960 SLI v Single 970?

[Chris Minckler]

I just have a simple question that I'm sure has been discussed multiple times before and that a lot of people have knowledge of. 

 

I am about to finish my first personal build and all I have left is my GPU.

 

Here are the specifications:

-Intel Core i5 4690k 3.5GHz OC to 4.0GHz CPU

-Corsair Vengeance 8GB 2133MHz RAM 

-MSI PCMate Z97 motherboard

- Other stuff that doesn't really matter for the graphics card

 

My question is exactly what the title is. Would it better suit me to get two GTX 960's or a single 970? I want to get an EVGA GeForce GTX 960 FTW (4GB GDDR5 1304MHz base clock) graphics card if I was

to do the SLI config. And my option for the 970 is the EVGA GeForce GTX 970 FTW (4GB GDDR5 1216MHz base clock). I would have already answered this question myself if the 960 were to have 2GB of 

VRAM instead of 4GB. Since I know having two cards with the same amount of VRAM will still only use the amount of one card. So that's where I'm kind of at a loss. The two way config of these 960's would

A) Be faster than the single 970, and still have the same amount of VRAM as the 970. So, again, that's my question, will having two 960's that are not only faster than a single 970, but still have the same 

amount of VRAM be better than a single 970 that also runs extremely fast on its own? Also, yes I have considered the point that getting two of these 960's will cost more than the single 970, but I'm curious if that extra money would be worth it. 

 

I hope someone can help, it would be much appreciated.

 

Also, I will be running this computer at 1080p which I know is the sweet spot for 960's

[Aytex]

970 is still faster

[Dietrichw]

Go with the single card. Better compatibility

[RuLeZ]

GTX 970 (or better yet R9 390)

[LegacyStijncat]

Even it will theoretically be around the same performance level, you have 2 big things to consider with SLI 960

• The VRAM, if I'm not mistaken, will double in DirectX 12 (ONLY with DX12 games, though) (EDIT: corrected by @Oshino Shinobu!)
• There are many softwares that can't take SLI properly. Be sure to do research in what software you use, and what games you play!

[The_Stig]

I wouldn't even consider SLI until 970s and higher

[Senzelian]

970 is still faster

WHUUUTT ?!

No. Two 960s are already performing better than a 980.

A lot of people were using dual 760s instead of one 780. That's the reason why the 760 MARS exists.

But really, you might aswell get a R9 390X. That thing comes at a lower price than two 4GB 960s but almost the same performance, with 8GB of VRAM and no SLI/Crossfire problems.

 

[Oshino Shinobu]

 

Even it will theoretically be around the same performance level, you have 2 big things to consider with SLI 960

• The VRAM, if I'm not mistaken, will double in DirectX 12 (ONLY with DX12 games, though)
• There are many softwares that can't take SLI properly. Be sure to do research in what software you use, and what games you play!

 

No confirmation on that. Even if DX12 does support it, who knows if Nvidia will

 

Really, SLI below a 970 is not a good idea, a more powerful, single card is always a better choice at that point. 

[Oshino Shinobu]

970 is still faster

No it isn't. 

 

Single card is still the better option though.

[Aytex]

WHUUUTT ?!

No. Two 960s are already performing better than a 980.

A lot of people were using dual 760s instead of one 780. That's the reason why the 760 MARS exists.

But really, you might aswell get a R9 390X. That thing comes at a lower price than two 4GB 960s but almost the same performance, with 8GB of VRAM and no SLI/Crossfire problems.

 

only by a little but 970 can run 1440p bettr

[Senzelian]

only by a little but 970 can run 1440p bettr

That is with 2GB cards!

[Aytex]

 

one of us is wrong. or we're both right. or we're both wrong. 

the world will never know

[Senzelian]

one of us is wrong. or we're both right. or we're both wrong. 

the world will never know

Logan pretty much also shows that the 960s are faster.

Man, you smoked something weird today - First the 3004/6008 Mhz fail and then this  :lol:

[Aytex]

Logan pretty much also shows that the 960s are faster.

Man, you smoked something weird today - First the 3004/6008 Mhz fail and then this  :lol:

i actuall didn't know shit about the mhz thing but the 960 and the 970 I didn't watch logan's vid for a while so I thought the 970 was pretty sure better. man idk 

[Nena Trinity]

No it isn't. 

 

Single card is still the better option though.

True!