SLI in 2018

[SkeletonCross420]

So I just got a second gtx 1080 for SLI and I was wondering what games even support it in 2018? The nvidia website has limited details on this matter because some games patch in SLI later on like battlefield 1. SO what games actually support SLI or is it even worth the effort?

[Crunchy Dragon]

More often than not, SLI hasn't been worth it unless you need to drive multiple high resolution displays(I have a friend that uses his 1080 SLI to run two 1440p displays).

[Kalm_Traveler]

2 minutes ago, SkeletonCross420 said:

So I just got a second gtx 1080 for SLI and I was wondering what games even support it in 2018? The nvidia website has limited details on this matter because some games patch in SLI later on like battlefield 1. SO what games actually support SLI or is it even worth the effort?

If you search this forum for 'SLI' you'll see threads pretty much daily discussing this very topic.

 

TLDR; version is that around 70-80% of current titles support it somewhat, with a few games that refuse to run or just don't benefit at all.

 

Whether or not something is 'worth the effort' is a decision only you can make. What is 'worth it' to me may be totally different from what is 'worth it' to you, and vice versa.

 

Basically you'll want to do this checklist:

1. Do you need MOAR fps?
2. Does your monitor support MOAR fps than you currently get?
3. Do the games you play/want to play support SLI?
4. Do you already have a single top-of-the-line card that can SLI? (as of today that would be a 1080 Ti or Titan Xp)
5. Will adding another $800-1200 card give you the MOAR fps that you want?

If you say yes to all of those things, then probably it would be 'worth it' to you.

 

Since you said you already bought a second 1080 for SLI, it is already a moot point either way but in the future that is what you should ask yourself.

Remember, you still need to cough up another $40-50 for the HB SLI bridge.

[ALEX.LAP]

Just now, SkeletonCross420 said:

So I just got a second gtx 1080 for SLI and I was wondering what games even support it in 2018? The nvidia website has limited details on this matter because some games patch in SLI later on like battlefield 1. SO what games actually support SLI or is it even worth the effort?

I personally would send both the a 1080ti and have extra cash in my wallet. Nvidia themselves are thinking about fully dropping sli support for the gtx series. To be honest a 1080ti will run pretty much everything at 1440p maxed out in more than enough fps. 

[a7mddiaa]

i'd sell both and wait for next gen

 

[Crunchy Dragon]

1 minute ago, a7mddiaa said:

i'd sell both and wait for next gen

And be stuck with no GPU until the next gen releases?

[a7mddiaa]

well if he sells it when next gen comes out it well sell cheaper

maybe he can sell one now and stick with 1 till next gen

[O9B0666]

man check out youtube, you will see facts and performance, your about to get bombarded by ppl saying sli is dead, when clearly you will see its not. Not every game supports it but alot do. Also, most these guys dont realize, you want ultr graphics on a nice monitor or 2, you will benefit from sli, but what do parrots know.

[CypherQc]

Sell both, buy 1080 TI

[O9B0666]

5 hours ago, SkeletonCross420 said:

So I just got a second gtx 1080 for SLI and I was wondering what games even support it in 2018? The nvidia website has limited details on this matter because some games patch in SLI later on like battlefield 1. SO what games actually support SLI or is it even worth the effort?

yeah check out yourtube searching 1080sli benchmarks or 1080sli vs 1080ti, get facts these ppl say sell both or dont or get a ti lol but got no case or facts with it. Most havent experienced CF/SLI to realize its worth it.

[Mick Naughty]

I don’t play a lot of games. Ww2, BF1 and Pubg are the latest games I play. All of which support sli, though pubg is still crap but only uses 25% of my second card. Still better than a single card though.  

 

Its only an issues if the the rest of the system can’t keep up. Which is my problem. Gonna upgrade the cpu and hope for the best. They were faster than a ti and cost less than one, so I’ll still stick to what I got. 

[Cookybiscuit]

2 hours ago, O9B0666 said:

yeah check out yourtube searching 1080sli benchmarks or 1080sli vs 1080ti, get facts these ppl say sell both or dont or get a ti lol but got no case or facts with it. Most havent experienced CF/SLI to realize its worth it.

It's dead.

[mr moose]

I was pretty much under the impression SLI was like running dual carby's, looks great and all, but we have EFI now.

[stealth80]

8 hours ago, ALEX.LAP said:

I personally would send both the a 1080ti and have extra cash in my wallet. Nvidia themselves are thinking about fully dropping sli support for the gtx series. To be honest a 1080ti will run pretty much everything at 1440p maxed out in more than enough fps. 

source?

 

15 minutes ago, Cookybiscuit said:

It's dead.

whats your experience?

