Is SLi worth it?

[SwiiftYz]

Okay, I'm aware there's a post just a few under this thread asking if dual cards are worth it but they're talking about AMD and as there's a difference I'd like to hear from people running the latest GTX 9xx series in SLI. 

 

I spend a majority of my time gaming so decided to get myself a GTX 970 and shortly after purchased a 144hz monitor, what I'm wondering now though is am I getting the most out of my monitor if I'm not getting that mark of 144fps (which I know is a long shot in some of the latest games). I've also just started up on Twitch as well so now running 2x monitors from 1x GTX 970.

 

Is it worth purchasing another GTX 970 for the extra fps it will give me both when I'm streaming and when I'm not? I've heard of people having problems with it at times and as my last experience with SLI was back in the days of 8800 GTS cards I have no clue what I'm getting myself into.

[pomaranc]

if you are getting 100+ FPS it is not worth it but if not and you have the money get second one

[Pandora]

well it depends on the games you play and how well they scale. 90% of the time 2 970s will kick the crap out of a single 980. im planning on getting another gtx 970 in a few months personally but it really depends on the games.

[Anarchyz11]

Depends on if you're bothered by some micro-stutter.  Given that you've got a 144Hz monitor but haven't been running at 144fps, you probably aren't that sensitive to it.

 

I can't speak from experience, but if you SLI 970s, there's a decent chance you're going to hit the 3.5GB mark, and potentially have issues. 

 

 

 

Just go look at benchmarks.  SLI/Crossfire can range from absolutely perfect to messy, depending on the game's optimization. 

[Wirbelfeld]

Okay, I'm aware there's a post just a few under this thread asking if dual cards are worth it but they're talking about AMD and as there's a difference I'd like to hear from people running the latest GTX 9xx series in SLI. 

 

I spend a majority of my time gaming so decided to get myself a GTX 970 and shortly after purchased a 144hz monitor, what I'm wondering now though is am I getting the most out of my monitor if I'm not getting that mark of 144fps (which I know is a long shot in some of the latest games). I've also just started up on Twitch as well so now running 2x monitors from 1x GTX 970.

 

Is it worth purchasing another GTX 970 for the extra fps it will give me both when I'm streaming and when I'm not? I've heard of people having problems with it at times and as my last experience with SLI was back in the days of 8800 GTS cards I have no clue what I'm getting myself into.

Sli will always be better than one single card of the same card but it depends if you are willing to pay that much extra. I'm pretty sure streaming is affected by cpu power more than gpu power so idk how much it will directly affect streaming.

[IceCold007]

Its allways worth getting a second card for SLI that's better fps in games and makes your system more future proof for a longer time. you have a 144hz monitor. Since there is no 4k monitors at 144hz. Then your either gaming on 1080p or 1440p then yes it worth getting another one since you have one already. And don't be put off with anyone which says overkill. No such word as overkill. The more power the better. Remember games will get better over time, you might get 100fps atm in games but that might not be the case 12 months from now so getting another card is allways better.

[SwiiftYz]

Depends on if you're bothered by some micro-stutter.  Given that you've got a 144Hz monitor but haven't been running at 144fps, you probably aren't that sensitive to it.

 

I can't speak from experience, but if you SLI 970s, there's a decent chance you're going to hit the 3.5GB mark, and potentially have issues. 

 

 

 

Just go look at benchmarks.  SLI/Crossfire can range from absolutely perfect to messy, depending on the game's optimization. 

 

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by micro-stutter and 3.5GB mark.

It's not that I don't notice the difference it's that I haven't been given the chance to other than in CS:GO, I average 280fps in game and have got decidedly better since purchasing this monitor but I can't hit that mark in other games. I'm still around 80/90fps in the likes of Battlefield. 

[ChaseB]

Why go 2 when you can go 3. JK anyways I would do it. Just get the right card. Overheating can occur. I would do a reference or rear exhaust card. Check out this video for more details. 

 

 

 

[ChaseB]

 

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[SwiiftYz]

Why go 2 when you can go 3. JK anyways I would do it. Just get the right card. Overheating can occur. I would do a reference or rear exhaust card. Check out this video for more details. 

 

 

 

 

I'm already running 1x MSI GTX 970 so I was going to purchase another.

[IceCold007]

Seriously man ive been looking at your pc system its similar to my own. "apart from a few things" And I was going to get 970 sli but when this vram issue came to light it stopped me in my tracks. Im just waiting atm but I am still thinking of getting 970 SLI.

 

Get another seriously man you will  love the increase in fps in most games. No bullshit here. You have one 970 already is worth the upgrade. If you didn't have the 970 I would say wait.

[SwiiftYz]

Seriously man ive been looking at your pc system its similar to my own. "apart from a few things" And I was going to get 970 sli but when this vram issue came to light it stopped me in my tracks. Im just waiting atm but I am still thinking of getting 970 SLI.

 

Get another seriously man you will  love the increase in fps in most games. No bullshit here. You have one 970 already is worth the upgrade. If you didn't have the 970 I would say wait.

