Sanity Station. A gaming build.

[MeihanMike]

Hey guys, wasn't going to post my own due to all the computers on here being so awesome, but I have one or two questions I think you could help me with so may as well throw it out there for all to see!

This was originally built as a simple gaming PC which I could also work on while at university, playing non-intensive games such as League of legends and a few older racing games like Live for Speed. Being a console gamer I had no idea what I had been missing out on, and once I had finished my new machine and loaded some games onto it I was completely hooked, PC gaming was far superior to anything I had experienced before (having had access to only mid range laptops previously). I added a few upgrades such as an SSD and an aftermarket cooler that gave me noticeable improvements in performance, here's where I stand currently:

Specs:

Motherboard:

MSI Z77 MPower

CPU:

Intel i5 3570k

CPU Cooler:

Corsair H80i

Memory:

Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB)

Storage:

Seagate Barracuda 1TB Drive

Samsung 840 Series 120GB SSD

Video Card:

EVGA 660 SC 2GB

PSU:

Corsair CX600

Case:

Fractal Design R4

I've done my best with cable management. Would prefer if the USB 3.0 internal header could go through a grommet but doesn't seem to like the angle.

So what's next? I'm not sure this is where I would like some help.

I am a big fan of racing games and have been experimenting with multiple monitors (sorry for poor picture quality), I get poor frame rates on more intensive games over multiple displays (games like F1 2012 for example) and with the upcoming release of Project Cars later this year, I am looking to get some more graphics performance so I can enjoy this and other newer titles at higher qualities.

The most logical and cost effective choice to me is to get another 660 and run them in SLI. I've seen some benchmarks such as

that suggest that they would perform as well as a single 680. But will I see this over all games? or just ones that support SLI?

Also if I was to follow this route would it be better to get another, identical card (for me it seems so due to aesthetics) or a 660 with a non-reference cooler that may give better temperatures?

Or is there a difference route I should take? Open to suggestions.

Thanks for reading, first proper post on this forum, so hoping the links worked correctly.

[xxbrock88]

First, I would like to say that I think that you have a great rig!

For your video cards, I would personally recommend that you try to sell your 660 and get a single 680 4gb. The 4gb will help out a ton when running at resolutions such as 3x1080p. Even though that there would be 4gb overall if you added a second 660, each video card has to load the same textures so you would effectively have only 2 gb. From personal experience with my 2 gtx 670s 2gb in sli, the performance suffers with only 2gb per card at 3x1080p. I would also not get the second gtx 660 because of scaling. In some games, you will see double the performance of a single 660 while in other games you will barely get any more frames with 2 cards compared to 1 card. This problem wouldn't happen with a single card.

If you were to go the route of getting a second 660, however, it would make no difference if you got the same card or not. If you want better aesthetics, go with an identical card. If you wanted better cooling, I would also go with the same card because the reference design cooler would do a better job in your case.

Overall, I would recommend that you go for the single 680 4gb. I hope that this was helpful! :)

You could also go for a gtx 670 4gb. This card is also good options for going with a 3x1080p setup if the 680 4gb is too expensive because it has 4gb ram and you will not have to worry about scaling.

[hiyayhi]

First, I would like to say that I think that you have a great rig!

For your video cards, I would personally recommend that you try to sell your 660 and get a single 680 4gb. The 4gb will help out a ton when running at resolutions such as 3x1080p. Even though that there would be 4gb overall if you added a second 660, each video card has to load the same textures so you would effectively have only 2 gb. From personal experience with my 2 gtx 670s 2gb in sli, the performance suffers with only 2gb per card at 3x1080p. I would also not get the second gtx 660 because of scaling. In some games, you will see double the performance of a single 660 while in other games you will barely get any more frames with 2 cards compared to 1 card. This problem wouldn't happen with a single card.

If you were to go the route of getting a second 660, however, it would make no difference if you got the same card or not. If you want better aesthetics, go with an identical card. If you wanted better cooling, I would also go with the same card because the reference design cooler would do a better job in your case.

Overall, I would recommend that you go for the single 680 4gb. I hope that this was helpful! :)

You could also go for a gtx 670 4gb. This card is also good options for going with a 3x1080p setup if the 680 4gb is too expensive because it has 4gb ram and you will not have to worry about scaling.

Yup for three by 1080 gaming a 4gig 680 is where it is at.

The other option for triple monitor gaming is a 7970. the three gig frame buffer is fairly good but if you look hard enough you can find a 6 gig version that sapphire makes. (I'm not sure if they still make it.)

[MeihanMike]

Thanks for the comments, with the 680 being substantially more expensive (and my 660 not being worth that much) it's something I won't be able to look into right away, but thanks for the advice.

I'm happy I won't be getting another 660 only to be disappointed by the 3x1080p performance.

Will the 700 series release before the end of the year? Even if I didn't get a card from it, I could imagine it would drive down the prices on the 600 series.

[xxbrock88]

Thanks for the comments, with the 680 being substantially more expensive (and my 660 not being worth that much) it's something I won't be able to look into right away, but thanks for the advice.

I'm happy I won't be getting another 660 only to be disappointed by the 3x1080p performance.

Will the 700 series release before the end of the year? Even if I didn't get a card from it, I could imagine it would drive down the prices on the 600 series.

