RFactor 2 Benchmark - 780 Ti, 1x/2x GPU (SLI), 1x/3x monitors (Surround), 2/3D Vision

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Spinelli, Aug 15, 2014.

  1. Spinelli

    Spinelli Banned

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    RFactor 2 "Mega" benchmark with all combinations of 1x GPU, 2x GPU (Nvidia SLI), 1x monitor, 3x monitors (Nvidia Surround), 2D, 3D (Nvidia 3D Vision 2), with 2 different graphics setttings ("maxed", "reduced" ).

    Using rFactor 2 b798, and Nvidia drivers v340.52

    My System:
    GPU - 2x NVIDIA GTX 780 Ti (SLI) 3GB @ 1163/1750 (7000) Mhz
    CPU - Intel i7 4930K @ 4.5 GHz
    RAM - G.SKILL RipjawsZ 16GB (4x4GB, Quad Channel) @ 1866 MHz, 8-9-9-24-2T
    Storage 1 - SSD- Samsung 840 Pro (256 GB ) (OS and rF2 installed on SSD)
    Storage 2 - HDD- Samsung Spinpoint F3 (1 TB )
    Motherboard - ASUS Sabertooth X79
    Operating System - Windows 8.1 64-bit
    Monitor - 3x ASUS VG248QE @ 120 Hz
    Soundcard - Auzentech X-F1 Forte 7.1

    CLICK HERE FOR BENCHMARK RESULTS - Red=Min FPS, Green=Avg FPS, Blue=Max FPS
    IMPORTANT - Select the items in the 2 yellow legend boxes in order to customize your graph (compare only what you want to compare, less convoluted. I advise starting with the removal of max FPS since avg and min are the most important, by far) - You can switch between the "Maxed" and "Reduced" gfx graphs with the 2 tabs on the top left


    How the benchmark was done:
    - Started as soon as appeared on the starting grid after clicking "Race"
    - Honda Civic:
    - 17 Opponents (Honda Civic):
    - Silverstone International:
    - Starting Position: 9th (this gave lower fps than starting from the very back)
    - Stood still at start waited for all opponents to pass me
    - ended after 45 seconds
    - Sunny, hot, and dry weather and track conditions
    - Start Time: 6 PM

    Global Graphics Settings Used For All Benchmarks:

    RFactor 2 Config:

    1920x1080/5760x1080 @ 120 Hz
    HDR: ON
    Anti Aliasing: NONE
    Sync: NONE
    MultiView: ON (when using 5760x1080)

    GPU Driver (Nvidia Inspector):
    Antialiasing - Mode: OVERRIDE ANY APPLICATION SETTING
    Antialiasing - Setting: 16x [16x CSAA (4 COLOR + 12 CV SAMPLES)]
    Maximum Pre-Rendered Frames: 1
    Power Management mode: PREFER MAXIMUM PERFORMANCE

    In-Game Settings:
    Player Detail: FULL
    Texture Detail : FULL
    Movies: ON
    Rain Drops: YES
    Visible Vehicles: 22
    FOV: 25
    Mirros: ON
    Steering Wheel: ON
    Number of Effects (Audio): 64
    Speaker Configuration (Audio): 5.1 (Windows also set to 5.1)


    Maxed GFX Benchmark Settings:


    GPU Driver (Nvidia Inspector):
    Base Profile - Default NVidia RFactor 2 Profile- rFactor 2(rFactor2.exe)
    Texture filtering - Anisotropic filter optimization: OFF
    Texture filtering - Anisotropic sample optimization: OFF
    Texture filtering - Quality: HIGH QUALITY
    Texture filtering - Trilinear optimization: OFF

    In-Game Settings:

    Everything Maxed/Full/Enabled etc.


