Recommendations for 4k, 980Ti, SLI? Pascal?

[Roguey000]

hi there, guys.. its been awhile since ive been here, as I used to post here awhile back, number of years ago (I had to create another account because I dont think my old one is here anymore). However if possible im looking for some advice on what to do.

For a Christmas present I got a 4k screen; which is very nice - but my 980Ti wasnt so happy. In most modern games it sits at 99%-100% usage (giving me around 30-40fps). Whilst doing so the fans on it get a bit noisy; in 1080p the whole system would often be extremely quiet (something I was aiming for when building it). I currently have;

- 5280k (not overclocked) - cooled by a Corsair H110i
- Zotac GeForce GTX 980 Ti AMP,
- Gigabyte X99-SLI,
- Corsair Vengeance LPX 8x8GB
- Seasonic 760w Platinum,
- Corsair Obsidian 450D case,

I have been looking into a second 980Ti but as you know they arent cheap. When building the PC I never quite budgeted for SLI, as I felt the Ti would be easily enough until maybe Pascal. The Ti would go to another in the family. So have a few questions;

1. Since my 980Ti is an open design, would another cause a serious increase in case temp? would the hot air from the bottom card, increase the top? Linus suggested an open-air cooler could increase the case temp by as much as 5c (so two could increase by 10c?). I guess i would have been better off with a AIO or reference design for SLI but I cant change on the card I got now. Removing the cooler breaks Zotac's warranty (not long ago I had a GTX 670 fail on me within the 3 year warranty period, which was replaced under RMA). So I am not keen on breaking the Zotac warranty - one of the reasons I choose them.

2. Does SLi work in borderless/window/full-screen? as I have to run the system in dual screen; one screen in 1080p, the other with 4k.

3. I read a few things on the net being that SLI has its fair share of problems; is much of it true? do many games on release have problems with SLI, as the developers feel its not really main-stream? Is microstutter an issue?

4. Since I have a 760w PSU, Seasonic suggested I need a bigger PSU; 850w or higher. I wouldnt be exactly happy putting my 760w away, because theres nothing wrong with it. Its only a month or two old. I wouldnt want the PSU to go wrong - being over loaded, as seen how badly things can go wrong with the PSU. However if I had to replace it, I would get something like a 1200w seasonic because I would hate to replace it later (its already annoying that my new PSU isnt enough).

5. Is 6GB VRAM going to be enough in the future? im already seeing games up-to 5gb now. Wont pascal have more?

6. Maybe I should wait for Pascal? Surely it should be able to do 4k@60fps in a single card? Or not? I guess we have no idea if its due next month, or end of year. Surely a pascal would do everything in a single card, and mean there is no SLI to worry about? A single card solution would mean my PSU wouldnt need replacing; saving me some money there. Is a single pascal going to be faster than two 980Ti's? £1000 worth of card isnt cheap, and something I would have to stick with for long time.

7. Or simply do nothing; live with a 30-40fps 4k experience and see what happens.

I have blogged about my upgrading; as I started off with a case, then moving CPU's, and finally getting the Ti. In the last blog, you can see the system is more or less now. You may notice a fan under the GPU, which I have since removed - it didnt help much (my Ti is noisy anyway). Links below;

- Swapping cases (keeping my 2600k)
- Upgrading to an 5820k (first upgrade)
- Reinforcements have arrived (second upgrade, waited for free game)

So, what do you guys suggest? I pretty torn every way; another card isnt cheap, pascal could be due whenever and my single Ti isnt happy.. doesnt help the zoatc's are an extra £30 than I paid, making tomb-raider not so 'free'. :s

big thanks for any suggestions, comments and/or advice.

 

[Gregster]

There is some pro's and con's for sure with going SLI.

Most games scale well with SLI and can give near double performance but the extra heat generated can be hard to disperse and therefore the cards run a bit hot and start to throttle. Noise can be an issue and SLI/CF would always be better under water. Some games don't work with SLI or CF and SLI/CF can introduce some microstuttering which I can easily notice.

Knowing what I know and having run SLI Titan X's, I would wait it out for a single GPU but when they will be released is all guesswork at the mo. Both AMD and Nvidia (Polaris/Pascal) will be with us soon enough, so drop settings for now and wait.

