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Graphics card upgrade - GTX970

Soldato
Joined
19 Jun 2009
Posts
6,288
Location
London
I've currently got a GTX 670GB but looking to get a GTX970 SLI setup for the following system:

i5 2500k @ 4ghz
8gb DDR3 ram
27" monitor @ 1440p

My question is, will the SLI 970 setup be able to power through all the games on max settings at 1440p even with my i5 2500k?
 
Buy a single 970, you may be surprised at just how good the card is.

A single 970 is roughly the same as 670 SLI.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1349?vs=1355

Wow, it's been probably just over a year and to see that much of an upgrade already seems unreal! I guess it would be wiser to try a single 970 and then decide, the only thing I'm worried about is if my cpu will still be okay to cope with this.
 
Can i ask....
1. wouldn't the i5 bottleneck before the SLI reaches anywhere near its max potential?
2. Surely at 1440 most hi end cards would give fantastic fps and detail? Wouldn't a 970 in SLI be total overkill?
 
970 Sli will do well at 1440p but tbh I have a single 970 and it does well at 1440p and I see no real need for adding another.

Your PSU & Motherboard will be fine for SLi 970's.

I would get a single 970 first and see how you get on you can always add another if you feel the need.
 
Should be fine but overclocking your CPU further might help.

I'm running 2560x1080 on a 4690k at 4.7GHz and games are smooth and fluid at high/full settings.

You'd notice a bottleneck if you had 970 SLI with that CPU however.
 
Can i ask....
1. wouldn't the i5 bottleneck before the SLI reaches anywhere near its max potential?
2. Surely at 1440 most hi end cards would give fantastic fps and detail? Wouldn't a 970 in SLI be total overkill?

Yeah the thing that worries me is exactly that, the bottleneck, if any. However everyone is recommending I try one 970 because it will do the job so I think I will do that.

970 Sli will do well at 1440p but tbh I have a single 970 and it does well at 1440p and I see no real need for adding another.

Your PSU & Motherboard will be fine for SLi 970's.

I would get a single 970 first and see how you get on you can always add another if you feel the need.

Thanks mate.

Next question, which 970 do you guys recommend? :D

I've got my eye on this one at the moment:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-352-AS&tool=3
 
I have the MSi Gaming and it's a great card. The Asus and MSi shut the fans off completely under 65.c so for general use they are silent. My MSi runs 1550/8000 without adding voltage and sits at 65.c and is completely silent.
 
Many thanks guys, I will have a quick think and order soon, looks like I cant go wrong with any of the recommendations made
 
another for the G1 gaming, i have one and it is amazing, one 970 will be fine for 1440p but you are going to get some FPS drops now and again, adding another will keep the FPS high but as others have said, your CPU may hold them back :)
 
I run 970 SLI and they butcher everything at my resolution of 2560x1440.

If I were you I would either overclock you 2500k to at least 4.6Ghz or sell it and get a used 2600k for some more CPU power.
 
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