GTX 770 and 1440p

[kekstorm]

Hi guys. I'm looking to buy the Asus Swift 2560x1440 monitor with 144Hz refresh rate. The only problem I have is my current video card, MSI GTX 770 4GB. I know it's not gonna handle my games very well even if I disable AA on 1440p since I play some demanding games like Battlefield 4, Bioschock infinite, Farcry 3, Hitman: Absolution, Crysis 3, and Skyrim with about 60 mods give or take. I have 2 questions. First question is the problem I have with my GPU I want to get to run my games at 1440p 90FPS+. I could get another GTX 770 4GB for $400 and SLI, It's the cheaper solution but it will just be a waste of money in the near future since there is no room for upgrading. On top of that, some games don't support SLI and I've heard of how annoying temperature spikes and frame sluttering can get. The more expensive solution is to get a GTX 780ti. It's currently $650 on newegg and I would think that this card can handle 1440p with no problems at all. Any ideas on which one I should go for? The second question is about anti-aliasing on 1440p. I have heard people say 1440p looks fine with no AA at all, but some people argues that 1440p still need 2x MSAA. Now, I'm not a jaggie extremist, where a single bit of jagged edge will blind me; however, I do like a smoothed out game with minimum jaggies. I sit about 3 and half feet away from my monitor and I ususally use 2x MSAA (1080p) but sometime 4x MSAA (1080p) if it's not a demanding game, I barely notice jaggies unless i put my eyes 1 inch away from my monitor. Would I be able to get by with no AA on 1440p or do I still need 2x MSAA? Some light on this subject would be appreciated, thanks!

[ShadowCaptain]

I have a single 780ti (3gb MSI Gaming).. 

 

While I can pretty much get 60fps at 1440p Ultra with AA on most games, hitting 120fps+ is still quite difficult

 

If you are prepared to drop to high settings at 1440p without AA then you can hit 120fps 1440p

 

AA is less noticable at 1440p, but personally I still notice pixelation and jaggies without it

[SymphonyX7]

Hi guys. I'm looking to buy the Asus Swift 2560x1440 monitor with 144Hz refresh rate. The only problem I have is my current video card, MSI GTX 770 4GB. I know it's not gonna handle my games very well even if I disable AA on 1440p since I play some demanding games like Battlefield 4, Bioschock infinite, Farcry 3, Hitman: Absolution, Crysis 3, and Skyrim with about 60 mods give or take. I have 2 questions. First question is the problem I have with my GPU I want to get to run my games at 1440p 90FPS+. I could get another GTX 770 4GB for $400 and SLI, It's the cheaper solution but it will just be a waste of money in the near future since there is no room for upgrading. On top of that, some games don't support SLI and I've heard of how annoying temperature spikes and frame sluttering can get. The more expensive solution is to get a GTX 780ti. It's currently $650 on newegg and I would think that this card can handle 1440p with no problems at all. Any ideas on which one I should go for? The second question is about anti-aliasing on 1440p. I have heard people say 1440p looks fine with no AA at all, but some people argues that 1440p still need 2x MSAA. Now, I'm not a jaggie extremist, where a single bit of jagged edge will blind me; however, I do like a smoothed out game with minimum jaggies. I sit about 3 and half feet away from my monitor and I ususally use 2x MSAA (1080p) but sometime 4x MSAA (1020p) if it's not a demanding game, I barely notice jaggies unless i put my eyes 1 inch away from my monitor. Would I be able to get by with no AA on 1440p or do I still need 2x MSAA? Some light on this subject would be appreciated, thanks!

Since you already have a 4 GB GTX 770, you could just SLI them. However, a performance increase in every game is not guaranteed. If SLI is supported though, you should be able to enjoy your 144 Hz monitor with 2x MSAA. Anti-aliasing is both VRAM and bandwidth dependent, so even if your 4 GB VRAM is enough, the 256-bit bus won't, despite the very high memory clocks on the GTX 770. Alternatively, you could always opt for cheaper post processing-based AA options like FXAA and TXAA. But personally I'd stick with just 2x MSAA. FXAA and TXAA will blur the entire image, making your 2560x1440 image less sharper, and thus less enjoyable. As you've said, the returns on higher AA settings at higher resolutions like 1440p are low and not apparent. 2x MSAA should be enough.

[RelentlessAF]

If you're going to get one more powerful card, get the 6GB 780 not the ti version. Also SLI is supported by a lot of games, I don't know why people keep saying it isn't.

[Enderman]

I think you should go with a second 770. It will be cheaper than a 780ti but performs better than a titan. Temperatures are not that much of an issue with nvidia cards, they all run pretty cool even in SLI. Plus you got the 4GB 770 which will mean no limitations
Two 770s will be able to get you past 144fps as long as you turn AA off which will be fine on 1440p, you won't notice it unless you look for it.

 

You will probably lose as much money by selling your 770 and buying a 780ti as you will by buying a second 770 and selling both in a couple years.

[ShadowCaptain]

If you're going to get one more powerful card, get the 6GB 780 not the ti version. Also SLI is supported by a lot of games, I don't know why people keep saying it isn't.