 

3 hours ago, O9B0666 said:

man check out youtube, you will see facts and performance, your about to get bombarded by ppl saying sli is dead, when clearly you will see its not. Not every game supports it but alot do. Also, most these guys dont realize, you want ultr graphics on a nice monitor or 2, you will benefit from sli, but what do parrots know.

And most of those people haven't ever even used SLI

 

9 hours ago, SkeletonCross420 said:

So I just got a second gtx 1080 for SLI and I was wondering what games even support it in 2018? The nvidia website has limited details on this matter because some games patch in SLI later on like battlefield 1. SO what games actually support SLI or is it even worth the effort?

The problem is always the same on the internet. People only take to the forums looking for fixes to problems theyre having, people read it and start saying that x product etc is bad, that gets spread …. hence SLI is dead, SLI is dead, fact is the vast majority of people have zero experience of SLI. How many people actually come on here and say "hey guys ive been using this product/tech for a little while now and you know what? It's great, its stable and works great and provides a good performance jump" ? 

 

Ive said this before on these forums and ill say it again (with this caveat this time as it was taken out of context - Im not saying there was no issues, im saying how many actually experienced vs read about it) How many times did you hear about Iphone7's bending in peoples pockets and how many people actually experienced the "slow 0.5gb vram" stutter on 970 GTX? I bet less than 1% of the people on forums spouting off about it actually experienced it.

 

I had 2x 970s in SLI for 18 months and had a single 970 a year longer. I never experienced the slow down (not saying it didn't exist) and you know what else? 2 games from around 100 didn't support SLI, Just Cause 3 and Quantum Break (terrible port, didn't even use Gsync)

 

You need to ask what games you own, I guess most will support SLI to some extent, the actual performance varies. Just keep in mind that when the 1180 arrives, it will "probably" (Carlsberg quote lol) have around the same performance as your 1080 SLI. With that in mind and announcements expected in late July, it might be an idea to sell a 1080 now and the other once the 1180 is released and just grab an 1180. If this was year ago Id say go for it (depending on your monitor res?) but were so close, you would be better with one with cash to upgrade.

 

[O9B0666]

1 hour ago, stealth80 said:

source?

 

whats your experience?

 

And most of those people haven't ever even used SLI

 

The problem is always the same on the internet. People only take to the forums looking for fixes to problems theyre having, people read it and start saying that x product etc is bad, that gets spread …. hence SLI is dead, SLI is dead, fact is the vast majority of people have zero experience of SLI. How many people actually come on here and say "hey guys ive been using this product/tech for a little while now and you know what? It's great, its stable and works great and provides a good performance jump" ? 

 

Ive said this before on these forums and ill say it again (with this caveat this time as it was taken out of context - Im not saying there was no issues, im saying how many actually experienced vs read about it) How many times did you hear about Iphone7's bending in peoples pockets and how many people actually experienced the "slow 0.5gb vram" stutter on 970 GTX? I bet less than 1% of the people on forums spouting off about it actually experienced it.

 

I had 2x 970s in SLI for 18 months and had a single 970 a year longer. I never experienced the slow down (not saying it didn't exist) and you know what else? 2 games from around 100 didn't support SLI, Just Cause 3 and Quantum Break (terrible port, didn't even use Gsync)

 

You need to ask what games you own, I guess most will support SLI to some extent, the actual performance varies. Just keep in mind that when the 1180 arrives, it will "probably" (Carlsberg quote lol) have around the same performance as your 1080 SLI. With that in mind and announcements expected in late July, it might be an idea to sell a 1080 now and the other once the 1180 is released and just grab an 1180. If this was year ago Id say go for it (depending on your monitor res?) but were so close, you would be better with one with cash to upgrade.

 

well said. It's just sad the ignorance of the vast majority. You come here to get info just to get copy and past it dont work answers, when theres tons and on of videos to show proof online, its very sad theirs such a small amount of people on here who state facts or are unbiased. And it's not even in this topic either.

Also, the new x470 boards, they're making them 4way SLI/CF capable...dead?!?!? why is support for it growing???? Oh yes, graphics and monitors are getting so much more demanding, 1 GPU cant drive some of these games on some new monitors on max settings 4k. With sli, aka scaling you get a 20%-90% boost in performance.

A list of games, which isnt complete i just don't feel like searching for a better list, that support SLI.
https://www.game-debate.com/news/10694/complete-list-of-compatible-nvidia-sli-supported-games

This is a post from 3 years ago, funny how much peoples view's have shifted, as games get more demanding as well as displays from a GPU, and yet MOBO's are increasing support for compatibility.

 

[Cookybiscuit]

A 100% price increase (in the GPU alone) for maybe possibly hopefully a modest performance increase and almost certainly additional stutter isn't such a hot deal. 

