I dont know if My GTX 670 SLI setup is working correctly. Help!

[dalekinder]

Hello Everyone. And sorry if this isnt the right place to put this thread.

Yesterday I built a new computer (well basically upgraded) Ill go ahead and post my specs before I carry on with my issue.

i5 3470 3.2ghz
8GB DDR 3 Corsair vengenace 1600
Seasonic 750w 80 plus bronze
2 Zotac Gtx 670s
360gb Corsair Force SSD
ASrock extreme3 z77 Mobo
Dell 23" IPS LED 1080p

My question is. Im seeing pretty low gpu usage, on both cards Via MSI afterburner. However I will say this is my very first SLI build. I have enabled SLI and set SLI to Nvidia Recommended. In Skyrim Both gpus show around 49-53% usage. Is this normal? I wouldnt think my cpu would bottleneck this setup. Ive also Tried CSGO and see usage a little higher around 55-60% vysnc off. Running 314.22 drivers no OC on anything.

What do you guys think? Am I pretty capped out due to the 1 1080p monitor?

 

[bigcyco1]

Run Afterburner and check your GPU usage. If you are running at 99% GPU usage in that particular game, then you have no bottleneck. If you are running at less than 99% GPU usage, particularly if its closer to 50% or less in that particular game, then you have a CPU bottleneck.

 

[dalekinder]

Run Afterburner and check your GPU usage. If you are running at 99% GPU usage in that particular game, then you have no bottleneck. If you are running at less than 99% GPU usage, particularly if its closer to 50% or less in that particular game, then you have a CPU bottleneck.

Man.. Seriously an i5 IVY bottlenecking this setup? I just dont want to believe it. I did that. I read a thread from another website about afterburner thats where I went to check to see If I had a bottleneck. Skyrim right now is showing 43-46% on gpu usage. IO thought maybe the reason my usage was low is because I am only running 1 monitor at 1080p. I really need to find out what this issue is because I just dropped almost a grand for these new parts and now I may have to upgrade my cpu.

 

[RobCrezz]

Run Afterburner and check your GPU usage. If you are running at 99% GPU usage in that particular game, then you have no bottleneck. If you are running at less than 99% GPU usage, particularly if its closer to 50% or less in that particular game, then you have a CPU bottleneck.

Man.. Seriously an i5 IVY bottlenecking this setup? I just dont want to believe it. I did that. I read a thread from another website about afterburner thats where I went to check to see If I had a bottleneck. Skyrim right now is showing 43-46% on gpu usage. IO thought maybe the reason my usage was low is because I am only running 1 monitor at 1080p. I really need to find out what this issue is because I just dropped almost a grand for these new parts and now I may have to upgrade my cpu.

Why is that a problem if you are getting good FPS? You will always have a bottleneck somewhere...

Skyrim is a more CPU heavy game and you have a lot of GPU power for just 1080p.

Try a more GPU intensive game and you might not get CPU bottleneck.

 

[dalekinder]

Run Afterburner and check your GPU usage. If you are running at 99% GPU usage in that particular game, then you have no bottleneck. If you are running at less than 99% GPU usage, particularly if its closer to 50% or less in that particular game, then you have a CPU bottleneck.

Man.. Seriously an i5 IVY bottlenecking this setup? I just dont want to believe it. I did that. I read a thread from another website about afterburner thats where I went to check to see If I had a bottleneck. Skyrim right now is showing 43-46% on gpu usage. IO thought maybe the reason my usage was low is because I am only running 1 monitor at 1080p. I really need to find out what this issue is because I just dropped almost a grand for these new parts and now I may have to upgrade my cpu.

Why is that a problem if you are getting good FPS? You will always have a bottleneck somewhere...

Skyrim is a more CPU heavy game and you have a lot of GPU power for just 1080p.

Try a more GPU intensive game and you might not get CPU bottleneck.

Im downloading Bioshock infinite as we speak as its much newer. I had to reinstall everything from my Steam account. And Yes I am getting 60fps+ on ultra everything maxed out. I was just curious. Everywhere that I did some research was saying that most 3rd Gen Ivy i5's could handle this setup. So I didnt invest in an i7 or a little better i5. I know for a fact Bioshock infinite is going to stress them so We will see what happens. I was just worried thats all. Like the guy said above me and from what I have read is.. if your under 90% usage on MSI afterburner with vysnc off you have a bottleneck. And when I saw mine was low it freaked me out.. because Ive already spent alot of money so far.,

 

[bigcyco1]

Well you can always try a higher res monitor though my 670's in SLI use a single monitor @1080p and i do not have that issue although mine is 120hz

 

[dalekinder]

Well you can always try a higher res monitor though my 670's in SLI use a single monitor @1080p and i do not have that issue although mine is 120hz

Well get this.. last night after I built my system I downloaded 3dmark 06 Free version.. I tested with SLI on and off.. And I was pissed that I got a lower score with it on. With SLI turned off I scored 25,511, with sli turned on I scored 25122. wtf?

