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#1 2008-09-16 11:03:51

dninja
Member
From: Sheffield, UK
Registered: 2006-04-29
Posts: 374
Website

2 x nvidia 6800GTs run slower than a 5 year old AGP card

I've just built a new machine with 2 Nvidia 6800GT cards and got sli working - at least I think I have, I have 3 monitors all working correctly. But my graphics speed feels slower than my 5 year old AGP card.

glxgears returns:

12664 frames in 5.0 seconds = 2509.062 FPS
14964 frames in 5.0 seconds = 2990.833 FPS

Which is a lot slower than I would expect from reading this thread http://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=9616&p=5.

I'm running the latest nvidia drivers from pacman 

Version        : 173.14.12-3

My guess is that I've missed something in my xorg.conf file. Can anyone pick up what I've missed?

Section "ServerLayout"
    Identifier     "Default Layout"
    Screen      0  "BelineaScreen" 0 0
    Screen      1  "BenqScreen" LeftOf "BelineaScreen"
    Screen      2  "TimeScreen" RightOf "BelineaScreen"
    InputDevice    "Generic Keyboard"
    InputDevice    "Configured Mouse"
EndSection

Section "Files"
    FontPath        "/usr/share/fonts/misc"
    FontPath        "/usr/share/fonts/100dpi/:unscaled"
    FontPath        "/usr/share/fonts/75dpi/:unscaled"
    FontPath        "/usr/share/fonts/100dpi"
    FontPath        "/usr/share/fonts/75dpi"
EndSection

Section "Module"
    Load           "i2c"
    Load           "ddc"
    Load           "extmod"
    Load           "freetype"
    Load           "glx"
    Load           "int10"
    Load           "vbe"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
    Identifier     "Generic Keyboard"
    Driver         "kbd"
    Option         "CoreKeyboard"
    Option         "XkbModel" "pc105"
    Option         "XkbLayout" "gb"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
    Identifier     "Configured Mouse"
    Driver         "mouse"
    Option         "CorePointer"
    Option         "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
    Option         "Protocol" "ImPS/2"
    Option         "Emulate3Buttons" "true"
    Option         "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier     "TimeMonitor"
    HorizSync       28.0 - 64.0
    VertRefresh     46.0 - 60.0
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier     "BenqMonitor"
    HorizSync       28.0 - 64.0
    VertRefresh     46.0 - 60.0
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier     "BelineaMonitor"
    HorizSync       28.0 - 64.0
    VertRefresh     46.0 - 60.0
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier     "BelineaLCD"
    Driver         "nvidia"
    BusID          "PCI:4:0:0"
    Screen          0
    Option         "RenderAccel" "true"
    Option      "NoLogo" "true"
        Option "AllowGLXWithComposite" "true"
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier     "TimeLCD"
    Driver         "nvidia"
    BusID          "PCI:5:0:0"
    Screen          1
    Option         "RenderAccel" "true"
    Option      "NoLogo" "true"
        Option "AllowGLXWithComposite" "true"
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier     "BenqLCD"
    Driver         "nvidia"
    BusID          "PCI:5:0:0"
    Screen          0
    Option         "RenderAccel" "true"
    Option      "NoLogo" "true"
        Option "AllowGLXWithComposite" "true"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier     "BelineaScreen"
    Device         "BelineaLCD"
    Monitor        "BelineaMonitor"
    DefaultDepth    24
    Option         "RenderAccel" "true"
    SubSection     "Display"
        Depth       24
        Modes      "1680x1050" "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
    EndSubSection
EndSection
Section "Screen"
    Identifier     "TimeScreen"
    Device         "TimeLCD"
    Monitor        "TimeMonitor"
    DefaultDepth    24
    Option         "RenderAccel" "true"
    SubSection     "Display"
        Depth       24
        Modes      "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
    EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier     "BenqScreen"
    Device         "BenqLCD"
    Monitor        "BenqMonitor"
    DefaultDepth    24
    Option         "RenderAccel" "true"
    #Option         "TwinView"
    SubSection     "Display"
        Depth       24
        Modes      "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
    EndSubSection
EndSection
Section "ServerFlags"  
        Option "Xinerama" "true" 
EndSection
Section "Extensions"
        Option "Composite" "Enable"
EndSection

