1 Titan V VS. 2 Titan XP's VS. 2 1080ti's

[Kalm_Traveler]

1 hour ago, zzrhardy said:

 

Definitely if you have the patience. Expect a "1180ti" to have the same cuda power as a Titan V without any of the tensor cores that will never be touched in gaming. I don't see why nVidia would release a weaker 1180ti than it has shown it can already make in the Titan V, unless they plan on further market segmentation with future gaming focused Titans (and I wouldn't put a gaming Titan vs AI Titan marketing mess past them). Especially seeing as 4K monitors need so much more GPU horsepower, a castrated 1180ti makes no sense.

 

Titan V is the best you can get right now, especially if you have a large library of games many of which won't use SLI. Sinking money into dual 1080ti/Titan XPs for only 3 to 4 months gaming seems a waste for any buyer, loaded or not. At least a Titan V will still be good moving forward, BUT, like I said you will wince at having paid 3K for a Titan V when next gen is likely to give you the same performance at less than half the cost in a few months.

 

Be wary of advice of "SLI 1180". Many are forgetting that SLI/Crossfire is being depreciated in favour of mGPU. We don't know yet that SLI will even exist in next gen, yet we do know the entire burden of mGPU implementation is on the game developers, so it is expected to have less utilisation than SLI/Crossfire has had. We have to wait and see.

I'm guessing since you think that tensor cores will never be touched for gaming that you've missed all the announcements about it?
https://www.geforce.com/whats-new/articles/nvidia-rtx-real-time-game-ray-tracing

https://devblogs.nvidia.com/nvidia-optix-ray-tracing-powered-rtx/

https://www.anandtech.com/show/12546/nvidia-unveils-rtx-technology-real-time-ray-tracing-acceleration-for-volta-gpus-and-later


Tensor cores very definitely will be used in gaming...

[App4that]

4 minutes ago, Frankenburger said:

Let me be clear - I'm not blaming you. I'm just simply stating a fact. The need to reboot when switching games is extremely abnormal for a SLI system.

 

I'm not denying your levels of frustration. However, frustration can be blinding. Trust me, I've been there.

 

That's because most of the time, when someone asks for SLI advice, the question is something similar to "SLI 1070 or 1080Ti?". Duh, go with the 1080Ti. That's a no brainer. But what if you want more power than what a 1080Ti can offer? The only answer is SLI unless something better is right around the corner and you can afford to wait.

You need to reboot after going between SLI enabled and disabled. If I'm playing a game that supports SLI and have SLI enabled, and I got to play a game that has issues with SLI, I have to disable SLI and reboot. Kinda a pain.

 

As a 980ti and 1080ti owner the only time I've ever seen their limit is resolution. For that niche market of 4k and beyond users, yeah you're faced with turning down settings or SLI. Though I'd argue turning down settings to high and not losing much in the way of visial but gaining stability over SLI is the better move. 

[Frankenburger]

10 minutes ago, App4that said:

You need to reboot after going between SLI enabled and disabled

You did. I don't, and never did. The only time I ever had to reboot when doing anything SLI related is when doing a clean install of my GPU drivers.

 

Also, if you need SLI disabled, simply set the SLI rendering mode to single-GPU in NVCP if it isn't already set. If you wanted to go the extra step for whatever reason, use Nvidia Inspector to restrict SLI to just one of the GPUs for a specified game. It's not that hard.

 

10 minutes ago, App4that said:

Though I'd argue turning down settings to high and not losing much in the way of visial but gaining stability over SLI is the better move.

I agree in most cases. But again, this is a case by case scenario we're talking about. Your solution won't work for everyone.

[App4that]

Just now, Frankenburger said:

You did. I don't, and never did. The only time I ever had to reboot when doing anything SLI related is when doing a clean install of my GPU drivers.

Also, if you need SLI disabled, simply set the SLI rendering mode to single-GPU in NVCP if it isn't already set. Not that hard.

 

I agree in most cases. But again, this is a case by case scenario we're talking about. Your solution won't work for everyone.

Have you played War Thunder? 

[Frankenburger]

5 minutes ago, App4that said:

Have you played War Thunder? 