 

https://babeltechreviews.com/the-50-game-gtx-1070-ti-sli-review/3/

https://babeltechreviews.com/the-gtx-1070-ti-sli-vs-gtx-1080-ti-performance-review-35-games-tested/3/

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/geforce_gtx_1070_ti_2_way_sli_review,1.html

 

This is also assuming the user is only playing well known, AAA titles. The user has to know for sure the games they want to play support it well, they actually have a usage scenario to justify it (i.e. 4K or triple monitors, since VR isn't supported), and they actually need to care enough that they'd rather spend another $900 on a 1080Ti and stronger PSU, all this just so they can play their games at ultra instead of a mix of medium-high in super demanding games.

 

SLI makes no sense for 99.999% of users, much in the same way spending the extra money on a 8700K, Z370 motherboard, a delid and aggressive cooling and overclocking time makes no sense over a simple and much cheaper 8400 setup for 99.999% of users. SLI is an enthusiast thing even more so now than its ever been, the value isn't there unless you're a hardware enthusiast. If someone is at the level where they are still asking what games even support it then of course SLI makes no sense for them.

[Kalm_Traveler]

21 minutes ago, Cookybiscuit said:

 

 

SLI makes no sense for 99.999% of users, much in the same way spending the extra money on a 8700K, Z370 motherboard, a delid and aggressive cooling and overclocking time makes no sense over a simple and much cheaper 8400 setup for 99.999% of users. SLI is an enthusiast thing even more so now than its ever been, the value isn't there unless you're a hardware enthusiast. If someone is at the level where they are still asking what games even support it then of course SLI makes no sense for them.

this is false, if someone wants to have 100+ fps with max graphic detail/settings at 1440p or higher in many newer games SLI is really the only way to do it. 

Witcher 3 is a prime example, and isn't even a 'new' game. In my main rig, with SLI 1080 Ti's I still wasn't even able to breach 75 fps consistently, with a single card average fps was down around 45-55ish. With 1 (2) Titan V's in there I'm getting about 95-110 fps at 3440 x 1440.

What you're probably thinking of is budget gamers who are just wanting to get the best bang-for-the-buck. Those are definitely the majority of gamers, but not 99.999% by any means. High end hardware continues to be made because there are plenty of us who are willing to shell out for the best possible experience. If 99.999% of PC gaming enthusiasts were restricted to $1000-2000 total for their full PC setups, nobody would make $800-1200 graphics cards, $1000+ CPUs, $500-1200 monitors, etc

The nice thing for those who have lower amounts of free cash is that they can put together a modest build, but save up again and upgrade individual parts later on to keep improving their setup - in which case even they will eventually benefit from SLI if they play any of the roughly 70-80% of modern titles that support it.

[Lathlaer]

45 minutes ago, Cookybiscuit said:

If someone is at the level where they are still asking what games even support it then of course SLI makes no sense for them.

Weirdly enough, though I myself am enjoying an SLI setup, I agree with you on this one. If someone needs to go to forum and ask if it's ok to use two cards then most likely SLI isn't for them.

 

For people who know what they want and why they want it's something good and beneficial. I should know, playing FFXV right now and on absolutely maxed settings and with 4k texture pack I am enjoying FPS unreachable for people with a single card. And that is a game without "official" SLI support.

 

@Kalm_Traveler1

 

I agree with you on principle but one needs to understand that SLI isn't really a "plug&play" type of thing in some titles. It takes a bit dedication to fine tune it, realize how some settings might hurt your scaling (hello TAA my old friend) and visit some forums and discussions about custom profiles. It's well worth it for you and me but if someone is at the point where they go to a forum and ask if it's worth it, it's very likely they are not up to the challenge and they might end up disappointed.

 

If they are made aware that NVIDIA Inspector and MSI Afterburner (or EVGA precision) are their new friends without which they can't launch a new game and still decide to go for it, then kudos and let them have the fun. If they are fine with paying 200% price and never achieving 200% performance then so be it. For me the bump from 55-60 fps to 80-90 was well worth it but I realize not everyone has the same spending habits and expectations.

 

It's not a simple matter - SLI isn't dead by a long shot but it also isn't best fit for everyone. 

[Cookybiscuit]

17 minutes ago, Kalm_Traveler1 said:

this is false, if someone wants to have 100+ fps with max graphic detail/settings at 1440p or higher in many newer games SLI is really the only way to do it. 

I'm saying the majority of people either don't give a shit about this in the first place, or when they learn one card isn't enough, will learn to temper their expectations rather than spend another $1000 on a GPU so they can bump the graphics settings a bit higher in a couple of games.

