i7 3770 Bottleneck SLI 970?

[TheOnlyVv]

I'm having some performance that doesn't seem up to par whatsoever with what I expect to get. Is my non-k i7 3770 bottlenecking SLI GTX 970s?

For example in Battlefield 4 (my cores are unparked and SLI is enabled) I'm constantly under 100 FPS with Ultra settings at 1920x1080.

In Guild Wars 2 I'm getting around 90 FPS in a certain area without SLI enabled and 120-130 FPS in that same area with SLI enabled. So it seems like it's working properly there.

ASRock z77 Extreme4 MOBO

Intel i7 3770 Non-K @ 3.4Ghz (I enabled Non-K Overclock in the MOBO settings and CPU-Z is showing it around 4-4.1MHz core-speed)

3x 4GB Corsair Vengeance 1600

2x EVGA GTX 970 FTW in SLI

850W EVGA Power Supply

 

[Nuckles_56]

I would be very surprised if your CPU was holding you back in games as that is a very powerful CPU. BF4 is a problem so to be honest I wouldn't be too worried about the fps you're getting at the moment as they are still very good

 

[rockie_]

I see no problem ! I don't think i7 3770 can bottleneck GTX 970 SLI

 

[cuecuemore]

There's a good possibility that you're experiencing some CPU bottlenecking.
http://gamegpu.ru/images/remote/http--www.gamegpu.ru-images-stories-Test_GPU-Action-Battlefield_4-test-bf4_proz_2.jpg
That chart shows CPU scaling at the time of release, so it's a bit outdated, but it's still more reliable and comprehensive than anything else I've found. To maintain 100 fps you'd need a pretty healthy OC on a k-version HT CPU of some sort.

I'm not familiar with CPU utilization in GW2, but it seems you have that sorted.

 

[TheOnlyVv]

There's a good possibility that you're experiencing some CPU bottlenecking.
http://gamegpu.ru/images/remote/http--www.gamegpu.ru-images-stories-Test_GPU-Action-Battlefield_4-test-bf4_proz_2.jpg
That chart shows CPU scaling at the time of release, so it's a bit outdated, but it's still more reliable and comprehensive than anything else I've found. To maintain 100 fps you'd need a pretty healthy OC on a k-version HT CPU of some sort.

I'm not familiar with CPU utilization in GW2, but it seems you have that sorted.

Really? The MOBO screen and CPU-Z are both showing my CPU cores running at about 4.2, is that still bottlenecking it? What CPU should I get to avoid bottlenecking the SLI 970s?

 

[rockie_]

Run GPU-Z or MSI Afterburner and check GPU load Your processor is one of the best

 

[cuecuemore]

Are you really running 3 DIMMs? If you pull the odd one out you should immediately see improved performance. BF4 is very RAM bandwidth intensive (note that they're running 2133 for that test. If you are using 3 DIMMs you're running at an effective 800(!); that could be the culprit right there. You should be able to maintain well above 100 fps with that setup if you're locked at 4.2, with just a few dips below here and there. There are faster CPUs out there, but nothing worth upgrading to at the moment, in my opinion.

 

[TheOnlyVv]

Run GPU-Z or MSI Afterburner and check GPU load Your processor is one of the best

It's getting max usage at 60% for one of them and 70% for the other

Are you really running 3 DIMMs? If you pull the odd one out you should immediately see improved performance. BF4 is very RAM bandwidth intensive (note that they're running 2133 for that test. If you are using 3 DIMMs you're running at an effective 800(!); that could be the culprit right there. You should be able to maintain well above 100 fps with that setup if you're locked at 4.2, with just a few dips below here and there. There are faster CPUs out there, but nothing worth upgrading to at the moment, in my opinion.

Really? I was debating if I should get a 4th stick or not. Running 3 of these will give me worse performance than running 2?

 

[rockie_]

And CPU load

 

[TheOnlyVv]

And CPU load

It didn't seem to ever top 70-80% but I'll check again real quick...

http://imgur.com/C1hkM4Y

During times when my FPS is between 80-90 it looks like this

 

[rockie_]

SLI trouble

 

[King Kevain]

Run GPU-Z or MSI Afterburner and check GPU load Your processor is one of the best

It's getting max usage at 60% for one of them and 70% for the other

Are you really running 3 DIMMs? If you pull the odd one out you should immediately see improved performance. BF4 is very RAM bandwidth intensive (note that they're running 2133 for that test. If you are using 3 DIMMs you're running at an effective 800(!); that could be the culprit right there. You should be able to maintain well above 100 fps with that setup if you're locked at 4.2, with just a few dips below here and there. There are faster CPUs out there, but nothing worth upgrading to at the moment, in my opinion.

Really? I was debating if I should get a 4th stick or not. Running 3 of these will give me worse performance than running 2?

Dimms on the Mobo are usually paired, and when you buy RAM in pairs these are partnered in Factory based on compatibility/performance etc. Therefore it makes sense to install RAM in matched pairs. Google "The importance of Matching RAM Sticks" for heaps of articles about this.

At the end of the day, your RAM speed will be dictated by the slowest stick in the Dimms and this will be the 3rd stick that is unpaired most likely. Pull it out and test again, then if you want more RAM, buy a pair to insert rather than another single stick for best performance

 

[TheOnlyVv]

SLI trouble

How so? Both cards seem like they're properly seated. The only thing I could think of as the problem is the bridge. When I take the bridge off one of the inserts on the side kinda comes off at a slant, but when I just push it down and hold it while putting it onto the cards it seems like it's in place properly. Think this could be the problem with my low FPS?

Run GPU-Z or MSI Afterburner and check GPU load Your processor is one of the best

It's getting max usage at 60% for one of them and 70% for the other

Are you really running 3 DIMMs? If you pull the odd one out you should immediately see improved performance. BF4 is very RAM bandwidth intensive (note that they're running 2133 for that test. If you are using 3 DIMMs you're running at an effective 800(!); that could be the culprit right there. You should be able to maintain well above 100 fps with that setup if you're locked at 4.2, with just a few dips below here and there. There are faster CPUs out there, but nothing worth upgrading to at the moment, in my opinion.

Really? I was debating if I should get a 4th stick or not. Running 3 of these will give me worse performance than running 2?

Dimms on the Mobo are usually paired, and when you buy RAM in pairs these are partnered in Factory based on compatibility/performance etc. Therefore it makes sense to install RAM in matched pairs. Google "The importance of Matching RAM Sticks" for heaps of articles about this.

At the end of the day, your RAM speed will be dictated by the slowest stick in the Dimms and this will be the 3rd stick that is unpaired most likely. Pull it out and test again, then if you want more RAM, buy a pair to insert rather than another single stick for best performance

Interesting... I'll definitely be ordering another stick then

 

[cuecuemore]

Yes, 16GB is an even better solution. I really think that will do the trick since it seems that neither your CPU nor your GPU is being pushed to the limit.

 

[rockie_]

You should try another driver or complain to NVidia

 

[Turb0Yoda]

He means scaling and other things that come along with CFX/SLI. The technology has come a long way, but there are still a hell of a lot of issues. 3 DIMMS is not normal, so try doing the above method. Also, see how using one GPU affect performance. Despite a drop, if it is more smooth/ not as choppy, then it's SLI. Your problem seems to be with frame speed rather than the games being choppy, however...