SLI users tell me...

[Ashley]

I've heard recommendation after recommendation to avoid SLI. I get that multi-GPU has frame time issues (less so on AMD now than it used to be) and less stability and bugs.

 

However I would like to hear from actual SLI users who have gamed on that setup for months or years. What is it actually like? Is it a nightmare to upkeep? Are the criticisms overdone? Or does it run like a dream?

 

Because this is ~10 year old technology and I would think by now NVIDIA, AMD, game devs, and Microsoft (DirectX) would have figured it out.

[Lays]

90% of those problems have been fixed, I had SLI for over a year and never had an issue with it.

 

People assume that SOME people have problems, that every SLI setup has issues, most of it is user error, or using beta drivers (Stay AWAY from beta drivers)

 

@MegaDave91 has also had SLI for a long time, and he hasn't had any issues that I know of either.

[helping]

Are the criticisms overdone?

Yes.

The drivers are mature, 98% of the issues have been ironed out, 1% of the time the problems don't even matter, the other 1% is there because I don't like making absolute statements.

I've used crossfire myself for about 3 years and haven't had a single issue to date

 

tl;dr Most of the people that hate SLI are either too retarded to use a PC or never used it themselves.

 

My PC may not have any SLI action, but I build my friend's PC and tested it out and it was pretty simple to get going and the performance was pretty good (EVGA GTX 770's, 2GB). It seemed like some of the older games that he plays (GTA: San Andreas being one) didn't really like SLI.

i watch almost every game review from TB, and there are very few games he equally has problems with his SLI setup

 

In reference to these, and I cannot say it clearly enough, note that games that don't have/can't use/don't work with/can barely run/are too buggy with SLI at this point in time don't need SLI.

[flibberdipper]

My PC may not have any SLI action, but I build my friend's PC and tested it out and it was pretty simple to get going and the performance was pretty good (EVGA GTX 770's, 2GB). It seemed like some of the older games that he plays (GTA: San Andreas being one) didn't really like SLI.

[Freaky_spider]

i watch almost every game review from TB, and there are very few games he equally has problems with his SLI setup

[Lays]

q

 

 

I love seeing people that have never had dual GPU's say that it's plagued with issues. lul

 

 

also, hi

[middleclasspoor]

I have run two 560 ti's for about 2 years now and haven't had any problems software wise at all. All of my games run great (for a 560 setup that is) I can usually run with max settings on most games, however, on a few I do have to make some concessions. The only real problems I have running SLI is with heat and noise. My room with the computer turns into a sauna during the warmer months and the fans on the cards do make a bit of noise.

 

Overall, SLI really isn't worth it to me for the aforementioned reasons. I'm looking to move to a newer single card solution soon - maybe one of those 290's I keep seeing on EBAY for $200 now!

[Ashley]

I'm very happy to hear all this. Thanks everyone for the feedback.

[Createinator]

SLI is great but never buy an SLI setup, it should always be an upgrade.

[Lays]

I have run two 560 ti's for about 2 years now and haven't had any problems software wise at all. All of my games run great (for a 560 setup that is) I can usually run with max settings on most games, however, on a few I do have to make some concessions. The only real problems I have running SLI is with heat and noise. My room with the computer turns into a sauna during the warmer months and the fans on the cards do make a bit of noise.

 

Overall, SLI really isn't worth it to me for the aforementioned reasons. I'm looking to move to a newer single card solution soon - maybe one of those 290's I keep seeing on EBAY for $200 now!

 

 

part of the reason I sold one of my 780's+ the waterblock, it turned my room into a dam sauna, it was SO bad.

 

I literally had to leave my AC on 24/7 even during the winter if I wanted to play games lol

[Scia]

I have used GTX 680 SLI for about 11 months. Overclockability went down to 0. [stable with +150mhz core / +500mhz memory on each card as a single unit to crash at +30mhz if SLI was enabled].

 

Many games don't take advantage of it. Or work worse and have microstutter.

 

I am now using a single 290x and I'd not go for dual GPUs again. So personally I can tell you to rather buy a more powerful gpu than two =P

[Yoinkerman]

I have SLI 760s and they work flawlessly. The only hiccup I ever get is that I have to re-enable it after a driver update. That's it. Games work great, there's never any weird tearing or stuttering or anything like that.

