2Way SLI looks like its working but performs like its not. HELP!

snail915 · Mar 11, 2015

Specs:
MoBo: Asus Maximus VI Hero
CPU: I7 4790K (No OC)
GPU: 2x ASUS GTX 760 2GB
PSU: Corsair 850W gold rated
Hard drives: 120Gb SSD (BOOT) and 500Gb HDD (Storage)
RAM: 16Gb Corsair Vengeance
Think that is all that counts

So i recently got the second 760 and SLI'ed. Using the SLI indicator on control panel it appears to be working fine but graphics wise it gets really laggy if i go any higher than i originally had with 1 card. (Roughly 30-40FPS on High). Managed to sort Blackflag out messing with the control panel but is there any Global options I should be changing that apply to every game? Am I missing something? (First build, still a noob)

Note* Tried maxing everything for Advanced Warfare on Nvidia control panel and get serious screen tearing ONLY when using thermal scopes.

UPDATE* Does it matter what pins I put the SLI bridge on? I have it on the pins closest to the power connector on both GPU's.

Epsilon_0EVP · Mar 11, 2015

Try re-installing drivers, maybe. It could also be the second card is faulty, so you could test them individually to check that they both work well.

I don't think the SLI bridge's position matters, but you can try changing it just in case.

Epsilon_0EVP · Mar 11, 2015

Also, what specific PSU do you have? Some of the 850W Corsair units are made with cheaper capacitors and lower quality overall. That could be an issue.

renz496 · Mar 11, 2015

how about other games? first make sure SLI are working. you can run program like unigine heaven. then use third party program like MSI after burner to see gpu clock and gpu utilization in heaven benchmark.

xxxlun4icexxx · Mar 11, 2015

snail915 :

Use a monitoring program such as EVGA precision X and run it during the game. There is an on-screen display you can use so you can see what is tripping you up. Who knows, you could somehow have vram maxed out which would cause the issues you describe. Maybe temps are affecting your clocks? Who knows. I'd try that out and see. One thing I'd recommend that helps me with SLI is setting frame caps in your game 1-2 fps below your monitors refresh rate. In my case I do 59. This helps with eliminating lag caused by excess frame buffers. Also, like others have said, psu could play a part.

snail915 · Mar 11, 2015

Corsair CS850M. Tried using individual cards (tried once with each card) So no faulty card. Reinstalled drivers. The SLI indicator shows a full bar when running a game. I notice Vsync caps it at about 50% on the SLI bar. Downloading Heaven now to test it.

UPDATE* Ran the benchmark and heres the results:
FPS: 27.9
Score: 703
Min FPS:6.9
Max FPS: 60.6
Platform: Windows 7 64bit
CPU model: Intel core i7-4790K @ 4.00GHz (800MHz) x4
GPU model: Intel HD Graphics 4600, Nvidia GeForce GTX 760 9.18.13.4752 (x2)

Quality: High
Tessellation: Extreme

Now what gets me is... Why is my intel GPU being registered? could that be tripping me up? Also FPS drops on closeups, hits 60 on distance.

Also: I notice on Bios that the cards are running at x8 not x16

Epsilon_0EVP · Mar 11, 2015

I don't think the iGPU being detected is an issue, since it also detects your 760's. Just make sure the monitor is plugged in to the cards, which it probably is or we'd get much worse results.

The CS850M is not the highest quality unit, but it does have enough wattage. It's possible it is degrading, but let's consider that a worst case scenario for now.

Running at x8 should not be an issue. Modern cards are not bottlenecked by that. It should be fine.

Can you check temperatures of the cards while running the benchmark? Don't use the built-in temperature monitor; it's known to be erroneous. Try using Afterburner to log the temperatures.

bystander · Mar 11, 2015

xxxlun4icexxx :

You didn't mention it, but that is only useful if you are using V-sync on a DX game. If you aren't using V-sync, that wouldn't serve much of a purpose, except perhaps making the latency consistent.

bystander · Mar 11, 2015

snail915 :

This part interests me, as tearing only occurs with V-sync off, but your other symptoms sound like it is on. If V-sync is on, and you are getting something that looks like tearing, then you may have some hardware issues.

snail915 · Mar 11, 2015

Epsilon_0EVP :

Benchmark temps were: 53c and 61c
GPU Tweak showed 53c and 56c

PSU is as new as my i7 (about a month old)

snail915 · Mar 11, 2015

bystander :

I keep V-Sync off as it seems to cap my SLI indicator bar at 50% rather than the 95%-100% it should be at. ONLY seems to tear when using a thermal on AW. No tearing on any other game. Still though; any game if i run higher than High graphics its so laggy its unplayable.

xxxlun4icexxx · Mar 11, 2015

snail915 :

