Resolution plays a big part, If I'd put the scaling to approx 115% the gpu usage would be hitting 98% on both cards
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Gigabyte 780 GTX w/ SLI
- Thread starter Slyman2k4
- Start date
Resolution plays a big part, If I'd put the scaling to approx 115% the gpu usage would be hitting 98% on both cards
Soldato
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- 14 Feb 2011
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- 7,490
Memory does help, but the biggest help is the fact that the res is 1440.
If the OP had a 1080, then as you said it would bottleneck big time.
I left as I couldn't stop laughing
It wouldn't be as bad as you seem to think.
Soldato
- Joined
- 14 Feb 2011
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When I can be bothered.
I'll run the same tests at 1080p and monitor Gpu usage with a 3770k, Hyper threading on and off and see how much of difference it makes.
I'll run the same tests at 1080p and monitor Gpu usage with a 3770k, Hyper threading on and off and see how much of difference it makes.
Soldato
- Joined
- 14 Feb 2011
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Apologies, only catching up on this now!
In regards to the points of going with the 290; I have been considering this as well, although I am not quite certain if it's worth it for me at this time as only a select handful of games actually support mantle from what I've read. I play quite a diverse range of games and wont be solely playing BF4/Titanfall. I just mentioned them as they would be the most taxing titles I have to date.
Around the comments on needing the rest of my components upgraded for SLI, that would be fine as it wouldn't immediately be SLI. The plan is for one card now and another down the line. Same if I go x-fire. I'd be more than happy to upgrade psu, mobo, ram and CPU at that time. Plus hopefully things will be cheaper then.
I am not keen on mini aircraft acoustics at all, so I'd prefer to avoid reference coolers (especially the 290s from what I've read) at all costs!
Is the 290 price still inflated by the supply and demand for mining cards? If there was a bigger difference in price I may have an easier decision.
There's a few conflicting points in the thread too which has caused me some confusion, with recommendations to stick with AMD and not bother upgrading the rest. But then the same talks of the CPU being somewhat of a bottleneck anyway and needing a new motherboard for better spacing between x-fire cards.
In regards to the points of going with the 290; I have been considering this as well, although I am not quite certain if it's worth it for me at this time as only a select handful of games actually support mantle from what I've read. I play quite a diverse range of games and wont be solely playing BF4/Titanfall. I just mentioned them as they would be the most taxing titles I have to date.
Around the comments on needing the rest of my components upgraded for SLI, that would be fine as it wouldn't immediately be SLI. The plan is for one card now and another down the line. Same if I go x-fire. I'd be more than happy to upgrade psu, mobo, ram and CPU at that time. Plus hopefully things will be cheaper then.
I am not keen on mini aircraft acoustics at all, so I'd prefer to avoid reference coolers (especially the 290s from what I've read) at all costs!
Is the 290 price still inflated by the supply and demand for mining cards? If there was a bigger difference in price I may have an easier decision.
There's a few conflicting points in the thread too which has caused me some confusion, with recommendations to stick with AMD and not bother upgrading the rest. But then the same talks of the CPU being somewhat of a bottleneck anyway and needing a new motherboard for better spacing between x-fire cards.
Also forgot to ask how cross-fire handles these days? Is it stable enough now or would it require some feutering about with to work under different games?
I really am caught at a bridge now, although I am willing to spend anything up to £400-£450 per card. the prospect of saving some pounds is leaning me slightly towards AMD.
What would be the AMD equivalent of the Nvidia GTX 780 1Ghz Windforce? Again that is taking into consideration what I posted one post up. If it is just the case of £30-50, I think I'd prefer to go with the GTX 780 as I've read it has comfortable sound levels on here.
I really am caught at a bridge now, although I am willing to spend anything up to £400-£450 per card. the prospect of saving some pounds is leaning me slightly towards AMD.
What would be the AMD equivalent of the Nvidia GTX 780 1Ghz Windforce? Again that is taking into consideration what I posted one post up. If it is just the case of £30-50, I think I'd prefer to go with the GTX 780 as I've read it has comfortable sound levels on here.