 

A lot but not all, and some games do not scale well 

 

I have seen plenty of reviews of games where they had to turn off their second card because of issues

[xXButchXx]

Hi guys. I'm looking to buy the Asus Swift 2560x1440 monitor with 144Hz refresh rate. The only problem I have is my current video card, MSI GTX 770 4GB. I know it's not gonna handle my games very well even if I disable AA on 1440p since I play some demanding games like Battlefield 4, Bioschock infinite, Farcry 3, Hitman: Absolution, Crysis 3, and Skyrim with about 60 mods give or take. I have 2 questions. First question is the problem I have with my GPU I want to get to run my games at 1440p 90FPS+. I could get another GTX 770 4GB for $400 and SLI, It's the cheaper solution but it will just be a waste of money in the near future since there is no room for upgrading. On top of that, some games don't support SLI and I've heard of how annoying temperature spikes and frame sluttering can get. The more expensive solution is to get a GTX 780ti. It's currently $650 on newegg and I would think that this card can handle 1440p with no problems at all. Any ideas on which one I should go for? The second question is about anti-aliasing on 1440p. I have heard people say 1440p looks fine with no AA at all, but some people argues that 1440p still need 2x MSAA. Now, I'm not a jaggie extremist, where a single bit of jagged edge will blind me; however, I do like a smoothed out game with minimum jaggies. I sit about 3 and half feet away from my monitor and I ususally use 2x MSAA (1080p) but sometime 4x MSAA (1080p) if it's not a demanding game, I barely notice jaggies unless i put my eyes 1 inch away from my monitor. Would I be able to get by with no AA on 1440p or do I still need 2x MSAA? Some light on this subject would be appreciated, thanks!

I'm in the exact same dilemma.

[kekstorm]

If you're going to get one more powerful card, get the 6GB 780 not the ti version. Also SLI is supported by a lot of games, I don't know why people keep saying it isn't.

Excuse my stupidity, what is the actual difference between 780 and 780ti? They both use the same chipset but the Ti outperforms the regular. And would the 6GB GDDR5 be better than a 780tI?

[RelentlessAF]

Excuse my stupidity, what is the actual difference between 780 and 780ti? They both use the same chipset but the Ti outperforms the regular. And would the 6GB GDDR5 be better than a 780tI?

From what I understand it can overclock higher among other things. 6GB of GDDR5 VRAM will be better for higher resolutions, it's made more with 4K in mind but will help you with being able to max texture resolutions at 1440p. Plus if you ever plan a future upgrade to 4K it will be fine with that as well.

[SymphonyX7]

Excuse my stupidity, what is the actual difference between 780 and 780ti? They both use the same chipset but the Ti outperforms the regular. And would the 6GB GDDR5 be better than a 780tI?

They're not the same chipset. The GTX 780 Ti is a fully unlocked GK110, so that means it has more cores than the GTX 780. I suggest against the 6 GB GTX 780 since no game will use all that VRAM, even at 4K resolution (3840x2160). The R9 290 and 290X never max out their 4 GB VRAM at 4K resolution. Heck, even the GTX 780 Ti doesn't at 4K, although reviews have stated that it is very close to maxing out its 3 GB VRAM. But you're only gaming at 2560x1440 which is 3.7 million pixels. That's less than half of 4K, which is 8.8 million pixels. 3 GB should be more than enough for a while at 1440p.

I suggest you read reviews of the GTX 780 Ti and R9 290X running at 4K. There are plenty of them and they should shed light on your inquiries regarding performance at higher resolutions.

[kekstorm]

I have a single 780ti (3gb MSI Gaming).. 

 

While I can pretty much get 60fps at 1440p Ultra with AA on most games, hitting 120fps+ is still quite difficult

 

If you are prepared to drop to high settings at 1440p without AA then you can hit 120fps 1440p

 

AA is less noticable at 1440p, but personally I still notice pixelation and jaggies without it

Do you think I would get about the same or just a tad bit less framerates with my GTX 770 on 1080 as the GTX 780ti on 1440p?

[kekstorm]

They're not the same chipset. The GTX 780 Ti is a fully unlocked GK104, so that means it has more cores than the GTX 780. I suggest against the 6 GB GTX 780 since no game will use all that VRAM, even at 4K resolution (3840x2160). The R9 290 and 290X never max out their 4 GB VRAM at 4K resolution. Heck, even the GTX 780 Ti doesn't at 4K, although reviews have stated that it is very close to doing so. But you're only gaming at 2560x1440 which is 3.7 million pixels. That's less than half of 4K, which is 8.8 million pixels. 3 GB should be more than enough for a while at 1440p.

I suggest you read reviews of the GTX 780 Ti and R9 290X running at 4K. There are plenty of them and they should shed light on your inquiries regarding performance at higher resolutions.

Ah, thanks for the explanation! I knew I should've went with the 2GB version of 770 a year ago, oh well...

[ShadowCaptain]

Do you think I would get about the same or just a tad bit less framerates with my GTX 770 on 1080 as the GTX 780ti on 1440p?

 

Pretty much, you could say so yeah

[SymphonyX7]

Ah, thanks for the explanation! I knew I should've went with the 2GB version of 770 a year ago, oh well...

No... You actually made a good decision by getting the 4 GB GTX 770 as the 2 GB GTX 770 is pretty much considered obsolete these days because it cannot max out many of the latest titles, even at "just" 1080p, simply because it doesn't have enough VRAM. No one in their right mind would pay over $300 for a card that cannot max out settings at 1080p, so you made the right call to get the 4 GB GTX 770. If you happen to come across another GTX 770 4 GB on the cheap, I suggest you just SLI it if the games you play are SLI optimized. You should research on that first, because I have no idea what you play. If they're SLI optimized, it will trounce a single GTX 780 Ti.

[kekstorm]

Alright thanks for the suggestions guys. After some research on the games I play, it seems like almost all of my games support SLI and only a few of them have minor issues (WoW and Farcry 3). I will go with the SLI due to the overwhelming positive reviews of it on the games I play and steam.