 

[RobCrezz]

Run Afterburner and check your GPU usage. If you are running at 99% GPU usage in that particular game, then you have no bottleneck. If you are running at less than 99% GPU usage, particularly if its closer to 50% or less in that particular game, then you have a CPU bottleneck.

Man.. Seriously an i5 IVY bottlenecking this setup? I just dont want to believe it. I did that. I read a thread from another website about afterburner thats where I went to check to see If I had a bottleneck. Skyrim right now is showing 43-46% on gpu usage. IO thought maybe the reason my usage was low is because I am only running 1 monitor at 1080p. I really need to find out what this issue is because I just dropped almost a grand for these new parts and now I may have to upgrade my cpu.

Why is that a problem if you are getting good FPS? You will always have a bottleneck somewhere...

Skyrim is a more CPU heavy game and you have a lot of GPU power for just 1080p.

Try a more GPU intensive game and you might not get CPU bottleneck.

Im downloading Bioshock infinite as we speak as its much newer. I had to reinstall everything from my Steam account. And Yes I am getting 60fps+ on ultra everything maxed out. I was just curious. Everywhere that I did some research was saying that most 3rd Gen Ivy i5's could handle this setup. So I didnt invest in an i7 or a little better i5. I know for a fact Bioshock infinite is going to stress them so We will see what happens. I was just worried thats all. Like the guy said above me and from what I have read is.. if your under 90% usage on MSI afterburner with vysnc off you have a bottleneck. And when I saw mine was low it freaked me out.. because Ive already spent alot of money so far.,

Dont worry about it, enjoy the build if its performing fine. In most games you will probably max out the GPUs, but skyrim is more CPU heavy.

Out of interest, why didnt you get the 3570k? Its not much more expensive and with a inexpensive cooler can be clocked at 4Ghz no problem.

 

[bigcyco1]

Well you can always try a higher res monitor though my 670's in SLI use a single monitor @1080p and i do not have that issue although mine is 120hz

Well get this.. last night after I built my system I downloaded 3dmark 06 Free version.. I tested with SLI on and off.. And I was pissed that I got a lower score with it on. With SLI turned off I scored 25,511, with sli turned on I scored 25122. wtf?

That is odd i have no clue

 

[dalekinder]

Run Afterburner and check your GPU usage. If you are running at 99% GPU usage in that particular game, then you have no bottleneck. If you are running at less than 99% GPU usage, particularly if its closer to 50% or less in that particular game, then you have a CPU bottleneck.

Man.. Seriously an i5 IVY bottlenecking this setup? I just dont want to believe it. I did that. I read a thread from another website about afterburner thats where I went to check to see If I had a bottleneck. Skyrim right now is showing 43-46% on gpu usage. IO thought maybe the reason my usage was low is because I am only running 1 monitor at 1080p. I really need to find out what this issue is because I just dropped almost a grand for these new parts and now I may have to upgrade my cpu.

Why is that a problem if you are getting good FPS? You will always have a bottleneck somewhere...

Skyrim is a more CPU heavy game and you have a lot of GPU power for just 1080p.

Try a more GPU intensive game and you might not get CPU bottleneck.

Im downloading Bioshock infinite as we speak as its much newer. I had to reinstall everything from my Steam account. And Yes I am getting 60fps+ on ultra everything maxed out. I was just curious. Everywhere that I did some research was saying that most 3rd Gen Ivy i5's could handle this setup. So I didnt invest in an i7 or a little better i5. I know for a fact Bioshock infinite is going to stress them so We will see what happens. I was just worried thats all. Like the guy said above me and from what I have read is.. if your under 90% usage on MSI afterburner with vysnc off you have a bottleneck. And when I saw mine was low it freaked me out.. because Ive already spent alot of money so far.,

Dont worry about it, enjoy the build if its performing fine. In most games you will probably max out the GPUs, but skyrim is more CPU heavy.

Out of interest, why didnt you get the 3570k? Its not much more expensive and with a inexpensive cooler can be clocked at 4Ghz no problem.

At the time I didnt think I would need to overclock the cpu. So I decided just to get the non k version. Plus Ive never really been good at overlocking so I stayed away from it. I tried back when I had my Athlon Phemon 940 and could never get it stable even with voltage increments and such.

