MSI NF980-65 SLI performance issues

Question

Hello,
I have performance issues with the MSI NF980-65 with AMD Phenom II x6 in SLI and QUAD SLI mode.
I have a pair of Geforce 9800 GX2 and Geforce GTX 295. I install the Geforce 9800 GX2, install Nvidia drivers 258.6 for windows vista 32-bit. Restart, run 3dmark and I get a score.
I shut down, install the second Geforce 9800 GX2. Windows Vista installs drivers. I restart. Nvidia control center notifies me that the cards can run better in SLI. I click and follow instructions to enable quad SLI. I run 3dmark 2006 1.0.2. I do not see any performance gain.
I uninstall all both cards. Repeat the same procedure for the Geforce GTX 295. Again. No performance gain. The 295 is not much better than the 9800.
What am I doing wrong? Do these cards suck?
What is worse is that the performance gain of SLI is marginal as opposed to the cost.
Compare the cost of one Geforce 9800 GX2 or Geforce GTX 295 vs Quad SLI of both cards.
This performance is just not worth the cost.
Geforce 9600 GSO (Nvidia Vista drivers 258.96 32bit) ( X4 965 )
Geforce 9800 GX2 (Nvidia Vista drivers 258.96 32bit) ( X4 965 )
Geforce 9800 GX2 Quad Sli (Nvidia Vista drivers 258.96 32bit) ( X6 1090T / MSI NF980-65)
Geforce GTX 295 Quad Sli (Nvidia Vista drivers 258.96 32bit) ( X6 1090T / MSI NF980-65)
When it comes to Computer digital content creation, I cannot believe that the 9800 GX2 performs the same as the GTX 295. Both render a preset picture in about the same amount of time. (Rendering the same picture with 826 objects, 13,932 polygons, 2 light sources, anti-aliasing for objects & textures, 1600x1200:
X6 1090T / MSI NF980-65
Geforce 9600 GSO - 9 mins
Geforce 9800 gx2 - 9 mins
Geforce GTX 295 - 9 mins
This baffles me because I do not know what is the need for SLI or quad SLI? Why buy the latest and greatest if the performance is marginal?
Does any one have similar performance issues with the same or similar hardware?
AMD Phenom II x6 1090T 3.2Ghz
MSI NF980-G65
Corsair Gaming series 2x2GB 4GB total - 1333Mhz
Western Digital Green 1tB, 1tB, 1.5tB, 2tB, 2tB (4 Hard disks)
PSU OCZ GameXStream 850W +3.3V@30A, +5V@30A, +12V1@20A, +12V2@20A, +12V3@20A, +12V4@20A, -12V@1A, [email protected]
Geforce GTX 295 x 2 (quad sli) Nvidia Vista drivers 258.96 32bit
Windows Vista Ultimate SP2 32-Bit
Windows Performance Index : 5.9

Answer 1

OK.....
#1: The 9800GX2's should NOT be using the 256.xx+ series drivers... stick with 197.xx or less for better performance...(I like the 191.xx series for benching)
#2: SLI performance is based on resolution....if not CPU limited....
#3: 3dMark 06' is CPU biased and you will not notice a diff. w/ SLI enabled unless you increase cpu speed. Vantage is a bit better and is more geared toward the GPU. Use benchmarks by Ungine
or "built-in" game demo/benchmarks.
#4: Chambus...remove the middle slot GPU... it lowers the performance of the SLI'd gpu's...remember only the top and bottom pci-e slots are 16x, but only if there is nothing installed in the center slot, at which case only the top gpu will run at 16x all others perform at 8x. Another thing to keep in mind..... the more GPU's installed the higher the CPU will have to be clocked...Over at nvidia we usually recommend a range of 3.4-3.6Ghz (quad-thread)CPU clock speed for 2-way SLI of the 9800 series- 200 series GPUs...at a minimum. The scale shows us to add ~250mhz per GPU after that (even if the GPU is just used for dedicated physX). Of course with the new FERMI GPUs that scale increases significantly. This is called the "bottle-neck" effect and seems to occur more so with nvidia GPUs than ATI/AMD GPUs of the same caliber.
Go into the NVCP (Nvidia Control Panel) and enable the "SLI Indicator" run a game benchmark of your choice and keep an eye on the indicator. If the indicator frequently drops below 50%...you have a CPU bottle-neck.. if it stays @ the 70%+ at all times than you are GPU limited (which is were you want to be).
View This Link to learn more about "proper" SLI