35 replies to this topic

[Veklash]

Can anybody confirm that guild wars 2 runs with SLI or not ?  might have done a stupid thing and ordered another card and then found a forum post that was stating there is no FPS increase at all with the very latest drivers :S , is that true ?

[iSmack]

It does utilize both GPUs but not effectively. You won't notice a difference between with/without SLI. And the only thing the new driver added was it enabled Ambiant Occlusion for GW2. Nothing was done performance wise.

[luckyjj10]

This is incorrect, manually set the right type of alternate frame rendering.  I get nearly 100% sli usage in guild wars 2... turning on almost doubles my FPS average from 40-50 to 80-100+.  Just make sure you have the cpu to back it up!!!  Because for most people THAT is the bottleneck in GW2.  I run a 2600k at 4.8ghz...

Just fyi you can force different sli modes on anything 3d regardless if the game "supports" it.

[iSmack]

luckyjj10, on 30 August 2012 - 08:08 PM, said:

This is incorrect, manually set the right type of alternate frame rendering.  I get nearly 100% sli usage in guild wars 2... turning on almost doubles my FPS average from 40-50 to 80-100+.  Just make sure you have the cpu to back it up!!!  Because for most people THAT is the bottleneck in GW2.  I run a 2600k at 4.8ghz...

Just fyi you can force different sli modes on anything 3d regardless if the game "supports" it.

Odd, I did try the Alternate Methods to see if they'll improve GW2 performance, which they didn't.
I don't recall specifically, but I don't think my GPUs are being utilized more than 50%.
I also have an i5 2500k @ 4.5 Ghz.

Maybe the hamsters in your PC are magical. Mine are lumpy and lazy.

Edited by iSmack, 30 August 2012 - 08:25 PM.

[Veklash]

i have a 3770k @4.6ghz   would not have considered it otherwise

[luckyjj10]

Just tested for sure, loading into some charr area with SLI on max settings (I have 2 overclocked 460gtx hawks) U get 96%~ usage on both cards getting ~98fps.


Just tested after turning off sli completely... 49 FPS. There you go... SLI is freaking awesome!

[Veklash]

thank you for the reply . hopefully nvidia will have a new driver soon with official support for the game . When my new card arives i will post here the diferece so ppl know how SLI stands

[Lord Sojar]

iSmack, on 30 August 2012 - 08:05 PM, said:

It does utilize both GPUs but not effectively. You won't notice a difference between with/without SLI. And the only thing the new driver added was it enabled Ambiant Occlusion for GW2. Nothing was done performance wise.

Actually, the 306 beta driver has tons of fixes for GW2.  It's just that ANET has broken the graphics engine even more since BWE3, so in this instance, blame ANET.  nVidia has sent a team of developers to assist ANET as far as I'm aware.  Hopefully this is resolved soon....  @_@

[Notserious]

I do notice differance with SLI but my FPS is still all over. Going from 120 to 30 and back again. Also noticed my Gpus getting really hot and started downclocking so i ramped up the fans and it became more stable. Makes you kinda wonder wth there doing :S

[Gallus]

SLI is not working at all yet.  You can log into the game with SLI on, but you net zero performance from the second card, regardless of what frame rendering method you choose (This option only effects compatibility and performance for games that have it working, it's not some sort of on/off switch.  Like, if you're getting weird artifacts, or crashing a lot, a good thing to do is try different frame rendering methods.)

In any case, I personally tested it with my triple rad loop water cooled 5.0ghz 3570k, and 2x 670 GTXs, vsync off, of course.  In a controlled but heavy NPC populated area environment I would get ~57 - 65fps, this was repeated with single card 3 times, each time FPS hovered between 57 to 65.  Turned on second card, 57 to 65 FPS, over 3 tests in same controlled environment.

2nd test I went to a secluded area in Calidon Forest, which was netting me 90 to 100 FPS with single card.  Logged out and repeated same movement path 3 times.  FPS didn't dip below 90, capping out at about 100.  Turned on SLI, performed same tests 3 times, same result, no FPS gain at all.

Then I came to these forums and saw the post, and even though I thought it was strange, I gave it a shot.  There was zero difference using different frame rendering methods.

Aside from all this, Anet has already stated specifically that Xfire and SLI support has not been their priority going into launch, they wanted the game to be polished up for low-midgrade systems first, the bulk of the user base (smart).  They said that SLI capability is in the works, but it's not in yet.

