Did I do it right?

Hiya, I just went from a single 7900GT to two 7950GT's in SLI the 512mb version and I'm not seeing a significant boost in performance... at least not nearly as much as I thought I would. I have enabled SLI in the Nvidia settings.. I installed drivers from CD... having removed the old ones first... I'm at a loss as for what else I can do, because im still getting choppy frames in Neverwinter Nights 2... My PC:

PSU: 550w
Mobo: ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3500+ Venice 2.2GHz
Ram: 2048mb pc3200 Corsair
HD: Western Digital 120 gig 7200 RPM
GPU: 2x BFG Tech 7950 GT 512mb

you can use asus update, it's a windows app that lets you update bios in windows(MAKE SURE YOU CLOSE ALL YOUR APPS BEFORE UPDATING TO DECREASE COU LOAD).
1. download your bios from asus site to your hdd
2. run asus update and follow simple instructions

what monitor resolution are you running?
if 1024x768 or 1280x1050 you wont see any difference.

if running 1600x1200 or higher you should see a difference.

I just ran a 3dmark06, and it told me my BIOS was at 1103... the newest is 1303. So I think its safe to say I need to update, a few people have said that its likely that my video cards aren't supported by my current BIOS and there for aren't running properly. Opinion/advice greatly apreciated.

Okay so I'm definetly going to update my BIOS but I know its very risky and dangerous if you don't do it right, so can anyone please insure me of the proper procedure. I know I have to have the newest Chipset Drivers, could someone tell me how I can check what drivers my Chipset is running? Also I play on using a floppy drive and doing the BIOS update in DOS like so:

1. Visit the Asus website and get the latest BIOS
2. Rename the BIOS file to A8N32SLI.ROM
3. Put the BIOS file on a floppy disk
4. Restart computer and press ALT+F2 during POST to enter EZFLASH
5. Insert the floppy disk that contains the BIOS file to the floppy disk drive. When the BIOS file is found, EZFLASH performs the BIOS update process and automaticly reboots the system when done

That sound good? Can anyone think of anything I should do BEFORE flashing?

I flashed my BIOS... now running 1303 as opposed to a older version ( like 1103 or something like that ) And it didn't seem to fix anything. I ran 3dmark06 while in SLI configuration and scored 4800, then I ran 3dmark06 with ONE card in and got the same score. I'm thinking that my computer is just not utilizing the two video cards... even though Nvidia control panel says SLI is enabled... I have no idea... I'm pretty much out of ideas and getting pretty fustrated =/. Any help, or ideas at all is, once again, very much apreciated. Thank you all

If its possible to put the SLI bridge on backwards, its possible... but I doubt it to the point that I wont try it lol, tell me if im wrong.. but it just seems like it can go on either way with no trouble.

I'm using BIOS version 1303

I'm using 93.71 forceware drivers

I'm not sure what platform drivers are or where to check for them

I'm using Windows XP Pro 32 bit

Thank you for going on with me here, I apreciate the help... seriously. I'd love to not be wasting $615

I installed those platform drivers and they don't seem to have made a difference... Things you might be interested: I looked in my device manager and my system is showing two video cards. However in the Nvidia control panel, it only shows the temperature for ONE of my video cards... I'm not sure if that is normal or not, I would certainly believe -not-... As for my Processor bottle necking me... I agree and disagree... It -does- make sense because its kind of a low end processor, but then again, as I hear... processors aren't much of a deciding factor in games, im not possitive though. However, if I WERE to get a processor, whats the advantage of dual core in my situation? As I see it I have two options... The AMD 4800 Dual Core, or the FX-55 single core... I believe the 4800 is the fastest Dual Core I can get with my socket 939. Where as I believe the FX-55 is -faster- but not dual core... What's better?

Hmmm, mine shows the temps for both cards.

@TigresS Have you tried swapping the cards around?

Damn Asus site won't let me download your mobo manual at the moment, so I don't know if there is any jumper or BIOS setting that you need to enable to get Sli working, but in my Nvidia control panel I have a pull down in the temp menu so I can see the temp of each card, if you do not have this I would suggest that one of the cards is not being 'seen', have you made sure that both cards are getting their own (not shared) power supply from the PSU (no fans or HDD's sharing the rail) also after doing the mobo BIOS update did you reinstall the video and mobo driver software?

EDIT: I've just looked through the manual,and I can't see anything obvious so if it's not a software or power issue then it may be a faulty mobo pci-e slot.

When I updated the BIOS on my mobo my 7900GT's would not go back into Sli mod but uninstalling and then re-installing the mobo and graphic drivers sorted it, also if I try to 'share' the pci-e power rail then the Sli does'nt like it, but I got a warning box on that!, so not something I'll try again, If I were in your position I would try each card in each slot just so that I knew everything is working, then if all is ok plug it all back in and set to on the drivers.

Things to check/try.

Make sure your PSU has enough power. 500w for two 7950's seems like not enough to me. Make sure they both have the extra 6pin connectors on them. Is it dual rail?

Check the AMD website for CPU drivers.

Contact NVidia for help if you haven't already.

I have the same mobo, and updating the bios isn't that hard, but can be a tad tricky. Try shutting off legacy support and anything you don't need in the bios. I'm using an X2 2.2ghz chip (the 4200+) and it seems like it's a bit slow, although I do notice a slight increase over my 1.8ghz single core when using one app. I don't use virus software either. I was using one 7800GT 256mb card and could run Oblivion almost at max settings at around 25fps @1680X1050, so Neverwinter Nights should be able to go all out at with your setup. Heck, one card should be enough. They say that after 90fps your eyes can't tell a difference anyway. :-P Which makes me wonder why some people demand to have 130fps... Still, it sounds like you're hitting the basics on your testing. Good luck with it.

reinstalling the cards (physically) might be a good idea - but you could try to reset your BIOS settings (the content kept in the CMOS, not the BIOS itself; at boot, pressing a key like F2 or Esc takes you to a text-based simili-graphical menu that you can navigate with the keyboard arrows) to default (normally found in the 'Exit' section, saying 'Load BIOS default' or 'Load factory default). If you haven't done so, the new BIOS may still be using the older BIOS' settings - and the second card is still deactivated.