980 SLI advice

[groove200]

I have never SLI'd before , but I'm seriously considering it based on the fact I want to upgrade to a ROG Swift , and I want to keep the high frame rates ive become used to with 980>BENQ XL2420G.

I remember back in the day a guy at work who always run SLI , constantly complaining about no support , having to mess around with configs and drivers etc . The reason I have never gone down the road.

Is this still the case ? I'm not really one for hours on tinkering , id rather have ease of use and just play

Im running a Gigabyte Z97X-Gaming 7 Intel Z97 MB with a single 980 at the moment.

Looking at the specs SLI is supported but im confused not all slots are the same -

1 x PCI Express x16 slots, running at x16
1 x PCI Express x16 slots, running at x8
1 x PCI Express x16 slots, running at x4

???

 

[wellibob]

Providing your psu is upto it. You'll be fine with your motherboard and you'll be using the 16 slot and 8 slot (both will run @8x). Sli is pretty safe although not 100% trouble free with certain titles and games.

 

[Awahwah]

Never SLi'd my self but in terms of PCI E lanes, you wil have the 16x slot running at 8 and the 8 slot running at 8. From what I understand, the difference between 16x and 8x is not noticeable.

I'm in a similar boat as you but I may sell up and move to either AMD's latest or the 980ti.

 

[groove200]

Id even consider going Titan if it was less hassle ( assuming I could move my 6 week old 980 on for a reasonable price ).

Need to see what performance is like between SLI 980s and Titan though......

Power supply is - EVGA SuperNova G2 750W '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply

Should be ok with that ?

 

[rtho782]

My 980 SLI system uses no more than ~550W ever, even while overclocked.

Titan X is slower than 980 SLI in most benchmarks, until you hit vram limits.

Titan X is a bit of a waste for 1440p tho. Consider the 980ti, and add a 2nd later

 

[groove200]

Ive already got a 980 Superclock , isnt just adding another 980 my best bet ?

 

[llamadal]

Probably yes, very few issues with sli these days.

 

[rtho782]

Sorry didn't notice that, yes just get another 980.

 

[passey89]

yeh deffo 980 sli over titanX when not vram limited approx 25 / 30% better depending on game / resolution.

You may hit vram limit in certain games at 1440p though but windows 10 / dx12 will sort that out anyway

 

[old gamer]

been running 980 sli for about a month and not had any issues yet

 

[mahius]

A relevant benchmark then...

 

[varkanoid]

I have same motherboard as you and 980 G1's and SLI is probably the best thing I have done in the last year despite the cost. I was amazed at how trouble free it is.
One thing you have to watch is the clearance between the two 980's as they can get quite toasty especially the top one if your cooling is not upto much.
I have a Kraken AIO on the top 980 when I have a moment I am going to do the bottom too once I have found some decent VRM heatsink.

 

[groove200]

I did wonder about heat with 2....ive got a good cooling solution at the moment , including a top mount Kraken x61 dual fan, an additional exhaust , and 2 front inlet.......

I run pretty cool at the moment.

I have my existing 980 in the top slot , and the second slot down looks like it would be awfully close to the top card.

I didnt know you could get Kraken's for Graphics cards.........

 

[groove200]

It looks like about 2cm of space will end up between them

Is this normally ok ?

 

[varkanoid]

Minimum recommended is 15mm.

I didnt know you could get Kraken's for Graphics cards.........

Sorry I meant with the NZXT GPU adaptor.

This is my two 980's - picture is a bit out of date as I've changed things round slightly but you will get the idea. The X41 on the top and the H55 on the bottom one is my plan.

 

[setter]

The gaming 7 board has a very good gap between the primary pcie slots. Better than quite a few higher end boards from other vendors.