How much gpu power do I need ?

Redis · January 13, 2016

DISCLAIMER: My english is bad and I already know benchmarks, I am asking your opinion on these thing, if you own something like that, it would be awsome to give me feedback

Hi guys,

so I am about to buy new gpu but I cant decide. I am looking for 1440p gaming or 4K.(mainly for Witcher 3, Dying light and 2016 stuff).... so how much diference is there between these two? is 4K realy stuning in details? or is there any bigger difference at all?

So, 1st of all, is r9 390 in 2way crossfire any good in 4K? are there even profiles for new games(witcher3 dying light etc.) or will there be any good ones in future?

What about GTX 980 in 2way SLI? how its standing 4K stuff now and how it will be in future? What about FPS is any different playing RPGs on 4K in 30fps or 60?

Now to 1440p. I was considering going with 2way SLI GTX 970(mainly because I can get one now to upgrade my current rig and other one with some good 1440p panel later), so is it any good?

What would you recomend me? are there any other good alternatives? Because I know that 2 970s beat even 980ti in benchmarks but 3.5GB ram is not enough for 4K...

or is it worth to w8 till pascal comes out? will prices drop? if yes when?

Belgarathian · January 13, 2016

DISCLAIMER: My english is bad and I already know benchmarks, I am asking your opinion on these thing, if you own something like that, it would be awsome to give me feedback

Hi guys,

so I am about to buy new gpu but I cant decide. I am looking for 1440p gaming or 4K.(mainly for Witcher 3, Dying light and 2016 stuff).... so how much diference is there between these two? is 4K realy stuning in details? or is there any bigger difference at all?

So, 1st of all, is r9 390 in 2way crossfire any good in 4K? are there even profiles for new games(witcher3 dying light etc.) or will there be any good ones in future?

What about GTX 980 in 2way SLI? how its standing 4K stuff now and how it will be in future? What about FPS is any different playing RPGs on 4K in 30fps or 60?

Now to 1440p. I was considering going with 2way SLI GTX 970(mainly because I can get one now to upgrade my current rig and other one with some good 1440p panel later), so is it any good?

What would you recomend me? are there any other good alternatives? Because I know that 2 970s beat even 980ti in benchmarks but 3.5GB ram is not enough for 4K...

I currently use SLI 970 for 21:9 3440x1440p Ultrawide goodness, and it works reasonably well... I'd probably recommend the 390 Xfire for anything larger than standard 2560x1440p.

IMO 4K at the moment is too difficult to drive with current hardware for decent FPS. You're better off with a good 1440p monitor that's capable of 75-144hz.

Curufinwe_wins · January 13, 2016

I currently use SLI 970 for 21:9 3440x1440p Ultrawide goodness, and it works reasonably well... I'd probably recommend the 390 Xfire for anything larger than standard 2560x1440p.

IMO 4K at the moment is too difficult to drive with current hardware for decent FPS. You're better off with a good 1440p monitor that's capable of 75-144hz.

1440p 60 fps is imho the IDEAL place for a single 980ti.

You can drive 4k 60 with most games with two 980ti's but that's a huge investment.

I'd definitely recommend 1440p ultrawide over 4k and suggest at LEAST an overclocked 980 ti to run it.

D4V3_G · January 13, 2016

Like @Belgarathian said, you're better off going on 1440p since 4K is really intense. If I were you I woud wait for Pascal. If you can't wait... I woud go for a single most powerful card you can afford, since not all games support SLI&CrossFire.

rafazafar · January 13, 2016

4k gaming isnt quiet ready yet without needing to turn down the settings.
1440 ultrawide is really amazing at gaming with its immersiveness. Curved panel esp. But curved ones cost a bomb.
Even a flat ultrawide panel works though. drive-able with just a single 980 ti.

Pascal will come probably soonest june? no exact date released yet.

4k is about 70% harder to drive compared to 1440p ultrawide.

TidaLWaveZ · January 13, 2016

Do two 970's in 1440p. I got a cheaper Korean 27" 1440p monitor with two 970s and love it. It works great and the pixel density is awesome. You really don't need 4k in my opinion, especially if you're using a monitor that's not that big(less than 30"). The only situation in which I would recommend going for 4K is if you really want the screen real estate for multitasking.

VagabondWraith · January 13, 2016

4K is amazing but as mentioned, you need a beefy setup to have consistent frames. Its also limited to 60FPS. I think 4K is not the best investment right now, at least until they can get 100+ Hz monitors and see how next gen GPU's do. I would highly consider 1440p/144Hz and a 980 Ti.