2 way 770 SLI or 780ti for 1080p gaming?

[OMA JOKER]

I am fairly new to pc gaming and am now getting the bug to want to upgrade every time I see something knew and shiny. My rig consist of an intel 4670k which I hv yet to overclock but will do when I am confident enough to do so, as well as 8GB of Kingston HyperX Beast RAM and a factory overclocked KFA2 GTX 770. Im happy with my rig but ever since getting my pc I've become a bit of a graphics whore and want to see everything maxed out at 60fps. Now this is probably very foolish of me but nevertheless it is hw I now feel which sucks because nw all my games on Xbox One look like shit in comparison and I no longer touch the bloody thing after forking out nearly £500 for it, which by the way I had purchase before my pc. Anyway with the upcoming game Watchdogs coming out and future games looking rather taxing on systems, I feel I need to upgrade. This new deal that allows for a free code for Watchdogs with select Nvidia cards made it feel like the opportune moment to purchase an upgrade. now as I said I'm very knew to this pc stuff so I was unsure as to whether I should go SLI or just fork out the extra cash for a better single graphics card. I run my pc through my 1080p TV due to lack of space and I just prefer to play with a controller lying bk on my bed then with a mouse and keyboard. So 2 770s in SLI sounds like a tad overkill just for 1080p gaming but its far cheaper for me to go with SLI then the other option which is a 780ti. Im also worried about heat as I'm not sure hw hot cards get in SLI, I only hv a mid tower case therefore less space and air to flow around, plus would it be a waste of time considering some games don't even support SLI and therefore I am just wasting power and producing more heat when only one graphics card will be utilised. 

 

Anyway the fact of the matter is for 1080p gaming I want to play games like watch dogs, Metro Last Light, Crysis 3 on ultra at a solid 60fps should I go with the cheaper option which would be the 2 way 770 SLI which comes to around £380 and thats including a Corsair RM 1000W or the rather more pricey option the 780ti which comes to £630 with the Corsair RM 850w which I'm not keen to fork out that much for but if I'm better for it I will. I do apologise for the incredibly long question but any answer would be much appreciated.

[C1intFunWood]

Just get 1 770 cause both of those options are overkill for 1080p. But if really want to get the 780ti because SLI has scaling issues and has bugs and wont even work on some games.

 

and Welcome to LTT, good luck....once you are here you will never leave.........

[MrYuriy]

@OMA JOKER - 

 

Personally, I say go with a GTX 780 Ti. I usually always recommend going with 1 'high' card over 2 'medium' cards.

I recommend this most of the time - for a few reasons. One, is you are more susceptible to bumping into bugs/issues with SLI, such as problems with certain games, scaling, and other issues. Especially if you're still amateur with PCs. Two, is simply for sakes of future proofing. Say you get 2 770's. Your next option/upgrade is to do a 3-Way SLI (horribly unlikely.. why keep investing in mediocrity, as it will be that far into the future?) OR to simply trash those 770's (as their worth will go down tenfold) in order to get a better card, at that time. Whereas, you will have a 780 Ti and still option for going SLI in the future, as this card will hold its value & power much longer.

 

That's just my opinion on your particular scenario. In your case, especially, I say go 780 Ti; as that is two levels over. ( GTX 770 » GTX 780 » GTX 780 Ti )

[CCap]

For those of you whom say (which a lot of people will) "A 780ti is Overkill for 1080p gaming" it isn't-- depending on the games you play. On Just Cause 2 @ 1080p I can't even hit 60fps without turning down AA. On DayZ I can't hit more than 30 when I'm in a town, and 45-55 otherwise. This further proves the "4k isn't here yet" theory. 

 

Really though, you should be fine with one 770 though. It will be able to run games perfectly fine, just not every single preset will be at the highest setting. Turning down some settings isn't always a gamebreaking experience anyways. You are much better off getting a single 770 now, and save for upgrades or splurge on peripherals. I spent all of my budget on a Tower and didn't really consider peripherals at all, and boy I wish I had. Another monitor would have been so helpful...

