NVidia SLI, which setup?

[Shaqo_Wyn]

I definitely want to do SLI. I definitely want EVGA NVidia 780's. Which setup will give me the most power/best performance in terms of pushing 100+ fps, 1080p and up gaming. 

 

Two EVGA 780 SC 6GB w/ ACX or two EVGA 780 ti Classy's?

Will I really benefit from having 12GB total vs 6GB? 

[nishank93]

780Tis will give you greater FPS unless you're going to push more pixels than on a 1440p monitor.

 

Also, VRAM on one GPU is exclusive to that GPU. You will benefit from more than 3GB of VRAM per GPU only if you run a very high resolution or very high quality textures.

[JoshM]

extra vram won't been needed at 1080p, if you were going like 1600p+ I would say yeah (I normally go for vram my self haha but 6gb is not needed at 1080p)

[TheDigitalRealm]

You won't ever use that much VRAM because the GPU isn't powerful enough to use it all - which is why the reference design has 3GB, it's the optimal amount the core can deal with, any more and it struggles. *This is in stock games by the way. Modded games are a different story*

[Praxis727]

2 770s would do the trick for you also. Most will tell you that if you want to do 1440p to sli some 780s.  One 780 ti should handle a 1440p monitor.  If you get sli 770 4g then you will have 4g of vram and the speed to push it.  Will cost you just over 1 780ti and you will get better performance.

 

Ofc the 780 6g would be the more solid choice if you are looking to spend a bit more.

[Shaqo_Wyn]

You won't ever use that much VRAM because the GPU isn't powerful enough to use it all - which is why the reference design has 3GB, it's the optimal amount the core can deal with, any more and it struggles. *This is in stock games by the way. Modded games are a different story*

So you're saying the 780 SC 6GB can't optimally utilize the 6GB VRAM it comes with?

[Shaqo_Wyn]

2 770s would do the trick for you also. Most will tell you that if you want to do 1440p to sli some 780s.  One 780 ti should handle a 1440p monitor.  If you get sli 770 4g then you will have 4g of vram and the speed to push it.  Will cost you just over 1 780ti and you will get better performance.

 

Ofc the 780 6g would be the more solid choice if you are looking to spend a bit more.

And what's the best I can push with SLI 780ti Classy's?

[TheDigitalRealm]

So you're saying the 780 SC 6GB can't optimally utilize the 6GB VRAM it comes with?

 

Nope, even a Titan Black at 4K used 3.3GB max, and that was in Crysis 3 with the AA turned up. 

[TheDigitalRealm]

And what's the best I can push with SLI 780ti Classy's?

 

In terms of resolution? 4K at high settings at ~50fps in most titles. At ultra you'd be looking at ~30fps in most new titles, with Bioshock getting near 60 fps. I wouldn't ever buy a monitor if I knew my GPU could only just push games at 60fps on high, only to have new releases run much worse. 

 

The maximum resolution you could comfortably run every game at 60fps+ on ultra would be a 3440 x 1440 monitor. 

[Shaqo_Wyn]

Nope, even a Titan Black at 4K used 3.3GB max, and that was in Crysis 3 with the AA turned up. 

K, and what would you recommend then 3GB 780's SLI or 780ti's SLI. I should mention that I wanna run Flightsim X on ultra with a bunch of mods.

[othertomperson]

You won't ever use that much VRAM because the GPU isn't powerful enough to use it all - which is why the reference design has 3GB, it's the optimal amount the core can deal with, any more and it struggles. *This is in stock games by the way. Modded games are a different story*

 

One of them isn't, but OP is talking about an SLI configuration.

 

Basically if you're going for 4k you want the extra vram, if you're not don't bother with it.

[TheDigitalRealm]

One of them isn't, but OP is talking about an SLI configuration.

 

Basically if you're going for 4k you want the extra vram, if you're not don't bother with it.

 

SLI doesn't increase memory usage? Take a look at Digital Storm's 4K memory usage tests. Two titan Blacks used 3.3GB at maximum. That was on Crysis 3. 

 

 

K, and what would you recommend then 3GB 780's SLI or 780ti's SLI. I should mention that I wanna run Flightsim X on ultra with a bunch of mods.

 

If you really want to game at 4K I'd go AMD, not Nvidia. At 4K 290X Crossfire is king. If you must go AMD, go for the 780 Ti SLI. If you know you'll be installing mods, then VRAM will make a difference. You may want to look into the 6GB cards. 

[Praxis727]

It's always been my understanding that the vram doesn't stack because it needs to be mirrored with what information it has.  But your processing power and memory bandwith do stack so potential for more ram is actually useful.  Titan caps out at 3.3g  the bus speed on it is 3.36 Gb/s or something like that.  With 2 titans you should be able to max out everything thrown on more monitors and if you push it enough achieve 6.6 GBps.   I could be wrong but that is how I understood sli eliminating the bottleneck.