    Reduced GFX Benchmark Settings:


    GPU Driver (Nvidia Inspector):

    Base Profile - Default NVidia RFactor 2 Profile- rFactor 2 (rFactor2.exe)
    Texture filtering - Anisotropic filter optimization: ON
    Texture filtering - Anisotropic sample optimization: ON
    Texture filtering - Quality: HIGH PERFORMANCE
    Texture filtering - Trilinear optimization: ON

    In-Game Settings:
    Circuit Detail: HIGH
    Opponent Detail: MEDIUM
    Texture Filter: 8X ANISOTROPIC
    Special Effects: HIGH
    Shadows: MEDIUM
    Shadow Blur: FAST
    Soft Particles: LOW
    Road Reflection: LOW
    Environment Reflection: LOW
    Wind and Crowd Motion: NO

    *All SLI benchmarks are also done using the Game Stock Car (gsc.exe) profile as the base Nvidia Inspector profile. This is for testing a different SLI profile (gave me great SLI scaling in GSC). All other GFX settings remain identical to the rFactor 2 profile based tests.


    Quick Thoughts/Conclusion:
    - ISI has been doing some good optimizing work as a single 780 Ti can run rFactor 2 absolutely maxed out (1920x1080) with 16x CSAA and still avg around 100 FPS, with minimums no less than 70. Avg 120 should be easy, a setting here and there just a tad lower and 120-144 FPS should easily be achievable.

    -SLI seems to scale brilliantly when using 3D mode. 3D and SLI is truly a match made in heaven regardless of settings, # of monitors, etc.

    - A single 780 Ti can run the game in triple screen mode (w/ MultiView, HDR, and 16xCSAA) as long as you reduce the settings, but you don't need to go too low.

    - Proper SLI support should most likely offer a consistent amount of the "magical" 120-144 FPS while using triple screens, HDR, MultiView and 16x CSAA ("reduced" GFX), but Nvidia and/or ISI need to make that happen as SLI scaling is, for the most part, currently terrible in rFactor 2, except when using 3D Vision where SLI works great.

    - In 2D mode, SLI seems to mysteriously scale better in the "Reduced" graphics benchmarks than in the "Maxed" graphics bench when using a single screen, in fact, the reduced-settings-single-screen benchmark is pretty much the only case (other than 3D mode) where SLI seems to have any sort of positive scaling at all in rFactor 2. Clearly an issue as the increased GFX demands of maxed-out graphics settings and/or a much larger resolution (triple screens) should, in theory, really allow the SLI configs to show their strength.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 13, 2014
  2. F1Fan07

    F1Fan07 Member

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    Bravo, nice effort. I need some time to digest your data, though you certainly confirm the weirdness in SLI results.
     
  3. Navigator

    Navigator Registered

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    So......you have some nice stuff, that's it? ;)

    Comes across as showing off a bit mate.
     
  4. Spinelli

    Spinelli Banned

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    Thanks guys. Nav, is there any other info you would like to know?...I just like gathering data and comparing stuff. I also wanted to confirm that SLI only works in rF2 when using 3D, otherwise SLI currently almost always sucks in rF2.

    - RF2 scales great using SLI and 3D in all circumstances (3D fps are reported per eye so should be around 50-60 % of the 2D fps in games, rF2 does a great job here)
    - SLI, in 2D, shows quite bad negative scaling in just about all situations except in single screen mode when using the "reduced" graphics settings. This may be an indication that reflections, soft particles, or shadows may be messing up single screen SLI in rF2 since they were set to "low"/"medium"in the "reduced" gfx test.
    - ISI has done some good optimizing lately as 1 GPU can avg. 100 FPS with a min of 70 with absolutely everything maxed (including 16x CSAA and 17 opponents) during the first 45 seconds of a race start - probably the most PC-demanding moment of the race.
    -SLI would make all the difference in the world if it scaled well in 2D mode when shooting for 120-144 fps while using triple screens (5760x1080).
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 16, 2014
  5. Barf Factor

    Barf Factor Registered

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    Thanks Spinelli

    He may be showing off his nice hardware, but his post is useful if you are considering whether to buy stuff and want to know how much of an improvement it will give.
     
  6. adaptable1

    adaptable1 Registered

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    Thank you for posting this! I have a similar SLI configuration but with GTX 680 FTW+ and I was able to use your settings to get similar results, particularly with the reduced GFX settings, which make the framerate very playable with not too much of a sacrifice in quality, IMO. The GSC NVIdiaInspector profile definitely helped the SLI performance more than playing with the SLI bits.
     
