680 SLI or Not?

[Supermellow]

Hey guys,

Currently runnign the rig in my signature below and have recently purchased a 1440P monitor which is pushing the graphics card but it seems ok at the moment (except for ARMA 3, running high settings to get 55-60 FPS). I have put a small OC on the graphics card at the moment and may increase it a little as it seems stable so far to try and squeeze a little more from it.

So the question is, should I get a second 680 and a new mobo as my current one does not support SLI (hindsight is a beautiful thing!!), sell the 680 for a 780/Titan (would there be much improvement?) or keep the setup as is?

Cheers.

SM

 

[snips86x]

The support for SLI on your board isn't ideal at x16/x4, I wouldn't bother to be fair, I see 2 choices:

1 - Sell the 680 and get a 770/780
2 - Upgrade the motherboard to one of these allowing SLI

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £136.99
1 x MSI Z77A-GD65 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £119.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £112.99
Total : £381.97 (includes shipping : £10.00).

 

[Doomedspeed]

Lets do some maths.

SLI option:

Motherboard - £110
GPU: £330

Minus possible sale price of you motherboard

= £390 Total Outlay

Single Card option:

GTX 780: £550

Minus Sale of GTX 680

£320-350 Outlay

Titan: £850

Minus Sale of GTX 680

£620 - £650

Raw performance, 680 SLI runs away with it, with the TITAN next and 780..

Though the limiting factor with the 680 SLI is the Vram Cap. 2GB Vram at 1440p may be holding you back...

It's worth seeing now how much VRAM your 680 uses during your games becuase if this is the case 680 SLI isn't an option anymore..
(a program call processexplorer can help you see what VRAM your cards uses, i've used it its very good. )

 

[Random Guy]

Though the limiting factor with the 680 SLI is the Vram Cap. 2GB Vram at 1440p may be holding you back...

Can't say I have hit the VRAM cap on my 680s yet, at 2560x1440.

 

[Supermellow]

Lets do some maths.

SLI option:

Motherboard - £110
GPU: £330

Minus possible sale price of you motherboard

= £390 Total Outlay

Single Card option:

GTX 780: £550

Minus Sale of GTX 680

£320-350 Outlay

Titan: £850

Minus Sale of GTX 680

£620 - £650

Raw performance, 680 SLI runs away with it, with the TITAN next and 780..

Though the limiting factor with the 680 SLI is the Vram Cap. 2GB Vram at 1440p may be holding you back...

It's worth seeing now how much VRAM your 680 uses during your games becuase if this is the case 680 SLI isn't an option anymore..
(a program call processexplorer can help you see what VRAM your cards uses, i've used it its very good. )

What would you think the performance boost would be with 2 680's over a single 780? (Assuming the Vram does't cap out)

Can't say I have hit the VRAM cap on my 680s yet, at 2560x1440.

Good to know - Was just having a look at he 780 with the 3gb of Vram just incase.

 

[Doomedspeed]

What would you think the performance boost would be with 2 680's over a single 780? (Assuming the Vram does't cap out)

Good to know - Was just having a look at he 780 with the 3gb of Vram just incase.

Good news indeed, I know higher resolution demand more gram do it could have been a concern. Evidently not.. Was worth investigating though..

Yes another 680 will give you a bigger boost, that is if the games you play like SLI, dome games disregard it, not many though..

I should point out that SLI does have issues (which may or may not happen) such as micro-stutter. Though it normally works well.

 

[Supermellow]

Just did a quick test of a few games to see what the memory usage was.

I used MSI Afterburner and had the following results (Games were only played for 5 minutes or so each just to get a flavour and the result came from the Memory Usage, MB graph at the bottom of the hardware monitor)

Arma 3 Multiplayer
1811MB

Dishonoured
820MB

Skyrim
1258MB

Call of Juarez Demo
1258 MB

rFactor
1411MB

Bioshock Infinite
c.1400MB

Settings are pretty much maxed on all games but AA is off and getting 60 FPS (Arma is on a mix of High/Very High options to try and get close to 60FPS)

Do these look accurate to you - I wasn't in the most demanding part of Skyrim and only have 3 mods installed but would have thought it would have been higher than that.

 

[Supermellow]

I should point out that SLI does have issues (which may or may not happen) such as micro-stutter. Though it normally works well.

Don't like the sound of micro stutter. Would I be best just getting a 780?

I am currently running the system in an FT02 case which from my readig benefits more from a reference style cooler so are there any recommendations of which 780 would be best, assuming this is the best way to go?

