My New Twin Lovely Ladies

By DirtyLarry
in Hardware Hangout

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Grand Master

DirtyLarry Veteran

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So what motherboard do you have there?

Are they both running in full PCI-X X16?

Truly and sincerely, thanks so much for asking this!! When I saw treemonsters response about it only being 16x/8x, I thought that did not sound right, as I remembered one of the main reasons I purchased this mobo was because of 16x/16x support. So I got out my manual, and SURE ENOUGH I had the cards installed in the wrong slots!!!

word of warning wthe fpb, some people have been having issues with it, such as bsods, etc. not sure what the factors are, but for you withte sc cards it will only unlock fanspeed to 100%(from 80%)

and evga is definitely full of surprises.

if he has the 758(liek mine) one is 16x, one is 8x, which with these cards should not affect performance at all.

So here it is for you, I scanned the page of the manual. I had the cards in Slots 1 & 5, and sure enough that meant I was only getting 16x/8x

PCI-E_SLOTS.jpg

I just moved the second card into Slot 3, and although it was a tad tight, it fit no problem at all!!

Was a bit of weirdness when I restarted the system, but all I had to do was restart a second time, and it is all back to normal.

So yeah treemonster, you may want to look into that, and see if you can install your cards into Slots 1 & 3.

Thanks again wombatt, I truly may have never realized this if you did not ask. (Y)

Nice one DL. I don't care much for Nvidia, but you did alright for yourself. Enjoy (Y)

Thanks. :yes:

Actually EDIT - I do see what they say about for improved airflow use slots 1 & 5, so should I move them back???

So I just checked the temps, and the top card is running 4 degrees hotter then the bottom, so I may live with them for now in Slots 1&3, as I would think it is better to have 16x/16x if one can have it, no?

Grand Master

Jeston Veteran

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Actually EDIT - I do see what they say about for improved airflow use slots 1 & 5, so should I move them back???

Just keep an eye on your temps while gaming for a little while. I have my cards in slots 1 and 3 and the top card gets very little air to it since the other card is right up against it. So far it's been alright with just having the fan on the top card set a bit higher than the other. If you do have to use slots 1 and 5, don't worry, you won't really see a decrease in performance (maybe a couple fps). Just try it out for a little bit.

Grand Master

DirtyLarry Veteran

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So I googled it, I am moving it back to Slot 5 :laugh: The difference is like 1.1 FPS, would rather have better air flow for sure. Be back in a few. :rofl:

Grand Master

treemonster

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yep i have my cards in slot 1/3 for best air flow. it's a bit trickey for newbies coming to this mobo especially from the nforce days of x16/x16/x16. in the end it really make very little (no) practical

difference.wait... i see what you were tring to say, by that diagram i have my cards in slots 1 and 5. it's been a while since i talked about this particular issue. :p for my purpose 16x8x is fine.

you can also think of it as pcie slots 1/2/3 where it equals 1/3/5 in teh diagram in the manual. basically for pcie slot 1/2 your video cards should be flush. assuming you have the 3x sli (758) board.

i've said this else where, but the difference between 8x and 16x with a 480 is 2% or like 1fps at most(according to real world testing from evga forum posters)

any configuration should be fine for your 460s.

Grand Master

DirtyLarry Veteran

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yep i have my cards in slot 1/3 for best air flow. it's a bit trickey for newbies coming to this mobo especially from the nforce days of x16/x16/x16. in the end it really make very little (no) practical

difference.wait... i see what you were tring to say, by that diagram i have my cards in slots 1 and 5. it's been a while since i talked about this particular issue. :p for my purpose 16x8x is fine.

you can also think of it as pcie slots 1/2/3 where it equals 1/3/5 in teh diagram in the manual. basically for pcie slot 1/2 your video cards should be flush. assuming you have the 3x sli (758) board.

i've said this else where, but the difference between 8x and 16x with a 480 is 2% or like 1fps at most(according to real world testing from evga forum posters)

any configuration should be fine for your 460s.

Yep, I should have just listened to you to begin with. :laugh:

Sure enough when I moved it back to Slot 5, I had the damn RAM issue only reading 4GB. I tried resetting it, only 4 GB, finally I reset it again, and it is back up to 6. I am OFFICIALLY DONE moving around components. :laugh:

Because I am an idiot, I have yet to download any of the benchmark stuff, I did install the Performance Boost thing from EVGA and then the SLi update from them as well, but probably will not even get a chance until tomorrow to play around with anything as it is now the nighttime and the wife wants to watch a movie, etc.

Thanks again for all your help, especially since I am totally new to the SLi world, it is truly much appreciated. (Y)

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Wombatt

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Truly and sincerely, thanks so much for asking this!!

-

Thanks again wombatt, I truly may have never realized this if you did not ask. (Y)

Ahh, no problem. That's why you came here right? :)

I was just interested because my motherboard unfortunately only has 1 full X16 Slot, The other is locked into X2 Mode...

So I can't do a SLI or Crossfire setup! :(

Grand Master

DirtyLarry Veteran

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Ahh, no problem. That's why you came here right? :)

I was just interested because my motherboard unfortunately only has 1 full X16 Slot, The other is locked into X2 Mode...

So I can't do a SLI or Crossfire setup! :(

Indeed, it is why I come here! And funny you mention that (why I came here) as this thread got me thinking, my 7 years as a member is this month on the 30th, and the reason I joined is I had built my first custom PC for gaming and I had a ton of questions. So just kind of interesting how things have gone full circle so to speak, and I am back in the Hardware Hangout, where it all began for me. :yes: It reminds me of the good old days. Sorry to hear about you not being about to SLi or Crossfire. I still have not had any time yet to see how good these suckers are.

