1440p Graphics Card Conundrum

[DBentt]

Hello,

 

Recently I upgraded my primary monitor to an Asus PB278Q, love it! Problem is, though, I've noticed that my setup isn't really cutting it in terms of what I expect for... oomph. Full specs will probably help here:

 

cpu: i5 2500k @ 4.4GHz

ram: 8GB Corsair vengeance

gpu: 2GB EVGA GTX670 reference card @ 915/980mhz 1502mhz memory + 2GB EVGA GTX670 FTW Sig2 @ 1006/1085mhz 1553mhz memory

display: 2560x1440 main display + two 1920x1080 displays

graphics driver: geforce 331.58

 

I never felt it necessary to upgrade the CPU, maybe that was a poor decision. Also, the mismatched GPUs are pretty annoying, but never seemed to be enough of a problem to bother correcting. I only game on the primary display, the other two are used for auxillary applications such as IM clients, web browsers, monitoring software, etc. The main display is connected via dual link DVI-D, and the secondary/tertiary monitors are connected via HDMI and DVI-I, all on the same GPU.

 

So on to the problem: after installing the new monitor, I've noticed that my performance has dropped pretty considerably, and I really can't figure out why. I've tried Battlefield 3, Bioshock Infinite, Final Fantasy XIV, and Far Cry 3 so far; whether I max out settings or turn them down to medium/high, I get points where I drop as low as 30FPS (in the case of some games it is a jarring jump down until it slowly climbs back up). There's some Heaven Benchmark scores attached for you to peruse, maybe they're normal and I'm reading too far into it, but they (particularly the 1080p scores) seem off.

 

So the question is, is something amiss? Or are those scores about right for my specs? I've noticed a pretty major drop in performance in most games from before I changed my display setup, even if I run them at 1080p... surely that isn't normal. I've reinstalled drivers twice, even rolled back, but the issue persists. No changes have been made aside from the new monitor, which is why I'm questioning if there's a problem to begin with and it isn't just me being sensetive to the changes.

 

If there is an issue, what would be my best course of action?

 

a) Try to locate the problem and correct it, keeping the SLI 670s

b) Sell off one 670 and grab a 4GB model to SLI with one of my existing ones (would this even work)

c) Sell off both 670s and grab a couple of 760s

d) Sell off both 670s and grab a 780

 

The options to sell the 670s assume, of course, that the 670s are free of defect... which I can only assume they are since attaching a new monitor to my PC doesn't seem like it'd ruin the hardware and I had no issues prior. So yeah, any insight? Am I just being overly sensetive, or is there some sort of problem here? Is it just my PC being too weak (I'm not a complete idiot, SLI 670s should be more than sufficient for 1440p, no...?)?

 

Thanks for your time!

 

p.s. apologies if this is in the wrong section.

 

[LIGISTX]

Ill wait for someone with more SLI experience to chime in, but I do know for sure the mixing of 2 GB and 4 GB versions will not work, or if it does it will not help you at all. The effective memory is only that of one card, and it would be that of the smallest RAM card.

[delet my acc pls]

If you SLI a 2gb 670 and a 4gb 670 you will only be able to utilise 2gb.

I say sell both 670s get a r9-290x

[DrainDoc]

My buddy has the same monitor.......But, he has two of these bad boys. Just off the Hook!  B)

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500311&Tpk=ZOTAC%20AMP!%20ZT-70203-10P%20GeForce%20GTX%20780

[DBentt]

780 is tempting, I'd only end up having to put out about $180~200 for it after selling the 670s plus it comes with the only game I actually care about getting at the moment, so I suppose that's another $50 right there. It's technically a power downgrade though, no? I gain higher memory and memory bandwidth but I lose out on a bit of actual drive?

[maazster]

780 is tempting, I'd only end up having to put out about $180~200 for it after selling the 670s plus it comes with the only game I actually care about getting at the moment, so I suppose that's another $50 right there. It's technically a power downgrade though, no? I gain higher memory and memory bandwidth but I lose out on a bit of actual drive?

Get the R9 290X, you can save a hundred bucks and get similar or better performance than the GTX 780. Wither way you can't go wrong with either cards.

[Thecrazyswede]

This is the results from a reference asus GTX 780 on stock and on 1005 mhz core and 3100 memory which is my 24/7 clock.

 

Seriously at this resolution things are hard to get over 60 fps.

 

 

 

Cpu @ 4.5 ghz.

 

EDIT: I am sorry for the mish mash of posts, am a bit tired.

[WoodenMarker]

780 is tempting, I'd only end up having to put out about $180~200 for it after selling the 670s plus it comes with the only game I actually care about getting at the moment, so I suppose that's another $50 right there. It's technically a power downgrade though, no? I gain higher memory and memory bandwidth but I lose out on a bit of actual drive?

The solution is to lower your settings. A 780 would be a downgrade, yes. Going from a 670 sli to a 760 sli would also be a downgrade.

 

Your cpu is plenty powerful. I just think you need to stop expecting to game at decent settings. Low settings at higher res will look better than higher settings at lower res anyway. 

In any case, I'd say wait for 290x benchmarks.

[Thecrazyswede]

Get the R9 290X, you can save a hundred bucks and get similar or better performance than the GTX 780. Wither way you can't go wrong with either cards.

 

If you are going for the 290X for gods sake wait for custom coolers, the reference one sucks balls.

[Thecrazyswede]

d) Sell off both 670s and grab a 780

 

 

 

GTX780stock.jpg

GTX7801000mhz.jpg

 

[DBentt]

Thanks for the responses all, based on this I think I'll stick with what I have for now with lower than max settings and wait for non reference R290 or 780ti to make sure I'm getting the most out of my money, if I end up upgrading at all! Just glad to see I'm getting normal numbers and my stuff isn't all jacked up.

