Should I SLI?

[Champion-Craig]

So I was just browsing the market and seeing some cheap used 660's. If I could get a new or used one cheap, think I should go SLI for cheaper performance gain?

[xrex64]

It wont run as well with certain games, I believe, due to drivers. 

[KBGamerr]

What do you plan on doing? Gaming? Video editing? etc

[Tea1337]

Always go for one greater card. But if you can't do that GTX 660's in SLI will do you fine. But you could also put that money towards a GTX 760 or greater?

[Shd0w2]

It'l be good, but maybe single solutions are more welcome here.

[TheRuke]

Sell yours and get like a 770!

[themaniac]

i see no reason not too if you can find one for cheap 

[KBGamerr]

Single cards normally have less problems and less heat, SLI isn't really favored overall.

[helping]

It wont run as well with certain games, I believe, due to drivers. 

Bollocks, the drivers are well matured enough and the games that aren't SLI compatible don't need SLI when using a 660.

[Suika]

The only time people don't recommend an SLI like that is if immediate, but later upgrades are almost always fine. Just be prepared that driver support isn't 100% reliable, but when it is, you'll get a pretty big gain in performance.

[dizmo]

Depends what cheap is to you.

If it's $80, sure why not!

[xrex64]

Bollocks, the drivers are well matured enough and the games that aren't SLI compatible don't need SLI when using a 660.

At least in the future maybe. 

[helping]

At least in the future maybe. 

games that aren't SLI compatible don't need SLI when using a 660

[Lord Pantaloons]

Bollocks, the drivers are well matured enough and the games that aren't SLI compatible don't need SLI when using a 660.

^^^ This, so much this. I'm so tired of people talking about the issues SLI used to have in the 2xx 4xx 5xx series. They aren't there anymore and people should stop giving "advice" when they haven't used SLI in it's current 99% problem free form.

The only real issues are scaling with 3-4way SLI and the only "problem" is that very few games can utilize 4 GPU's and even those that can utilize them poorly. The heat and increased power usage aren't problems, the amount of extra power used would hardly amount to a few cents(or your regional equivalent) a month and heat output is only an issue with the 290/290x or if you have absolutely abysmal airflow in your case. Nvidia 6xx/7xx series GPU's run at very reasonable temperatures and if you're so worried about temps you can get blower cards to add extra exhaust to your case or water cool to rid your case of the heat completely.

 

 

@Champion-Craig

 

SLI 660's would give you excellent performance, if you can get a 660 for about $150 then it's a fantastic idea because they will outperform any single GPU that you might be able to purchase with the amount of money you would have from selling your 660 and adding the equivalent price of another 660. As far as what people will suggest most will say go for a single power powerful GPU so you can add another later for more performance in the long run but the opposite choice would be adding another 660 for an immediate boost in performance at the cost of performance later as you would need to add another 660 to get more and as I said above few games scale very well with 3-4way SLI. Basically you should base your decision on a few factors, 1: Is your current PSU powerful enough o handle SLI 660's 2: What is your upgrade cycle.

 

If you're PSU is powerful enough and you have a long upgrade cycle then my suggestion would be to find a cheap 660 and SLI them, you gain a respectable level of instant performance for a low amount of money. SLI 660's will keep you playing modern games at high settings for awhile, during that time you can save up and when SLI 660's aren't enough you will have enough money to buy a current(at that time) gen high end GPU to replace the SLI 660's. Later you can add another GPU if you find performance lacking.

 

If your PSU isn't powerful enough and the cost of buying a new PSU on top of another 660 would equal or exceed the purchase price of a more powerful single GPU (lets say a 770) you should consider saving enough money to combine with the money you would get from selling your 660 and buy a higher end single GPU. After awhile when the single GPU setup isn't powerful enough anymore you can add another which at that time will be inexpensive. This method would give you less performance immediately if you went with say a 770 but in the long run you have the possibility to have more if you find yourself with a more powerful PSU.