Don't know why you'd think they'd say "SLI isn't in, we're working on it now" instead of "Turn on Alternate Frame Rendering 1 and Profit!"

The game runs great even on a single card, but I got a really nice system.  I'm going to guess that WvW is terrible for some people who went for budget GPUs like 560ti's and SLI'ed them, since it's only netting single card performance for them.

But overall, the game runs very smooth, and the fact that SLI support isn't even in yet, is a testament to the quality product Anet has made.  Smoothest fort raids / mass pvp I've ever been a part of, in any game.  Can't wait to see it with SLI on.

Edited by Gallus, 31 August 2012 - 02:03 PM.

[Notserious]

Gallus, on 31 August 2012 - 02:01 PM, said:

SLI is not working at all yet.  You can log into the game with SLI on, but you net zero performance from the second card, regardless of what frame rendering method you choose (This option only effects compatibility and performance for games that have it working, it's not some sort of on/off switch.  Like, if you're getting weird artifacts, or crashing a lot, a good thing to do is try different frame rendering methods.)

In any case, I personally tested it with my triple rad loop water cooled 5.0ghz 3570k, and 2x 670 GTXs, vsync off, of course.  In a controlled but heavy NPC populated area environment I would get ~57 - 65fps, this was repeated with single card 3 times, each time FPS hovered between 57 to 65.  Turned on second card, 57 to 65 FPS, over 3 tests in same controlled environment.

2nd test I went to a secluded area in Calidon Forest, which was netting me 90 to 100 FPS with single card.  Logged out and repeated same movement path 3 times.  FPS didn't dip below 90, capping out at about 100.  Turned on SLI, performed same tests 3 times, same result, no FPS gain at all.

Then I came to these forums and saw the post, and even though I thought it was strange, I gave it a shot.  There was zero difference using different frame rendering methods.

Aside from all this, Anet has already stated specifically that Xfire and SLI support has not been their priority going into launch, they wanted the game to be polished up for low-midgrade systems first, the bulk of the user base (smart).  They said that SLI capability is in the works, but it's not in yet.

Don't know why you'd think they'd say "SLI isn't in, we're working on it now" instead of "Turn on Alternate Frame Rendering 1 and Profit!"

The game runs great even on a single card, but I got a really nice system.  I'm going to guess that WvW is terrible for some people who went for budget GPUs like 560ti's and SLI'ed them, since it's only netting single card performance for them.

But overall, the game runs very smooth, and the fact that SLI support isn't even in yet, is a testament to the quality product Anet has made.  Smoothest fort raids / mass pvp I've ever been a part of, in any game.  Can't wait to see it with SLI on.

Oh i gotta try this out myself. I noticed now when i was fiddeling with nvidia inspector that i got a big bump in quality and preformance when i ran with Supersamplingx4 instead of the crappy FXAA ingame.. anyways i only use x2 sli but ill give it a go to and report my findings..

[Notserious]

Hmmm gpu usage dropped from 89 to 74 with Sli. gained a couple of frames to but thats about it.. Well thats deppressing...

[Gallus]

Supersampling is a sort of Upscaling of the resolution, game renders as if it was pushing more pixels, and in turn improves quality at cost of performance.

FXAA, MSAA, QSAA... AA in general is a mothod that tries to reduce jagged edges.  They are 2 different quality features.  So, basically, FXAA + Supersampling can stack and provide an even better image quality.

However, trying to push supersampling and AA at the same time will really hurt your FPS, for sure.  Running FXAA + supersampling (on one 670 GTX *Because SLI doesn't work yet*) kills my FPS especially in big WvW battles or huge dynamic events.

Personally I found FXAA + normal sampling to provide a much better balance of performance and visual quality.  When SLI support gets in I'll probably run both though lol.

[Notserious]

Gallus, on 31 August 2012 - 02:56 PM, said:

Supersampling is a sort of Upscaling of the resolution, game renders as if it was pushing more pixels, and in turn improves quality at cost of performance.

FXAA, MSAA, QSAA... AA in general is a mothod that tries to reduce jagged edges.  They are 2 different quality features.  So, basically, FXAA + Supersampling can stack and provide an even better image quality.

However, trying to push supersampling and AA at the same time will really hurt your FPS, for sure.  Running FXAA + supersampling (on one 670 GTX *Because SLI doesn't work yet*) kills my FPS especially in big WvW battles or huge dynamic events.

