Anyone running SLI mode?

[scorpion71]

I'm thinking of getting another graphics card (current one Nvidia GTS250 1GB) so I can run my games in SLI - just wandering if anyone is doing this in railworks and has it made much of a difference in framerates?

I've only got 4GB of RAM and I'm also going to double it up to 8GB - but if people don't see much difference with SLI then I won't bother with the extra GFX card.

I'm running in Windows 7, 64 bit.

[nsupersonic]

I am using a gtx 295 at present and have previously used two gtx280 cards in SLI.
SLi makes no real value for money difference in my experience and the framerate gain becomes meaningless, the more scenery / trains added to the route.
Unless you have other serious graphical entertainment or CAD packages, consider a higher spec card from nvida or ati; than the gts250 you have now and not to spend out £400-600 on a top of the range card(s).

stable spec i am using
q9650 3.0ghz processor
2 x 300gb 10,000rpm wd raptors
1 gtx 295 card (now out of date)
8gb 1300mhz memory
fatality platinum sound card from creative
Intel dp45sg extreme motherboard
antec 1200 case (+ other connected hard drives etc)
(built by me)
windows xp 32bit and windows xp 64bit - Railworks works on both
hope this helps.. Nsupersonic

[Wikkus]

For what it's worth I'm "only" using two GeForce 8800GTX in SLI and it's an improvement over a single 8800GTX ;p

I did have a 295 sat here but it went pop the instant I applied power to it No, it won't get replaced any time soon 'cause it was a "cheap" £150 deal from a friend of mine and, to be honest, the pair of 8800s is pretty good anyway -- Vsync'd, 1920x1080 with 4x MS + 2x SLI SS yields 60fps for most of the time, choking only when there's masses of stuff on screen.

Some will argue that SLI does nothing for Railworks. True, natively, it makes no discernible difference. However, when you assign texture sampling chores to it, it's useful... My decision to go SLI was not influenced by RW, mind. It was influenced primarily by World In Conflict Oh, and getting the second 8800 for £50 helped, too

In summary, I'd not go down the SLI route right now purely for RW. In saying this, with brand new GTS 250s coming in at 80-something quid, it'd be quite a tidy little upgrade if your PSU can cope (budget circa 300W for the GPUs alone...).

You didn't state what motherboard and CPU you're running, but this is where RW is hungriest...

4GB of RAM is fine for RW, any more is probably an extravagance. Additionally,if you're overclocking (or plan to), expect headaches with 4 x 2GB modules unless you're prepared to go the 2 x 4GB route.

Rgds, Rik.

[exshunter]

As far as i knew a gtx 295 is 2 cards in one, or on one pcb anyway. Or at least mine is ?

[Wikkus]

As far as i knew a gtx 295 is 2 cards in one, or on one pcb anyway. Or at least mine is ?

It is; the SLI is done via a micro-bridge tucked away inside...

Rik.

[Wikkus]

consider a higher spec card from nvida or ati; than the gts250 you have now and not to spend out £400-600 on a top of the range card(s).

Please explain because it's not clear what you mean...

Rik.

[djt01]

For what it's worth I'm "only" using two GeForce 8800GTX in SLI and it's an improvement over a single 8800GTX ;p

Some will argue that SLI does nothing for Railworks. True, natively, it makes no discernible difference. However, when you assign texture sampling chores to it, it's useful
Rgds, Rik.

Have you tried enabling SuperSampling AA with the cards in SLI? If so are you forcing alternate frame rendering or split frame rendering on RailWorks? I’d be curious as what you are getting for performance with SLI and SuperSampling AA and RailWorks.

The last time I tried SLI was with two GTX 280’s and with RailSim/RailWorks it didn’t do much for performance.

[nsupersonic]

consider a higher spec card from nvida or ati; than the gts250 you have now and not to spend out £400-600 on a top of the range card(s).

Please explain because it's not clear what you mean...

Rik.

Explanation as follows - the next available model up suggestion - finances allowing in the current climate (not knowing what you could afford)
regards
nsupersonic

p.s - anotherwords only buy if current graphics card seriously unable to cope

[Wikkus]

Explanation as follows - the next available model up suggestion - finances allowing in the current climate (not knowing what you could afford)

p.s - anotherwords {sic} only buy if current graphics card seriously unable to cope

Rrrright... The next model up is the GTX260. This would *not* see a doubling in performance over a single GTS 250 although a gain would be seen. Slotting in another 250 for about half the cost of the 260 *could* see some performance gains if, for example, one could hand off PhysX chores to a specific GPU and more generally, to take advantage of the many other games (other than RW) that can benefit directly from SLI.

However, as I posted earlier, what CPU is the OP using? Because that's likely to make more of a difference than either adding another 250, swapping to a 260 or even throwing money at something monstrous like a GTX480...

