8800 GTX SLI Performance issue

[Sivias]

I'm having a few concerns with my computer.
My 3DMark06 I score 10247. I'm not sure how that measures up, but my issue is actually in Warhammer Online. It could be the game may be unoptimized, but I feel like the performance doesn't equate to the power of my system.
I also notice that when I use SLI in WAR my FPS drops dramatically from ~30 to ~5

Here's my setup.
AMD Athelon 64 X2 dual core 6400+ 3.2GHz
8GB RAM
EVGA GeForce 8800 GTX (x2) 1920x1200
850W PSU
Windows Vista Ultimate 64 bit.

I've updated all the drivers and i'm still seeing sub par performance.

Is this actually a hardware issue, or is it likely Warhammer?

In other games I've played I also see the performance bog down in certain situations.

 

[jitpublisher]

Warhammer does not take much to run, a single 8800GTX should be overkill.
From what I have read in the Warhammer forums, some people have trouble running the game in SLI, some say they don't, although the consensus of the forum is enabling SLI does not improve anything.
Turn off cool and quiet in your BIOS. That will slow things down considerably.
I used to have a socket 939, 4600X2 (clocked at 3.2ghz) and scored 10,000 in 3d Mark 06 with a single 8800GTS 512 OC.
Just for fun, take out 4 gig of memory. Try running with only 2x2 sticks.
See if that helps or hurts.
Sometimes when you run 4 sticks, your memory defaults to a slower speed.
4 gig of fast running memory is better than 8 gig of slow running memory when gaming. Anyway, just give it a try to see.

 

[Sivias]

I turned off Cool and Quiet, took out 2 sticks of RAM, and got the same 3D mark score.
Ran it with SLI and only bumped it up to 11,000.

I don't think it's the 4x4 sticks of ram being the issue of the problem - they're all the same Hyper X kingston DDR2 ram, so a set being faster than another isn't the problem.

*edit*
Another note is I find even if I turn down the settings to "fastest frame rate" the game doesn't suddenly perform better, only increases to a bearable state during heavy load/fights. Otherwise, the game slugs down to 3 or 5 FPS and is a slideshow.

*edit 2*
I just tried to go extreme. Put the graphics settings down to the lowest possible resolution (1024x768)/Effects/Lighting/Draw distance, etc.
Shockingly, the idle frame rate didn't change at all. ~35 to 50 FPS looking into the distance. combat FPS did improve slightly, didn't drop much below 20 FPS, but that's with no spell effects or anything. Is it possible my CPU is my bottle neck, not the GPU?
If so, what could be causing this/how can I fix it?
I looked at the temp settings, and while WAR is running, it's sitting at about 45 - 55 degrees C on each core. I don't think that's to be of concern, although I'm not positive.

 

[tinyp]

Are you sure that your SLI is being set up correctly?
Your 3DMark06 score 10xxx is about right for a single 8800GTX. What is the score when you enable SLI?

 

[Sivias]

11xxx

I'm pretty sure it's being set up correctly. Enabling it in the Nvidia control panel.
Even tried downloading the nHancer program to configure it and still nothing.

I'll admit I very well could be doing something wrong - but it's not obvious to me.

 

[Bluescreendeath]

Try 3d vantage. Dual 9800GTXs get around 11k, and dual 8800GTXs should probably get 9-10k.

Your 3d Mark 06 might not be working properly for your SLi system.

 

[vpsaline]

do you have single-gpu rendering mode?

 

[Sivias]

Just ran 3DMarkVantage and got P11704. I guess my SLI system is running fine. It must be something wrong with warhammer then. I just don't understand how the system can bog down so much.

@vpsaline; I'm not sure, I couldn't find that as a setting or option in the Nvidia control panel or nHancer.