I don't know when Nvidia will release their 700 series. I assume that it will be at the end of this year or the beginning of 2014. If the gtx 680 4gb and the 670 4gb are too expensive, you could also look into the HD 7950. It has 3gb of video memory, which is good for 3x 1080p and it includes 2 free games, Crysis 3 and Bioshock Infinite, with AMDs never settle promotion. This makes it a great value. You also wouldn't have to worry about scaling.

[Jozi]

Dat R4 looks so empty :) Very clean build.

[Musguelha17]

I freaking hate Nvidia fanboys. Why is everybody suggesting Nvidia cards? Linus's benchmarks show the AMD cards clearly winning in almost every benchmark. Plus they're cheaper, bring awesome games with them and have bigger memory buffers, wich is what you want for surround gaming. Also, everybody knows AMD's Eyefinity is better than Nvidia's surround and more flexible. Yet, I see everybody recommending AMDs cards just as an inferior choice... stop being stupid guys.

[Nit3Rid3R]

I would buy sleeved extension cables, to make your build look sharper.

[Edgecybe231]

I freaking hate Nvidia fanboys. Why is everybody suggesting Nvidia cards? Linus's benchmarks show the AMD cards clearly winning in almost every benchmark. Plus they're cheaper, bring awesome games with them and have bigger memory buffers, wich is what you want for surround gaming. Also, everybody knows AMD's Eyefinity is better than Nvidia's surround and more flexible. Yet, I see everybody recommending AMDs cards just as an inferior choice... stop being stupid guys.

probably we know that nvidia is a trustworthy company.

[Musguelha17]

I freaking hate Nvidia fanboys. Why is everybody suggesting Nvidia cards? Linus's benchmarks show the AMD cards clearly winning in almost every benchmark. Plus they're cheaper, bring awesome games with them and have bigger memory buffers, wich is what you want for surround gaming. Also, everybody knows AMD's Eyefinity is better than Nvidia's surround and more flexible. Yet, I see everybody recommending AMDs cards just as an inferior choice... stop being stupid guys.

So is AMD...

[josh_05]

I freaking hate Nvidia fanboys. Why is everybody suggesting Nvidia cards? Linus's benchmarks show the AMD cards clearly winning in almost every benchmark. Plus they're cheaper, bring awesome games with them and have bigger memory buffers, wich is what you want for surround gaming. Also, everybody knows AMD's Eyefinity is better than Nvidia's surround and more flexible. Yet, I see everybody recommending AMDs cards just as an inferior choice... stop being stupid guys.

Performance isn't everything, I for one have found Nvidia's driver support much better than AMD's and their frame times have been better for years. If AMD pull their finger out with those 2 issues i will defiantly swap to the red team because they are significantly better value for money but until then, ill stick with Nvidia..

[horizoon59]

I freaking hate Nvidia fanboys. Why is everybody suggesting Nvidia cards? Linus's benchmarks show the AMD cards clearly winning in almost every benchmark. Plus they're cheaper, bring awesome games with them and have bigger memory buffers, wich is what you want for surround gaming. Also, everybody knows AMD's Eyefinity is better than Nvidia's surround and more flexible. Yet, I see everybody recommending AMDs cards just as an inferior choice... stop being stupid guys.

And we like PhysX :)

[horizoon59]

I freaking hate Nvidia fanboys. Why is everybody suggesting Nvidia cards? Linus's benchmarks show the AMD cards clearly winning in almost every benchmark. Plus they're cheaper, bring awesome games with them and have bigger memory buffers, wich is what you want for surround gaming. Also, everybody knows AMD's Eyefinity is better than Nvidia's surround and more flexible. Yet, I see everybody recommending AMDs cards just as an inferior choice... stop being stupid guys.

And we like PhysX :)

[horizoon59]

I freaking hate Nvidia fanboys. Why is everybody suggesting Nvidia cards? Linus's benchmarks show the AMD cards clearly winning in almost every benchmark. Plus they're cheaper, bring awesome games with them and have bigger memory buffers, wich is what you want for surround gaming. Also, everybody knows AMD's Eyefinity is better than Nvidia's surround and more flexible. Yet, I see everybody recommending AMDs cards just as an inferior choice... stop being stupid guys.

And we like PhysX :)

[horizoon59]

I freaking hate Nvidia fanboys. Why is everybody suggesting Nvidia cards? Linus's benchmarks show the AMD cards clearly winning in almost every benchmark. Plus they're cheaper, bring awesome games with them and have bigger memory buffers, wich is what you want for surround gaming. Also, everybody knows AMD's Eyefinity is better than Nvidia's surround and more flexible. Yet, I see everybody recommending AMDs cards just as an inferior choice... stop being stupid guys.

And we like PhysX :)

[horizoon59]

I freaking hate Nvidia fanboys. Why is everybody suggesting Nvidia cards? Linus's benchmarks show the AMD cards clearly winning in almost every benchmark. Plus they're cheaper, bring awesome games with them and have bigger memory buffers, wich is what you want for surround gaming. Also, everybody knows AMD's Eyefinity is better than Nvidia's surround and more flexible. Yet, I see everybody recommending AMDs cards just as an inferior choice... stop being stupid guys.

And we like PhysX :)