 

[bigcyco1]

Run Afterburner and check your GPU usage. If you are running at 99% GPU usage in that particular game, then you have no bottleneck. If you are running at less than 99% GPU usage, particularly if its closer to 50% or less in that particular game, then you have a CPU bottleneck.

Man.. Seriously an i5 IVY bottlenecking this setup? I just dont want to believe it. I did that. I read a thread from another website about afterburner thats where I went to check to see If I had a bottleneck. Skyrim right now is showing 43-46% on gpu usage. IO thought maybe the reason my usage was low is because I am only running 1 monitor at 1080p. I really need to find out what this issue is because I just dropped almost a grand for these new parts and now I may have to upgrade my cpu.

Why is that a problem if you are getting good FPS? You will always have a bottleneck somewhere...

Skyrim is a more CPU heavy game and you have a lot of GPU power for just 1080p.

Try a more GPU intensive game and you might not get CPU bottleneck.

Im downloading Bioshock infinite as we speak as its much newer. I had to reinstall everything from my Steam account. And Yes I am getting 60fps+ on ultra everything maxed out. I was just curious. Everywhere that I did some research was saying that most 3rd Gen Ivy i5's could handle this setup. So I didnt invest in an i7 or a little better i5. I know for a fact Bioshock infinite is going to stress them so We will see what happens. I was just worried thats all. Like the guy said above me and from what I have read is.. if your under 90% usage on MSI afterburner with vysnc off you have a bottleneck. And when I saw mine was low it freaked me out.. because Ive already spent alot of money so far.,

Dont worry about it, enjoy the build if its performing fine. In most games you will probably max out the GPUs, but skyrim is more CPU heavy.

Out of interest, why didnt you get the 3570k? Its not much more expensive and with a inexpensive cooler can be clocked at 4Ghz no problem.

+1 i agree as long as your enjoying your build that's all that really matters. 😉

 

[dalekinder]

But just as I posted above why is my benchmarking score lower with sli than it turned off? I dont get that.

 

[RobCrezz]

Run Afterburner and check your GPU usage. If you are running at 99% GPU usage in that particular game, then you have no bottleneck. If you are running at less than 99% GPU usage, particularly if its closer to 50% or less in that particular game, then you have a CPU bottleneck.

Man.. Seriously an i5 IVY bottlenecking this setup? I just dont want to believe it. I did that. I read a thread from another website about afterburner thats where I went to check to see If I had a bottleneck. Skyrim right now is showing 43-46% on gpu usage. IO thought maybe the reason my usage was low is because I am only running 1 monitor at 1080p. I really need to find out what this issue is because I just dropped almost a grand for these new parts and now I may have to upgrade my cpu.

Why is that a problem if you are getting good FPS? You will always have a bottleneck somewhere...

Skyrim is a more CPU heavy game and you have a lot of GPU power for just 1080p.

Try a more GPU intensive game and you might not get CPU bottleneck.

Im downloading Bioshock infinite as we speak as its much newer. I had to reinstall everything from my Steam account. And Yes I am getting 60fps+ on ultra everything maxed out. I was just curious. Everywhere that I did some research was saying that most 3rd Gen Ivy i5's could handle this setup. So I didnt invest in an i7 or a little better i5. I know for a fact Bioshock infinite is going to stress them so We will see what happens. I was just worried thats all. Like the guy said above me and from what I have read is.. if your under 90% usage on MSI afterburner with vysnc off you have a bottleneck. And when I saw mine was low it freaked me out.. because Ive already spent alot of money so far.,

Dont worry about it, enjoy the build if its performing fine. In most games you will probably max out the GPUs, but skyrim is more CPU heavy.

Out of interest, why didnt you get the 3570k? Its not much more expensive and with a inexpensive cooler can be clocked at 4Ghz no problem.

At the time I didnt think I would need to overclock the cpu. So I decided just to get the non k version. Plus Ive never really been good at overlocking so I stayed away from it. I tried back when I had my Athlon Phemon 940 and could never get it stable even with voltage increments and such.

Its pretty easy these days, hence Intel making "K" CPUs.

Although I think your CPU will be fine, if you can return your current CPU and change it for a 3570k + a CM hyper 212 cooler I would do, as you have a awesome GPU setup.

 

[dalekinder]

Run Afterburner and check your GPU usage. If you are running at 99% GPU usage in that particular game, then you have no bottleneck. If you are running at less than 99% GPU usage, particularly if its closer to 50% or less in that particular game, then you have a CPU bottleneck.

