SLI? or SLOW?

[britrb]

Hi there, I'm brand new to SLI so please bear with me.

This is my rig.



System Specs:

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 6000+ X2. (Water cooled, overclocked from 3012Mhz to 3300Mhz).
GPU: Nvidia 8800GTS 320Mb X2 in SLI. (Both overclocked to 648Mhz).
RAM: 4096Mb 800Mhz OCZ (Overclocked to 825Mhz).
MB: Asus Crosshair 590 SLI.
HDD: Western Digital Raptor (System) Seagate Barracuda (Games).
PSU: Hyper Type R 580W.
Monitors: 22” LCD Samsung Syncmaster 2ms response time + 17” CRT as monitor 2.
OS: Microsoft Windows Vista SP1.

I have enabled SLI in Windows, and in COD4 (I have also tried Crysis), and I am still getting low FPS in both games. I have the latest patches for both games, although the 1.2.1 patch for Crysis caused the game to stop working. There is no change between SLI and no SLI.

Is there something I have to activate in BIOS?
Or have I missed something else?

Thanks for your time and effort everyone,
Brian

[cswalker]

Bri,
Are you disabling the second monitor when enabling SLI?
What is the heat like inside your machine?
Are these the only 2 instances in which you experience problems?

[Atomic Rooster]

Do you have the SLI bridge installed between to two video cards?

As cswalker mentioned, you cannot use the second monitor while in SLI. It should be off. If it is on, that should indicate that you are not in SLI mode.

[DeathWish187]

Originally Posted by cswalker

Bri,
Are you disabling the second monitor when enabling SLI?
What is the heat like inside your machine?
Are these the only 2 instances in which you experience problems?

Originally Posted by Atomic Rooster

Do you have the SLI bridge installed between to two video cards?

As cswalker mentioned, you cannot use the second monitor while in SLI. It should be off. If it is on, that should indicate that you are not in SLI mode.

Iunno if they've changed much since last time I updated my gfx drivers, but my default in control panel was set to perform as if it was just 1 card running for all games...

[jamhough22]

what fps are you getting and at what graphics settings....?

i have a 8800GTS 512mb and at verry high settings (in cod4) i get arround 100-150FPS (no AA) and at 1280x1024 resoultion.....oh and btw i have mine in single display performance.....(my primary display, DVI, has more priority than my VGA display, it helps my fps)

[ShyguyXPC]

Originally Posted by jamhough22

what fps are you getting and at what graphics settings....?

i have a 8800GTS 512mb and at verry high settings (in cod4) i get arround 100-150FPS (no AA) and at 1280x1024 resoultion.....oh and btw i have mine in single display performance.....(my primary display, DVI, has more priority than my VGA display, it helps my fps)

The way i read his post is that he's getting the same basic fps in both games whether he's running SLI or Not...

in your case, your not running SLI, its just one card, he is. he should of seen some improvement in framerate running in SLI with 2 320MB GTS's... should be in same range as a single 8800GT 512MB or 8800GTS (G92 core, with 512MB).

also keep in mind, his CPU & RAM blows yours out of the water easily, so guessing when he says low frame rates, I'm willing to bet they are LOW frame rates...

but as the others mentioned, yes, dual display shouldn't be working with SLI enabled...

also as AR mentioned check to ensure you attached the SLI bridge to the cards. (while your checking that, also ensure the power is going to both cards, check to make sure power plugs are secure & connected properly)

[britrb]

Ok I have checked, and also swapped the cards around (card 1 is now in slot 2...), Checked my power cables, and SLI bridge, all is secure.

Iam getting the same low frame rates both in and out of SLI, but during SLI my second monitor is disabled.

Is there any particular way for the SLI bridge to go? (I'm guessing not as it just connects the terminals in a straight connection).

My running temps are very cool even with the OC as I have a good mix of fans and water cooling, and a well ventilated case.

GPU's stay around 55-65 C
CPU around 45-50 C

FPS in COD4 around 40 in 1680-1050 med settings

[britrb]

Could anyone please tel me how to flash the BIOS of one of my graphics cards with the BIOS of my other card?

Is this possible? They are basically the same card, and they are capable of the same clock speeds.

Thanks all,
Brian