[NInety]

If you want the most performance now, go with 2 770s.

[OnCue]

Another 770 would be much cheaper and have much better performance...when it works. Unfortunately SLI has some querky problems like stuttering, extra heat, lack of profiles, etc. Personally I would get the SLI setup but that's just me.

Both of these options would be a win, plus if you sell your current 770 you are pretty much halfway to a 780ti anyways.

[C1intFunWood]

For those of you whom say (which a lot of people will) "A 780ti is Overkill for 1080p gaming" it isn't-- depending on the games you play. On Just Cause 2 @ 1080p I can't even hit 60fps without turning down AA. On DayZ I can't hit more than 30 when I'm in a town, and 45-55 otherwise. This further proves the "4k isn't here yet" theory. 

 

Really though, you should be fine with one 770 though. It will be able to run games perfectly fine, just not every single preset will be at the highest setting. Turning down some settings isn't always a gamebreaking experience anyways. You are much better off getting a single 770 now, and save for upgrades or splurge on peripherals. I spent all of my budget on a Tower and didn't really consider peripherals at all, and boy I wish I had. Another monitor would have been so helpful...

DayZ is Extremely CPU heavy btw

[Imabigmac]

I would just get the second 770. But no need for a RM 1000 psu, try like a 750W or 850W max. Even with the 780 ti a 850W is way overkill. 

 

My first post made no sense at all, seeing how I misread the OP. 

For those of you whom say (which a lot of people will) "A 780ti is Overkill for 1080p gaming" it isn't-- depending on the games you play. On Just Cause 2 @ 1080p I can't even hit 60fps without turning down AA. On DayZ I can't hit more than 30 when I'm in a town, and 45-55 otherwise. This further proves the "4k isn't here yet" theory. 

No those are just broken or optimized. 

[Ryan Leech]

For those of you whom say (which a lot of people will) "A 780ti is Overkill for 1080p gaming" it isn't-- depending on the games you play. On Just Cause 2 @ 1080p I can't even hit 60fps without turning down AA. On DayZ I can't hit more than 30 when I'm in a town, and 45-55 otherwise. This further proves the "4k isn't here yet" theory. 

 

Really though, you should be fine with one 770 though. It will be able to run games perfectly fine, just not every single preset will be at the highest setting. Turning down some settings isn't always a gamebreaking experience anyways. You are much better off getting a single 770 now, and save for upgrades or splurge on peripherals. I spent all of my budget on a Tower and didn't really consider peripherals at all, and boy I wish I had. Another monitor would have been so helpful...

I have the same problem with the 770 on 1600x900. Everyone says the 770 is overkill for 1080p but it cannot even max out 1600x900

[KieranFretwell]

DayZ is Extremely CPU heavy btw

Nah, dayz is just poorly optimised.. When i play it with my 780 ti my cpu doesn't go above 70% load and it only uses half of my vram and my gpu load never goes above 60%.. Therefore i get shocking frame rates on shoddy settings.. (get a 780 ti btw)

[Imabigmac]

I have the same problem with the 770 on 1600x900. Everyone says the 770 is overkill for 1080p but it cannot even max out 1600x900

The 770 is not overkill its just enough to get good frames with maxed settings @1080p. I don't for one second believe it can't max out 1600x900, unless you are talking about crisis 3 or Dayz/Arma. 

 

​Holy cow who made the account "1080p"?  for real? 

[Ryan Leech]

The 770 is not overkill its just enough to get good frames with maxed settings @1080p. I don't for one second believe it can't max out 1600x900, unless you are talking about crisis 3 or Dayz/Arma. 

 

​Holy cow who made the account "1080p"?  for real? 

In ARMA 3 on ultra I only get 27 fps...