Yes, and I leave SLI set to Single GPU* through NVCP so War Thunder doesn't flicker.

Besides, it's not like War Thunder needs 2 1080Ti's to run smoothly

Edited May 9, 2018 by Frankenburger
Clarification

[App4that]

2 minutes ago, Frankenburger said:

Yes, and I leave SLI turned off through NVCP so War Thunder doesn't flicker.

Besides, it's not like War Thunder needs 2 1080Ti's to run smoothly

To turn off SLI a reboot is required to make sure you don't have any other issues. You *can* get away with not rebooting, but if you want to make sure you won't have an issue it's a restart. We're running into simantics though at this point. 

 

Actually, have you played since the last update LOL? I had drops into the 40s in Movie at 1440. Blew my mind. Haven't had the time to check if it was GPU or CPU related, know its the new foliage but have been busy. 

[Frankenburger]

5 minutes ago, App4that said:

To turn off SLI a reboot is required to make sure you don't have any other issues.

You caught my post right before the edit. With War Thunder, I keep SLI turned off by setting the SLI rendering method to Single GPU. No need to hard disable SLI.

 

5 minutes ago, App4that said:

but if you want to make sure you won't have an issue it's a restart

I've never had an issue with hard disabling SLI and not rebooting. But then again, I don't have any reason to hard disable SLI, so it's not like I do it on a daily basis *shrugs*

 

Not saying there won't be issues. Just saying I haven't seen any during the rare occasions I've hard disabled SLI.

 

5 minutes ago, App4that said:

Actually, have you played since the last update LOL? I had drops into the 40s in Movie at 1440. Blew my mind. Haven't had the time to check if it was GPU or CPU related, know its the new foliage but have been busy. 

I haven't. But considering how old the engine is, I wouldn't be surprised if it was a CPU issue. War Thunder isn't exactly known for being well optimized after all

[App4that]

7 minutes ago, Frankenburger said:

You caught my post right before the edit. With War Thunder, I keep SLI turned off by setting the SLI rendering method to Single GPU. No need to hard disable SLI.

 

I've never had an issue with hard disabling SLI and not rebooting. But then again, I don't have any reason to hard disable SLI, so it's not like I do it on a daily basis *shrugs*

 

Not saying there won't be issues. Just saying I haven't seen any during the rare occasions I've hard disabled SLI.

 

I haven't. But considering how old the engine is, I wouldn't be surprised if it was a CPU issue. War Thunder isn't exactly known for being well optimized after all

Yeah, optimized isn't a word I would use either lol

 

End of the day it comes down to what you spend to what you get. I've just never seen SLI past a means of using older hardware. Like I picked up a second 980ti rather than a 1080ti, yet the issues had me buying a 1080ti anyway. 

 

SLI is great for custom show pieces with custom loops. Like the coolant in them it shows the priority of the system, show. Not a bad thing, I'd build one myself if I had the money. For just wanting to sit down and relax while gaming though, multi card configurations come up short. The diminishing returns on your investment of time and money can't be ignored. 

[Princess Luna]

55 minutes ago, Frankenburger said:

That's a no brainer. But what if you want more power than what a 1080Ti can offer? The only answer is SLI unless something better is right around the corner and you can afford to wait.

Or.... go a lil bit easier on the settings and gain tons of fps while keeping the game looks the same?

<3

 

Seriously I don't see why any one would need more than a single 1080 Ti... you can play any game at any of the common resolution and refresh rates you could possible think of with a single 1080 Ti and in no way 1% of extra eye candy is worth the price tag of the second GPU, more capable motherboard and PSU.

 

But that's just my feeling.

[Frankenburger]

8 hours ago, App4that said:

For just wanting to sit down and relax while gaming though, multi card configurations come up short. The diminishing returns on your investment of time and money can't be ignored. 

Well, that varies from person to person. I can't speak for others, but I can speak for myself.

 

Spending $1300 on 2 1080Ti's was no big deal for me, especially since I only upgrade once every 3 to 4 years on average. Personally, what I want from my games is as little aliasing and as little shimmering as possible. The answer to that is to super sample, which requires quite a bit of beef. It's not uncommon for me to play my games at 5120x2880 (4x DSR) with FXAA and sometimes varying forms of MSAA or low levels of SSAA. In games that don't have anti cheat, throwing ReShade on top of all that is the norm for me.