R.

[Wikkus]

Have you tried enabling SuperSampling AA with the cards in SLI?

Yes, but only very lowly settings due to the general weakness of my system in this respect.

If so are you forcing alternate frame rendering or split frame rendering on RailWorks?

Good point. No, I'd not forced it but may try a with/without test to see what (if any) difference it makes.

I’d be curious as what you are getting for performance with SLI and SuperSampling AA and RailWorks.

Previously, I was using settings as I'd originally outlined in the nHancer thread (that seemed to die a death...), i.e. a 'combined' setting (typically, 1x2 SS + 2x MS) and I was quite happy with the results. Then, I started to experiment with using SLI AA settings (4x MS + 2x SLI SS at the moment) and felt that this was an improvement. Sure, I'm quite limited by the overall graphical and processing horsepower from my two, ageing 8800GTX cards and my similarly "old" QX6700, respectively, but this is all the more reason why I wished to eke out more performance *and* quality because I simply cannot justify anything newer that would simply allow me to "turn everything up to 11" and still not miss a beat

The last time I tried SLI was with two GTX 280’s and with RailSim/RailWorks it didn’t do much for performance.

This could all be coincidence and some of the improvements I've seen have lain within improvements that RSC have applied to the core game itself -- I rarely get any "Something Bad has happened" messages these days -- and because RW has no 'benchmark' mode, this is all rather subjective, but certainly, when I first changed the settings, it *seemed* as if things had improved.

Rik.

[nsupersonic]

Explanation as follows - the next available model up suggestion - finances allowing in the current climate (not knowing what you could afford)

p.s - anotherwords {sic} only buy if current graphics card seriously unable to cope

Rrrright... The next model up is the GTX260. This would *not* see a doubling in performance over a single GTS 250 although a gain would be seen. Slotting in another 250 for about half the cost of the 260 *could* see some performance gains if, for example, one could hand off PhysX chores to a specific GPU and more generally, to take advantage of the many other games (other than RW) that can benefit directly from SLI.

However, as I posted earlier, what CPU is the OP using? Because that's likely to make more of a difference than either adding another 250, swapping to a 260 or even throwing money at something monstrous like a GTX480...

R.

Quite agree with last point about the CPU ; OP may be using and the GTX480 is way too extreme anyway

regards
nsupersonic

[djt01]

Yes, but only very lowly settings due to the general weakness of my system in this respect.

Good point. No, I'd not forced it but may try a with/without test to see what (if any) difference it makes.

Previously, I was using settings as I'd originally outlined in the nHancer thread (that seemed to die a death...), i.e. a 'combined' setting (typically, 1x2 SS + 2x MS) and I was quite happy with the results. Then, I started to experiment with using SLI AA settings (4x MS + 2x SLI SS at the moment) and felt that this was an improvement. Sure, I'm quite limited by the overall graphical and processing horsepower from my two, ageing 8800GTX cards and my similarly "old" QX6700, respectively, but this is all the more reason why I wished to eke out more performance *and* quality because I simply cannot justify anything newer that would simply allow me to "turn everything up to 11" and still not miss a beat

This could all be coincidence and some of the improvements I've seen have lain within improvements that RSC have applied to the core game itself -- I rarely get any "Something Bad has happened" messages these days -- and because RW has no 'benchmark' mode, this is all rather subjective, but certainly, when I first changed the settings, it *seemed* as if things had improved.

Rik.

Thanks Rik, if you experiment with alternate frame rendering in the future please post your results.

[djt01]

Quite agree with last point about the CPU ; OP may be using and the GTX480 is way too extreme anyway

regards
nsupersonic

Actually I didn’t expect to see a big improvement with the GTX 480 and RailWorks but much to my surprise it has allowed me to use 8xQ SuperSampling without any significant frame rate loss. This is something I was not able to do with the GTX 285 or ATI 5870.

So if you have the CPU to back it and you crave the best image quality (completely shimmer-less transparency textures) then the GTX 480 isn’t “too extreme”.

[mforeman04]

Im currently running 2 GTS 250 cards in SLI. I do a fair bit of image editing as well as gaming which justifies it for me.

With my current spec (see signature) im seeing about 100 - 120 fps dropping to about 70 - 80 in well built up areas.

[djt01]

Im currently running 2 GTS 250 cards in SLI. I do a fair bit of image editing as well as gaming which justifies it for me.

Unless the image editing software specifically takes advantage of multiple GPU’s (I don’t know of any that does), I don’t see how SLI would do any better than a single mid to high end GPU.

With my current spec (see signature) im seeing about 100 - 120 fps dropping to about 70 - 80 in well built up areas.

At what resolution and what AA/AF level?

With RailWorks being primarily CPU dependent the performance is coming from that i7 not the GTS 250.