No it shouldn't be at 95%-100%. The whole reason for vsync being on is because it caps your framerate to keep your gpus producing a constant framerate which in turn reduces screen tearing. The reason your SLI bar is at 50% is because your GPUs only need to work at 50% to produce 60fps. If you disable it, your GPUs automatically run at 100% as there is no framerate cap. I would prefer vsync as it solves many SLI issues as well as when your gpus are running at 50%, they are cooler, quieter, and are still producing the frames you need. The only thing that is sometimes needed is a framecap to make sure that there is no excess frame buffer.

snail915 · Mar 11, 2015

xxxlun4icexxx :

snail915 :

No it shouldn't be at 95%-100%. The whole reason for vsync being on is because it caps your framerate to keep your gpus producing a constant framerate which in turn reduces screen tearing. The reason your SLI bar is at 50% is because your GPUs only need to work at 50% to produce 60fps. If you disable it, your GPUs automatically run at 100% as there is no framerate cap. I would prefer vsync as it solves many SLI issues as well as when your gpus are running at 50%, they are cooler, quieter, and are still producing the frames you need. The only thing that is sometimes needed is a framecap to make sure that there is no excess frame buffer.

Ah ok still a noob with this stuff

just basing knowledge off guides ive seen. I notice however with V-sync on i lagg alot more?

bystander · Mar 11, 2015

snail915 :

V-sync maxes your FPS to what your refresh rate is. That is the only reason SLI indicator is at 50%. It means you could use higher settings, a higher refresh monitor, but there is nothing wrong with the 50% indicator.

Tearing is happening 99% of the time you don't have v-sync on, you apparently just don't notice it until you are using thermal on AW.

xxxlun4icexxx · Mar 11, 2015

snail915 :

No worries man. That could be because of what I was talking about with having that excess frame buffer. Setting a frame-cap may fix your issues. For most games this can be done either in an in-game console or within a config file. You could try setting it to 60 or 59 there, and see if that solves your issue.

The only other reason why I can think of lagging while your gpu usage isn't 100% is if your VRAM is maxed out, but from what you've said throughout your posts, that doesn't seem to be the case.

Bottom line is SLI can be funky sometimes, and you have to work through all these little quarks and oddities.

snail915 · Mar 14, 2015

xxxlun4icexxx :

snail915 :

No worries man. That could be because of what I was talking about with having that excess frame buffer. Setting a frame-cap may fix your issues. For most games this can be done either in an in-game console or within a config file. You could try setting it to 60 or 59 there, and see if that solves your issue.

The only other reason why I can think of lagging while your gpu usage isn't 100% is if your VRAM is maxed out, but from what you've said throughout your posts, that doesn't seem to be the case.

Bottom line is SLI can be funky sometimes, and you have to work through all these little quarks and oddities.

Would going on asus GPU tweak and changing the Frame rate target to 60 work as a Cap? I was doing some overclocking on the cards yesterday. got a pretty high stable overclock with ultra settings and averaging 60fps but didnt like the 74C temps

xxxlun4icexxx · Mar 14, 2015

snail915 :

xxxlun4icexxx :

snail915 :

No worries man. That could be because of what I was talking about with having that excess frame buffer. Setting a frame-cap may fix your issues. For most games this can be done either in an in-game console or within a config file. You could try setting it to 60 or 59 there, and see if that solves your issue.

The only other reason why I can think of lagging while your gpu usage isn't 100% is if your VRAM is maxed out, but from what you've said throughout your posts, that doesn't seem to be the case.

Bottom line is SLI can be funky sometimes, and you have to work through all these little quarks and oddities.

Would going on asus GPU tweak and changing the Frame rate target to 60 work as a Cap? I was doing some overclocking on the cards yesterday. got a pretty high stable overclock with ultra settings and averaging 60fps but didnt like the 74C temps

It may work as a cap. I've tried the same in evga precision. It seems to work. I think the best option though is to do it directly through the game.

snail915 · Mar 14, 2015

Shall give it a go. I will put V-Sync on etc. On a slight side note... With SLI and my overclock its wierd... It IS stable with games on ultra. no major FPS changes. However if I use Unigie Heaven 4.0 It works the first run perfectly. If i run it again the GPU's crash, reset to factory clocking then turn back on. Where has it gone wrong?

UPDATE: A combination of my overclock, changing Nvidia control panel settings and turning Vsync on is now having me run at 60FPS even on ultra. Tearing is no longer occuring, AW thermal is still a bit iffy but some have said its just AW being well... Cod... If anyones interested in my overclock settings and Nvidia control panel settings feel free to ask in PM. Just been playing various games on ultra maxed out with no lagg. so happy! Thanks guys!

2Way SLI looks like its working but performs like its not. HELP!

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