GPU decision time! - SLi or single gpu.. and if so..

[Schmo]

Hi guys, 

 

I'm in the planning process of my new rig. I must have settled and then rethought the GPU for this rig about half a dozen times now. I really want to lock it down so I can start looking around for the best prices and start getting in the parts to build it all. 

 

Motherboard - Asus X99-S Intel X99 Socket 2011-3 Motherboard

CPU - Intel Core i7 5820K Haswell-E CPU

PSU - XFX P1-850B-BEFX Pro Black Edition 850W

RAM - G.Skill RipJaws 4 16GB (4x4GB) DDR4 PC4-24000 3000MHz

GFX Card - Under discussion below

SSD - Samsung 840 EVO 250GB (in Raid 0) x2

EK-KIT - EK-KIT X240 Water Cooling Kit

GPU Back Plate - EK GPU Back Plate

GPU Water Block - EK-FC 970 GTX or EK-FC 980 GTX

GPU Rad - Alphacool 35265 NexXxoS ST30 Radiator 240

Coolant - Mayhems Pastel Ice White Coolant 1 Litre x 2(each)

120mm Fans - Noctua NF-F12 PWM 120mm Focused Flow PWM Cooling Fan (x4 in push)

 

 

My dilemma is that I can't decide what I want to go with. I originally had my mind set on the GTX 980, I was going to water cool a single 980 and overclock it. Then I started reading and watching reviews and benches of people testing 970's, and the results were excellent, both overclocking and benchmark scores, not to mention the price point was so much less than the 980 it was almost criminal. 

 

I then started seeing people doing the same tests on 970's in SLi and the results were also really exciting, plus the cost of two 970's weren't that much higher than a single 980. However, benchmarking and real-world use are two very different things, and so is gaming and support of games for SLi. I know many people say "some games don't really work well with two GPU's" while you have other gamers/users who've had their SLi setups happily chomping away at all their games all the time, so I'm kind of in a stalemate now; what to choose?!

 

Do I;

 

1. Go back to my original choice and buy a GTX 980 (reference card that'll I put a waterblock on and then oc)
2. Get a single reference GTX 970 (that will be watercooled and OC'd) OR
3. Go for SLi GTX 970's (reference cards that will be watercooled and OC'd too)

Money isn't a factor here as I have the budget to get whichever card I want, I just want to make sure I don't make a mistake and regret my choice down the line later on. 

 

Any advice is appreciated!

[Archangel1994]

SLI 970. It's so much stronger than a single 980

[TinoXtreme]

SLI 970. It's so much stronger than a single 980

or maybe a single 980 and then add another one later.

Here's why: Just to leave some space for upgrading later down the road, I personally sell my old parts when I buy a new one. This way you wouldn't have to sell the old gfx, just buy another one, also, the looks of SLI

[Schmo]

or maybe a single 980 and then add another one later.

and the plot thickens...

Do you think this is practical though? Is there much out there that would need two 980's? (Going on the 980 SLi price point vs the 970 SLi one).

[TinoXtreme]

and the plot thickens...

Do you think this is practical though? Is there much out there that would need two 980's? (Going on the 980 SLi price point vs the 970 SLi one).

I mean upgrading a year or two later - when the price drops, and the 980 is a beast atm. A year or two later (or more) you will need better performance then just one 980 for high def. at ultra gaming.

As always, just my opinion.

[Polkagrisen123]

i also think that you should get a 980 and if you need you can always get another and be good for a couple of genarations

[Schmo]

So go with the flagship card with the plan to sli in a couple of years is the general agreement. No one seems to feel the 970's performance vs cost is comparative or worth discussing? I'm interested in points of view for sure, but also keen to hear why.

[Zaku77]

I would also go for a 980 and then move to SLI eventually. It's worth giving yourself that extra wiggle room. Besides, it's not like new games will get less demanding, so the added benefit of the 980--especially in SLI will become even more important. Also, what resolution are you planning on using? I'm getting ready to move to the Asus ROG Swift, so I'm moving to SLI 980 for better 1440p performance. Are you planning on staying at 1080 for the foreseeable future? That's something else that you really need to think about.

[Schmo]

I would also go for a 980 and then move to SLI eventually. It's worth giving yourself that extra wiggle room. Besides, it's not like new games will get less demanding, so the added benefit of the 980--especially in SLI will become even more important. Also, what resolution are you planning on using? I'm getting ready to move to the Asus ROG Swift, so I'm moving to SLI 980 for better 1440p performance. Are you planning on staying at 1080 for the foreseeable future? That's something else that you really need to think about.