Awesome purchase, DL. Those two video cards are cheaper (and faster) than a single GeForce GTX 480. (Y)

Thanks man. That is exactly why I got them. (Y) This article from Toms Hardware really, really convinced me.

Grand Master

DirtyLarry Veteran

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Clean your turbine homey. :laugh:

:laugh: All these pics were taken before I did any cleaning. Once everything was in, I did a full cleaning, and was amazed at how much that came out as it really was not that bad to begin with.

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Klownicle

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:laugh: All these pics were taken before I did any cleaning. Once everything was in, I did a full cleaning, and was amazed at how much that came out as it really was not that bad to begin with.

Its ok, we all know you were giddy like a school girl to get them in.

I got 1x of the same evga you have, and I was too :laugh:

Grand Master

treemonster

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congrats I guess. How does it feel to know they will be outdated by next year?

that's pretty much true of any pc hardware more or less.

but my 8800 gts 512 was playing dx9 games(the vast majority of releases in that time) at max settings and very good fps right up until i upgraded my new pc.

the only future proof risk is if dx11 really takes off and we see alot of demanding games like metro2033 come out, that raise the stakes even further.

but if history repeats these cards will be great for the next 2-3+ years easily.

hell if you look at the steam hardware survey, iirc there are still tonnes of people using 7900s or even 6800s or their ati equivalents.

for the last few years hardware performance has for the most part really outstripped software(games) demands.

Grand Master

obiwong

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Just out of interest, if one of the ports was running in X2, would he notice performance loss then?

yup

he would

there was a thread on ocfourms.com a while ago where someone tested xfire 4870s on like P35, P45 and think it was X58 mobos

P35 runs xfire in x4/x8, P45 does x8/x8 and X58 does x16/x16

and there was a noticeable drop in the FPS on the P35

Grand Master

DirtyLarry Veteran

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congrats I guess. How does it feel to know they will be outdated by next year?

:rofl: It feels great if you could not tell by the 5 pages in this thread. And next year? They were outdated when they were released, everyone knows that about technology, but I guess you felt the need to remind me to make yourself feel better? So sorry about that, but hey if it floats your boat, keep it up. :laugh:

that's pretty much true of any pc hardware more or less.

but my 8800 gts 512 was playing dx9 games(the vast majority of releases in that time) at max settings and very good fps right up until i upgraded my new pc.

the only future proof risk is if dx11 really takes off and we see alot of demanding games like metro2033 come out, that raise the stakes even further.

but if history repeats these cards will be great for the next 2-3+ years easily.

hell if you look at the steam hardware survey, iirc there are still tonnes of people using 7900s or even 6800s or their ati equivalents.

for the last few years hardware performance has for the most part really outstripped software(games) demands.

Well said. Although I am usually against it, in this case this is extremely good food for the troll. (Y)

So I have not gotten to run any benchmarks yet, but I was able to do my first informal "real world" game test, and all I can say is DAMN. Really happy with the results.

I fired up BFBC2. I used to run it at all settings Medium, 4x AA, and 4x AF, and HBAO completely turned off. At 1920 x 1080. I ran these settings because in an online FPS, I always preferred a bit more FPS. So at these mostly medium settings, I used to average around 70 FPS, but it didnt look all that great. Not bad, but not great.

So just for fun, as soon as I opened up the Advance graphic settings, i set everything as High is it could be. AA at 32x, AF at 16x, and for the first time ever, HBAO on. Whenever I put HBAO on with my older card, it would cause such significant frame loss it was not even funny. It literally was not even an option. So maxing out everything, I thought for sure I was gonna then have to scale a few settings back, and lo and behold, I did not have to touch a single setting. I was getting anywhere between 60-85 FPS, all was really dependent on the action going on screen. The lowest I saw it go was 45 FPS, and that was in the tank and a ton going on, and even still, 45 FPS for everything literrally maxed out, is more than liveable, especially when the average was around 70. This was just me watching the FPS while having FRAPS running, but I will do a more formal test and have FRAPS do an actual benchmark, but this is the exact reason I got these cards, so I could not be any happier. It literally looked like the screenshots you see for promotion, but it was playing beautifully. That is absolutely a beautiful thing. :yes:

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Wombatt

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very nice, i was looking @ getting 2 of those puppies. But i wanna know if i should get the a x16 or x8 PCIe Slot board. @ the moment im still on 775 CPU and planning i5/i7 CPU for xmas...

Grab a x16, then you'll be future proofed, and wont feel as sad as I do :(

Grand Master

DirtyLarry Veteran

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ahh I'm just a little jaded with pc gaming. Gave it up for pure console fun. Never no need to worry about upgrading my hardware to play the latest and greatest. Best decision I ever made.

Fair enough, your are entitled to your opinion, just could have gone about it a little better IMO. And just an FYI, I also own all 3 consoles, I really am just someone who likes to game on all systems, and being a bit older with a decent career, I am able to afford myself the luxury to do so. With that said, the first custom gaming PC I built, I ran with the 6800 Ultra GPU I had for almost 4 years. I did not even build a PCI-E based computer until February of last year, and PCI-E was out for quite some time, I just made due with my AGP system the best I could. My point being is, I can somewhat relate to the sentiment about computer hardware and having to keep up, but that simply does not deter me from enjoying it when I can, and the truth is I definitely do not always need the latest and greatest, it just turns out I purchased relatively new cards right now, but I do definitely plan on extending the life of these 2 cards for as long as humanly possible. So I am not one that continues to purchase new tech as it comes out. I would be absolutely broke if that was the case, so I try to make a good decision when I am able to acquire something along these lines.

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