[imthewalrus]

I would suggest a single 770, as it is more than enough for 1080p gaming for most games. A 780 (non ti) will also be good if you can afford the extra cost, and if you want to future proof. Like others said, SLI brings lots of buggs, and instability, many games or applications do not even support it. 

 

 

For those of you whom say (which a lot of people will) "A 780ti is Overkill for 1080p gaming" it isn't-- depending on the games you play. On Just Cause 2 @ 1080p I can't even hit 60fps without turning down AA. On DayZ I can't hit more than 30 when I'm in a town, and 45-55 otherwise. This further proves the "4k isn't here yet" theory. 

 

You might want to look for a bottleneck or problem that could be happening in your system. I can get 55 fps in a town at 1440p with a 7950. Like another person said, DayZ is extremely taxing on CPU.

[i_build_nanosuits]

i would go with 1 GTX 780 and acquire another down the road on the used market for cheap in a year or so...

[Imabigmac]

In ARMA 3 on ultra I only get 27 fps...

780 ti on 1440p ultra can't even get passed 25..... I get 30 on high and thats iffy. 

[Gauzl]

Just get 1 770 cause both of those options are overkill for 1080p. But if really want to get the 780ti because SLI has scaling issues and has bugs and wont even work on some games.

and Welcome to LTT, good luck....once you are here you will never leave.........

it's not overkill until you're pushing more then 120fps on all highest settings, which not even a single 780ti will do.

[MegaTechPC]

I would suggest a single 770, as it is more than enough for 1080p gaming for most games. A 780 (non ti) will also be good if you can afford the extra cost, and if you want to future proof. Like others said, SLI brings lots of buggs, and instability, many games or applications do not even support it. 

 

 

You might want to look for a bottleneck or problem that could be happening in your system. I can get 55 fps in a town at 1440p with a 7950. Like another person said, DayZ is extremely taxing on CPU.

 

What games don't support SLI/CF, please do tell?  This is an argument from back in 2007 and has little application in 2014.  Today EVERY new game supports SLI/CF and any older games that don't won't require the power of a second 770 anyway...

[imthewalrus]

What games don't support SLI/CF, please do tell?  This is an argument from back in 2007 and has little application in 2014.  Today EVERY new game supports SLI/CF and any older games that don't won't require the power of a second 770 anyway...

 

I would agree with the games portion of your statement. However, adobe premiere CC does not take advantage of dual graphics configuration, im pretty sure there are other applications that dont, however i think this is irrelevant for this post.

[OMA JOKER]

Cheers for all the replies lads and the warm welcome from 

C1intFunWood,  I'm definitely leaning towards the 780ti even with its dauntingly high price tag and even though I know two 770's in SLI would outperform a 780ti. Its mainly just for the sheer fact I'm put off by the idea of running into complications with an SLI configuration as I am unsure as to whether I would be able to deal with such issues that some people hv raised in this topic. Oh and for  those of u think I'm buying two 770's I already own one so I would not be buying two. Also for those of u who feel that one 770 is decent enough 2 run most games at max, u are somewhat right, most games do run at max and at very stable fps but most AAA games such as AC Black Flag, Hitman Absolution, run into problems. Black flag ran at 12 fps during ship battles and boarding and I was running at the recommended settings for the 770 using Nvidia Geforce experience, and even with a bit of tinkering it still ran pretty rough during these scenes. The way I see it is if my 770 cant handle games like AC Black Flag the way id like it 2 hw the fuck is it gona run games like Watchdogs at an fps I find acceptable and graphics I that I would like? Upgrade.

[CCap]

You might want to look for a bottleneck or problem that could be happening in your system. I can get 55 fps in a town at 1440p with a 7950. Like another person said, DayZ is extremely taxing on CPU.

I highly doubt that I am bottlenecking with my CPU, I'm using a 4770k...