  7. Coanda

    Coanda Registered

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    Spinelli has been a massive help and his info is gold! He has helped make my rF2 look & perform at its best.
     
  8. adaptable1

    adaptable1 Registered

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    It's a shame that there is a performance degradation with SLI that can't be dealt with by changing some settings. The only ways for me to switch to a single card are to turn off surround or physically remove one of the cards (difficult given my watercooled setup). More importantly, the games I'm currently playing (AC, GRID Autosport, etc.) are seeing significant performance gains from the SLI configuration.

    Let us know if you find any tricks for improving the SLI performance with rFactor2 so it performs better than a single card.
     
  9. Spinelli

    Spinelli Banned

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    You're welcome/thanks everyone!

    You're welcome :) , though I fear that your improvement in rF2 SLI performance when using the GSC profile may just be that of a single card like it did in just about all of my 2D tests, well except for the reduced GFX single screen test where it did yield some improvements over single GPU. I hope I'm wrong for your sake obviously.
     
  10. adaptable1

    adaptable1 Registered

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    At least its a way of getting the superior single card performance without physically taking the other card out. I just did some AI races at Loch Drummond and Indy, and they looked really good with these settings. It a shame to have this intricate watercooled SLI setup and not have a title like rFactor2 not be able to make the most of it.
     
  11. Spinelli

    Spinelli Banned

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    I discovered a way of getting around this! :) Hook the monitor that is plugged into the "other" GPU also into the first GPU with the other 2 monitors :)

    I have 2 of my monitors plugged into the top GPU with dual-link DVI, then another monitor plugged with dual-link DVI in the bottom card. Then, with the monitor that's plugged into the bottom card, I also plug that monitor into the top card with DisplayPort.....Now whenever you set-up surround in the Nvidia control panel, Nvidia will ask you if you want to use the second card in SLI to help you drive the 3 screens, or if you want to dedicate it to PhysX and therefore only have 1 GPU drive all 3 monitors :)

    I've been doing this since I switched to Nvidia. I was really pissed when I found out about this non-ability to switch from SLI to single GPU while still being able to use Surround mode. The problem is, with Nvidia, you must plug at least one monitor into the second GPU when using Surround+SLI, so I figured "Hey, why don't I also plug just one of the monitors a second time into the first GPU, so that it's mimicking a surround+single GPU setup." Well to mu surprise it worked. Just some minor issues like when switching between monitor configs, disabling monitors, enabling, enabling/disabling surround or SLI, etc. sometimes it can take around 10 or 15 seconds rather than the usual 3 or 4, sometimes the top of the Nvidia Control Panel will even say "stopped responding" but just give it 5 or 10 seconds and it'll be fine, never actually frozen on me or anything, always worked perfect. I always disable the "4th" monitor (whichever one it is depending if I'm doing SLI or not) just because of my OCD about having things activated/running that don't to be, but I'm pretty sure you don't even need to do that.

    I remember people saying to disable all reflections, HDR, multiview and combinations of them. I should maybe do a new set of 2D-SLI-only benches with all graphics maxed except disabling different combinations of reflections, multiview, and HDR. Maybe I'll get to this weekend.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 16, 2014
  12. adaptable1

    adaptable1 Registered

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    Do you plug the third monitor into another DVI port on the monitor from the second card (mine only have a single DVI input)? Or do you use some kind of adapter to HDMI or VGA? Is that 4th connection "active"?
     
  13. Spinelli

    Spinelli Banned

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    Sorry I'm not sure what you mean

    My setup:
    Left Monitor ----> Dual-link DVI -> Bottom GPU
    Left Monitor ----> DisplayPort ---> Top GPU
    Centre Monitor -> Dual-link DVI -> Top GPU
    Right Monitor - -> Dual-link DVI -> Top GPU

    No adapters. Just plug in. My left monitor is literally plugged in twice. It has a Dual-link DVI going from it into the bottom card (this gets automatically used when SLI is used), and it has a DisplayPort going from it to the top GPU (this is used when using Nvidia Surround in single GPU config). You then literally just configure surround like you do now, then it can sense that you can do surround from just the top GPU or both in SLI so it asks you if you want to do surround in SLI or dedicate the second GPU to PhysX and therefore do surround in single screen mode, you just click whichever one you want and the rest is identical, set your resolution bezel compensation, etc. etc.
     