 

The 3.5G VRAM issue is actually causing me to question it a little, I've been told I can return my GTX 970 because of this so I'm stuck between getting a 390X when they release and returning my GTX 970 or another GTX 970. 

[Megahurt]

Depends on if you're bothered by some micro-stutter.  Given that you've got a 144Hz monitor but haven't been running at 144fps, you probably aren't that sensitive to it.

 

I can't speak from experience, but if you SLI 970s, there's a decent chance you're going to hit the 3.5GB mark, and potentially have issues. 

 

 

 

Just go look at benchmarks.  SLI/Crossfire can range from absolutely perfect to messy, depending on the game's optimization. 

If he's using SLI to increase fps rather than to increase quality settings, he wont be using any more vram than with a single 970.

[ChaseB]

I'm already running 1x MSI GTX 970 so I was going to purchase another.

Than I would not man. Just me man. 

 

 

 

[Anarchyz11]

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by micro-stutter and 3.5GB mark.

It's not that I don't notice the difference it's that I haven't been given the chance to other than in CS:GO, I average 280fps in game and have got decidedly better since purchasing this monitor but I can't hit that mark in other games. I'm still around 80/90fps in the likes of Battlefield. 

 

SLI/XF can cause uneven frame pacing in some cases, meaning you may get 144fps, but those frames wont be shown in even distribution.  Think of it like this:

Lets say you're getting 100fps in a game.  100 frames per second, means you should be shown a frame every 10 milliseconds, or every 0.01 seconds.  So after 10 milliseconds passes, you get a frame, then after another 10 milliseconds, another frame.  Everything looks smooth.  The first 10 frames are displayed in an order like this:

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

 

Sometimes with SLI/XF, those frames aren't displayed evenly.  So maybe you get 100fps in SLI, but you may get your first frame, then another after 8 milliseconds, then another after 12 milliseconds, etc.  They aren't displayed evenly.  It sortof looks like this:

1 23 4 5 6  78 9

 

 

As stated, that doesn't happen all the time, it depends on the optimization.  Some people barely notice it.  Others can't stand it.  The reason I guessed you wouldn't is because you're currently, as you said, getting a framerate that isn't equivilent or a divisible to your monitor's refresh rate, meaning you're probably already getting slightly uneven frames with the absense of vsync, which can be similar (arguably). 

 

 

As for the 3.5GB thing, 970s are known to have an "issue" where it essentially has 3.5GB of normal VRAM, and the last 0.5GB is incredibly slow.  Some people have reported that once that last 0.5GB is tapped into, performance tanks a bit, others have reported the opposite.  If you SLI the cards, you will be more likely to pass that barrier as you'll have more clock performance, but memory between the two cards stays the same (meaning you don't get 8GB of VRAM if you SLI, still just 4GB/3.5GB).  If you're sticking to 1080p, it probably wont be a problem, but higher resolutions eat VRAM. 

[ChaseB]

The 3.5G VRAM issue is actually causing me to question it a little, I've been told I can return my GTX 970 because of this so I'm stuck between getting a 390X when they release and returning my GTX 970 or another GTX 970. 

I am great at the GPU Market. Please PM me for more info or post a thread on the forum. 

[SwiiftYz]

SLI/XF can cause uneven frame pacing in some cases, meaning you may get 144fps, but those frames wont be shown in even distribution.  Think of it like this:

Lets say you're getting 100fps in a game.  100 frames per second, means you should be shown a frame every 10 milliseconds, or every 0.01 seconds.  So after 10 milliseconds passes, you get a frame, then after another 10 milliseconds, another frame.  Everything looks smooth.  The first 10 frames are displayed in an order like this:

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

 

Sometimes with SLI/XF, those frames aren't displayed evenly.  So maybe you get 100fps in SLI, but you may get your first frame, then another after 8 milliseconds, then another after 12 milliseconds, etc.  They aren't displayed evenly.  It sortof looks like this:

1 23 4 5 6  78 9

 

 

As stated, that doesn't happen all the time, it depends on the optimization.  Some people barely notice it.  Others can't stand it.  The reason I guessed you wouldn't is because you're currently, as you said, getting a framerate that isn't equivilent or a divisible to your monitor's refresh rate, meaning you're probably already getting slightly uneven frames with the absense of vsync, which can be similar (arguably). 

 

 

As for the 3.5GB thing, 970s are known to have an "issue" where it essentially has 3.5GB of normal VRAM, and the last 0.5GB is incredibly slow.  Some people have reported that once that last 0.5GB is tapped into, performance tanks a bit, others have reported the opposite.  If you SLI the cards, you will be more likely to pass that barrier as you'll have more clock performance, but memory between the two cards stays the same (meaning you don't get 8GB of VRAM if you SLI, still just 4GB/3.5GB).  If you're sticking to 1080p, it probably wont be a problem, but higher resolutions eat VRAM. 

 

Ahh right, so the VRAM issue does come into it at some point then.

This brings me to another question, If I'm running two monitors this then means I'm using more VRAM, correct? 