[maazster]

If you are going for the 290X for gods sake wait for custom coolers, the reference one sucks balls.

True, they do suck balls but the GPU is not bad at all though.

[Thecrazyswede]

True, they do suck balls but the GPU is not bad at all though.

 

Cant wait for water cooled results.

[Thecrazyswede]

Well this is far as i got with my single 780 at 1150 mhz on the core and 3250 mhz on memory and 1175 volt, and again my 3770k at 4.5ghz

 

 

[maazster]

Well this is far as i got with my single 780 at 1150 mhz on the core and 3250 mhz on memory and 1175 volt, and again my 3770k at 4.5ghz

 

 

GTX7801150mhz3250mhz.jpg

Is that water cooled or air?

[Thecrazyswede]

Is that water cooled or air?

 

Air.

[maazster]

Air.

That is a crazy overclock, you my friend, have won the silicon lottery.

[Thecrazyswede]

That is a crazy overclock, you my friend, have won the silicon lottery.

 

I do not know, its a flashed bios and careful testing i think, i can probably go a bit higher by raising the volts to 1200 but i do not want to risk it.

[FluffyNuggets]

Let me run a benchmark on my 780 Classified at 1440p. No idea why it says Windows NT. I just updated to Windows 8.1 so that may have screwed something up. 

 

Here you go:

 

 

[Sotti]

Hi there!!

 

The 780 is pretty fast and its capacity to be overclocked is really awesome.

 

You won't find anything faster than a 780 Classified (not even a Titan, something very weird).

 

Here my 2 cents to show you how far you can go with the 780's!

 

 

[FluffyNuggets]

 

Hi there!!

 

The 780 is pretty fast and its capacity to be overclocked is really awesome.

 

You won't find anything faster than a 780 Classified (not even a Titan, something very weird).

 

Here my 2 cents to show you how far you can go with the 780's!

 

 

 

You have two 780's so that's a bit misleading. 

[ocCuS]

Benchmark / Rig Details:

 

CPU: Intel 4770k @ 4,4 GHz

GPU: 2 780s (Asus DirectCU II) in SLI (overclocked: gpu boost clock 1100 MHz, memory clock 6200 MHz, power target 110%, gpu temp target 94°C)

Ram: 32 GB DDR3 @ 1866 MHz

Screen resolution: 2560x1440

Drivers: 327.23

OS: Win8

 

Scores:

 

Unigine Heaven: fps: 73.3,  score: 1847,  min fps: 28.6,  max fps: 146.2 (screen: 2560x1440, 8xAA full screen, quality: ultra, tessellation: extreme)

Unigine Valley: fps: 80.0,  score: 3348,  min fps: 28.7,  max fps: 149.3 (screen: 2560x1440, 8xAA full screen, quality: ultra, tessellation: extreme)

 

 

 

 

[hadesjoy72]

Hello,

 

Recently I upgraded my primary monitor to an Asus PB278Q, love it! Problem is, though, I've noticed that my setup isn't really cutting it in terms of what I expect for... oomph. Full specs will probably help here:

 

cpu: i5 2500k @ 4.4GHz

ram: 8GB Corsair vengeance

gpu: 2GB EVGA GTX670 reference card @ 915/980mhz 1502mhz memory + 2GB EVGA GTX670 FTW Sig2 @ 1006/1085mhz 1553mhz memory

display: 2560x1440 main display + two 1920x1080 displays

graphics driver: geforce 331.58

 

I never felt it necessary to upgrade the CPU, maybe that was a poor decision. Also, the mismatched GPUs are pretty annoying, but never seemed to be enough of a problem to bother correcting. I only game on the primary display, the other two are used for auxillary applications such as IM clients, web browsers, monitoring software, etc. The main display is connected via dual link DVI-D, and the secondary/tertiary monitors are connected via HDMI and DVI-I, all on the same GPU.

 

So on to the problem: after installing the new monitor, I've noticed that my performance has dropped pretty considerably, and I really can't figure out why. I've tried Battlefield 3, Bioshock Infinite, Final Fantasy XIV, and Far Cry 3 so far; whether I max out settings or turn them down to medium/high, I get points where I drop as low as 30FPS (in the case of some games it is a jarring jump down until it slowly climbs back up). There's some Heaven Benchmark scores attached for you to peruse, maybe they're normal and I'm reading too far into it, but they (particularly the 1080p scores) seem off.

 

So the question is, is something amiss? Or are those scores about right for my specs? I've noticed a pretty major drop in performance in most games from before I changed my display setup, even if I run them at 1080p... surely that isn't normal. I've reinstalled drivers twice, even rolled back, but the issue persists. No changes have been made aside from the new monitor, which is why I'm questioning if there's a problem to begin with and it isn't just me being sensetive to the changes.

 

If there is an issue, what would be my best course of action?

 

a) Try to locate the problem and correct it, keeping the SLI 670s

B) Sell off one 670 and grab a 4GB model to SLI with one of my existing ones (would this even work)

c) Sell off both 670s and grab a couple of 760s

d) Sell off both 670s and grab a 780

 

The options to sell the 670s assume, of course, that the 670s are free of defect... which I can only assume they are since attaching a new monitor to my PC doesn't seem like it'd ruin the hardware and I had no issues prior. So yeah, any insight? Am I just being overly sensetive, or is there some sort of problem here? Is it just my PC being too weak (I'm not a complete idiot, SLI 670s should be more than sufficient for 1440p, no...?)?

 

Thanks for your time!

 

p.s. apologies if this is in the wrong section.

Option D...remember...its easier dealing with only one gpu vs. multiple  whether sli or crossfire.  But since you are using multiple monitors (missed that) you could go with Option C....