Personally I found FXAA + normal sampling to provide a much better balance of performance and visual quality.  When SLI support gets in I'll probably run both though lol.

im running Supersampling in game and in nvidia setting without much impact. Still getting 70+ fps with v-sync on most of the time. Tryed out SGSSAA but got blurry then.. And yes i know what the diffrent types of AA does . I just dont like Fxaa :S

[Gallus]

Supersampling can be run on a decent system fine, until you get into a scenario with a lot of people, mobs and effects going on around you, like huge dynamic events.  For example, with SS + FXAA I can average 60+fps in most game play, however, in the swamp during the big wurm event where there were 50 people all converging on this mega boss, my FPS dropped to 20's and 30's, and there isn't anyone out there that's beating me in CPU power, and my GPU is near top of the line (OCed 670 so it's right in line with 680).  So I have the highest possible set up for GW2.  Turning SS off during the event netted me +25-30 FPS instantly lol.

SS is great, but it's a GPU hog.  Once SLI is in place, it shouldn't be hard to run.  But right now it kills large-scale events.  (Well for me, I can't stand the way ~30 - 25fps feels, just too sluggish, I prefer to keep my FPS 60+)

Edited by Gallus, 31 August 2012 - 03:45 PM.

[Gallus]

If anyone had any info on future SLI support, or any word on ETA, would be nice to know!

[Veklash]

just got my second GTX 680 .... duno about you Gallus but i have a hevfty increase true i have only tested it alone while questing

I have used alternate rendering 2 ( 1 gives me way lower frames )  

maybe WvW is CPU bound , true , but  it DOES increase FPS for me simply looking at a view that is loaded with eye candy with a single card at max settings gave 50 FPS , log out turn on SLI and 90 fps ( exact same spot without moving ) tried it multiple times


LE : apparently some areas give boosts some don't .. this is really strange :S

Edited by Veklash, 01 September 2012 - 08:34 AM.

[Prosiris]

Gallus, on 31 August 2012 - 02:01 PM, said:

SLI is not working at all yet.  You can log into the game with SLI on, but you net zero performance from the second card, regardless of what frame rendering method you choose (This option only effects compatibility and performance for games that have it working, it's not some sort of on/off switch.  Like, if you're getting weird artifacts, or crashing a lot, a good thing to do is try different frame rendering methods.)

In any case, I personally tested it with my triple rad loop water cooled 5.0ghz 3570k, and 2x 670 GTXs, vsync off, of course.  In a controlled but heavy NPC populated area environment I would get ~57 - 65fps, this was repeated with single card 3 times, each time FPS hovered between 57 to 65.  Turned on second card, 57 to 65 FPS, over 3 tests in same controlled environment.

2nd test I went to a secluded area in Calidon Forest, which was netting me 90 to 100 FPS with single card.  Logged out and repeated same movement path 3 times.  FPS didn't dip below 90, capping out at about 100.  Turned on SLI, performed same tests 3 times, same result, no FPS gain at all.

Then I came to these forums and saw the post, and even though I thought it was strange, I gave it a shot.  There was zero difference using different frame rendering methods.

Aside from all this, Anet has already stated specifically that Xfire and SLI support has not been their priority going into launch, they wanted the game to be polished up for low-midgrade systems first, the bulk of the user base (smart).  They said that SLI capability is in the works, but it's not in yet.

Don't know why you'd think they'd say "SLI isn't in, we're working on it now" instead of "Turn on Alternate Frame Rendering 1 and Profit!"

The game runs great even on a single card, but I got a really nice system.  I'm going to guess that WvW is terrible for some people who went for budget GPUs like 560ti's and SLI'ed them, since it's only netting single card performance for them.

But overall, the game runs very smooth, and the fact that SLI support isn't even in yet, is a testament to the quality product Anet has made.  Smoothest fort raids / mass pvp I've ever been a part of, in any game.  Can't wait to see it with SLI on.

Uh? The game supports SLI just fine. You get a bottleneck in town because of all the players it has to load. I think it might be a network bottleneck because MMOs rely heavily on information from the server. Could possibly be a CPU bottleneck. This is the case in like every MMO though. When you're in town you have a bottleneck, seems like regardless of machine, because of loading other players. This is why some games, like SWTOR, have a setting to lower the number of players rendered. SLI works just fine. When I'm out away from other players I see a clear increase in fps in the same spot. To test this, change some really GPU demanding settings, and you'll see the fps stays the same but the gpu usage will increase or decrease accordingly, showing you have a bottleneck and SLI is fine.

