. Here are my specs:

GPU: 2 x EVGA GTX 780 FTW EDITION
CPU: i5 3570K at 4.2 GHZ
MOTHERBOARD: GA-Z77X-UD3H
RAM: Crucial Ballistix Sport Very Low Profile 8GB Single DDR3-1600
PSU: Seasonic 850W 80 Plus Gold ATX12V
CASE: Corsair Carbide Series Black 300R Mid-Tower Computer Case
OS: Windows 8.1 64-bit

Any response would be greatly appreciated. I really just want to figure out what is going on as I know this isn't normal for a 780 to not be more powerful than a 670.

enemy1g · Jan 3, 2014

Clean driver installs?

For the record, I've never had any issues (aside from the random disconnects, but that isn't graphics related) with BF4 running SLI 780s.

Did you enable SLI in your Nvidia Control Panel? It turns off every time you update your drivers as well.

anthonyorr · Jan 3, 2014

Have you updated drivers lately? BF4 is a rather new game and I'm not sure if the SLI profile is really solid yet. Try your set up on some different games as well while monitoring GPU usage through a program like MSI afterburner. Nothing in your system looks like it would hold back your GPU's if everything is working as advertised.

fastreaction · Jan 3, 2014

I honestly think that there isn't anything wrong with your hardware that I can see. Your CPU and power supply are both good. BF4 is not completely optimized, like you mentioned yourself. I can recommend you to do some benchmarking tests like heaven benchmark, and try that with a single card and with SLI 780. There should be a noticeable difference in the results. Goodluck!

- Fastreaction

bystander · Jan 3, 2014

Why not test games other than BF4. You may find that online BF4 is going to be CPU bound.

enemy1g · Jan 3, 2014

No component of OP's rig is going to hold him back, multiplayer or not. An i5-3570k @ 4.2 GHz wouldn't hold him back in the slightest way in BF4 multiplayer.

bystander · Jan 3, 2014

enemy1g :

I highly doubt that. Every BF game before has been held back by CPU performance if you have that much GPU horsepower. Especially if he uses a small resolution. The CPU always has a hard limit on how many FPS it'll allow, and with added netcode, that limit is always lower online.

That said, he hasn't mentioned his FPS or resolution, so until he does, all I can suggest is to test other games.

enemy1g · Jan 3, 2014

Going by relative performance, my 4670k @ 4.2 GHz has not once held me back in any BF game, 4 included. I've never had inconsistent frames, never had FPS issues, nothing. I get a good solid 100-110 FPS on Ultra with 4XMSAA on a 1080p screen (I don't FPS much anymore), and average anywhere from 130-150 without 4XMSAA. I don't have dips, I've never experienced the 'crap optimization' everyone sputters about BF4 and/or SLI.

bystander · Jan 3, 2014

enemy1g :

Are you playing on 64 man online maps, or single player?
And what GPU setup do you use?

enemy1g · Jan 3, 2014

Yes, this is on 64 player maps.

i5-4670k @ 4.2 GHz,
SLI MSI GTX 780s at about 1k MHz.

bystander · Jan 3, 2014

enemy1g :

Then you are lucky and lying/mistaken about previous BF games.

BF3 most certainly was held back by the CPU online.

BF4 on the other hand, is new, and I'm not aware of its downfalls, other than it's a buggy mess. If you aren't having the buggy mess issue, you are lucky. Others are not as lucky.

He most certainly should test out other games, other than BF4, to see if it is a general issue with his system, or a BF4 issue.

redeemer · Jan 3, 2014

BF4 and SLI is a mess

ThaTsunamiKid · Jan 3, 2014

enemy1g :

I have done clean driver installs multiple times. Also I do have SLI enabled in the control panel.

ThaTsunamiKid · Jan 3, 2014

anthonyorr :

Pretty much every game I've tried it on, there is no difference. The only game that seems to be a little bit better is Trials Evolution, but that still is maybe a 10 fps increase. All of my drivers are updated and I do have afterburner.

ThaTsunamiKid · Jan 3, 2014

bystander :

I have noticed that my CPU is using 100 of it's resources in BF4. I don't know if my CPU is bottlenecking my graphics cards or not.

bystander · Jan 3, 2014

ThaTsunamiKid :

bystander :

I have noticed that my CPU is using 100 of it's resources in BF4. I don't know if my CPU is bottlenecking my graphics cards or not.

If your CPU is at 100%, either the game is CPU bound, or something other than BF4 is stealing CPU resources putting you at 100% CPU usage.

What resolution, settings and FPS are you at? What is your GPU usage?

sancco · Jan 3, 2014

have you actually checked both cards are running, with a program like gpu-z or msi afterburner? could be one card is faulty or they aren't connected via sli properly.

but yeah you should've gone amd.

bystander · Jan 3, 2014

I'm not sure why he should have gone AMD. With the CPU at 100% usage, it is clear that he is either getting great FPS, or something is wrong on the CPU side or usage side of things.

ThaTsunamiKid · Jan 3, 2014

Just a quick update:

I just tried the BF4 single player and the CPU usage again was at 100 percent. I also tried some other games like Saints Row 4 IV. That as well had high cpu usage. I have a feeling I have a bottleneck with my CPU as the usage is really high on most games.

ThaTsunamiKid · Jan 3, 2014

sancco :

bystander :

Both cards are running just fine in GPU-Z. I've tried both of them individually and the work both equally. I see nothing out of the ordinary when I test them with Heaven 4.0. I do feel as if it's my CPU I'm afraid.

bystander · Jan 3, 2014

What are your FPS at? What is your GPU usage? What is your resolution?

anthonyorr · Jan 5, 2014

Something is definitely snatching up CPU resources. A 3570k @ 4.2 shouldn't be bottlenecking those cards. You need to find what is using up so much of your CPU time and kill it off. Also, make sure all 4 cores are running on your CPU. I know it sounds stupid but I have messed with msconfig and only ran 4 out of 8 cores before.

ThaTsunamiKid · Jan 5, 2014

bystander :

FPS for BF4 will get to a max of 140, a minimum of 55 and an average of 80-100 on Siege of Shanghi with 64 people. The gpu usage is around 40-50 percent%. The resolution is 1920x1080.

ThaTsunamiKid · Jan 5, 2014

anthonyorr :

Whenever I play the game, BF4 is the one that is taking up all the resources according to task manager. Also I have windows 8.1 so my CPU should be unparked.

bystander · Jan 5, 2014

ThaTsunamiKid :

Those are pretty good FPS, and SLI and the usage is showing that the CPU is bottlenecking you, but you do have to realize that those are good FPS.

GTX 780 SLI performance low

Honorable

Honorable

Distinguished

Distinguished

Champion

Honorable

Champion

Honorable

Champion

Honorable

Champion

Distinguished

Honorable

Honorable

Honorable

Champion

Distinguished

Champion

Honorable

Honorable

Champion

Distinguished

Honorable

Honorable

Champion

Share this page