 

The settings I use can't be done on any single GPU. Yes, I'm aware the way I configure my games is overkill, but I've been playing games like that for so long, it's hard to not super sample + reshade. I have a few posts in the Gaming Screenshots page that shows what my games look like, but seeing how those games are configured in person is much different than looking at them through screen shots.

 

Also, SLI is kind of necessary for triple monitor setups. Once 4k 144Hz panels come out, and once 8k panels come out, SLI will be the only way to reliably drive them for the next few years. But that will really only apply to people like me who want the best of the bleeding edge.

 

8 hours ago, Princess Cadence said:

go a lil bit easier on the settings and gain tons of fps while keeping the game looks the same?

There's more to it than just lowering the game from Ultra to High. Most of the games I play aren't fully maxed anyway. Subnautica uses FXAA and medium water, Fallout 4 uses Medium shadows and SSAO rather than HBAO+, and PUBG is using High settings. But, to me, supersampling is pretty important. Aliasing and shimmering kills my enjoyment of games, so I very often use DSR and/or SSAA when possible.

[App4that]

11 minutes ago, Frankenburger said:

Well, that varies from person to person. I can't speak for others, but I can speak for myself.

 

Spending $1300 on 2 1080Ti's was no big deal for me, especially since I only upgrade once every 3 to 4 years on average. Personally, what I want from my games is as little aliasing and as little shimmering as possible. The answer to that is to super sample, which requires quite a bit of beef. It's not uncommon for me to play my games at 5120x2880 (4x DSR) with FXAA and sometimes varying forms of MSAA or low levels of SSAA. In games that don't have anti cheat, throwing ReShade on top of all that is the norm for me.

 

The settings I use can't be done on any single GPU. Yes, I'm aware the way I configure my games is overkill, but I've been playing games like that for so long, it's hard to not super sample + reshade. I have a few posts in the Gaming Screenshots page that shows what my games look like, but seeing how those games are configured in person is much different than looking at them through screen shots.

 

Also, SLI is kind of necessary for triple monitor setups. Once 4k 144Hz panels come out, and once 8k panels come out, SLI will be the only way to reliably drive them for the next few years. But that will really only apply to people like me who want the best of the bleeding edge.

Sounds great, I believed it too. But, how do two 780ti in SLI run Kingdom Come Deliverance? SLI is sold based on the performance when it's working, when in reality you buy the performance when it's not working too. 

[Frankenburger]

5 minutes ago, App4that said:

SLI is sold based on the performance when it's working, when in reality you buy the performance when it's not working too. 

That kind of comes with the territory when you're using anything that's aimed at the high end or enthusiast level. Not all games support ultra wide monitors. Not all games support more than 4 CPU cores. Not all games support SLI. It's less the fault of the technology, and more the fault of the developers. Any game can support ultrawide monitors, more than 4 CPU cores, and SLI if the developer takes the time to develop that support into the game.

 

I feel Planetside 2 is a good example of this. Planetside 2 only supports DX9, and is heavily CPU dependent. A lot of that CPU dependency would have been mitigated, if not greatly reduced by moving over to DX11, DX12, or Vulkan, which are API's that have much better multi core support.

 

If the only game I play is Planetside 2, does that mean my i7-6850k is a waste of money? Technically, yes, because I spent $407 for a CPU that performs on par with a $220 CPU. But the more I branch out, the more likely I am to find a game that benefits more from my i7-6850k than a $220 quad core i5/i3.

 

Nier Automata is another good example. For a while, it didn't support Ultrawide. If I had an Ultrawide, and only played Nier Automata, is the money I spent on the Ultrawide a waste? Technically, yes. Much like SLI, Nier Automata later got an Ultrawide treatment, but it's imperfect with stretched cutscenes and a stretched HUD, so it's still far from flawless. However, the more games I play, the more likely it will be that I'll play games with Ultrawide support.