 

Fair point about the wiggle room. Although don't you think a pair of overclocked 970's will provide the same thing? 

 

As far as monitors, I'm currently running the Asus VG248GE (w/o G-Sync unfortunately). I'd like to get another two and run three monitors (3D surround would be cool for games like Battlefield or Titanfall). I thought about the Asus ROG Swift but I only for this monitor last december, and don't really see the need to replace it right now. 

[Samfisher]

Do note that apparently G-Sync in SLI is experiencing some stutter issues.  At least that's what the Nvidia forums seems to say.  I would personally go 970 (since I have one already).  They OC like a champ, and the performance difference between a 970 and 980 isn't as huge as you think.  The cash you save going 970 could get you different upgrades over the years.

[Schmo]

This topic is making this decision even harder now... >_<

I was leaning more towards SLi 970's, then was swayed by the compatibility argument so thought a solo card nicely overclocked should do for now. So most were saying 980 which could be added to and does OC nicely, but then so does the 970 for a fraction of the cost...

Sigh

I would need to try them or at the very least see them in action first hand I reckon.

Thanks for the help thus far everyone, opinions have been really helpful.

[Samfisher]

Compatibility argument?  What compatibility?

[Schmo]

Oh not from you, others have said (and rightly so) some games have compatibility issues with SLi, running worse off on dual cards than on a solo card. That's what I meant.

[Samfisher]

Oh not from you, others have said (and rightly so) some games have compatibility issues with SLi, running worse off on dual cards than on a solo card. That's what I meant.

 

So far I have not encountered SLi/Crossfire problems in any of the games I've played.  I've had 2x 7950's for over a year until recently when I got a 970 and it works on everything I've tried it on.

[Schmo]

So far I have not encountered SLi/Crossfire problems in any of the games I've played.  I've had 2x 7950's for over a year until recently when I got a 970 and it works on everything I've tried it on.

 

It's not so much issues, but rather performance decrease that people find with certain games/drivers. SLi can just work for some people, like you've mentioned you've experienced, whereas in the passed I had a GTX 670 SLi and 6770 Crossfrie setup and both had performance and driver issues with games and whatnot. The AMD crossfire setup actually drove me to Nvidia, and the SLi setup actually made me go back to a solo card setup. 

 

This new build will be the first OC'd watercooled GPU rig I've made, so choosing SLi or solo cards is paramount this time. It's been a good couple of years since I ran a dual card setup and a good few driver releases since then, however the games are where it counts still and there are still many that are just temperamental. So before I go buying multiple GPU's, GPU water blocks, extra rads, fans etc for this rig I need to really make the right choice. 

 

That's why I wanted to hear back from users who've ran either setups so I could hear first hand their feedback.

 

Thanks again for your help! 

[Tacitus]

Two 970s will give you extremely good performance today, tomorrow and in a year. Opting for a 980 and having just one card will mean for a year or more you'll have less performance. Given the price difference it is insane almost to get one 980 over two 970s, especially when practically all AAA games from the past 3 or 4 years support SLI and stuttering issues are practically non-existent.

[Schmo]

Two 970s will give you extremely good performance today, tomorrow and in a year. Opting for a 980 and having just one card will mean for a year or more you'll have less performance. Given the price difference it is insane almost to get one 980 over two 970s, especially when practically all AAA games from the past 3 or 4 years support SLI and stuttering issues are practically non-existent.

 

Interesting, especially the "past 3 or 4 years support SLi and stuttering issues are practically non-existent" statement. 

Is this based on which games/articles/cards etc? I'm quite interested in this data. 

 

Cheers

[Tacitus]

Interesting, especially the "past 3 or 4 years support SLi and stuttering issues are practically non-existent" statement. 

Is this based on which games/articles/cards etc? I'm quite interested in this data. 

 

Cheers

I'm on my phone so I cannot give specific links right now, but google something like "780 sli frametime variance" and look at reviews with graphs showing the variance. Large spikes in the graphs indicate stutters and the vast majority of popular games used for benchmarks have very low variance, indicating a smooth gameplay experience. Also search for SLI scaling and again you'll see most modern games have at least 50% scaling, but on average probably around 70%.