And you can turn on Force Alternate Frame Rendering in any game. That's the whole point of FORCING AFR. If a game doesn't have support you can even play around with existing profiles. A lot of games share SLI profiles.

[Mokiki]

I actually see a fps decrese with using "force alternate rendering" without I get around 30-80 with the setting on I get 20-40. And using Single mode gives me around 40-90fps. Using a GTX690 though

*edit* some more tests I was using the 306.2 Driver and now with the 301.42
Default nvidia settings: 34-89
Force Alternate Rendering 1: 24-44
Force Alternate Rendering 2: 30-86
Single: 34-91

Edited by Mokiki, 04 September 2012 - 07:35 PM.

[CBuZz]

Sli confirmed working 100% on 2 x GTX660Ti's @ 2560x1600 with EVERY option truly "MAXED". Not "MAXED" with half of the features turned down, truly maxed with everything set to maximum. Good gpu usage utilization & scaling. 60fps (Vsync capped) solid just questing around, yet to try WvW.

With a single card the fps are almost half.

Edited by CBuZz, 05 September 2012 - 08:40 AM.

[luckyjj10]

The person with two 670's seeing no benefit... are you even looking at your GPU usage?  I'm 99% sure you're being bottlenecked by your CPU.  I'm willing to bet if you watched afterburner, you would see your usage from gpu 1 cut in half and split between the two graphics cards, and your cpu usage being the same... with GW2's threads being maxed.  You have to realize just how good a 670 is.  Especially for such a CPU heavy game.

I have a 2600k at the same speed, and my sli 460 hawks (about equal to a SINGLE 670) are a good match for it.  Maxing out my sli usage barely aka my cpu being pushed to its limit.  Any more graphical power for me on THIS GAME would be wasted,

Anyways SLI works on anything 3d being used through the graphics cards.  That is the whole friggin point.  Why would people lie about sli working for them?  Do you think if I compile a 3d project of mine that I have to code in special cases for SLI, or ask nvidia to pweeze help me?  No, I can select the executable I created and force whatever sli method I want on it as long as it is using proper graphics APIs.
The nvidia sli profiles optimize support and work out issues.  For example I sometimes get flickering portaits in gw2 due to sli being forced on.  But it is still splitting the rendering of the frames.

Actually 670 guy Gallus.  What resolution are you running on?  If you're running 1600p/across multiple screens and throw on supersampling in game.  I bet then you'll see your difference sli or not.

Edited by luckyjj10, 05 September 2012 - 04:26 PM.

[meatwagon9999]

I have 2x gtx580 wc and I cannot get the game to run stable while sli is on. The game would flicker black for 2 seconds, then come back, only to have the same thing happen again in 5 minutes. I just went in and disabled sli performance for the game in the profile. With SLI disabled, the game is stable and running around 80-13something depending on where I am.

I did notice that, at times, the game will use 99% gpu, in some areas, when I watch afterburner.

Meatwagon

[CBuZz]

luckyjj10, on 05 September 2012 - 04:21 PM, said:

The person with two 670's seeing no benefit... are you even looking at your GPU usage?  I'm 99% sure you're being bottlenecked by your CPU.  I'm willing to bet if you watched afterburner, you would see your usage from gpu 1 cut in half and split between the two graphics cards, and your cpu usage being the same... with GW2's threads being maxed.  You have to realize just how good a 670 is.  Especially for such a CPU heavy game.

I have a 2600k at the same speed, and my sli 460 hawks (about equal to a SINGLE 670) are a good match for it.  Maxing out my sli usage barely aka my cpu being pushed to its limit.  Any more graphical power for me on THIS GAME would be wasted,

Anyways SLI works on anything 3d being used through the graphics cards.  That is the whole friggin point.  Why would people lie about sli working for them?  Do you think if I compile a 3d project of mine that I have to code in special cases for SLI, or ask nvidia to pweeze help me?  No, I can select the executable I created and force whatever sli method I want on it as long as it is using proper graphics APIs.
The nvidia sli profiles optimize support and work out issues.  For example I sometimes get flickering portaits in gw2 due to sli being forced on.  But it is still splitting the rendering of the frames.

Actually 670 guy Gallus.  What resolution are you running on?  If you're running 1600p/across multiple screens and throw on supersampling in game.  I bet then you'll see your difference sli or not.

Sli is working 100%, no question.. Also, the game has to support Sli for it to work. Just like Xfire (which currently doesn't work). Another MMO I can think of did not support Sli for a long time. Here's a vid.

