Upgrade gone wrong... what now?

[davewhite04]

ps. The Antec 902 V3 is big enough for two 7950/70 as thats what time using.... just in case u think you'l need to upgrade

You sure mate? I mean my 660gtx is 23.5 and just fits in but the 7950s are 29.5? How did you get the cards in?

Thanks

 

[Darujhistan]

Not sure why you expected to get 'blown way' by 660 SLI.

 

[Davanius]

I ran Crysis 3 on a 2500k @ 4.5 with a gtx 670 sli setup.

I also ran Crysis 3 with a 2600k @ 4.5 with a 7970 matrix.

Ask me which setup was the smoothest?

Then ask me which offered the most fps and then ask which do I prefer to play this game on.

 

[Jono8]

I ran Crysis 3 on a 2500k @ 4.5 with a gtx 670 sli setup.

I also ran Crysis 3 with a 2600k @ 4.5 with a 7970 matrix.

Ask me which setup was the smoothest?

Then ask me which offered the most fps and then ask which do I prefer to play this game on.

Well the best set up would be the i7 and the SLI 670's....

 

[davewhite04]

I ran Crysis 3 on a 2500k @ 4.5 with a gtx 670 sli setup.

I also ran Crysis 3 with a 2600k @ 4.5 with a 7970 matrix.

Ask me which setup was the smoothest?

Then ask me which offered the most fps and then ask which do I prefer to play this game on.

Well the only questions is which setup do you enjoy the game in most? or yeah, and how noisy is your PC for each!

 

[Davanius]

Well the best set up would be the i7 and the SLI 670's....

You would think that until I saw what happened to one gtx 670 yesterday in bf4. It wouldn't run ultra like it did in bf3 and that is with an i7.

Spoiler

Crysis 3 2600k, 7970 matrix stock above.

Spoiler

Crysis 3 2500k, sli 670's above.


Crysis 3 likes i7's but I wish I had gotten 4gb 670's.

 

[Jono8]

Looks better on the 670's : / ( better average)

 

[Davanius]

Well the only questions is which setup do you enjoy the game in most? or yeah, and how noisy is your PC for each!

Good questions. I don't know if bf4 doesn't run well on Nvidia cards or something. It was very choppy and not smooth at all. I have never seen anything like it on the 670 for as long as I've owned it.

Sli has been a dream for me. Hardly any problems at all. Crysis 3 is smoother on the 7970 setup to my eye but I think that it may be due partly to the i7.

Heat on the sli was fine until summer on the hottest days but that is mostly due to case and cooling.

Noise was quiet on each setup due to all cards being asus custom coolers.

Which did I prefer? Both.

 

[arc@css]

Not sure why you expected to get 'blown way' by 660 SLI.

I would expect to be after coming from a 5850.

 

[Jono8]

Good questions. I don't know if bf4 doesn't run well on Nvidia cards or something. It was very choppy and not smooth at all. I have never seen anything like it on the 670 for as long as I've owned it.

Sli has been a dream for me. Hardly any problems at all. Crysis 3 is smoother on the 7970 setup to my eye but I think that it may be due partly to the i7.

Heat on the sli was fine until summer on the hottest days but that is mostly due to case and cooling.

Noise was quiet on each setup due to all cards being asus custom coolers.

Which did I prefer? Both.

The BF4 beta ran really smoothly for me on sli 670's. This was on Windows 8 though which was supposed to be much better for BF4. I hope the actual game is the same! (haven't had a chance to play it yet!)

 

[Davanius]

As Gregster said, No single gpu will chew it up (Crysis 3) but the 7970 will play it well on highest in game settings and low aa. Forget about msaa as fps would dip to low for my liking.

I would go for a 280x even though I have the 7970 matrix for the budget suggested. The 7970 matrix is built well but requires some understanding and patience to get the best out of it.

Then again my dream card (GTX 780) has fallen down in price so.......

 

[davewhite04]

As Gregster said, No single gpu will chew it up (Crysis 3) but the 7970 will play it well on highest in game settings and low aa. Forget about msaa as fps would dip to low for my liking.

I would go for a 280x even though I have the 7970 matrix for the budget suggested. The 7970 matrix is built well but requires some understanding and patience to get the best out of it.

Then again my dream card (GTX 780) has fallen down in price so.......

Well it seems like a minefield, I almost feel like just sticking with my 660gtx and doing the cpu and a bit of gpu overclocking, the 660 gtx i have is a gigabyte windforce so cooled really well... BUT

In all likelihood I will get a card, and not sli or crossfire... it will defo be one of these, which one would you get and why?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-293-AS&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=938

Really like the price but would it be a BIG upgrade to a 660gtx?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-323-SP&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1842

This is an unknown to me, but you suggested it

Finally

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-307-AS&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=1750

Those 3 games I want, and assassins creed I would buy on the PS4 for £50 so there's £50 saved straight away, IF this card is good enough to beat the PS4 technically.

One will be bought, and I'll be selling a perfectly fine Gigabyte 660GTX with a small steam account I never use for £125 posted. Not even a week old.

 

[Uncle Petey]

I'd probably get the dodgy 660 RMA'd and see how it goes when you get a properly working SLI setup and then look into alternatives if it didn't live up to expectation..

 

[davewhite04]

I'd probably get the dodgy 660 RMA'd and see how it goes when you get a properly working SLI setup and then look into alternatives if it didn't live up to expectation..

I'm sorta off the idea of dual cards now Pete. The size of my case isn't great and I'm a sucker for good airflow. This situation has also put me off this Sli etc. tech. I mean if I go for the 770, it's an ASUS and it will match my ASUS board, that 770 would be only slightly less powerful then a 660gtc sli if my research is right.

I respect you advice, and it sort of makes me feel less dense in the fact that my initial plan of 2x 660gtx was a decent plan.

 

[davewhite04]

I'd probably get the dodgy 660 RMA'd and see how it goes when you get a properly working SLI setup and then look into alternatives if it didn't live up to expectation..

Bearing what I said, if you had to have one of the 3 cards I mentioned, which one would you get?

 

[Uncle Petey]

Erm.. I dunno, I don't really like any of them tbh

The Matrix should be decent, but there's bloody GPU tweak to put up with... Still, it's a good price, but don't be fooled by the grand promises that the description makes.

ED: If you really want a substantial upgrade, maybe look at selling both your cards and grabbing a 780?

 

[davewhite04]

Erm.. I dunno, I don't really like any of them tbh

The Matrix should be decent, but there's bloody GPU tweak to put up with... Still, it's a good price, but don't be fooled by the grand promises that the description makes.

ED: If you really want a substantial upgrade, maybe look at selling both your cards and grabbing a 780?

Well I'll get a full refund for the broken one, and like I say about £100 for the working one sold privately. 780 hmmm it's just £100 too much.

Do you reckon any of those 3 are worth upgrading a 660gtx for?

 

[Uncle Petey]

Yeah, they'll all offer a fair bit more punch - especially with a decent overclock.

 

[g3po]

I've had sli in my various pc's 3 in total twin 6800 ultra's firstly then twin 8800gtx and now 560 ti and never had a problem

 

[g3po]

this is what i'd get

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-014-IN&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=1341