MSI GTX 970 mini review with rFactor 2 performance

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by DrR1pper, Sep 25, 2014.

  1. Jim Par

    Jim Par Registered

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    Yes that's what I think too cause according to this site: http://www.hwcompare.com/18051/geforce-gtx-660-vs-geforce-gtx-970/ , over large res it will be 186% better in theory but I would like to see that with my own eyes and especially on rF2 as we all know that it's a different thing than every other regular games. Thanks for your time DrR1pper! If anyone could come with results on fps it will be very helpful :)
     
  2. adaptable1

    adaptable1 Registered

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    I run 2x gtx 970's in SLI and can run everything on its highest setting BUT reflections must remain off because of an SLI driver issue/bug. I sustain 120hz vsync/120fps in most situations and run at 5870x1080. The cards do not go over 62C with stock cooling. A single card would probably be close in performance but with a few settings lowered (and probably not 120fps). What frequency are your monitors? Also keep in mind that a 970 only has 2 DVI ports and it takes a $100 adapter to run displayport to DVI @ 120hz. If you are running at 60hz, cheap adapters will do the trick....but at 60hz vsync there is noticable input lag.
     
  3. Prodigy

    Prodigy Registered

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    Ports depends on the card brand too, mine Palit 970 has 1x DVI, 3x Mini DisplayPort and 1x Mini HDMI..
     
  4. Spinelli

    Spinelli Banned

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    A. Active displayports can be purchased for $25 - $30, I'm pretty sure they can do 1080P @ 144 Hz. I have one here from my AMD Eyefinity, pre triple-Displayport GPU output days; I can do a test to make sure if anyone wants.

    B. If the monitor has Displayport (most 120+ Hz monitors do, except the ASUS VG278HE, and possibly it's brothers the "H" and "HR" models), then you can just use Displayport for one of the monitors.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 29, 2014
  5. adaptable1

    adaptable1 Registered

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    Can you post an Amazon link to one of these Active Displayports adapters that can do 120hz? I have tried two, including one that cost $30 that claimed it worked with 3D Vision.....neither worked with my monitors (Acer HN274H BMIIID). I contacted NVidia, and the one they recommended cost $89.

    Also, I have not been able to run 3D Vision Surround since upgrading to the GTX 970s in SLI (I'm on the latest NVidia drivers). Each monitor can do it individually, but not in surround mode like I could with my old 680s. I suspect it may be because there is a DVI-I and DVI-D port on each card....although the DVI-I port can still run it's monitor 3D Vision (just not all 3 monitor on simultaneously in surround mode). All of the DVI ports are definitely outputting 120hz according to the monitor's status (and the fact that VSync is working flawlessly).
     
  6. Spinelli

    Spinelli Banned

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    Ok, I'm going to test my active displayport, to make sure it works at 1080P/120. I'll report back in a couple hours, tops.

    If not using an adapter (taking that out of the equation) than I'm really curious as to why your card isn't doing 3D surround?... As long as you are using dual-link DVI and/or Displayport outputs, and of course dual-link DVI and/or Displayport cables, then I can't see where the issue is unless something is physically broken...

    I have successfully ran Nvidia 3D Vision Surround, with SLI 780 Tis, for 7 or 8 months in all sorts of different configs. All 3 with dual-link DVI, 2 DL-DVI + 1 DP, 1 DL-DVI + 2 DP, and currently with 2 DL-DVI + 1 DP on a single card (just sold one of my 780 Tis, I want 980 Ti SLI, or 980 SLI while i wait for the 980 Ti to come out).

    P.S. The 980s really are the best for surround. Plugging in all 3 monitors from native DP (or mini-DP, same thing) to native DP (or mini-DP) gave me the best gaming experience ever when I did that with my old ASUS AMD Radeon HD 7970 Matrix Platinum. I'm not sure what it was about having 3 DP hooked up natively, and to one card, but i never got tearing with V-Sync completely disabled and even at non-monitor refresh rate matching framerates, and even during fluctuating framerates (of course I got stutters during fluctuating framerates, but I mysteriously never, ever got screen-tearing, no matter the game, no matter the framerate) . It was the best gaming experience I've ever had, and, so far, the only time I ever experienced this "magical" no screen-tearing-ever phenomenon. I'm thinking that it must of had something to do with Displayport timings (DP, DVI, HDMI, etc. all use different timings).

