[Solved] 2 9800 GTX+ not performing

I recently upgraded going from one 9800 GTX+ to 2 in SLI with the new MB, PSU, and some extra RAM. I have all the current Nvidia drivers (I have tried several, using Driver sweeper each time I changed) and a fresh Vista 64 load.

No issues with anything except performance, it’s the same and at times less than with the single card as far as FPS goes. I don’t get it, have tried multiple drivers, have the most recent BIOS, ect... I have been reading these forums for years and was hoping there might be some insight here.

Added Info: The game I play is Aion, I have to set it at very low settings and still get low 20s FPS in the cities, and 40 to 50 elsewhere.
Added Info II: Current Nforce Driver set WHQL 15.49, replaced the GPU drivers included with the 15.49 (190.38) with 191.07.

My current build:
AMD 9850 Phenom II
ASUS M4N82 MB (For the 2x16 SLI)
8gb Corsair pc 6400 TWINX RAM
2 PNY 9800 GTX+ Video Cards
RAID 0 Storage
BFG 1000 Watt PSU

Message edited by ppadula on 10-13-2009 at 05:21:47 PM

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I was using 2 9800GTX+ on there 750i mother board . I did'nt like the performance . So I went with ATI HD 4770 on a ECS mother board and I'm very satisfied.

Message edited by catsbyme on 10-13-2009 at 05:30:47 PM

Reply to catsbyme

Best answer

some games do not scale well with crossfire or sli. infact i remember reading a forum post where fallout 3 users with crossfire were actually getting LESS avg fps with crossfire than they were with single card solutions. even though more games are scaling well - some still do not. have you tried other games?

one last thing -> your processor is NOT a phenom 2 it is a phenom 1 which are HORRIBLE processors. balls slow and wicked power consumption for little improvement on overclock. my first guess is this:

1) your processor is a HUGE bottleneck and
2) the games you play do not scale well

you need a new processor man.

------------------------------ E8500 oc'd 4.5 @ 1.44 vcore with 92mm Zalman
ATI 4850 oc'd 680/1158 with aftermarket Zalman
Asus P5Q Pro mobo
2 gigs 800 Corsair ram @ 4-4-4-12
Reply to werxen

/sigh

I HAVE had my eye on a 955 BB, and my MB supports it. For some reason I was hoping for a magical solution that didnt require more money. Thanks for your inputs.

Reply to ppadula

Ditch the 9800's and go for a single card solution instead, then you will have better perf. and won't have to worry about compatibility issues, excess power consumption and won't also have to buy another CPU either.

The new ati 5700's would be probably what you want.

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Reply to rhys216

rhys216 wrote :

Ditch the 9800's and go for a single card solution instead, then you will have better perf. and won't have to worry about compatibility issues, excess power consumption and won't also have to buy another CPU either.

The new ati 5700's would be probably what you want.

See, that’s the thing. If I had unlimited funds I could think up a really wonderful configuration of hardware. But this was an upgrade, I did my best to evaluate the biggest bang for my buck, I already had a 9800 GTX+ and it seemed like the best option for me was to pick up another and put them in SLI mode, get a MB that can operate in dual 16x, and a PSU that can handle the whole mess.

I didn’t realize my CPU would be a bottleneck, fortunately, this is a new MB so my options for upgrading the CPU is wide open and Phenom II CPU prices are reasonable. Switching to ATI just isn’t an option at this point.

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to ppadula

ppadula wrote :

See, that’s the thing. If I had unlimited funds I could think up a really wonderful configuration of hardware. But this was an upgrade, I did my best to evaluate the biggest bang for my buck, I already had a 9800 GTX+ and it seemed like the best option for me was to pick up another and put them in SLI mode, get a MB that can operate in dual 16x, and a PSU that can handle the whole mess.

I didn’t realize my CPU would be a bottleneck, fortunately, this is a new MB so my options for upgrading the CPU is wide open and Phenom II CPU prices are reasonable. Switching to ATI just isn’t an option at this point.

It's just I doubt the CPU is holding you back that much ( People seem to really over estimate the CPU).
You made a mistake upgrading all that stuff just to SLI when you should (and still should) sell off your old 9800's and get a Faster single card instead like a 5770 (or even a 5850 at a push) without having to spend any more £.

I made a similar mistake when I bought 2x 4870's 512mb to game at 2560*1600 when I should have just got a 4870x2 or waited for the 1gb Vram models.

Currently running a 5870 and it the BEST card I'v ever had to live with and which offers amazing performance. Completely SILENT when at idle at 33c due to the ultra low power consumption but kicks serious @ss when gaming.

The 5700 series should give you a similar experience at the res your gaming at and should save on your utility bills.

Reply to rhys216

The original Phenom processors were and still are incredibly horrible. SLi requires a relatively efficient processor but not necessarily high clock speeds or rediculous overclocks (though that certainly wouldn't hurt). It would have definitely been a smarter move to ditch the MB/SLi decision you made. Also the memory idea was a bad move; over 4GB of memory for gaming is complete overkill -- that money could've also been put towards your GPU. A single card option would've been the best choice, and also allowed for less power draw and heat in your case. I'm guessing your power supply isn't too great either.

Regardless, you need to update your processor next.

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by brockh on 10-13-2009 at 09:08:50 PM

Reply to brockh

brockh wrote :

The original Phenom processors were and still are incredibly horrible. SLi requires a relatively efficient processor but not necessarily high clock speeds or rediculous overclocks (though that certainly wouldn't hurt). It would have definitely been a smarter move to ditch the MB/SLi decision you made. Also the memory idea was a bad move; over 4GB of memory for gaming is complete overkill -- that money could've also been put towards your GPU. A single card option would've been the best choice, and also allowed for less power draw and heat in your case. I'm guessing your power supply isn't too great either.

Regardless, you need to update your processor next.

That's the plan, (AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor - Retail ). But the video card is going to be a while. Thanks again for your help.

Reply to ppadula

Well back when I was using two EVGA 7600gs cards in sli and got crap fps I would oc the cards depending on the game. Max oc and performance vs single card I would get a 30~40% boost in most games while 70% was not uncommon. In GTA IV I would oc then async via riva tuner for games that didn't take advantage of sli. Check your temps and ram timings.

Reply to nforce4max

if you get a new processor you can keep the SLi and you will notice a big improvement. keep the SLi but ditch the phenom good luck and yes i know exactly how you feel with the tight budget. everyone in America does

Message quoted 1 times

------------------------------ E8500 oc'd 4.5 @ 1.44 vcore with 92mm Zalman
ATI 4850 oc'd 680/1158 with aftermarket Zalman
Asus P5Q Pro mobo
2 gigs 800 Corsair ram @ 4-4-4-12
Reply to werxen

werxen wrote :

if you get a new processor you can keep the SLi and you will notice a big improvement. keep the SLi but ditch the phenom good luck and yes i know exactly how you feel with the tight budget. everyone in America does

Especially with the fact there are no start up jobs for those who are young or moving to a new field. Not to forget those million plus monthly losses (unofficial figure since the books are cooked.

Reply to nforce4max

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