To sli or to not sli...

[agnes]

So, almost on the edge of starting my next new build, so many spreadsheets, so many comparisons, new intel gen has pushed me. It's time.

One quick Q, how is Sli these days? I've not Sli'd since I had 2 560 ti's back in the day, and before that, 2 8800 GTX's under water!

I'm intending on a 1080 ti, running 1440p, however, I'll be getting a 4k monitor within the following 6 months of building said computer.

However, I need to decide on sli first as I'll be going for a full custom waterloop, so last thing I want to do is have to redo the entire thing if I wish to stick in a 2nd card.

Thoughts?

 

[ToTheMax]

There are no 4K monitors which can do > 60Hz, a single 1080ti is sufficient imo. I'm quite happy with that setup and you don't have the hit/miss of SLI implementation.

 

[HoneyBadger]

Generally these days, it's not recommended. Have a search its been done to death and one more powerful card is considered the better option, not least because it requires more watercooling, power and games don't seem to readily support it as much.

That said, I'll be installing my second GFX today!!

 

[Rroff]

Have to say as a former SLI advocate I wouldn't hurry to it these days - with newer games there was less and less times where you could find ways to tweak things into working or improve on the scaling using things like nvidia inspector, etc. and more and more games which just plain didn't work with SLI.

That said as things stand if you need more power and have a 1080ti there aren't exactly any other alternatives but to hope on SLI.

Have you actually used a 4K monitor BTW? personally I went back to 1440p for gaming and not just because of lack of higher refresh rate, etc. while my 4K monitor gets a fair bit of use for racing games and sometimes high res video when I do find decent 4K content (don't currently have a 4K TV) for many reasons personally I've ended up back on 1440p for most gaming and don't see myself moving on any time soon.

 

[sandys]

Using an OC'd 1080Ti on a 4k screen, seems mostly perfect for around 60fps @ max setting in most games I have tried.

Been contemplating a second but they aren't cheap and they are quite old, can't be long before they are superseded.

 

[Spyhop]

Put the money you would spend on SLI aside and then use it to buy whatever uber beast single card is out in a couple of generations time.

 

[sandys]

Think that's the tactic I'm going to go with this time until I see some support in games resurface. Mgpu through DX12 was supposed to make things better, shame it hasn't panned out snd caused more harm than good.

 

[Panos]

I'm intending on a 1080 ti, running 1440p, however, I'll be getting a 4k monitor within the following 6 months of building said computer.
...
Thoughts?

Then in 6 months make the decision. New GPUs are coming out next year, so you will have better idea.
SLI support is worse this days than CF, and multi GPU doesn't work perfectly.
You will be better off with single card.

Worst case, sell the 1080Ti, buy a TXp and watercool it.

But again, wait until you get the 4K monitor.

 

[Kirby Wurm]

With 4K limited to 60hz I'd say SLI isn't necessary. Perhaps that'll change in 6 months when you come to buy one and there'll likely be new cards out/releasing soon.

 

[agnes]

Cool, great inputs guys, I'll stick to one card, the money saved on that can go on the WC kit. Saving me a total of $455. Not bad!

 

[Quartz]

There are high-refresh rate 4K monitors due out next year. They were demonstrated 6 months or so ago.

 

[Scania]

I have just got a second 1070 and I must say the games I play (Project Cars 1 & 2, Battlefield 1,2,3 & 4, Battlefront and GTA V) have all seen a big jump in performance and I’ve noticed no micro stutter whatsoever, pretty much the same experience I had with my last SLI setup which was two GTX 580’s.

Bf 4 is now rocking along beautifully with 200% resolution scale (a setting that previously brought my single 1070 to a slideshow) at ~ 60fps with an i7 4790(non k) very happy with it.

My initial plan was see if it works, if not sell the 1070’s for a 1080ti but I now don’t feel the need.
SLI seems far from dead from what I’m seeing.

 

[HoneyBadger]

I just added my second 1080

 

[agnes]

Thing is, I'll have loads more cooler headroom, will be 2x 360 rads on a custom loop. CPU and mobo will be under a monoblock. So I can easily cool both without a problem. But this thread now has me torn lol

 

[Scania]

SLI seems very hit & miss, for some (such as myself) it works seamlessly and for others it’s a cluster****!

Try it and see (if feasible) would be my advice.

 

[HoneyBadger]

I play some older games, particularly Company of Heroes which can utilise SLI hence why I got a secon 1080. I’m childish and think it looks cool too!

I’ve had SLI before and always got on with it ok.

 

[mattyg]

What about for VR

I'm hoping the same wouldn't bother answer still holds, If not I'm gonna kick myself for missing out on another 1080Ti

 

[HoneyBadger]

I don’t think VR supports SLI.

 

[Radox-0]

As someone who has always used 3/4 way configs and still does with the 1080Ti i would still recommend single card solution more often then not.

As other's have mentioned a single 1080Ti @ 4k does a solid enough job, sure few titles here and there may need the very demanding settings turned down, which more often then not make little visual change for a solid gain in FPS but on the whole the combo work's fine.

At this point given that your still 6 months away from purchasing the monitor, I would revisit the question then as A) new higher refresh rate panels may be out B) we may be on to next gen.

Separately and most importantly, do the games you play support SLI. Obviously can't know for sure about future game's but I would check for support now for titles you play, Nvidia do list the ones with official support: https://www.geforce.co.uk/games-applications/technology/sli

On the plus side, seeing 2/3/4 GPU's filling up the PCIe slots does look cool, so that could make it all worthwhile

 

[agnes]

As someone who has always used 3/4 way configs and still does with the 1080Ti i would still recommend single card solution more often then not.

As other's have mentioned a single 1080Ti @ 4k does a solid enough job, sure few titles here and there may need the very demanding settings turned down, which more often then not make little visual change for a solid gain in FPS but on the whole the combo work's fine.

At this point given that your still 6 months away from purchasing the monitor, I would revisit the question then as A) new higher refresh rate panels may be out B) we may be on to next gen.

Separately and most importantly, do the games you play support SLI. Obviously can't know for sure about future game's but I would check for support now for titles you play, Nvidia do list the ones with official support: https://www.geforce.co.uk/games-applications/technology/sli

On the plus side, seeing 2/3/4 GPU's filling up the PCIe slots does look cool, so that could make it all worthwhile

Thanks for the list, problem is I hope between maybe 10 games at a time? At the moment, my most played (going by what icons I have on my desktop, as I remove those I'm bored with, and keep those I play), my list is incredibly varied:

WoW vanilla on Elysium
Overwatch
Witcher 3
BF Bad Company 2
KOTOR 2
Devil May Cry
Rise of the Tomb Raider
Castlevania LoS 2
Company of Heroes
Black Desert Online
Hand of Fate
Pillars of Eternity

A lot of games, and that's not including such like GTA 5 I dip into here and there from picking from steam/Origin/GoG/uPlay etc etc, which I have over 500 games installed on my PC (yea, too much storage).

So, on an overall, I think I'll stick to one card, save my self the fuss of having to change the profiles every couple of hours. Or, as suggested, I could get a second 1080ti, keep the slave on air and try it out for a week. If it just doesn't work well for me, send it back for a refund. If not, add it into the loop.