Quirkitized Posted December 31, 2012 Posted December 31, 2012 (edited) First let me just say I'm making this into it's own thread as there are so many random SLI threads and posts, and yes I know there is one below it but didn't know if I should make this a reply to one of them. I want this thread to be about the video I made and any questions to that, the testing done, the track, the settings, etc. After using SLI for two years with DCS on triple screen and single and dual, and then seeing the other thread about sli just below I wanted to make this video. Nobody really has made definite answer I don't think. Here is the video, there's no editing so it's a bit long but you can go back and forth if you want to see differences. Note, this isn't the best test as I did a lot of external views just to show things. Most of your gameplay will be in-cockpit and this is where SLI really helps as noted by the benchmark results below. my system i5 3570k @ 4.5ghz, 8GB ddr3 2000, two gtx 580 3gb sli, game is installed on 512gb crucial m4 ssd, OS on 64gb crucial m4 ssd Video 0:00 - 6:18 SLI ON and settings 6:18 - 11:13 SLI off 11:13 - 13:11 - quick compare sli off/on 1QK80s-yD1c What benefits can you expect? Typical performance increases of 15~70%. (I've always said 20-80%~ as a guess, but I think 15-70% is more fair after tests and tests.) Better full-screen performance Nvidia surround triple screen(full screen) Largest performance increase in free flights, light missions and cockpit view Any extra fps bonus is a good thing right? What are the downsides? Bad windowed performance, infact you're usually better off using single-gpu and no vsync Don't plan to use SLI for multiple displays with MFCDs and Gauges. As window performance is low and you'll use single gpu, no benefit. Mirrors will give you artifacts. You can correct this with different SLI settings in nvidia inspector, but you'll lose fps. So mirrors off, they eat fps anyway DO NOT EXPECT 80~100% scaling like most high profile games. Various effects (mlrs rockets, ka50 rockets, some explosions, etc,) sli wont help much. Doesn't seem to matter what you have, your framerate will go all over with big battles. Benchmark of track - Notice the 61%~ increase in the 60sec track. The first ~55sec or so of the track is all in cockpit. Yes, the shkval wasn't on, yes I didn't fire any weapons and yes the fps would be lower with those things happening but the battle mission has a lot of stuff going on and its still an apples to apples comparison. Buy another card for DCS? IF!..IF! You can afford it, then yes. However, if you play more than just DCS, then hell yes. SLI works with almost all games now, it's well worth it. As you can see in the video, I have a lot of games (FU steam sales...$5-$10 for awesome games hard to resist...) and all the games where I need the extra performance, it's there. If you want to try and get smoother gameplay in DCS around 45-60fps, then SLI. Turn down some settings and you can achieve it. Don't buy another card for DCS? If you really don't care for FPS and you are only playing DCS. Just lock your FPS at 30, turn down some settings, and save your money. Each PC is different and things can change. This is from my own testing through the years. If anybody else has any random facts about SLI and DCS please input. Following mods were installed that may or may not of effected framerate Kuky smoke & fire mod devrim g-bluepit v1.2.x soldier lod fix zzzspace sound v2.0 Please remember the scaling can be different with different cards and systems!!! btw don't judge the flying, i used keyboard and no trackir :P just wanted to make a quick track :P Edited December 31, 2012 by Quirkitized
Quirkitized Posted December 31, 2012 Author Posted December 31, 2012 reserved for other tests if needed
Congo_Toey Posted July 23, 2013 Posted July 23, 2013 First let me just say I'm making this into it's own thread as there are so many random SLI threads and posts, and yes I know there is one below it but didn't know if I should make this a reply to one of them. I want this thread to be about the video I made and any questions to that, the testing done, the track, the settings, etc. After using SLI for two years with DCS on triple screen and single and dual, and then seeing the other thread about sli just below I wanted to make this video. Nobody really has made definite answer I don't think. Here is the video, there's no editing so it's a bit long but you can go back and forth if you want to see differences. Note, this isn't the best test as I did a lot of external views just to show things. Most of your gameplay will be in-cockpit and this is where SLI really helps as noted by the benchmark results below. my system i5 3570k @ 4.5ghz, 8GB ddr3 2000, two gtx 580 3gb sli, game is installed on 512gb crucial m4 ssd, OS on 64gb crucial m4 ssd Video 0:00 - 6:18 SLI ON and settings 6:18 - 11:13 SLI off 11:13 - 13:11 - quick compare sli off/on 1QK80s-yD1c What benefits can you expect? Typical performance increases of 15~70%. (I've always said 20-80%~ as a guess, but I think 15-70% is more fair after tests and tests.) Better full-screen performance Nvidia surround triple screen(full screen) Largest performance increase in free flights, light missions and cockpit view Any extra fps bonus is a good thing right? What are the downsides? Bad windowed performance, infact you're usually better off using single-gpu and no vsync Don't plan to use SLI for multiple displays with MFCDs and Gauges. As window performance is low and you'll use single gpu, no benefit. Mirrors will give you artifacts. You can correct this with different SLI settings in nvidia inspector, but you'll lose fps. So mirrors off, they eat fps anyway DO NOT EXPECT 80~100% scaling like most high profile games. Various effects (mlrs rockets, ka50 rockets, some explosions, etc,) sli wont help much. Doesn't seem to matter what you have, your framerate will go all over with big battles. Benchmark of track - Notice the 61%~ increase in the 60sec track. The first ~55sec or so of the track is all in cockpit. Yes, the shkval wasn't on, yes I didn't fire any weapons and yes the fps would be lower with those things happening but the battle mission has a lot of stuff going on and its still an apples to apples comparison. Buy another card for DCS? IF!..IF! You can afford it, then yes. However, if you play more than just DCS, then hell yes. SLI works with almost all games now, it's well worth it. As you can see in the video, I have a lot of games (FU steam sales...$5-$10 for awesome games hard to resist...) and all the games where I need the extra performance, it's there. If you want to try and get smoother gameplay in DCS around 45-60fps, then SLI. Turn down some settings and you can achieve it. Don't buy another card for DCS? If you really don't care for FPS and you are only playing DCS. Just lock your FPS at 30, turn down some settings, and save your money. Each PC is different and things can change. This is from my own testing through the years. If anybody else has any random facts about SLI and DCS please input. Following mods were installed that may or may not of effected framerate Kuky smoke & fire mod devrim g-bluepit v1.2.x soldier lod fix zzzspace sound v2.0 Please remember the scaling can be different with different cards and systems!!! btw don't judge the flying, i used keyboard and no trackir :P just wanted to make a quick track :P Hi great video, very clear, but for some reason in my options I dont have SLI Rendering mode, any ideas?
Gloom Demon Posted July 23, 2013 Posted July 23, 2013 (edited) Buy another card for DCS? IF!..IF! You can afford it, then yes. I was under the impression, that using a video card, which is one step higher than your current one, results in a bigger bang for the buck, than getting the same card in SLI... I mean moving from a Geforce 660 to a Geforce 670, or a 670 to 680 standalone card is more efficient, instead of purchasing a second 660 or 670... I'm not sure if it is true for DCS, though... Edited July 23, 2013 by Gloom Demon AMD Ryzen 3600, Biostar Racing B850GT3, AMD Rx 580 8Gb, 16384 DDR4 2900, Hitachi 7K3000 2Tb, Samsung SM961 256Gb SSD, Thrustmaster T.Flight HOTAS X, Samsung S24F350 24'
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