SM

 

[RetrogamerX]

I get no micro stutter at all with my 770 lightnings in SLI.

 

[Davepen]

So what resolution are you playing at?

I run 680 sli, but only due to running at 2560x1440, a single card is ample for lower resolutions.

 

[RetrogamerX]

So what resolution are you playing at?

I run 680 sli, but only due to running at 2560x1440, a single card is ample for lower resolutions.

My sig will tell you.

But I will be gaming at 1440p soon.

 

[Doomedspeed]

Don't like the sound of micro stutter. Would I be best just getting a 780?

I am currently running the system in an FT02 case which from my readig benefits more from a reference style cooler so are there any recommendations of which 780 would be best, assuming this is the best way to go?

SM

Judging by your tests 2GB should be fine..

Micro-sutter was quite common in the 5** and 6**** series though it has seemed to die off a little bit. I've not heard of many case what-so-ever with the Nvidia 6** series.

I just wanted you to know the whole story. I assume it's more a board/card defect rather than random pot luck..

I'd say you'd be fine going SLI.

 

[RetrogamerX]

Judging by your tests 2GB should be fine..

Micro-sutter was quite common in the 5** and 6**** series though it has seemed to die off a little bit. I've not heard of many case what-so-ever with the Nvidia 6** series.

I just wanted you to know the whole story. I assume it's more a board/card defect rather than random pot luck..

I'd say you'd be fine going SLI.

+1

 

[Random Guy]

I never had micro-stutter with my 480s, and I have not experienced it with my 680s.

Mind you, I don't play all the latest "ultra" high-spec games - BF3 is the most demanding game I play at the moment, with 4x MSAA and SweetFX. I normally assume that this is a pretty good indication of what the upper echelon of PC game Engines.

 

[Supermellow]

Watched a few more reviews on the GTX780 running at 1440p and I must say I'm pretty tempted to go for it rather than messing about with a new motherboard and putting the OC back on my i5.

Can't decide which is for the best though, I'm thinking the 3gb VRAM may future proof me better for the next few years?

Will someone kindly push me in the right direction!?

 

[Supermellow]

Also, I am running a Z77-D3H with a very early bios revision (not got the info to hand but F2 rings a bell), would the 780 be compatible with the mono or would I have to flash the latest bios? Not done it so far as I can't be bothered to re-do the OC which was on the system at time of purchase.

Thanks in advance

SM

 

[Divx]

Also, I am running a Z77-D3H with a very early bios revision (not got the info to hand but F2 rings a bell), would the 780 be compatible with the mono or would I have to flash the latest bios? Not done it so far as I can't be bothered to re-do the OC which was on the system at time of purchase.

Thanks in advance

SM

i'd recommend updating just in case. I installed a 780 this weekend on a Z77X-4UP TH (bios f2) and it wouldn't post no matter what i tried. I updated the bios to f9 and it worked fine afterwards.
so my guess is that you'd experience the same problem.

 

[Skeng]

Don't like the sound of micro stutter. Would I be best just getting a 780?

I am currently running the system in an FT02 case which from my readig benefits more from a reference style cooler so are there any recommendations of which 780 would be best, assuming this is the best way to go?

SM

I've got two 680's and I've had micro-stutter now and then but I've managed to sort it out through modifying some settings here and there in a few games. Well to be exact it's only ever affected BF3 and CSGO but I've managed to sort it out. Personally I'd say save your money and wait another year before upgrading. You're getting decent frame rates and it's not worth buying another card just so Arma 3 will run solid. Don't forget it's just a beta. After a year I'd re-evaluate your options by then 680's will be cheaper and so will the 700 series.

 

[Kaapstad]

Op have you thought about selling the GTX 680, keeping the mobo and buying a GTX 690. The GTX 690 is faster than a Titan or GTX 780 and even looks very modern still as it uses the same type cooler as the 7 series.

 

[Nuwidol]

2GB VRAM is not enough in all games at 1440p. people may not of seen a cap on their 2GB cards but when you have cards with more than 2GB they easily eat into it past that 2GB threshold. BF3 for instance when I had 680s would sit at about 1980-2010MB of VRAM usage. Now I have more than 2GB I regularly see BF3 using anything up to 2400MB.

I've seen it in other games too but can't remember which sorry. Might be because I'd forced a stupid amount of SGSSAA or something though. As I said, can't remember.

I'd go for a 780 if I was dead set on upgrading now though.