1080 SLI Questions

[pupsta8910]

Few questions.

1) If i want to SLI 2xEVGA 1080's , do i need to purchase a special bridge or do i / should i already have the cables with the GPU?

2) Would i need to watercool or provide any extra cooling to my case or will x2 graphics card not be a problem?

3) Money aside, im running Dell 27" @ 1440p most games run well on EPIC / MAX would an SLI make a difference or kind of pointless? I bought my system for bf1 in advance and loving overwatch and all works well on epic currently.

Current setup

i7-6700K 4.0GHz (Skylake)
Alpenföhn Matterhorn White CPU Cooler
Asus Z170 Pro Gaming
EVGA SuperNova P2 850W
Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB DDR 3000MHz Dual Channel Kit
CA-170-NX NZXT H440 New 2015 Edition Case - White & Black
Samsung SM951 512GB M.2 PCI-e 3.0 x 4 NVMe Solid State Drive
EVGA 1080

 

[Radox-0]

1) For your resolution any bridge should be fine and not have an issue:

You get a SLI bridge with your motherboard. As from the above Diagram, even the basic ones packaged with the Mobo should be sufficient for your resolution.

2) Founders design in SLI works fairly well. The cooler this time around actually runs fairly quiet and both would be expelling heat out the rear of the case. You can get a pair of aftermarket cards also, but will need to ensure your case fans are providing good airflow to provide cool air and expel the hot air. No need for watercooling per say. Founder Cards can do a solid job of keeping the boost high and aftermarket even better. Water will allow an extra 100 mhz or so and keep the core clock's rock solid which will translate to a few % increase.

3) To be honest a single 1080 will do a cracking job on a 1440p 60 Hz panel. Will not have too much of an issue maxing most tiles and getting a smooth 60. I would go for a single aftermarket 1080 to be honest.

 

[pupsta8910]

Thanks for that Radox. I currently do own the EVGA 1080 founders, and would likely get another. Perhaps i will see how it all performs in bf1 and then take the jump if a 2nd would be worth it.

 

[JediFragger]

Agreed, one should be fine but you can always add another

I'm expecting BF1 to be very well optimised from the get-go, just like BF4 was (performance wise!)

 

[ToTheMax]

I'd only consider SLI'ed 1080's for 4K and surround setups imo, anything lower one card will be fine.

 

[Biomorphs]

You can fit the SLi no problem, we have a very similar setup: (power was off when I took this so no pretty lights )

Getting the FE / blower coolers is the best for SLi setup IMO - cool air in - hot air out the case!

I have wedged in a fan next to the cards to make sure it has a good flow of air going into them both, I had that setup since my 980 Sli prior to getting 1080 SLi

Also with regards to the bridge, the standard flex cable will work fine @ 60Hz, I run at 1440p @144Hz and have tested a standard connector and it ran with no issue.

 

[tyler_jrb]

Agreed reference coolers are always better for SLI. Just ensure as best case optimisation as possible and plenty of fresh air to the GPU's.

1440p 144hz is an absolute dream on these cards. 1440p 60fps then a single 1080 will be absolutely fine with anything you can throw at it.

If you do go SLI then get a 144hz 1440p G-sync monitor man! you won't regret it.

 

[pupsta8910]

Agreed reference coolers are always better for SLI. Just ensure as best case optimisation as possible and plenty of fresh air to the GPU's.

1440p 144hz is an absolute dream on these cards. 1440p 60fps then a single 1080 will be absolutely fine with anything you can throw at it.

If you do go SLI then get a 144hz 1440p G-sync monitor man! you won't regret it.

Thank you all.

I have the Dell 27 GSYNC monitor and it is the nuts for sure