 

Yes, SLI is sold on performance, and yes, it's possible you'll lose performance. Regardless, SLI is arguably being aimed exclusively at the high end, now more than ever since anything below a 70 class can't SLI anymore. Gamers with high end systems most probably have quite a few games that they enjoy that will benefit from a SLI system. Games hobbyists who are also PC enthusiasts are also more likely to mod out their games and customize the hell out of them for a more personalized experience. This is where SLI shines.

[App4that]

13 minutes ago, Frankenburger said:

That kind of comes with the territory when you're using anything that's aimed at the high end or enthusiast level. 

I get Epeen my brother. My backup GPU is a 980ti lol.

 

As enthusiasts though, is it time to say enough? 32 core CPU and 2 of the latest flagship cards for an experience slightly better than a good CPU and a good card?

[Frankenburger]

12 minutes ago, App4that said:

I get Epeen my brother. My backup GPU is a 980ti lol.

 

As enthusiasts though, is it time to say enough? 32 core CPU and 2 of the latest flagship cards for an experience slightly better than a good CPU and a good card?

Personally, I build my rig around my own needs and what shows the best improvement, and I'll always encourage others to do the same. My SLI 980's couldn't do what I wanted, a single 1080Ti couldn't do what I wanted, so I went SLI. That upgrade offered more than just a "slightly better experience" IMHO. It's time to say enough only when the upgrades don't suit my needs and and doesn't benefit my gaming experience.

[App4that]

9 minutes ago, Frankenburger said:

Personally, I build my rig around my own needs and what shows the best improvement, and I'll always encourage others to do the same. My SLI 980's couldn't do what I wanted, a single 1080Ti couldn't do what I wanted, so I went SLI. That upgrade offered more than just a "slightly better experience" IMHO. It's time to say enough only when the upgrades don't suit my needs and and doesn't benefit my gaming experience.

Different experiences, what fuels the hobby.

[TwoKillaBytes]

11 hours ago, bigman420 said:

how on earth did u manage to get pubg to work on SLI, u cant even select sli rendering mode for pubg in the control pannel

I didn't. I got low fps/bad stuttering with SLI enabled with in PUBG with a 1080Ti. Had to switch back to single card mode everytime I wanted to play PUBG. Ended up with a 2nd useless graphics card in my computer. I meant that only GTA V got benefits with SLI mode enabled for me.

[bigman420]

16 hours ago, Frankenburger said:

Funny thing is SLI is officially supported in PUBG with 388.59. It still works in newer drivers, but is finicky (which I suspect has something to do with how Nvidia "optimized" PUBG in newer drivers). All you need to do is add in the older official bits of 0x080000F1 and enable AFR. Also, don't forget to switch to FXAA instead of TAA, otherwise you'll get negative scaling.

sir u must be a god, not even my software eng brother could get it to work

[Frankenburger]

4 hours ago, TwoKillaBytes said:

I didn't. I got low fps/bad stuttering with SLI enabled with in PUBG with a 1080Ti. Had to switch back to single card mode everytime I wanted to play PUBG. Ended up with a 2nd useless graphics card in my computer. I meant that only GTA V got benefits with SLI mode enabled for me.

Most of those games you listed should be scaling with SLI. With the newer 397.xx drivers, you'll need manual fixes for PUBG, Forza 3, and CoD WWII. However, Ghost Recon, CSGO, Rising Storm 2, and Battlefield 1 all have official support and should scale without issue.

 

I don't have Forza 3, The Division, or Battlefield 1, but I do have CSGO, Rising Storm 2, and Ghost Recon. If you like, I can help you at least isolate the issue you're having. I assume you play games in fullscreen mode? What are your settings for the CSGO, RS2, and GR? Also, what drivers are you using?

[whoisit1118]

There's rumors that the 1180 will launch at Computex. You might want to wait a bit.

[Frankenburger]

2 minutes ago, bigman420 said:

sir u must be a god, not even my software eng brother could get it to work

Nah, but I am flattered

 

PUBG uses Temporal AA when AA is set to Medium or above. Also, Effects when set to Medium or above can reduce SLI scaling, but the culprit of negative scaling in PUBG is TAA. It's very easy to overlook, especially since there are some forms of TAA that doesn't work with SLI. But once you figure out if the game uses SLI compatible TAA or not, the rest comes easy if you're familiar with navigating NV Inspector and personalizing your driver settings