Man.. Seriously an i5 IVY bottlenecking this setup? I just dont want to believe it. I did that. I read a thread from another website about afterburner thats where I went to check to see If I had a bottleneck. Skyrim right now is showing 43-46% on gpu usage. IO thought maybe the reason my usage was low is because I am only running 1 monitor at 1080p. I really need to find out what this issue is because I just dropped almost a grand for these new parts and now I may have to upgrade my cpu.

Why is that a problem if you are getting good FPS? You will always have a bottleneck somewhere...

Skyrim is a more CPU heavy game and you have a lot of GPU power for just 1080p.

Try a more GPU intensive game and you might not get CPU bottleneck.

Im downloading Bioshock infinite as we speak as its much newer. I had to reinstall everything from my Steam account. And Yes I am getting 60fps+ on ultra everything maxed out. I was just curious. Everywhere that I did some research was saying that most 3rd Gen Ivy i5's could handle this setup. So I didnt invest in an i7 or a little better i5. I know for a fact Bioshock infinite is going to stress them so We will see what happens. I was just worried thats all. Like the guy said above me and from what I have read is.. if your under 90% usage on MSI afterburner with vysnc off you have a bottleneck. And when I saw mine was low it freaked me out.. because Ive already spent alot of money so far.,

Dont worry about it, enjoy the build if its performing fine. In most games you will probably max out the GPUs, but skyrim is more CPU heavy.

Out of interest, why didnt you get the 3570k? Its not much more expensive and with a inexpensive cooler can be clocked at 4Ghz no problem.

At the time I didnt think I would need to overclock the cpu. So I decided just to get the non k version. Plus Ive never really been good at overlocking so I stayed away from it. I tried back when I had my Athlon Phemon 940 and could never get it stable even with voltage increments and such.

Its pretty easy these days, hence Intel making "K" CPUs.

Although I think your CPU will be fine, if you can return your current CPU and change it for a 3570k + a CM hyper 212 cooler I would do, as you have a awesome GPU setup.

Yea its past the time I could return it. The only thing I can do is sell it on ebay and then put a little more money towards the new one. But hell If Im going to do that, mines well upgrade to an i7 its only 50.00 more.

 

[bigcyco1]

But just as I posted above why is my benchmarking score lower with sli than it turned off? I dont get that.

That's just with that benchmark though right?How about in Unigine Heaven.?

 

[dalekinder]

But just as I posted above why is my benchmarking score lower with sli than it turned off? I dont get that.

That's just with that benchmark though right?How about in Unigine Heaven.?

Ok guys good news. I installed Bioshock infinite. Turned everything to high (highest setting) turned Vysnc off. Both gpus in game are showing anywhere from 89%-94 usage, this is good right? Must have been that the games I was trying out didnt max out the gpu much.

 

[bryonhowley]

Well since you have the power in your GPU's and CPU to keep the frame rate good you should turn Vsync on which will prevent screen tearing. There is really no need to play the games at a faster fps than your monitor can handle and you will get better performance playing at a constant frame rate.

The main problem is that with a GTX 670 it is already fast enough to hand most games at 60fps at 1080p. That would be why your GPU usage is low in some games as at 1080p you really do not need SLI. That does not mean you will not benefit from it because in some games such as Bioshock as you found out some games can push the cards even on a single monitor.

 

[dalekinder]

Well since you have the power in your GPU's and CPU to keep the frame rate good you should turn Vsync on which will prevent screen tearing. There is really no need to play the games at a faster fps than your monitor can handle and you will get better performance playing at a constant frame rate.

The main problem is that with a GTX 670 it is already fast enough to hand most games at 60fps at 1080p. That would be why your GPU usage is low in some games as at 1080p you really do not need SLI. That does not mean you will not benefit from it because in some games such as Bioshock as you found out some games can push the cards even on a single monitor.

Yep +1 I do in the near future plan on adding 2 more monitors but as of Right now I just wanted to build the system first. And then Add the monitors later. thanks for all the help guys.

 

[dalekinder]

Also downloaded 3dmark 11. Ran the bechamark without sli scored a P8507 and then with SLI scored 12875, not to bad. Almost doubled my framerates when I was watching the test with SLI.

 

[dalekinder]

Well since you have the power in your GPU's and CPU to keep the frame rate good you should turn Vsync on which will prevent screen tearing. There is really no need to play the games at a faster fps than your monitor can handle and you will get better performance playing at a constant frame rate.

The main problem is that with a GTX 670 it is already fast enough to hand most games at 60fps at 1080p. That would be why your GPU usage is low in some games as at 1080p you really do not need SLI. That does not mean you will not benefit from it because in some games such as Bioshock as you found out some games can push the cards even on a single monitor.

Bryon, Doesnt Turning vysnc on with SLi enable hurt SLI performance?