 

 

 

Cheers for all the replies lads and the warm welcome from 

C1intFunWood,  I'm definitely leaning towards the 780ti even with its dauntingly high price tag and even though I know two 770's in SLI would outperform a 780ti. Its mainly just for the sheer fact I'm put off by the idea of running into complications with an SLI configuration as I am unsure as to whether I would be able to deal with such issues that some people hv raised in this topic. Oh and for  those of u think I'm buying two 770's I already own one so I would not be buying two. Also for those of u who feel that one 770 is decent enough 2 run most games at max, u are somewhat right, most games do run at max and at very stable fps but most AAA games such as AC Black Flag, Hitman Absolution, run into problems. Black flag ran at 12 fps during ship battles and boarding and I was running at the recommended settings for the 770 using Nvidia Geforce experience, and even with a bit of tinkering it still ran pretty rough during these scenes. The way I see it is if my 770 cant handle games like AC Black Flag the way id like it 2 hw the fuck is it gona run games like Watchdogs at an fps I find acceptable and graphics I that I would like? Upgrade.

 

Before you feel the need to upgrade, you should be able to get better FPS than that on AC Black Flag... Try this guide and see if it helps your performance at all. 

 

You should easily be able to hit 60fps if you lower your AA and AO- and you might not even have to go that far with it. The user that reported these benchmarks said that he was using a 670, which really is a 760. Try just lowering a few settings and you should be alright. 

 

Then again, if you feel the need to get more performance, since you already have one 770, I don't see the issue going with a second one. It is a cheaper upgrade, and you'd see just about the same performance as a 780ti (in games that support it). 

[Paralectic]

Get a single 780 and add a second later.

[ThatSweetGamer]

Nah, dayz is just poorly optimised.. When i play it with my 780 ti my cpu doesn't go above 70% load and it only uses half of my vram and my gpu load never goes above 60%.. Therefore i get shocking frame rates on shoddy settings.. (get a 780 ti btw)

I love you're profile .gif. You're my hero. :wub:

[poseidon2988]

Strong Single Gpu is always nice.... 780ti it is:P

 

upgrade in future to sli.

[Sauron]

For those of you whom say (which a lot of people will) "A 780ti is Overkill for 1080p gaming" it isn't-- depending on the games you play. On Just Cause 2 @ 1080p I can't even hit 60fps without turning down AA. On DayZ I can't hit more than 30 when I'm in a town, and 45-55 otherwise. This further proves the "4k isn't here yet" theory. 

 

Really though, you should be fine with one 770 though. It will be able to run games perfectly fine, just not every single preset will be at the highest setting. Turning down some settings isn't always a gamebreaking experience anyways. You are much better off getting a single 770 now, and save for upgrades or splurge on peripherals. I spent all of my budget on a Tower and didn't really consider peripherals at all, and boy I wish I had. Another monitor would have been so helpful...

The problem is not with the 780ti but with poorly optimized games. dayz is a blatant example, where the jump from the 770 to 780ti will only give you 2 fps more maximum and so will a sli configuration (watch totalbiscuit's video on cod ghosts, he has 2 titans and can't run the game well even if it looks like crap). the 780ti is waaay overkill for 1080p and even the 770 is a bit too much, although it does futureproof you for a while. for 1080p, the 780ti is a straight up waste of money, like you said.

[Jaredcb03]

I'm in pretty much the same situation. I currently have an i7-3770, 8GB memory, and EVGA GTX 770, 750W PSU. I've had this setup for some time now and I too am somewhat of a frame rate whore. I want to upgrade but don't want to fork over >$700 for the 780 Ti. I think spending ~$300 for a second GTX 770 is the right move especially after watching benchmarks where they compare dual 770's against single 780's, and other cards. If this were a new build I would absolutely go with a single 780Ti but i already invested in a 770 a while ago. 

 

 

I'll honestly wait and see if the price of the 770 comes down even more as I don't really feel the need to upgrade before Star Citizen comes out. Watch Dogs may change that though....

 

My first post on the forums!!!!