 

Do you really think that someones quality of life improves in any meaningful way because they decided to SLI two Titan Vs rather than just stick with one 1080Ti and turn the graphics settings down? The answer is of course, broadly speaking, no, but anyone who is in the financial position to do something like that isn't looking at things from a price to performance perspective. There are many, many ways to waste money in life on things that make no logical sense but some people like them anyway, SLI is a perfect example of that. OPs question is "is it even worth the effort?", if he has to ask that, of course the answer is no. It's like trying to talk someone into buying a classic car or a $5000 watch, if they haven't already justified it to themselves, they more than likely don't need it.

 

None of this really matters of course as OP has already made the purchase.

[O9B0666]

1 hour ago, Cookybiscuit said:

A 100% price increase (in the GPU alone) for maybe possibly hopefully a modest performance

Did you read op second or so post?

 

8 hours ago, Mick Naughty said:

 cost less than one, so I’ll still stick to what I got. 

Nope guess not. So your just running around spouting off opinions and biased ones at that. 

1 hour ago, Cookybiscuit said:

 

SLI makes no sense for 99.999% of users, 

In some cases yes while I'll agree majority no. Theirs cards near me for sale in SLI cheaper then a 1080 but perform as well or slightly better in benchmarks I looked up. 

1 hour ago, Cookybiscuit said:

 spending the extra money on a 8700K, Z370 motherboard, a delid and aggressive cooling and overclocking time makes no sense over a simple and much cheaper 8400 setup for 99.999% of users. 

What planet did you come from?? That's like saying a camaro zl1 and corvette are the same cuz they share the same ls engine! Six cores being the ls in that scenario. 

 

You should have a title under your name that warn ppl who don't know that your opinionated not factual. 

[O9B0666]

47 minutes ago, Lathlaer said:

Weirdly enough, though I myself am enjoying an SLI setup, I agree with you on this one. If someone needs to go to forum and ask if it's ok to use two cards then most likely SLI isn't for them.

I disagree with this because, op might not know cause he's never experienced it so what better thing to do ask a forum which is supposed to give advice and help people. The answer should be around the lines of 

 

Are you a hard core gamer? 

Do you mind spending 100% the price for less then 100% improemt?

Are you trying to play at 90fps 4k ultra? 

 

If so it's for you. I wasn't born knowing if it's worth it so I asked someone who knew years ago. Rather then go on and on about everything but answering his question. 

[Lathlaer]

15 minutes ago, O9B0666 said:

Are you a hard core gamer? 

Do you mind spending 100% the price for less then 100% improemt?

Are you trying to play at 90fps 4k ultra? 

 

If so it's for you. I wasn't born knowing if it's worth it so I asked someone who knew years ago. Rather then go on and on about everything but answering his question. 

Essentialy true, hence the "most likely" in my sentence. What you wrote still should be the correct answer regardless of personal feelings towards the SLI and the OP's fitness towards it.

 

With the only distinction that I would really add "are you fine with doing some troubleshooting via internet and Nvidia Inspector (custom profiles finding) and don't mind starting each new game with OSD from Afterburner/Precision so that you can see the FPS and both GPU load".

[Cookybiscuit]

1 hour ago, O9B0666 said:

Did you read op second or so post? ... Nope guess not ... So your just running around spouting off opinions and biased ones at that.

Buying two of the same card costs twice as much than buying one of those cards, how is that biased or opinionated?

1 hour ago, O9B0666 said:

In some cases yes while I'll agree majority no. Theirs cards near me for sale in SLI cheaper then a 1080 but perform as well or slightly better in benchmarks I looked up. 

I posted links that objectively prove that SLI is shit because FCAT testing shows that even if FPS is higher than on a single card the frame delivery can be inconsistent and thus worse. Don't you remember the big scandal about this kind of crap on AMD cards years ago? Your counter to this will no doubt be "works great on my machine".

1 hour ago, O9B0666 said:

 

What planet did you come from?? That's like saying a camaro zl1 and corvette are the same cuz they share the same ls engine! Six cores being the ls in that scenario. 

 

This logic doesn't follow what so ever. 8400 vs 8700K is like if Corvette A had a 500BHP LS, Corvette B cost 25% more and had a 510BHP LS but you could tune it yourself to 550BHP with relative ease. 

 

Car analogies are always stupid when they are computer related.

1 hour ago, O9B0666 said:

 

You should have a title under your name that warn ppl who don't know that your opinionated not factual. 

I could do that, but it still wont change the fact that my posts are factual and yours are opinionated. 

[Mick Naughty]

1 hour ago, O9B0666 said:

Nope guess not. So your just running around spouting off opinions and biased ones at that. 

How so? Nothing I said was biased or an option. Simple facts. Also you're*

[O9B0666]

4 minutes ago, Mick Naughty said:

How so? Nothing I said was biased or an option. Simple facts. Also you're*

That wasn't towards you I quoted what you said to show someone else