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Current state of SLI & Crossfire?

RatmanGB

RatmanGB

RatmanGB

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12 Jan 2010
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590
I've only used SLI once in modern times with a pair of GTX 260s (I had a couple of Voodoo IIs long ago), and then not for very long, but it did seem to work well in the games I was playing back then.

I see a lot of threads about SLI/Crossfire being broken in such and such a game, not working, display problems and so on, which is a bit of a surprise as I thought it'd all be working fine by now.

Does SLI/Crossfire work in the majority of cases, and is one better supported than the other?

As I mentioned in a previous thread, I've been considering buying two cards for two PCs and then Crossfiring one of them and buying a new card for the other later on, but is this a realistic option?
 
I'm glad I moved from SLI to a single card. People will tell you that there is no problem with it, but just wait until it's the one game you want to play at full whack.... and the textures start flickering...

I vote for the best single GPU you can afford.
 
Even though SLI/CF works very well for the most part today, its still best to buy the single best GPU you can afford, then SLI it later once the 2nd card is cheaper and you feel the need for more grunt.

The biggest issue with CF/SLI is often new release games, or in general anything ubisoft.

For people playing in 4K and such, dual GPU is pretty much mandatory.
 
The vast majority of games run perfectly with Crossfire/SLI. The issues are some new games don't have a multi-GPU profile at launch and can be days/weeks before one is released. Personally, I don't buy games on launch day and wait for them to be released so this one isn't a problem for me.

The other issue is some games just do not play nicely with multi-GPU, no matter what AMD/Nvidia do - recently I've had to disable Crossfire to get WatchDogs running properly, and Wolfenstein: New Order only runs on one GPU. Unfortunately, we seem to have had a few high-profile games like this launched recently, which hopefully is just an aberration rather than the sign of things to come. You have always got the option of disabling the second GPU and running the game on just one, in which case you're just as well off as if you'd gone for a single GPU in the first place.

A single GPU will ALWAYS be less hassle and more dependable than a dual GPU set up, but it will also be less powerful by definition. I tend to view it that if I wanted something that just worked for gaming, then I'd get a console, but a PC will always be more powerful but require a bit more love and attention, which to me is half the fun. :)
 
When the game supports multi GPU and a profile is released by the graphics vendor then its great. Unfortunately AMD seem to have slowed down with the release of profiles recently, I think NVidia are more on the ball currently in this regard.

Also some games/engines just wont work with multi GPU, ID's Tech 5 engine for example.
 
Confused Stu said:
I tend to view it that if I wanted something that just worked for gaming, then I'd get a console, but a PC will always be more powerful but require a bit more love and attention, which to me is half the fun. :)
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Quite a few on here would deem the often sub 1080p and barely 30fps on the PS4/Xbox one not even playable :D
 
SLi/Xfire will only truly be worth having once AMD/Nv completely solve the micro stuttering issue that plagues every setup. And the only thing they are doing these days is minimising the issue with drivers, but not solving it completely. People are obviously not complaining enough, because if they did then i think they would look for a real solution.
 
String said:
By the way, if you are gaming @ 1080p then there is absolutely no need for SLI/CF. Just buy a 970 or 980.
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I am currently gaming at 1080p, and one card will definitely be enough... for now. What my housemate and I did before was buy two GTX 260s, and when the GTX 480 came out we stuck that in one PC and SLI'd the GTX 260s.

Unfortunately we ran into a compatibility problem with the GTX 480 and my motherboard, so it went in her motherboard where, other than sounding like a jet engine, it's still working fine. We're looking to do the same thing now - one card for each PC, then Crossfire/SLI when it's next time for an upgrade.
 
RatmanGB said:
I am currently gaming at 1080p, and one card will definitely be enough... for now. What my housemate and I did before was buy two GTX 260s, and when the GTX 480 came out we stuck that in one PC and SLI'd the GTX 260s.

Unfortunately we ran into a compatibility problem with the GTX 480 and my motherboard, so it went in her motherboard where, other than sounding like a jet engine, it's still working fine. We're looking to do the same thing now - one card for each PC, then Crossfire/SLI when it's next time for an upgrade.
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I'm not sure you'll get away with that this time round. The big limiting factor right now is VRAM. I can easily max my 980's 4gb @ 1440p. At 1080p you'll be OK, but as I say if the games you play is demanding less than 4gb @ 1080p then you simply don't need to SLI.

I would say buy a 970 each. You should get some really good 2nd hand or B grade deals, and they'll be absolutely fine for 1080p gaming. Someone from the RedTeam may be able to suggest an AMD equivalent if they think it's going to provide better value or performance (I doubt it).

Your next upgrade is more likely to be a move from 1080p to 1440p or even 4k, and when that happens you'll be looking for a 8gb card and who knows what the options will be.

SLI won't double your VRAM, so it isn't a solution for the future IMO.
 
Best value for performance is either the R290 or 970. Both are great cards, but the 970 will run cooler and quieter, although you do suffer a 500mb vram cut, since it has a slower 500mb tacked onto the main 3.5gb.at 1080p that's unlikely to cause any problems, but worth knowing. For multi gpu the 970 or 980 will offer more overclock in headroom thanks to their low temps.
 
Love and hate SLI totally depends on the game , does it support multi-gpu. If it does will it support it well or do I have to do some tinkering with either CFG files or Nvidia inspector (not so bad)

but mostly love SLI since 90% of the games I play use it, some I've had to tinker around with but for the most part support has been great. For the price of my cards at the time compared to say the 780ti it was a no brainer. I'm playing ultra at high fps on virtually everything and they had 4GB vram which occasionally I have maxed out and had them still chugging along happy!

Noise wasn't that much increased thanks to the excellent coolers on the DCUII's but heat has been a trouble at times

overall stuttering has not been a problem even on my old i5 3570k although the i5 did bottleneck the cards from their full potential.

The odd game that doesn't/can't use SLI and simply can't be tweaked to use it can be annoying given the 670 is now ageing but this is very rare especially for AAA or popular titles and won't be an issue if you had something new in mind.

Power usage is up but not by much drawing a max of 500w at the wall full pelt for the entire system and monitor and speakers

At time's I wish I had a single high powered card but its only for very specific games, my overall experience has been very good and again for the money paid for two cards (£350) you can't argue with the performance for that price
 
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