[Guest Kloaked]

I have used GTX 680 SLI for about 11 months. Overclockability went down to 0. [stable with +150mhz core / +500mhz memory on each card as a single unit to crash at +30mhz if SLI was enabled].

 

Many games don't take advantage of it. Or work worse and have microstutter.

 

I am now using a single 290x and I'd not go for dual GPUs again. So personally I can tell you to rather buy a more powerful gpu than two =P

 

By many games, I'm sure you mean indie titles that aren't very demanding and can basically run on integrated graphics?

 

The only time I've come across SLI being an issue was in a newer Diablo 3 patch, and that was fixed a week later in a hotfix.

[tallk0tte]

Am using 670 SLI and it's working great for me! Again the only games I'm playing is Battlefield 3, Battlefield 4, Hardline BETA(when it was on), Planetside 2 & from time to time some Age of Empires II HD(I don't think it got an SLI profile no?).
It works great for me and I haven't had a real issue. Of course there might be some games that it doesn't play well with but they'd have to be in the minority and other games doesn't even have SLI-support so that doesn't matter.

[Scia]

By many games, I'm sure you mean indie titles that aren't very demanding and can basically run on integrated graphics?

 

The only time I've come across SLI being an issue was in a newer Diablo 3 patch, and that was fixed a week later in a hotfix.

 

Far Cry 3 had microstutter so bad, it was basically unplayable

Skyrim, especially modded did no appreciate having both cards enabled either

Sleeping Dogs stuttered quite bad aswell.

As an example of main stream games. There's plenty more ^^'

 

I ended up having one card disabled all the time. As it was much less of a hassle.

[Senor Potato]

The only thing that isn't good about sli is the price/performance ratio. 

[Guest Kloaked]

Far Cry 3 had microstutter so bad, it was basically unplayable

Skyrim, especially modded did no appreciate having both cards enabled either

Sleeping Dogs stuttered quite bad aswell.

As an example of main stream games. There's plenty more ^^'

 

Skyrim had to have been fixed because mine is heavily modded and I have zero issues.

 

I'm assuming you're using past-tense in the context of the SLI issue being fixed? Lol.

[Misanthrope]

I think that while most issues are ironed out as stated, bear in mind that new games might initially have SLI related issues and since it's less common those don't get fixed at launch or take a bit. You'll eventually be find but you might have to be patient.

 

If you keep that in mind then it makes sense (not only for price to performance and power consumption but software support as well) to always go for a single graphics solution unless you really can't achieve what you want with just 1 card (i.e. not enough performance on even the top tier cards or a very compelling reasons like finding a great deal on a lower end card)

[DJHoro]

I've had SLI for about a year now and I have had almost no SLI related problems. Game compatibility can be a problem on new games but chances are they will get fixed or updated to support SLI pretty quickly. The main things to look out for when running cards in SLI are Power consumption and heat.

[DJHoro]

The only thing that isn't good about sli is the price/performance ratio. 

This isn't exactly true. SLI 760s are stronger than a 780 and SLI 770s are stronger than a 780 Ti and they both cost about the same. With that said though it would be wiser to get a 780/780 Ti because of faster/more vram. SLI is good when you already have a card and want the cheapest way to gain massive performance.

[MegaDave91]

SLi has come a long way in recent years and is no longer plagued with problems. The only thing you may run into is the lack of SLI support in a particular game. All the frame timing/stuttering/latency is negligible....you won't notice it.

[Senor Potato]

This isn't exactly true. SLI 760s are stronger than a 780 and SLI 770s are stronger than a 780 Ti and they both cost about the same. With that said though it would be wiser to get a 780/780 Ti because of faster/more vram. SLI is good when you already have a card and want the cheapest way to gain massive performance.

well the 780s get more vram, so you can drive more monitors.

[Guest Generallee]

U so fancy n sophisticated with yall 770's n 780's

 

BUT CAN U DO DIS

 

OCTO SLI

 

 

spoiler : it doesn't work

[DJHoro]

well the 780s get more vram, so you can drive more monitors.

Indeed. Sli 760s can run multi monitors fine but I agree with what your saying. More/Faster vram is better for more pixels.

[NannerBeans]

I ran SLI 780 for a very short while and because I have an matx case/mobo, the top gpu was not getting enough air and was heating up very fast and would throttle. You really need the reference cooler if you are running SLI with matx.