 

That as well as the processing speed of course.  Speed is rate your card displays and creates information bus is how fast you can store and retrieve stored information. Ram being how much you can store.

[Shaqo_Wyn]

SLI doesn't increase memory usage? Take a look at Digital Storm's 4K memory usage tests. Two titan Blacks used 3.3GB at maximum. That was on Crysis 3. 

 

 

 

If you really want to game at 4K I'd go AMD, not Nvidia. At 4K 290X Crossfire is king. If you must go AMD, go for the 780 Ti SLI. If you know you'll be installing mods, then VRAM will make a difference. You may want to look into the 6GB cards. 

 Right now 1440p on 3 monitors with FSX on Ultra with mods installed for texture, realism etc. 4K in the not too distant future. Also shooters.

[TheDigitalRealm]

 Right now 1440p on 3 monitors with FSX on Ultra with mods installed for texture, realism etc. 4K in the not too distant future. Also shooters.

 

4K monitor = 8.25 million pixels 

3x 1440p monitor = 11.05 million pixels. 

 

So ultra with mods? No chance. 4K isn't really a thing with current gen GPU's unless you have two 295X2's which come with their own issues. 

[Shaqo_Wyn]

4K monitor = 8.25 million pixels 

3x 1440p monitor = 11.05 million pixels. 

 

So ultra with mods? No chance. 4K isn't really a thing with current gen GPU's unless you have two 295X2's which come with their own issues. 

What monitor setup would get the most out of SLI 780ti Classy's in terms of fps and picture quality in your opinion?

[dragoon20005]

 Right now 1440p on 3 monitors with FSX on Ultra with mods installed for texture, realism etc. 4K in the not too distant future. Also shooters.

to add on

 

with dual 295x2s you will also need a motherboard which can support the system bus bandwidth between the CPU and GPU

 

in this case only the lga 2011 six core CPU and the X79 board which can support dual 16X PCI-express speeds to the GPU

 

drivers for the 295x2 is still not stable

 

and you need a huge power supply of excess of over 1300 watts to power two dual gpus

 

plus you will need a casing to install the cards along with the radiators

[dragoon20005]

What monitor setup would get the most out of SLI 780ti Classy's in terms of fps and picture quality in your opinion?

780TI SLi

 

your best bet will be single 4K monitor at 60Hz

 

or the upcoming ROG Swift 1440P 144Hz gaming monitor from Asus

[TheDigitalRealm]

What monitor setup would get the most out of SLI 780ti Classy's in terms of fps and picture quality in your opinion?

 

Between 3 1440p monitors and a single 4K? Well I don't think either would run great with two 780 Ti's to be quite honest, looking at the benchmarks. They just aren't powerful enough. Out of the two it'd be the single 4K monitor, but you'll be disappointed with the performance.

 

I'd still go wide-screen 1440p. 

[dragoon20005]

right now 4K gaming or gaming with three 1440P monitors is downright crazy as you will need to spend close to 5 grand on the system alone

 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU:  Intel Core i7-4930K 3.4GHz 6-Core Processor  ($549.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler:  Cooler Master Seidon 120XL 86.2 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard:  Asus Rampage IV Black Edition EATX LGA2011 Motherboard  ($468.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory:  G.Skill Ripjaws Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Storage:  Sandisk Extreme II 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($154.44 @ Amazon)
Storage:  Western Digital BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($144.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card:  XFX Radeon R9 290X 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card (4-Way CrossFire)  ($494.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card:  XFX Radeon R9 290X 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card (4-Way CrossFire)  ($494.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card:  XFX Radeon R9 290X 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card (4-Way CrossFire)  ($494.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card:  XFX Radeon R9 290X 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card (4-Way CrossFire)  ($494.99 @ NCIX US)
Case:  Cooler Master HAF Stacker 935 ATX Full Tower Case  ($163.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply:  Cooler Master Silent Pro M2 1500W 80+ Silver Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($319.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive:  LG WH16NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer  ($59.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor:  Asus VE228H 21.5" Monitor  ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Case Fan:  Corsair Air Series AF120 Performance Edition (2-Pack) 63.5 CFM 120mm  Fans  ($24.15 @ NCIX US)
Fan Controller:  BitFenix Recon (Black) Fan Controller  ($39.98 @ OutletPC)
Keyboard:  Corsair Vengeance K70 Wired Gaming Keyboard  ($125.99 @ Amazon)
Mouse:  Logitech G502 Wired Optical Mouse  ($79.99 @ Best Buy)
Headphones:  Corsair Vengeance 2100 7.1 Channel Headset  ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $4562.39
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-05 05:57 EDT-0400)

 

this build is using four 290X but they will be water cooled so that will bring up the cost to 6k with all the watercooling parts

 

add the 3 ROG monitors which cost $799 each and you have to pay a whooping 8 grand!!!