  14. adaptable1

    adaptable1 Registered

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    So with my monitors, there is only a single Dual-link DVI per monitor and no Displayport. I can use a DisplayPort to DVI adapter and connect them all to the Top GPU, and then use a DVI to VGA adapter to connect one to the bottom card. I did get the dialog you described allowing me to dedicate one of the cards for PhysX, but once I go to switch surround back on, it enables SLI automatically. This is the problem. I cannot turn on surround and not have SLI-enabled. I'm on version 340.52 of the driver. I'm going to try it with HDMI and see if the same thing happens.
     
  15. Spinelli

    Spinelli Banned

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    If it's set-up correctly, then the control panel asking you if you want to run SLI or dedicate one card to PhysX should appear immediately after you select "config" under "span displays with surround". It's the first step when going through the surround config.

    If you need to use adapters then go for it. Or try HDMI. It should work as long as one of the monitors is plugged into both GPUs using 2 of the monitors inputs (as if the one monitor is actually 2 different monitors).
     
  16. adaptable1

    adaptable1 Registered

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    OK... I just didn't go through the whole process. ;) Even thought it enables SLI, there is the option to dedicate one of the cards after it has been enabled and that disables SLI. I just got finished playing with a single card, and I got a better frame rate than with SLI. The good thing is that I can dedicate the PhysX to the card with the radiator furthest from me, and stay a little cooler. Man, that's sad. I hope ISI/NVidia can get a performance gain from SLI, otherwise, I might be spending more time with other titles.

    Thanks for all your help!
     
  17. veemax

    veemax Registered

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    I noticed that you were using Windows 8.1 (x64) with your tests. To this day I have not been able to get sli working properly with 3D vision surround (in any game) in Windows 8.1. I have tried GTX 590s (quad sli) and Strix 780s (sli). In my case going back to Windows 8 fixed the issue. In Windows 8.1 the nvidias "sli indicator" was not visible with 3D vision surround where 2D surround had it. Can you confirm that sli is working with 3D vision surround in Windows 8.1?
     
  18. adaptable1

    adaptable1 Registered

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    Surround with 3 monitors....or Surround with 3 x 3D monitors? SLI is working for me with 3 monitors because I can see the utilization in NVidiaInspector and performance in other titles is improved. I only have a single 3D monitor, and it does work by itself with SLI enabled.... but I don't know about 3 in 3D. I used to be able to "hack" the system about a year ago to trick it into putting the center monitor into 3D mode and keep the two side monitors in 2D mode, but a long past driver update killed that trick.
     
  19. Spinelli

    Spinelli Banned

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    SLI is working one billion percent in 3D in every single graphics scenario (single screen, triple, MultiView, reduced gfx, maxed gfx, everything). Compare the 3D 1xGPU benchmarks to the 3D SLI benchmarks. In fact, It's just about the only method of SLI that not only scales, but scales fantastically in rF2; I think this has to do with how 3D and SLI usually work fantastically well together regardless of game.

    SLI and 3D are almost made for one another.

    I'm sorry to hear about your SLI-3D-Win8.1 issues. It's always worked for me. I could have sworn I read something about 3D not working with 3 GPUs (and I'm assuming 4 as well) or something along those lines... Have you physicslly onky tried 2 GPUs?-

    My fps shot up massively when enabling SLI for 3D in Game Stock Car as well. Same with 3D capable benchmarks like Unigine Valley. Battlefield 3, and so on.

    Enabling the second card for SLI in GSC allowed me to crank up the GFX to much more demanding settings

    Surround with all 3 monitors in 3D mode. No hacking. Worked from day 1. Starting with Nvidia 33x.xx drivers. Always great. Always amazing :).
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 16, 2014
  20. adaptable1

    adaptable1 Registered

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    I can't play in 3D with one monitor for more than 10 minutes without wanting to hurl! I don't think adding two more will make it any different.
     

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