Well, I purchased another gtx 680 from a local computer store brand new. I was pretty excited about it, but now that I'm trying it out I'm not really seeing a difference (fps wise) I'm actually seeing a decrease in performance. In batman arkham city single card mode benchmark I get 40 fps solid. With Sli mode enabled I get 38 fps (I ran the tests 2 times each.) In gta 4 ballad of gay tony benchmark, I got a similar 42fps with a single card, and 36 with sli enabled. This is my first ever time going with sli, so I may be doing something wrong. I honestly don't have a clue. I did a clean install of the drivers I made sure everything was plugged in, I don't know what else to do. I'm just really disappointed and feel like I've wasted quite a bit of money for absolutely nothing.
 
If someone could give me a hand, that would be really awesome. Thanks.
 
also another thing to note, I'm not sure if this is normal but the cards seem to downclock often to around 700-750 mhz, even when they are 50-60 degrees celcius.
 
Pc specs: I5 3570k @4.2
8gb ddr3 K hyper X
128gb ssd
gtx 680 sli (sc + editions)
asus p8z77 v - pro motherboard
corsair 850w gold powersupply quad sli ready
 
If you need more details please do ask! :)
 
I just want to feel like this purchase was worth it :p
 
 

Its because the drivers need to mature more at the moment for SLI. SLI does suck with certain games. Read this thread about some one else having a problem with SLI even thou he really is having problems with it in one particular game. http://www.evga.com/forums/tm.aspx?m=1657729
 
Ya I know what you mean sometimes my FPS dips like that. BUT the good thing about SLI is that my min frames have increased. So that is a plus on it. Well I hope that thread helps you out. If not just ask some more questions.

you really need to mention what resolution that your monitor or monitors are running at....??
 
Then, go thru some basic steps :
1) did you put the SLI bridge connecting the cards on ?
2) in the Nvidia driver control panel - did you click the button for SLI - says something like " maximize 3D performance "
 

 
This is also an extensive links to many questions....   http://www.geforce.com/hardware/technology/SLI/faq

Forgot to mention that :p I currently have a 25" 1920x1080 120hz monitor. And yes my sli bridge is connected properly, and I did click "maximize 3d performance"

at 1080p resolutions , you just aren't going to see a huge difference running 1 680 or 2x of them - they are pretty powerfull cards by themselves , especially at that resolution
 
Make sure you turn  OFF  VSYNC  and crank all visuals to the MAX &  that's about all you can do to push those babies.
 
Run 3dMark and Heaven benchmarks just to make sure they are both working fine - test w/ 1 then add the 2nd  to see different results but in the end , I am sorry to say with that monitor/ resolution  you did not need  2 x 680's 

Good point about the Vsync. I failed to mention that. That right there can solve A LOT of SLI problems for people