 

yikes

[Shaqo_Wyn]

780TI SLi

 

your best bet will be single 4K monitor at 60Hz

 

or the upcoming ROG Swift 1440P 144Hz gaming monitor from Asus

 

 

Between 3 1440p monitors and a single 4K? Well I don't think either would run great with two 780 Ti's to be quite honest, looking at the benchmarks. They just aren't powerful enough. Out of the two it'd be the single 4K monitor, but you'll be disappointed with the performance.

 

I'd still go wide-screen 1440p. 

 

 

right now 4K gaming or gaming with three 1440P monitors is downright crazy as you will need to spend close to 5 grand on the system alone

 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU:  Intel Core i7-4930K 3.4GHz 6-Core Processor  ($549.99 @ Newegg)

CPU Cooler:  Cooler Master Seidon 120XL 86.2 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($79.99 @ Newegg)

Motherboard:  Asus Rampage IV Black Edition EATX LGA2011 Motherboard  ($468.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Memory:  G.Skill Ripjaws Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($149.99 @ Newegg)

Storage:  Sandisk Extreme II 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($154.44 @ Amazon)

Storage:  Western Digital BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($144.99 @ Amazon)

Video Card:  XFX Radeon R9 290X 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card (4-Way CrossFire)  ($494.99 @ NCIX US)

Video Card:  XFX Radeon R9 290X 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card (4-Way CrossFire)  ($494.99 @ NCIX US)

Video Card:  XFX Radeon R9 290X 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card (4-Way CrossFire)  ($494.99 @ NCIX US)

Video Card:  XFX Radeon R9 290X 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card (4-Way CrossFire)  ($494.99 @ NCIX US)

Case:  Cooler Master HAF Stacker 935 ATX Full Tower Case  ($163.98 @ Newegg)

Power Supply:  Cooler Master Silent Pro M2 1500W 80+ Silver Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($319.99 @ Newegg)

Optical Drive:  LG WH16NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer  ($59.98 @ OutletPC)

Monitor:  Asus VE228H 21.5" Monitor  ($129.99 @ Amazon)

Case Fan:  Corsair Air Series AF120 Performance Edition (2-Pack) 63.5 CFM 120mm  Fans  ($24.15 @ NCIX US)

Fan Controller:  BitFenix Recon (Black) Fan Controller  ($39.98 @ OutletPC)

Keyboard:  Corsair Vengeance K70 Wired Gaming Keyboard  ($125.99 @ Amazon)

Mouse:  Logitech G502 Wired Optical Mouse  ($79.99 @ Best Buy)

Headphones:  Corsair Vengeance 2100 7.1 Channel Headset  ($89.99 @ Newegg)

Total: $4562.39

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-05 05:57 EDT-0400)

 

this build is using four 290X but they will be water cooled so that will bring up the cost to 6k with all the watercooling parts

 

add the 3 ROG monitors which cost $799 each and you have to pay a whooping 8 grand!!!

 

yikes

Aight, well neither 3x 1440p or 4K are a must. I just wanted to get an idea of what is possible. $8000 yikes indeed sir . So 1440P. Can you guys give me some recommendations for monitors of this caliber?

[TheDigitalRealm]

Aight, well neither 3x 1440p or 4K are a must. I just wanted to get an idea of what is possible. $8000 yikes indeed sir . So 1440P. Can you guys give me some recommendations for monitors of this caliber?

 

Well, considering you probably won't be breaking 60fps in many games, even with four R9 290X GPU's, I'd go for an ASUS PB series 1440p monitor.

[DildorTheDecent]

It's always been my understanding that the vram doesn't stack because it needs to be mirrored with what information it has. But your processing power and memory bandwith do stack so potential for more ram is actually useful. Titan caps out at 3.3g the bus speed on it is 3.36 Gb/s or something like that. With 2 titans you should be able to max out everything thrown on more monitors and if you push it enough achieve 6.6 GBps. I could be wrong but that is how I understood sli eliminating the bottleneck.

That as well as the processing speed of course. Speed is rate your card displays and creates information bus is how fast you can store and retrieve stored information. Ram being how much you can store.

You're right on VRAM not stacking in SLi.

Core count, does stack. I'm not sure on the card throughput though but I'm pretty sure it does.

[Shaqo_Wyn]

Well, considering you probably won't be breaking 60fps in many games, even with four R9 290X GPU's, I'd go for an ASUS PB series 1440p monitor.

Like this bad boy http://www.asus.com/nl/Monitors_Projectors/PB278Q/ ? In what games would I see 60+ / 100+ fps?

[Tacitus]

What monitor setup would get the most out of SLI 780ti Classy's in terms of fps and picture quality in your opinion?

A 1440p monitor, but then only go for 780 sli, or consider the 21:9 LG 34UM95 - a 3440x1440p monitor. It looks truly excellent.