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#2 2008-09-16 18:03:43

avlisoviy
Member
From: Ukraine
Registered: 2007-02-20
Posts: 3
Website

Re: 2 x nvidia 6800GTs run slower than a 5 year old AGP card

Tell me STDOUT of:

grep -i shm /etc/fstab

Glad to see you on xmpp.in.ua Jabber Server wink

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#3 2008-09-16 18:06:01

dninja
Member
From: Sheffield, UK
Registered: 2006-04-29
Posts: 374
Website

Re: 2 x nvidia 6800GTs run slower than a 5 year old AGP card

none            /dev/shm                        tmpfs           defaults                0       0

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#4 2008-09-16 18:09:46

avlisoviy
Member
From: Ukraine
Registered: 2007-02-20
Posts: 3
Website

Re: 2 x nvidia 6800GTs run slower than a 5 year old AGP card

Looks good. Try to "#" some options in xorg.conf
Yo` settings looks as correct.
btw, don`t trust glxgears. It`s simplest benchmark tool. Try to test your perfomance in some hardcore games, like STALKER, FARCRY or CRYSIS.

Last edited by avlisoviy (2008-09-16 18:12:04)

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#5 2008-09-16 18:11:41

dninja
Member
From: Sheffield, UK
Registered: 2006-04-29
Posts: 374
Website

Re: 2 x nvidia 6800GTs run slower than a 5 year old AGP card

Which ones should I be looking at taking out first? modules or the other options sections?

To be honest, I don't know what most of them do, I can guess to an extent but I don't know enough about graphics technology to know for sure.

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#6 2008-09-16 18:14:58

dninja
Member
From: Sheffield, UK
Registered: 2006-04-29
Posts: 374
Website

Re: 2 x nvidia 6800GTs run slower than a 5 year old AGP card

I'm not a gamer, I have the setup so I can run 3 monitors.

Just by using the machine, something is wrong. On my 5 year old machine the screen refreshed quicker. Are there any other good graphic benchmark apps available?

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#7 2008-09-16 18:16:02

avlisoviy
Member
From: Ukraine
Registered: 2007-02-20
Posts: 3
Website

Re: 2 x nvidia 6800GTs run slower than a 5 year old AGP card

Try to comment Option "AllowGLXWithComposite" "true" on any Section and comment this:

Section "ServerFlags"  
        Option "Xinerama" "true" 
EndSection
Section "Extensions"
        Option "Composite" "Enable"
EndSection

Glad to see you on xmpp.in.ua Jabber Server wink

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#8 2008-09-16 18:19:49

dninja
Member
From: Sheffield, UK
Registered: 2006-04-29
Posts: 374
Website

Re: 2 x nvidia 6800GTs run slower than a 5 year old AGP card

I'll give it a try and report back later

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#9 2008-09-16 20:43:17

Fackamato
Member
Registered: 2006-03-31
Posts: 579

Re: 2 x nvidia 6800GTs run slower than a 5 year old AGP card

Don't use glxgears for benchmarking, as it is not a benchmark in any way. Are you using sli btw? Also, check out www.nvnews.net/vbulletin , provide a nvidia bug report or you will (and should be) ignored. (see stickies on how to make a bug report)

You could download a demo of unreal 2004 or something similar, to benchmark.

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#10 2008-09-16 21:38:26

dninja
Member
From: Sheffield, UK
Registered: 2006-04-29
Posts: 374
Website

Re: 2 x nvidia 6800GTs run slower than a 5 year old AGP card

Fackamato wrote:

Don't use glxgears for benchmarking, as it is not a benchmark in any way. Are you using sli btw? Also, check out www.nvnews.net/vbulletin , provide a nvidia bug report or you will (and should be) ignored. (see stickies on how to make a bug report)

You could download a demo of unreal 2004 or something similar, to benchmark.

I have the sli cable on and it is setup in the bios, I was told that I didn't need to do anything in software, do I?

I'll give unreal a go and checkout the nvnews site.

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#11 2008-09-16 21:49:22

Zeist
Arch Linux f@h Team Member
Registered: 2008-07-04
Posts: 532

Re: 2 x nvidia 6800GTs run slower than a 5 year old AGP card

At least in Windows you have to turn SLI on in the nvidia control panel. I don't know how it works in the Linux version as I have never run SLI on Linux. Also, I do not think that you can use multiple monitors if SLI is enabled. At least it isn't possible in Windows, one has to turn SLI off to get additional monitors to work.

