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Advice on Tri-Sli 480's

ntemples1

ntemples1

ntemples1

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Hi guys,

I would like to ask some advice, at the moment I am running Gtx 480's in Dual SLI, which are watercooled.

I was thinking that since I don't really want to get dual 580's (as performance wouldn't be a lot more) and it would mean I would have to go back to air again for the cards. I might pick up another second hand gtx 480 and put it into tri-SLI.

How much of a performance increase would I see at my res?

Cheers
 
Three GPU's will show some very poor scaling and some game will be slower. From my experiences three way FrI Sly is a waste of time.
 
Tri SLI 480s at your res is a good plan, you will be future proof for a while!

I have x3 480s at 2560x1600 it is overkill for most games atm but I dont plan on upgrading in the next year GFX wise so it should (hopefully) last me :p
 
I already have 2 480s and thought about grabbing another with the relase of the 580. I thought long and hard, but scaling does drop off in tri-sli over dual sli, and I would probably have to change my 1kw PSU to something a bit more beefier.

Decided to go for 2 580s and waterblocks when they arrive and swallow the loss from the sale of my 480s
 
NathWraith said:
Tri SLI 480s at your res is a good plan, you will be future proof for a while!

I have x3 480s at 2560x1600 it is overkill for most games atm but I dont plan on upgrading in the next year GFX wise so it should (hopefully) last me :p
Click to expand...

Thats good to know, what power supply have you got? i've got a 1200W it should be enough shouldn't it?
 
I thought about it but too much stress on mobo i was told Tri SLI

And with 40 k vantage under my belt, thought it was overkill myself anyway


Ant
 
Last edited:
Antx777 said:
I thought about it but too much stress on mobo i was told Tri SLI

And with 40 k vantage under my belt, thought it was overkill myself anyway


Ant
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link, hmm yes it's food for thought, we have very similar setups, I am unsure now, the only reason why I was considering it was because loads of people will be selling their 480's off cheap now, it'd be a good time to get another one... but now I am not so sure..
 
depends on the game as always, some of the benchmark results for 580 sli are nearly double the speed of sli 480's at 2560 x 1600, check em out first
 
NathWraith said:
Tri SLI 480s at your res is a good plan, you will be future proof for a while!

I have x3 480s at 2560x1600 it is overkill for most games atm but I dont plan on upgrading in the next year GFX wise so it should (hopefully) last me :p
Click to expand...

You class one year as a long time? :eek::rolleyes:

I would personally class it as overkill.
I would save the money until you start to see performance become an issue and see what's available then - as I doubt there is any game your rig doesn't currently eat.
 
Cookeh said:
You class one year as a long time? :eek::rolleyes:

I would personally class it as overkill.
I would save the money until you start to see performance become an issue and see what's available then - as I doubt there is any game your rig doesn't currently eat.
Click to expand...

Thing is at the resolution I am playing at some games do start taking their toll, ie games like metro 2033 and crysis, I am thinking that Crysis 2 will be even more demanding, so if I could get a bit more horsepower that'd be great. But even if I can get a 480 for £250 second hand, I'd have to fit a waterblock which would make it around £310, which is probably the amount I would have to fork out for 580 SLI once I'd chopped mine in... decisions decisions!
 
NathWraith said:
Tri SLI 480s at your res is a good plan, you will be future proof for a while!

I have x3 480s at 2560x1600 it is overkill for most games atm but I dont plan on upgrading in the next year GFX wise so it should (hopefully) last me :p
Click to expand...

Hi mate, I see you have 2 480s for sale in MM, I thought you didn't plan on upgrading till next year?
 
jigger said:
Three GPU's will show some very poor scaling and some game will be slower. From my experiences three way FrI Sly is a waste of time.
Click to expand...

It's a half-truth :)
Third card in SLI gives small performance gain in comparison with second one added to single. It depends on particular game, of course.

Fourth card sometimes gives you framerate drop, not third.

SLI and Crossfire are being optimised all the time for dual multiGPU, so it's the clue. Third card might be nice addition for benchmarking, but I think in your case dual 580 system will be as much effective as triple 480, but a bit cheaper.
 
God I am so confused with this at the moment I can't make a decision, I am worried the my motherboard will burn out with 3 480s in SLI, but it would be the cheaper option than swalling the loss on my existing 2 480s and getting 580s, Help someone!!!
 
Keep what you have. 580 sli isn't worth moving to from 480's. If yours are watercooled (oc'd) then even more of a reason not to.

Adding a third may look cool but there are a number of things to consider for tri sli.

power/heatdump
the need for an extra waterblock and the faffing about to install it all
drivers are far better for sli over tri sli
scaling drop off/overheads of 3 cards instead of 2
motherboards without aux power connectors seem to burn out
 
lay-z-boy said:
Keep what you have. 580 sli isn't worth moving to from 480's. If yours are watercooled (oc'd) then even more of a reason not to.

Adding a third may look cool but there are a number of things to consider for tri sli.

power/heatdump
the need for an extra waterblock and the faffing about to install it all
drivers are far better for sli over tri sli
scaling drop off/overheads of 3 cards instead of 2
motherboards without aux power connectors seem to burn out
Click to expand...

I think you're right, I am going to hang on, yes my cards are watercooled and have been running perfectly, I am worried that if I buy a third 480 and stick it in in might burn out my motherboard.

I might just wait and see how the 6990 is in january, if it's a significant improvement over what I have I might go that way.

Thanks everyone for your input.
 
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