    In some other forums, I have been extremely vocal about Nvidia being years and years behind AMD with regards to two things A. not having a card with at-least 3 DP or mini-DP outputs, and B. not being able to hook up all 3 surround monitors to 1 card only while using SLI. It seems Nvidia has FINALLY - after years/generations of being behind AMD - rectified both of these shortcomings with the GTX 980 (but sadly only the 980, not the 970).
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 29, 2014
  7. adaptable1

    adaptable1 Registered

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    I spent some time tonight trying to figure out the problem, and it turns out that my monitors needed to be wired in a certain order for 3D to work properly. The center monitor needs to be plugged into its own card to the DVI-DL port, while the right and left monitor share the top most card. I think the dual link is what is responsible for sending the IR emitting signal for the glasses. The 3D works flawlessly, and I was able to race for more than an hour without getting dizzy.

    I would still like to know about the active Displayport adapter. I would like to occasionally run surround on a single card without taking apart my system ;)
     
  8. Spinelli

    Spinelli Banned

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    I'm not sure how the surround and all that works with regards to SLI. I'm pretty sure they finally allow - since the introduction of the GTX 980 - to have all 3 monitors hooked-up to 1 card while still being able to use surround and SLI, but I'm not 100% sure.

    I run 3D, SLI, Surround and can have any of my monitors hooked-up to any of the cards in any config as long as they are either dual-link DVI, or preferably Displayport. dual 780Tis. Same with a single 780 Ti. Maybe it's different if you have monitors that have the 3D emitter built-in? Are all 3 of your monitors Identical?

    I'm assuming you either have an ASUS VG278H, VG278HE, or VG278HR? Just about every other 3D Vision 2 Lightboost monitor, other than those, have Displayport, but if your monitor doesn't, then you can easily pick-up one of these for $35, or so (I had to get a Mini-DP version for my setup a while back while using an AMD HD 6990 with 4 Mini-DP ports). http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812996113. You can get them from just about any AMD GPU manufacturer - MSI, ASUS, HIS, Visiontek, Sapphire, and other cable brands like Startech and Accel.

    - Found it cheaper here $32 & free shipping http://www.amazon.com/VisionTek-Active-DisplayPort-Adapter-900639/dp/B00DYRQXMK

    - $19 & free shipping http://www.amazon.com/DisplayPort-Converter-Thunderbolt-Compatible-Eyefinity/dp/B00OQX9526/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1419844802&sr=1-3&keywords=active+dp+to+dual+link+dvi (you would need a passive [non-active] Mini-DP female to DP male on the end then plug that in your GPU, they're like $3 since they are non-active and just a pass through, I did this with my old setup and it worked perfect)

    - If you want the one that plugs into your USB for more power (like the $100 ones) then here's the best deal I could find on one (click on "2 new from $45.50") http://www.amazon.com/Dell-BIZLINK-DisplayPort-Adapter-Powered/dp/B003XYBA72 They are apparently the same as the more expensive Startech and Accel ones, just rebadged. With shipping they are either $50 or $55.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 29, 2014
  9. adaptable1

    adaptable1 Registered

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    Yes and Yes. I have 3 Acer HN274H BMIIID with the built in 3D emitter. They are DVI-D only for 3D.

    I tried this Displayport to DVI-D Dual Link and it does not work with my monitors: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004071ZX0/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 There is a firmware update, but it can only be applied with an AMD card installed on your system. When I contacted NVidia, they recommended an Active converter. All of the converters have mediocre reviews, with some people saying they work and others saying they don't... I'm sure it has something to do with different graphics/monitor configurations.

    Now that 3D is working on my system, there is less of an impetuous to get a converter. I just want a relatively inexpensive way to make it work with one card in case I want to run in non-SLI mode.
     
  10. Spinelli

    Spinelli Banned

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  11. adaptable1

    adaptable1 Registered

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    Yeah.... but it was the only one that had a review that said it works with NVidia in 3D.

    I just ordered the $32 VisionTek one you recommend. If it doesn't work, I'll have a lot of stuff to send back to Amazon! I'll spring for the active one if this one doesn't work.
     
  12. Spinelli

    Spinelli Banned

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    If the Visiontek one doesn't work, then the Dell Bizlink one ahould work almost 100%.
     
  13. adaptable1

    adaptable1 Registered

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    The VisionTek didn't work. The monitor gives an error message at 120hz. Time to try an active one. Need to wait a week because I'm traveling.
     
