GTX 680: Why is my performance not what I expected?

[endoxiroc]

I recently upgraded to a GTX 680 4gb from a GTX 560 Ti 1gb. I'm not really impressed by the difference in these two cards. I thought a GTX 680 would be a huge upgrade; however, games like Sniper Elite V2, Sleeping Dogs, Max Payne 3 only benchmark at an average 30 fps on the highest (Ultra or Extreme) settings. Sure on the next to highest settings (High) the game will run at 80-115 fps, but whats the point with 60hz monitors? My 560 Ti ran those games on high at 60fps anyway. Doesn't really do much for me.


Is something wrong with my other system specs that's holding my new GTX 680 back from it's true potential? Why am I only getting 30 FPS on Sniper Elite V2, Max Payne 3, and Sleeping Dogs on the highest settings? For nearly $600 I would expect 60FPS on the highest settings for all new games.

You cant get much better than a GTX 680 right? It was to my understanding that a GTX 690, although better than a 680, was not better by much and practically overkill.

If I disabled my other monitor while playing games would my FPS improve? Does the program Actual Multiple Monitors effect FPS?




SYSTEM SPECS:
OS: Windows 7 Professional 64 bit
MOBO: ASUS Crosshair V Formula
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 820 2.81 GHz
RAM: GSkill Ripjaws DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) 4x4GB = 16GB
GPU: EVGA GTX 680 FTW 4gb
HD: Western Digital 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache 6Gb/s
PSU: Cooler Master 850W
CASE: Cooler Master HAF 932 ADV BLUE ED
MONITOR: ASUS 27'' and Gateway 19'' (old flat screen hand-me-down)




MORE INFO
NEWEGG LINKS:

MOBO: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131735
CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103824
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314
GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130798
HD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171048
PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171048
CASE: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119213
MONITOR: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236101

 

[jaudain]

at what resolution your playing at if you are playing at those extreme res. It could potentialy slow down performance. It also look (to me anyways) that your cpu is bottlenecking your gpu.

 

[swifty_morgan]

amd system is slow. want more and faster frame rates and better performance get a faster processor. and I wouldn't invest a nickle in amd right now for that.

 

[endoxiroc]

My resolution is 1920 x 1080.

It was to my understanding that a quad core cpu was all you needed for gaming, and that anything else was overkill. I was told higher core CPU's are for more processing intensive programs like video editing and rendering.

I turned off one monitor and AMM and got a 7 FPS increase in my benchmark to a total of 37.9 fps.

 

[computernerdforlife]

+2 to jaudain and swifty: your issue lies with you CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 820 2.81 GHz. This thing can't keep up with your videocard. The 820 was a budget quad core if i remember correctly so there's your issue. Upgrade your core system; your graphics card is amazing.

 

[endoxiroc]

Any other ideas?

Any CPU suggestions?

 

[determinologyz]

Any other ideas?

Any CPU suggestions?

What do you mean any other ideas you should listen to computernerd4life..Your cpu is bottlenecking the gpu which is why your getting the frames you getting. Get a i5 2500k or ivy bridge and watch your frames go up..People expect to pop a new gpu in with outdated hardware and expect not to have issues..Your gpu is beast but your cpu could stand to be updated

 

[Guest]

lets just confirm its a cpu bottle neck; open task manager while playing and look at the load.

the only/biggest reason why i am mentioned it is i have seen a lot of dissatisfied people on the guru 3d forums about the last few releases of nVidia drivers that have 680s. (everyone else is happy)

 

[determinologyz]

lets just confirm its a cpu bottle neck; open task manager while playing and look at the load.

the only/biggest reason why i am mentioned it is i have seen a lot of dissatisfied people on the guru 3d forums about the last few releases of nVidia drivers that have 680s. (everyone else is happy)

True that to but you would have to agree his cpu could be updated tho right?

 

[MajinCry]

Not really. The i5 2500K is around 25% faster, but costs twice that of his processor.

OP would be better off buying an aftermarket cooler if he has not already, and then OCing the CPU.

Though I doubt that is where the problem lies. Could be a driver issue, or an incorrect setting. I had abysmal performance in games until I noticed that the games had AFx16 in their launchers, AND I had AFx16 in my CCC. Switched off the AF in the CCC and my frame-rates were more like they should have been.

But yeah. Sounds like driver shizzle to me.

 

[swifty_morgan]

lets just confirm its a cpu bottle neck; open task manager while playing and look at the load.

doesn't matter. the processor is slow. nothing is going to make the machine faster than a meaningful upgrade. who cares how much of the processor is being used ?