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#12 2008-09-16 22:06:12

dninja
Member
From: Sheffield, UK
Registered: 2006-04-29
Posts: 374
Website

Re: 2 x nvidia 6800GTs run slower than a 5 year old AGP card

I was told I had to have SLI to be able to use 3 monitors! That may be rubbish as I'm still not 100% sure what SLI is.

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#13 2008-09-16 22:53:26

Zeist
Arch Linux f@h Team Member
Registered: 2008-07-04
Posts: 532

Re: 2 x nvidia 6800GTs run slower than a 5 year old AGP card

SLI is a way to use multiple graphics cards to do processing to a single output. This is done to increase performance. It works with the second card acting as a slave to the first card and doing half of the rendering of each frame and then sending the output to the first card. So it's like that each card renders a half of the image and then the halves is put together and fed out to the screen.

What I don't know is if you can potentially be allowed to let one of the cards do some additional processing at the same time to send picture to an additional screen as well besides from taking part in doing part of the calculations for the SLI output.

Regardless of if SLI is enabled or not a 6800 shouldn't be worse than a 5 year old agp card.

I haven't lost my mind; I have a tape back-up somewhere.
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#14 2008-09-16 23:03:47

dninja
Member
From: Sheffield, UK
Registered: 2006-04-29
Posts: 374
Website

Re: 2 x nvidia 6800GTs run slower than a 5 year old AGP card

That makes sense, so, I could try removing the SLI cable, that would definitely break the link between the two cards. From what you are saying, I don't really need it anyway as I'm not doing any massively graphic heavy work.

I'm downloading the UT2004 demo now so I'll try that when it is done and report the stats. I haven't played it for ages but I seem to remember that it wasn't too hard to get it to report frame rate or other such information.

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#15 2008-09-17 05:51:55

Fackamato
Member
Registered: 2006-03-31
Posts: 579

Re: 2 x nvidia 6800GTs run slower than a 5 year old AGP card

Check out the nvnews site, you will get definitive answers, not guesses. It's the unofficial official NVIDIA support forum.

You *can not* use SLI with 3 monitors. No go. You don't have to remove the link between the cards to disable SLI, SLI is always disabled until you enable it in software (xorg.conf). So, you can leave the bridge there.

How do you want to use the 3 monitors? A very wide desktop, or separate screens, what?

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#16 2008-09-17 06:56:05

byte
Member
From: Düsseldorf (DE)
Registered: 2006-05-01
Posts: 2,046

Re: 2 x nvidia 6800GTs run slower than a 5 year old AGP card

You haven't mentioned your WM/DE yet. Do you run KDE4?

1000

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#17 2008-09-17 08:01:41

dninja
Member
From: Sheffield, UK
Registered: 2006-04-29
Posts: 374
Website

Re: 2 x nvidia 6800GTs run slower than a 5 year old AGP card

Fackamato wrote:

Check out the nvnews site, you will get definitive answers, not guesses. It's the unofficial official NVIDIA support forum.

You *can not* use SLI with 3 monitors. No go. You don't have to remove the link between the cards to disable SLI, SLI is always disabled until you enable it in software (xorg.conf). So, you can leave the bridge there.

How do you want to use the 3 monitors? A very wide desktop, or separate screens, what?

In answering both questions, I use fluxbox and the 3 monitors are setup as one very wide desktop. I'm a developer so I have a browser on the left, editors in the middle and mail on the right. Works really well.

I've tried removing the xinerama, when X started I only had one monitor, I tried removing the Composite line and that didn't do anything.

I'll ask at nvnews and report any solution back.

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#18 2008-09-21 21:54:25

dninja
Member
From: Sheffield, UK
Registered: 2006-04-29
Posts: 374
Website

Re: 2 x nvidia 6800GTs run slower than a 5 year old AGP card

Apparently it is a known problem with the current set of nvidia drivers, hopefully it will be fixed soon.

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#19 2008-09-22 06:09:53

Fackamato
Member
Registered: 2006-03-31
Posts: 579

Re: 2 x nvidia 6800GTs run slower than a 5 year old AGP card

dninja wrote:

Apparently it is a known problem with the current set of nvidia drivers, hopefully it will be fixed soon.

Did you try with 177.76?

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#20 2008-09-22 08:36:34

dninja
Member
From: Sheffield, UK
Registered: 2006-04-29
Posts: 374
Website

Re: 2 x nvidia 6800GTs run slower than a 5 year old AGP card

Not yet, I'm in .67. I'll give .76 a go.

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