Help! VGA or MOBO problems can't seem to figure out...

[jwiggins]

I think I’m having a problem with my cards or MOBO!
I work for a system builder & I am a tech but what the deal with this problem is beyond me… So could some one PLEASE HELP!

I have a P4 650 3.4GHz Clocked to 3.9GHz, An ASUS P5N32 SLI,
Corsair XMS Pro 667MHZ Memory, 2- EVGA 7800GT CO 470MHz Core in SLI, 2 - Western Digital 120GB SATA II 300MB in Raid 0, 550W Antec Neo PS,

I thought it was running a great system until I built a new machine for a customer & saw his benchmarks on a single EVGA 7800GT CO 470 Core.

He scored 14623 in Aquamark3 on the GFX test with a single card & 9371 on the CPU.

I scored 13752 in Aquamark3 on the GFX test in SLI & 13540 on a single card, 11532 on the CPU.

I then tested my board with a single card and new drivers. I scored about the same as I did in SLI.

I built him a Pentium D 830 3.2, 975 Chipset Intel MOBO, Kingston Value Ram 667, 1 – 7800GT CO 470 Core, Western Digital 120GB SATA II 300MB, 550W Antec True power II.

I tried every driver available; RMA'd my board, tested both cards by them selves in each PCI X slot with new drivers & tried tweaking tools...... I don't know what else to do.
For some reason it doesn’t seem the bandwidth from my PCI E slots are functioning properly.

It just seems to me I should me scoring higher considering I have superior parts. Has any one else run into this or am I just pissing in the wind. Very Sad!!!!!
PS: I have tested with 3Dmark 06 too & the same results hold true.

 

[Dekkard]

Sorry to hear about your problems. I presume you've tried the latest nvidia drivers and your bios is up to date? Both cards are being recognized properly on your system and are functioning ok? I.E. no probs with your PCI-E slots?
Have you checked the forums for your specific mobo?
Sorry I can't come up with a clear solution to your problem but I understand the annoyance! I don't mess with Aquamark on my antiquated system but maybe some others can give better insight on that front. Have you tried other benchmarking software - how does your actual gaming experience compare?

 

[jwiggins]

Hey, thanks for the offer Dekkard!
Gaming experience is actually quite pleasant I have to say! I can run Fear with all the goodies maxed out flawless.
I have tested with 3Dmark 06 too & the same results hold true. I can go back to my distributor and RMA each part one at a time till I get the results I want.

I was talking to my Rep at the distributor she recommended maybe I just use a new board other than the ASUS. I wish some one else would make an x16 SLI board!!! Splitting the bandwidth 8 + 8 doesn’t tickle my fancy, I want 16 + 16 on my PCIx slots

 

[Dekkard]

To be honest, you really aren't likely to see any benefit from the SLI32 design yet as no games are fully exploiting the capabilities and I doubt will this year. Even AGP8X hasn't been fully exploited for bandwidth!!!!! I can see where you are coming from in terms of covering for the future but I'd recommend picking a stable 6 month old SLI board and saving your pennies until the SLI32 really comes to full fruition.
Maybe check out the benchmarking forums to see what others are getting with similar systems. Remember that in many instances the SLI setup shows little to no improvement in benchmarking scores (not that I think this is right but just so you don't feel this just applies to you). As long as you are getting good performance in games that is the main thing!

 

[jwiggins]

Expectations too high I suppose...