 

[Guest]

the cpu is less than desirable . .a good after market cooler and some overclocking will help that.

i just grabbed this chart from an overclocking guide to understand FSB/cpu/NB/ram multi settings

your mileage will vary.

 

[Guest]

lets just confirm its a cpu bottle neck; open task manager while playing and look at the load.

doesn't matter. the processor is slow. nothing is going to make the machine faster than a meaningful upgrade. who cares how much of the processor is being used ?

because if the cpu isn't hitting over 75% load its not bottlenecking; its another issue.

 

[maxalge]

Not really. The i5 2500K is around 25% faster, but costs twice that of his processor.

OP would be better off buying an aftermarket cooler if he has not already, and then OCing the CPU.

Though I doubt that is where the problem lies. Could be a driver issue, or an incorrect setting. I had abysmal performance in games until I noticed that the games had AFx16 in their launchers, AND I had AFx16 in my CCC. Switched off the AF in the CCC and my frame-rates were more like they should have been.

But yeah. Sounds like driver shizzle to me.

The 2500k is 25% - 40% faster than the 965 BE depending on game and overclock.


The 965 is roughly equal to a i3 2120 in gaming.

For comparison the Phenom II X4 820 is probably around Intel Core2 Extreme performance...

 

[swifty_morgan]

what part of raw speed don't you understand ?

and overclocking that pig will put undue stress on the mother board and processor and only gain maybe 2 fps at best.

 

[Guest]

what part of raw speed don't you understand ?

and overclocking that pig will put undue stress on the mother board and processor and only gain maybe 2 fps at best.

troll.

 

[bigcyco1]

There is some thing wrong if your 560 Ti could do that but your 680 can't you have serious issues a 680 eats a 560 ti for breakfast!

 

[swifty_morgan]

troll.

spoken like a true idiot. why don't you save this childish behavior for some other site.

 

[Kari]

because if the cpu isn't hitting over 75% load its not bottlenecking; its another issue.

games wont necessarily be able to fully use 4 cores, or 3 for that matter. If the main thread maxes out a core it will bottleneck even if the overall cpu usage is no where near 50, 75 or 100%

it would be easier to look at gpu load percentage, if that isnt at high 90s then there is a bottleneck somewhere else in the system...

 

[aosocio07]

I see that no one has noticed the pci express. The 680 is a high performance pci express 3.0. The AMD only supports 2.1. The 680 is backwards compatible but will seriously be bottlenecked bandwidth wise. The processor is a little bottlenecked but you honestly shouldn't be having too many problems with it. Upgrading to an intel platform would get you the desired fps but at a large price increase. Hope this helps your problem.

 

[MajinCry]

@Aos

Nope. Not correct. 2.1 would only be a bottleneck if it were in, say, a x4 slot.

 

[Kari]

I see that no one has noticed the pci express. The 680 is a high performance pci express 3.0. The AMD only supports 2.1. The 680 is backwards compatible but will seriously be bottlenecked bandwidth wise. The processor is a little bottlenecked but you honestly shouldn't be having too many problems with it. Upgrading to an intel platform would get you the desired fps but at a large price increase. Hope this helps your problem.

lol thats not right...

edit linky
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Intel/Ivy_Bridge_PCI-Express_Scaling/23.html

 

[Guest]

games wont necessarily be able to fully use 4 cores, or 3 for that matter. If the main thread maxes out a core it will bottleneck even if the overall cpu usage is no where near 50, 75 or 100%

it would be easier to look at gpu load percentage, if that isnt at high 90s then there is a bottleneck somewhere else in the system...

you would think but if it is a driver issue than the gpu usage would be low. i have played CODMW3 with 60+ fps @ 98% usage, updated my drivers and went to 45 fps and 20% usage. rolled back the driver and *viola* 60+ fps and 98% again.

though seriously, does it hurt to check? no sense in throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

 

[Kari]

you would think but if it is a driver issue than the gpu usage would be low. i have played CODMW3 with 60+ fps @ 98% usage, updated my drivers and went to 45 fps and 20% usage. rolled back the driver and *viola* 60+ fps and 98% again.

though seriously, does it hurt to check? no sense in throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

well no it doesn't
but all i'm saying is the cpu load% is a bit inconclusive if it is not known for sure how well threaded a game is...
though one could test that by disabling cores in the bios if the bios allows that, and see how it scales

 

[Guest]

well no it doesn't
but all i'm saying is the cpu load% is a bit inconclusive if it is not known for sure how well threaded a game is...
though one could test that by disabling cores in the bios if the bios allows that, and see how it scales

that is perfect!