  14. Voltaic

    Voltaic Registered

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    Hello

    I can not give you a full review, however I am running the EVGA GeForce GTX 980 SC ACX 2.0 at 5780x1080 (triple screens). I have the rFactor2 in game settings set to maximum in every graphics aspect. I have run online multiplayer without issues, my framerates stay between 100-140. The 980 has plenty of power.

    Having said that, I have been having other issues with the card/drivers. If I run rF2, the first time everything is great, if I quit and relaunch the side monitors start flickering or continue to display the desktop. This goes away once I load a track. If I quit/relaunch rF2 more times the situation degrades, eventually odd things happen i.e. rF2 minimizes to the desktop and I can not get back and I also lose USB connectivity, mouse, wheel, etc. I have to force restart the PC.

    Oddly, I seem to have other issues with rFactor 1 (stutter, low FPS, etc.), although of a different nature. I wonder if the latest NVIDIA cards/drivers have difficulty running anything less than DX11. I say this because I noticed a massive improvement from DX9 to DX11 when running pCARS. pCARS runs great, R3E runs great and AC runs great. I only seem to have problems with rF1 & rF2 at the moment.

    I am not sure if the 980+drivers or rFactor 1&2 are at fault here.

    PS; I should add there are some oddities even on the desktop, such as the taskbar not spanning the 3 monitor width. I am also running from the DiplayPort (x3) to the monitor(s) DVI through active adapters. I haven't seen anything to indicate this can be an issue.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 11, 2015
  15. adaptable1

    adaptable1 Registered

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    Interesting. I picked up 2 EVGA GTX 970 SC ACX 2.0 running in SLI and rFactor2 runs great except for reflections. If I keep reflections on low, I can maintain frame rates above 100 fps with everything else max'd out. rFactor 2 still looks great. Any other setting with reflections and the frame rate drops to below 60, and for my purposes, it is unplayable. I wonder if the memory limitation with the 970 is causing this vs. this 980 (970 has 512mb of slower useable memory, according to the some of the trade press). I have a similar issue with Assetto Corsa. Reflections are just pure eye candy, IMO, and I can enjoy the sims without them.... Although I have considered getting a third card. ;)

    Your findings on rFactor 1 are interesting.... the few times I've gone to Simraceway and run with my new graphics cards, the game ends up crashing (requiring a reboot) after a few laps or even just loading a track.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 11, 2015
  16. Spinelli

    Spinelli Banned

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    The issues with reflections and your huge frame drops are due to messed up SLI scaling with RF2 and SLI. You can also see how bad the scaling is from looking at the single 980 framerates (100-140 fps - all gfx maxed including reflections) compared to your two 970s at 60 fps (reflections full), and 100 fps (reflections low).

    The only time RF2 scales well with SLI - and amazingly well at that - is when using Nvidia 3D Vision (triple or single screen) and it really is an experience to behold once you go through the initial 1-2 week eye-accustomization period.
     
  17. Satangoss

    Satangoss Registered

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    So please share your magic (SLI profile) because I tried all possible combinations in Nvidia Inspector and all of them run like crap in a 980 GTX SLi (mostly half FPS from single-card arrangement).

     
  18. adaptable1

    adaptable1 Registered

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    I don't change any settings in NVidia Inspector and just use the default in the NVidia panel as well. I use 120hz vsync @ 5870x1080.... AA Level 1 or 2....and all reflections OFF. No magic setting that I am aware of. Spinelli has a thread on his settings that I tried at one point with my gtx680s in SLI and it did improve things for that card, but with the 970s, I get 120fps with the defaults.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 12, 2015
  19. Spinelli

    Spinelli Banned

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    Have you tried comparing with a single 970? It's simple, quick, and convenient actually. All you need to do is scroll down to the SLI section in Nvidia inspector and either change the first or second line to single GPU (it should just be either the first or second line, you should be able to keep all the other lines the same, even if they all say "two" or "four".)
     
  20. Voltaic

    Voltaic Registered

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    UPDATE: I continue to have the rFactor 2 issues as described before. I did test Game Stock Car Extreme 2013, which is based on rFactor 1. With GSCE 2013 there seem to be no stuttering or frame rate loss as compared with rFactor 1, which is running with +fullproc and the 2GB patch (I applied it after the stuttering became apparent).

    Why does GSC run so much better than rF1 with the exact same settings?
     

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