[Mokiki]

Checking my GPU Load on both gpus I get around 66%. But still ingame I gain not one single fps or at least a more stable frame rate
System:

I7 950 @ 3.06  (OCd to 4GHz Load temp 55-60) (Workload @40-50% during gaming)
EVGA GTX690 (Driver 306.2)
8GB Corsair RAM @1333
PSU @ 800
WIN 7 Ultimate

[luckyjj10]

Mokiki, on 06 September 2012 - 05:43 AM, said:

Checking my GPU Load on both gpus I get around 66%. But still ingame I gain not one single fps or at least a more stable frame rate
System:

I7 950 @ 3.06  (OCd to 4GHz Load temp 55-60) (Workload @40-50% during gaming)
EVGA GTX690 (Driver 306.2)
8GB Corsair RAM @1333
PSU @ 800
WIN 7 Ultimate

You are being bottlenecked by your cpu.  A sandy or ivy bridge @5ghz is pretty much a perfect match for a single GTX680 (at least around 1080p) right now in this game.  If you want to push more through more graphics card than that, then you'll pretty much have to wait for next gen cpu's (maybe haswell )

Edited by luckyjj10, 06 September 2012 - 05:42 PM.

[Mokiki]

luckyjj10, on 06 September 2012 - 04:39 PM, said:

You are being bottlenecked by your cpu.  A sandy or ivy bridge @5ghz is pretty much a perfect match for a single GTX680 (at least around 1080p) right now in this game.  If you want to push more through more graphics card than that, then you'll pretty much have to wait for next gen cpu's (maybe haswell )

I know my cpu isn't the newest in town but I was under the impression that OC would be enough to play well with the GTX690. In terms of cpu upgrade somehow it doesn't feel right to upgrade now with Ivy being minimal better than Sandy Bridge and Haswell on the horizon of early next year.

[luckyjj10]

Mokiki, on 06 September 2012 - 06:32 PM, said:

I know my cpu isn't the newest in town but I was under the impression that OC would be enough to play well with the GTX690. In terms of cpu upgrade somehow it doesn't feel right to upgrade now with Ivy being minimal better than Sandy Bridge and Haswell on the horizon of early next year.

I'm not saying it makes sense to upgrade, I'm saying that guild wars 2 is much more cpu dependant than say battlefield 3, and unless you're playing on huge res/multi monitors you won't fully use a 690

[MysticvsdawN]

Hey=] Strangely enough, in the graphics options under resolutions.

setting it to windowed full screen fixed all my sli problems. hope this helps xD

[Notserious]

Sli works but its far from optimised.. Seems the entire game is bottlenecked by something -.- Upgraded my cpu and mb a couple of weeks ago and did not gain much in terms of preformance. in fact my gfx cards work less now... my new shiney cpu dident help em at all. I cant think of anything on my end bottlenecking this game so i guess it must be coding or piss poor drivers..


System:

Coolermaster 1000w Psu
Asus rampage IV extreme 2011
32 gb 1600 corsair vengance ram
intel core i7 3930k @ 4250 mhz
2x 680 gtx @ 1153/6400 @ pci-e 3.0 x16/x16

My fps isent "bad" (get like 60-120 fps) but still no were close to where it should be with this game. I play better looking games at higher settings and with better Fps!

Quite  a big pic but running x2 screens to show hardware and usage: http://www.imageuplo...j24ilbr7mxh.jpg

[error_f0rce]

luckyjj10, on 30 August 2012 - 11:45 PM, said:

Just tested for sure, loading into some charr area with SLI on max settings (I have 2 overclocked 460gtx hawks) U get 96%~ usage on both cards getting ~98fps.


Just tested after turning off sli completely... 49 FPS. There you go... SLI is freaking awesome!

Sorry to bump an old post, but I have a similar setup and can't get SLI to work for me. Using the newer drivers (306.97) I get intense flickering, although I can tell SLI is working (almost 100% FPS increase, but unplayable). If I jump back to old drivers (275.33) the fickering goes away, but FPS is the same as 1 card. I've tried the latest betas, but they crash GW2 completely.

What NVIDIA drivers are people using for their 460 SLI setup?

-------------------
i7-930@4.01GHz
6GB Mushkin Redline Enhanced@1910MHz CAS 8
MSI 460GTX TwinFrozr II SOC 768MB / EVGA 460GTX 768MB (SLI)
Gigabyte X58A-UD3R