290's are quite cheap compared to equivalent Nvidia cards. In the UK we were not effected by the price hikes as Gibbo bought most of Europes supplies of AMD cards. So i wouldn't worry about that.
Crossfire works fine, has no microstutter issues and on Mantle things are getting better and better. Crossfire on Mantle really is a thing of beauty in terms of how the game (BF4) feels and plays. More and more games are being announced and supported, with more in the pipeline. It will be a gradual process though. Right now there are two capable Mantle games, but more to follow.
I think you'd need to upgrade your cpu though, regardless of which setup you use. However your 2500k would play nicely on Mantle and see your gpu's get good consistent high usage. |In other games though it will hold back your gpu's.
The AMD equivalent of the card you mentioned would be this one.
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-348-SP&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1752
One of the best 290 cards going with a powerful, silent cooler. Overclocks well too. With the savings you make on the 290 you could always put that towards a new cpu. That would also net you 4gb of vram instead of 3gb, which might come in handy further down the line as you're at 1440P.
That's my opinion, im sure others will have the exact opposite and ill let them state their case.
Crossfire works fine, has no microstutter issues and on Mantle things are getting better and better. Crossfire on Mantle really is a thing of beauty in terms of how the game (BF4) feels and plays. More and more games are being announced and supported, with more in the pipeline. It will be a gradual process though. Right now there are two capable Mantle games, but more to follow.
I think you'd need to upgrade your cpu though, regardless of which setup you use. However your 2500k would play nicely on Mantle and see your gpu's get good consistent high usage. |In other games though it will hold back your gpu's.
The AMD equivalent of the card you mentioned would be this one.
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-348-SP&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1752
One of the best 290 cards going with a powerful, silent cooler. Overclocks well too. With the savings you make on the 290 you could always put that towards a new cpu. That would also net you 4gb of vram instead of 3gb, which might come in handy further down the line as you're at 1440P.
That's my opinion, im sure others will have the exact opposite and ill let them state their case.
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The 4GB is a swaying point for me too... But I am unsure of how Sapphires RMA process is these days. Had to deal with them back when I had my X1900XTX and had to send it off to Hungary which took an age. I'll take a scan about sure and see if I can find any previous experiences on these forums. Cheers!
The RMA will be through OcuK so nothing to worry about.
If you go for xfire/sli - just make sure your mobo has decent spacing for air flow
Agreed.
I was humming and haaing for the most of yesterday and this morning. But I finally settled on my original target.
Placed an order for a GTX 780 GHz there now, with an estimated delivery of tomorrow.
Just a few factors that swayed my decision:
The Sapphire 290 Tri-xxx pointed out in this thread looked the most viable and delicious, but after reading over the forum there was two trending issues of black screening and fan casing that didn't sit well with me. I don't have time to chase up RMAs at the minute, even if it is handled by OcUK.
Again warranty, I ended up going with Gigabyte, influenced by their UK RMA base for when my year e-tailer warranty runs out. This has been influenced by previous experience with Sapphire/Asus/EVGA. It's a PITA even sending something to middle Europe.
The custom cooler may cause me some heart ache when going SLI. But until then, hopefully I've made a joyful decision.
Placed an order for a GTX 780 GHz there now, with an estimated delivery of tomorrow.
Just a few factors that swayed my decision:
The Sapphire 290 Tri-xxx pointed out in this thread looked the most viable and delicious, but after reading over the forum there was two trending issues of black screening and fan casing that didn't sit well with me. I don't have time to chase up RMAs at the minute, even if it is handled by OcUK.
Again warranty, I ended up going with Gigabyte, influenced by their UK RMA base for when my year e-tailer warranty runs out. This has been influenced by previous experience with Sapphire/Asus/EVGA. It's a PITA even sending something to middle Europe.
The custom cooler may cause me some heart ache when going SLI. But until then, hopefully I've made a joyful decision.
Soldato
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- 14 Feb 2011
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- 7,490
A good choice of card, enjoy.
I had 780 Sli on a 4.6Ghz 2500k and tbh upgrading to a 4770k was a waste of money. The 2500k handled it very well and I always had decent usage on both GPU's even with them clocked to 1150 each. I use 1440p so that might have helped.
It was a be quite 850w Power Zone...