Widescreen Gaming Forum

Got my new cards, yay! Only one problem, they're running in PCIe 2.0 x8/x1. What gives?! My old 460 SLI ran in PCIe 2.0 x8/x8 just fine. Why is the computer acting up? Anyone got ideas?

Edit: Fixed it, apparently EVGA thinks it's a good idea to put the serial number sticker partially on top of the PCIe connectors.

How are the cards working out for you?

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Philips BDM4065UC(3840x2160) Acer Z35(2560x1080@200hz); 980 Ti Hybrid @stock ; 6700K 4.6ghz (1.35v)/D15; 16GB 3200mhz; Asus Maximus Ranger VIII; AX860; 1TB 960 EVO; 750GB 840 EVO; Teufel Concept D 500; Sennheiser HD6XX; Windows 10 (latest build)

They're working great! Running games on Ultra settings in 5760x1080, that's something else from what I'm used to with my 460s which had problems running 5760x1080 on low settings. Not sure I really needed those 4GB VRAM though, as when the memory usage is above 2GB my FPS is starting to drop below 60. I've seen it as high as 2,4GB though, so it's nice to have that extra VRAM just to be safe. But I'll probably never get close to the 4GB limit because I am so picky with FPS. Or maybe I will, just not in shooters, I am not that picky about FPS in RPG games and such because I don't need that fast and precise twitch aim.

I noticed that even though I can run some games with 60+ FPS, certain settings still gives me input lag, so I still don't like to play at max settings. Not sure if it's the game coding or something in my computer, but in BF3 for example I could not use Ambient Occlusion and still have a fluent experience even though I had 70 FPS it did not feel smooth. In Blacklight Retribution I could not use Depth of Field, again, had way above 60 FPS.

Have not really tested a lot of games, ran a few Heaven Benchmarks until I got the PCIe speed problem resolved, then I jumped right over to BF3 gaming, moving on to BLR (which BTW has horrible SLI scaling, think it's even negate scaling), and then BRINK which was awesome, miss that game so bad, wish it didn't die. Today I'm thinking about trying some Metro 2033, Skyrim and Max Payne 3. Heard the latter one was a VRAM sink.

Some game engines are build to use as much vram (to a surten limit) as is availible. So if you see the usage go over 2gb it doesn't mean that you would have performance issues if you would have gone for 2gb cards. As for BF3 are you using v-sync, since in my experience it helps smoothness a lot in that game? Still wandering if you are running into micro stuttering. Let us know if you do.

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Philips BDM4065UC(3840x2160) Acer Z35(2560x1080@200hz); 980 Ti Hybrid @stock ; 6700K 4.6ghz (1.35v)/D15; 16GB 3200mhz; Asus Maximus Ranger VIII; AX860; 1TB 960 EVO; 750GB 840 EVO; Teufel Concept D 500; Sennheiser HD6XX; Windows 10 (latest build)

No I don't use VSync, ever. It's one of those settings I avoid like the plaque, it adds input lag which is the problem I am having if I turn on Ambient Occlusion in BF3, turning VSync on as well would just make it even worse. When I say it doesn't feel smooth, I am not talking about the image, I am talking about the lag between moving my mouse until I see my character turn in game, we're talking milliseconds here, but for a twitch gamer those milliseconds are crucial, and when there is a delay there, it feels sluggish.

Here's a video explaining it. He's talking about PS3, but the same applies for PC, obviously his demonstration is a lot more severe than what I am experience, most people would probably not even notice it, but I am extremely sensitive to anything input related :).

After some more testing today I have come to the conclusion that I am running into a bandwidth wall. At least that's my only explanation. I have noticed that even though I can run games at 60+ FPS in 5760x1080, most of them add a little input lag at that resolution. I tried to reduce Pre-Rendered Frames down to 1 in the driver, but it didn't really help. In Crysis 2 it did not matter if I was running on low or high settings, same amount of input lag. But if I tried 1920x1080 or 3840x720 at ultra the lag disappeared. Playing the story solo, this would not be a problem because the lag is not that bad, but multiplayer online my performance would likely suffer enough to make me annoyed and turn it down. I am unsure if this is related to nVidias Surround driver or my bandwidth, but I'm gonna go with my bandwidth being only PCIe 2.0 8/8.

As for microstuttering, I have not had issues with this in anything but Aliens vs Predator 2010 yet. But in that game I noticed microstuttering, however the upside to this was that there was no noticeable input lag added going from 1920x1080 to 5760x1080, so that's good. Turning off the DX11 Advanced Shadows seemed to mostly remove the microstuttering, and I can't say I noticed the visual difference. Also the microstuttering rarely happened. BRINK did also not add any input lag at max resolution, but that is not a very demanding game either.

Not entirely sure what to do, I'm thinking about upgrading to Ivy Bridge for double the bandwidth with PCIe 3.0, but I'm not sure that'll really help. Might just have to get used to it (It's really not that bad), or simply stick to 1080p in shooters I play online and using 2D Surround for every other game. The biggest reason for my upgrade was GW2, and I am so most definitely using 2D Surround there. As for shooters, maybe I'll buy myself one of those fancy 120Hz monitors and put it in the middle, if 2D Surround allows that, you guys know?

Maybe this post can shed some light on your issue. Can you try to disable SLI and play bf3 on 5760x1080 at low (so you have 60+ fps) and see if you experience the same lag?

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Philips BDM4065UC(3840x2160) Acer Z35(2560x1080@200hz); 980 Ti Hybrid @stock ; 6700K 4.6ghz (1.35v)/D15; 16GB 3200mhz; Asus Maximus Ranger VIII; AX860; 1TB 960 EVO; 750GB 840 EVO; Teufel Concept D 500; Sennheiser HD6XX; Windows 10 (latest build)

Sadly the only way to play at that resolution with one card is to remove the other one, or play in windowed mode (Which would be to demanding for 60 FPS, I think). I tried connecting all the monitors to one card, but it would not let me play in 2D Surround unless I plugged one monitor in the other card. And I don't really want to take out the other card to test this.

The problem seems to not affect all games, tried Serious Sam 3 and Dead Island today, and had no issues with input lag in those games at max resolution.

I thought I'd try that SLI lag issue at 1080p by capping FPS at 60 and trying it with and without SLI (Should theoretically produce the same result as with 5760x1080), but I'm not sure how to do that in BF3 or Crysis 2 without using VSync. I tried to set power target at 60 FPS through EVGA Precision X, but I was still at 150 FPS. Tried it in Tribes Ascend (Because the game has an option to cap FPS without VSync), but it caps FPS to 92 instead of 60, at which point it felt smooth with and without SLI. I might try .ini tweaking it tomorrow so it caps at 60, but it seems this issue is related to some game engines, so I don't think I'll notice a difference, but I'll try it.