[IceCold007]

TBH we could give you all the advice you need to, but at the end of the day it will be up to you to make you decisions. If your sticking to 1080p or 1440p then since you have a 970 ALLREADY get another one.

 

If you didn't have an 970 I would say wait don't get 970 for now see what happens then get a 970 if needed later or get another card.

 

If you are planning on going 4k over the next few years BEFORE you upgrade your GPU again then DONT get another 970. Sell it and get a more powerful card depending on your money situation.

[ChaseB]

Ahh right, so the VRAM issue does come into it at some point then.

This brings me to another question, If I'm running two monitors this then means I'm using more VRAM, correct? 

Depends a lot of varibles. Still man I would wait and hold off. Go watch those 2 videos I posted. Linus does a great job.

[SwiiftYz]

TBH we could give you all the advice you need to, but at the end of the day it will be up to you to make you decisions. If your sticking to 1080p or 1440p then since you have a 970 ALLREADY get another one.

 

If you didn't have an 970 I would say wait don't get 970 for now see what happens then get a 970 if needed later or get another card.

 

If you are planning on going 4k over the next few years BEFORE you upgrade your GPU again then DONT get another 970. Sell it and get a more powerful card depending on your money situation.

 

To be honest, the only reason I want advice is because of the number of people I hear who have issues with SLI and because of the 0.5GB of VRAM the 970 lacks It may cause me issues.

[ChaseB]

To be honest, the only reason I want advice is because of the number of people I hear who have issues with SLI and because of the 0.5GB of VRAM the 970 lacks It may cause me issues.

Again Man. If I had to make a decision like you that could cost hundreds down the toilet and I was questioning something, than I would hold off.  

[IceCold007]

SLI issues. Ive been using SLI since it first came out many many years ago. "I don't use one gpu anymore" Ive never had any problems with games APART from 1 game which I had to diable sli because it ran a lot better with it off. That was PLANETSIDE 2.

 

As for SLI issues for 970's I cant give you any advice on them cards since I don't use them atm. I can only says for the cards I have had over the years in SLI its been great for me apart from that one game.

 

Maybe you need some advice of someone whom running 970 sli then they might give you a more personal opinion.

[Anarchyz11]

Ahh right, so the VRAM issue does come into it at some point then.

This brings me to another question, If I'm running two monitors this then means I'm using more VRAM, correct? 

 

Potentially it may come into play.  I don't have firsthand experience.  It is, however, a risk I would not take at higher resolutions, personally.  FPS wont affect the memory though.  Assuming you're playing the same games after SLIing that you're already playing, at the same textures and resolution, there won't be any tangible increase in memory usage.  If you later decide to go 1440p, or games in the future use more memory, that will use more memory.

 

If the second monitor is just idling/browsing, it won't add much to your usage.  I'm assuming you're using one main monitor to game, and the other to browse the web, watch videos, normal stuff.  That doesn't really have much of an effect.

 

TBH we could give you all the advice you need to, but at the end of the day it will be up to you to make you decisions. If your sticking to 1080p or 1440p then since you have a 970 ALLREADY get another one.

 

 

Listen to him, we can't say "yes, SLI is right for you", or the opposite, it all depends on what you want and need, what you play, and what you'd rather deal with: potential SLI problems, your current limited framerates, or the lost cash from a bigger single card solution.

 

All this being said, the R9 295X2 is a decent solution if you want a similar priced solution without the possible 3.5GB problem that you may want to research (I'm not directly recommending it).  It's 2 GPUs on one card, and I believe that helps with frame pacing as well.

[ChaseB]

SLI issues. Ive been using SLI since it first came out many many years ago. "I don't use one gpu anymore" Ive never had any problems with games APART from 1 game which I had to diable sli because it ran a lot better with it off. That was PLANETSIDE 2.

 

As for SLI issues for 970's I cant give you any advice on them cards since I don't use them atm. I can only says for the cards I have had over the years in SLI its been great for me apart from that one game.

 

Maybe you need some advice of someone whom running 970 sli then they might give you a more personal opinion.

Read my last post. Not being mean or a troll but he is not that experienced and sometimes being a noob and not knowing what you doing could be bad.   

[SwiiftYz]

Again Man. If I had to make a decision like you that could cost hundreds down the toilet and I was questioning something, than I would hold off.  

 

ChaseB, I'm sorry but I haven't found your input very helpful. I'm questioning it to make a logical choice. 

 

SLI issues. Ive been using SLI since it first came out many many years ago. "I don't use one gpu anymore" Ive never had any problems with games APART from 1 game which I had to diable sli because it ran a lot better with it off. That was PLANETSIDE 2.

 

As for SLI issues for 970's I cant give you any advice on them cards since I don't use them atm. I can only says for the cards I have had over the years in SLI its been great for me apart from that one game.

 

Maybe you need some advice of someone whom running 970 sli then they might give you a more personal opinion.

 

That's what I'm hoping to do at some point, I've already spoken to one person running them but he's been no use as the place that built his PC have done an awful job. I guess the only way I'll truly know is trial and error.