[Champion-Craig]

Always go for one greater card. But if you can't do that GTX 660's in SLI will do you fine. But you could also put that money towards a GTX 760 or greater?

Is the 760 a good card for the price?

[Champion-Craig]

^^^ This, so much this. I'm so tired of people talking about the issues SLI used to have in the 2xx 4xx 5xx series. They aren't there anymore and people should stop giving "advice" when they haven't used SLI in it's current 99% problem free form.

The only real issues are scaling with 3-4way SLI and the only "problem" is that very few games can utilize 4 GPU's and even those that can utilize them poorly. The heat and increased power usage aren't problems, the amount of extra power used would hardly amount to a few cents(or your regional equivalent) a month and heat output is only an issue with the 290/290x or if you have absolutely abysmal airflow in your case. Nvidia 6xx/7xx series GPU's run at very reasonable temperatures and if you're so worried about temps you can get blower cards to add extra exhaust to your case or water cool to rid your case of the heat completely.

 

 

@Champion-Craig

 

SLI 660's would give you excellent performance, if you can get a 660 for about $150 then it's a fantastic idea because they will outperform any single GPU that you might be able to purchase with the amount of money you would have from selling your 660 and adding the equivalent price of another 660. As far as what people will suggest most will say go for a single power powerful GPU so you can add another later for more performance in the long run but the opposite choice would be adding another 660 for an immediate boost in performance at the cost of performance later as you would need to add another 660 to get more and as I said above few games scale very well with 3-4way SLI. Basically you should base your decision on a few factors, 1: Is your current PSU powerful enough o handle SLI 660's 2: What is your upgrade cycle.

 

If you're PSU is powerful enough and you have a long upgrade cycle then my suggestion would be to find a cheap 660 and SLI them, you gain a respectable level of instant performance for a low amount of money. SLI 660's will keep you playing modern games at high settings for awhile, during that time you can save up and when SLI 660's aren't enough you will have enough money to buy a current(at that time) gen high end GPU to replace the SLI 660's. Later you can add another GPU if you find performance lacking.

 

If your PSU isn't powerful enough and the cost of buying a new PSU on top of another 660 would equal or exceed the purchase price of a more powerful single GPU (lets say a 770) you should consider saving enough money to combine with the money you would get from selling your 660 and buy a higher end single GPU. After awhile when the single GPU setup isn't powerful enough anymore you can add another which at that time will be inexpensive. This method would give you less performance immediately if you went with say a 770 but in the long run you have the possibility to have more if you find yourself with a more powerful PSU.

Im currently running a Corsair 750m Power Supply and Thank you

[DJHoro]

750 watt is enough for 2x 660s. I would go for a single 770 unless u can get the 2 660s at a really good price. If the 2 660s are cheaper than a 770 then do it but if not then 770 is the smarter buy. Less heat + power consumption.

[Lord Pantaloons]

Is the 760 a good card for the price?

It's a good card but x2 660's would walk all over it

Im currently running a Corsair 750m Power Supply and Thank you

That's more than enough for SLI 660's

750 watt is enough for 2x 660s. I would go for a single 770 unless u can get the 2 660s at a really good price. If the 2 660s are cheaper than a 770 then do it but if not then 770 is the smarter buy. Less heat + power consumption.

As I said before the addition of another 660 wouldn't even be noticed unless the OP ran their rig 24/7 365 and OP has a 750w PSU.

[DJHoro]

It's a good card but x2 660's would walk all over it

That's more than enough for SLI 660's

As I said before the addition of another 660 wouldn't even be noticed unless the OP ran their rig 24/7 365 and OP has a 750w PSU.

I know he has a 750 watt. I was just saying it was enough. I didnt notice he had a 660 already though. I read his post as looking for multiple 660s. My fault. Just saw his sig. Yes a second 660 is your best bet for cheapest performance gains. It should beat a 770 by a little bit and almost all modern AAA games support SLI.

 

Edit: Personally I would do it since its an easy cheap upgrade and SLI looks sexy.