Low 3dMark Firestrike Score for GTX 970 SLI OC

ArijitChatterjee

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Apr 3, 2015
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4,520
Hi All,

For a GTX 970 SLI Configuration is the below a good Firestrike score [13363]:
http://www.3dmark.com/fs/6776905

My Computer setup is:
CPU: i7-4790K OC:4.6 Ghz,
GPU: MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4g SLI(OC: GPU: 1279 MHz Memory: 1903 Mhz),
MoBo: Gigabyte z97 Gaming 3,
RAM: 24 GB GSkill Ripjaws C10 2400Mhz RAM,
Cooler: Corsair H85 AIO Cooler,
HDD1: Seagate Pro 240 GB SSD (OS HDD),
HDD2: HGST Travelstar 1TB 7200RPM (Secondary HDD),
PSU: Corsair CS750M PSU,
Cabinet: Corsair Carbide 200R Cabinet

Also, with the same HW as above and no CPU/GPU OC, how are people getting 14K+ scores in firestrike?
e.g. http://www.3dmark.com/fs/6407725

When I compare, I see that the difference is in Graphics Test 2 and Combined Test.
http://www.3dmark.com/compare/fs/6776905/fs/6407725

Any reasons why my system is scoring low in those 2 specific tests.
 
Solution
Also just for some added info, your graphics are performing better than the one with a higher firststrike. It is something else lowering your score such as ram or cpu settings, You are on the left
d279551058c08abd1adeaf76f83c6f17.png

As you can see you win the FPS and Graphics challenge vs the other.

Hawkshot

Admirable
the only things that would change the system performance would be the Motherboard/PSU your motherboard is good but defiantly not the best if that person had an amazing X99 motherboard they would get better performance, also your PSU is very low quality and is not suited for SLI setups that have been overclocked, now its possible that your psu is limiting the power of your system.
 

bailojustin

Distinguished
Make sure your cards are in "PCIEx16/x8_1" and the second in "PCIEx8_2," if in these correct slots, make sure you have nothing plugged into "I.G.F.X", "PCIEx4_1". this will make sure they both run at x8.

Also ram plays a big role in benches, if you notice alot of the highest rated benches use very low frequency ram, like the one thats almost 15k score, His ram is 2 sets of different dual channel ram

He is running
Memory
24,576 MB
Module 1
8,192 MB G.Skill DDR3 @ 667 MHz
Module 2
4,096 MB G.Skill DDR3 @ 800 MHz
Module 3
8,192 MB G.Skill DDR3 @ 667 MHz
Module 4
4,096 MB G.Skill DDR3 @ 800 MHz

most likely with timings so tight and a cas of at least 5-7 on the 4gb 1366mhz set.
The timings on the other set will most likely be close to the same and verry low.

You are using
Memory
16,384 MB
Module 1
4,096 MB G.Skill DDR3 @ 800 MHz
Module 2
4,096 MB G.Skill DDR3 @ 800 MHz
Module 3
4,096 MB G.Skill DDR3 @ 800 MHz
Module 4
4,096 MB G.Skill DDR3 @ 800 MHz
1600mhz, Im not sure what your timings are looking like. Alot of people benchmark with lower freq ram because its much faster if you understand how to OC it correctly. A 1333mhz ram stick can outperform a 1600 or 1866 with good enough timings.

Also it may have a big thing to do with the motherboard or monitor settings. the gpu settings can also affect the outcome.

Thats not a bad benchmark you have, thats great. if you want it to be higher, then it will require additional tweaking and a mobo that can support more bandwidth for the card/ram and one with a better cpu mem controller.

I believe its the ram, and the motherboard making the difference for you.
 

bailojustin

Distinguished
Also just for some added info, your graphics are performing better than the one with a higher firststrike. It is something else lowering your score such as ram or cpu settings, You are on the left
d279551058c08abd1adeaf76f83c6f17.png

As you can see you win the FPS and Graphics challenge vs the other.
 
Solution

ArijitChatterjee

Reputable
Apr 3, 2015
17
0
4,520
Thanks a lot guys @Hawkshot and @bailojustin for the remarkable insights and yes my Graphics outperforms in Graphics test 1. You guys are the best!!

My GPUs are running at PCI-E 3.0 x16 @ x8, which I think is both running at PCI-E 3.0x8. Would PCI-E 3.0 x16 @ x16 make a noticeable difference?

However, for Graphics Test 2, in which as you rightly mentioned, there could be influence of CPU and RAM, causing the lower scores.
My RAM is:
8X2 Modules of 2400Mhz DDR3 GSkill Tridentx with Timings of 10-12-12-31-2N
4X2 Modules of 2400Mhz DDR3 GSkill Ripjaws with Timings of 10-12-12-31-2N
Should I try for tighter timings, at the cost of lowering the speed?

Also as mentioned, my RAM Timings are shown as below:
Module 1: 8,192 MB G.Skill DDR3 @ 667 MHz
Module 2: 4,096 MB G.Skill DDR3 @ 800 MHz
Module 3: 8,192 MB G.Skill DDR3 @ 667 MHz
Module 4: 4,096 MB G.Skill DDR3 @ 800 MHz

There seems to be issue with the 8GB Modules, as these are 2400Mhz RAM with CL10 timings as mentioned above, and somehow the MoBo is downclocking the modules to 1333. I have not changed any timings manually, but just applied XMP profiles to all the modules in my BIOS. Any reason, why that is happening and how to resolve it?

Also, I bought the Corsair CS750M, as it was Gold Certified. But I agree the PSU could be the culprit here. Should I buy something with higher wattage or same wattage but from a different brand?

Finally, if CPU is the issue, then it would have affected the Physics score also right? Is it a case of CPU Bottleneck, when CPU+GPU operations are going on?

I know I am being nitpicky about this, but I have spend a fortune on this rig, and I want to extract the best out of it.
 

bailojustin

Distinguished

You will get better performance with 1866 and tight as timings, single digits. Increase dram volt to 1.55, 1.6, 1.65 as you overclock, I wouldn't go higher then 2133. Stick with that and get timings way down for best performance
 

bailojustin

Distinguished
I would actually bench your ram now, then go in disable xmp, change the mem multiplier up to 2133 or 1866. 2133 start with loose timings and work your way down. 1866 you will be able to get even tiger timings which would usually out perform higher frequencies wi th looser timings. This way all your ram is the same frequency and working together. And fast
 

ArijitChatterjee

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Apr 3, 2015
17
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4,520
CSS:
Hi,

I did try with changing Ram timings. But Firestrike keeps reading my JEDEC instead of XMP.

The best score I could achieve was: 13448
http://www.3dmark.com/fs/6838874

This is with enabling XMP profile 1 at 2400Mhz 10-12-12-31-2T

Since my 8 GB and 16 GB pairs have mismatching JEDEC Timings, it works well only when I enable XMP, where the 2 sets of RAM have matching timings.

Also I have run Intel XTU Benchmark and see thermal throttling occurring sometimes.. Is this normal?
 

ArijitChatterjee

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Apr 3, 2015
17
0
4,520
It seems that if the Voltage setting in BIOS for an 17-4790K is set to Auto, the MB sets the voltage at 1.41mV, which brings the CPU to omlette frying temps. Have brought the voltage to 1.22mV and now my temps are normal and the 4.6 Ghz OC is stable. This was not the cause of my low Firestrike scores though.

Basically there is an option under Help Tab, 'Scan Hardware monitoring'. Unchecking that perfomed miracles.
My score is now 18630, much higher than a GTX980 SLI config recommended by 3DMark for 4K gaming.
http://www.3dmark.com/fs/6861832