 

[Randall8686]

I agree going sli 980ti right now seems a little wasteful however it most likely will do what you want but 4k is very demanding. I would personally turn down the settings or even run at 2k ? the difference between 2k and 4k is not as big visually as 1080p to 2k imo.

personally im not a massive fan of SLI or Xfire. but some people love it and swear by it. if you want to play at 4k now then another 980 ti is your only option. Dont forget that when the next gen comes out its likely only to be X70 / X80 series cards to begin with that i would imagine match or get very close to 980 TI performance the X80 TI cards are likely to be a good number of months after the first set of cards. I would put money on the next X80 TI cards not showing up until the mid/end of summer.

 

[andybird123]

check SLI support specifically in the games you know you will want to play, if it is well supported then possibly, but bear in mind that you will also need to OC that CPU to get the best out of it

given all your caveats above I think the answer you are looking for is to not bother with SLI right now

 

[varkanoid]

1. I have a reference Zotac 980ti and it was noisy so I replaced it with a EVGA Hybrid thus breaking warranty. Mad I know but I then had a near silent 4k capable PC. I was happy with the framerates I was getting. Really if with nvidia you need a 4k gsync monitor but they are few and far between quality wise. A single 980ti is ok for games if you keep AA off or lower, drop AO. I left everything else on ultra or at the highes. I tended to take off any motion blur as I hate it and it improved framerates.

3. With 4k SLI you need reference coolers to keep your PC cool. Custom coolers in SLI will bring heat. Both solutions will bring noise. Really for 980ti SLI @ 4k (UHD) you need to have hybrid coolers/AIO GPU Coolers. Thats my opinion based on experience coming from 970 SLI (with hybrids) and 980 SLI (with hybrids at 4k). Never did 980ti as I didnt think it was needed. Never had a problem with stuttering. Only thing you have to consider is not all games work with SLI.

4. For SLI 1000W is nice. I did run 970 SLI on a 750W but 980 SLI was on 1000W PSU. It was more than enough.

5. 6gb VRAM is fine for 4k now and immediate future. I am not one of the "oh you need loads of VRAM for the future" brigade. Think about it. If VRAM was an issue there wouldn't be 2gb VRAM cards now. Nvidia and AMD would be chucking out 6gb+ cards now.

If I were you and I had the cash I would save it and live with your current setup - see what 2016 brings. Wait for Pascal. If it is the single card that can appease the 60fps+ bridgade that everyone is hoping for then buy it. If not there will be second hand 980ti's out there to then consider SLI as peeps buy Pascal.

 

[whyscotty]

drop settings for now and wait.

 

[JediFragger]

If you go SLi then get a Hybrid card, the top card gets VERY hot (speaking from experience)

I've gone back to a single card and am just dropping settings where needed

 

[smogsy]

after using 4K gsync as a daily driver

Minimum requirements for AAA games
2x 980 SLI < what i got
1x 980ti with plan of buying a 2nd

witcher 3 High everything no AA no HBAO on = 45-60fps

 

[Asa]

1. I have a reference Zotac 980ti and it was noisy so I replaced it with a EVGA Hybrid thus breaking warranty.

I had no idea the coolers were sold separately. I've got a zotac reference card that makes so much noise I've resigned myself to using headphones at all times, so this sounds like a worthwhile upgrade to me.

Is it relatively easy to fit? Any problems/complications to be aware of?

Sorry for the hijack

 

[LevelPulse]

I've got a Palit 980ti Super Jetstream and i thoroughly enjoy it. It has good OC potential and the design + fans are quiet and clean.

Idle at 25c and under load 55c.

 

[Huntyz]

I had no idea the coolers were sold separately. I've got a zotac reference card that makes so much noise I've resigned myself to using headphones at all times, so this sounds like a worthwhile upgrade to me.

Is it relatively easy to fit? Any problems/complications to be aware of?

Sorry for the hijack

Really easy to fit and the Temps never go above 60 even with high voltage bios while being pretty quiet. Totally worth it over stock cooling.

 

[Poneros]

I'd say wait. Another card will not really solve your problems, you will have better performance but you also have SLI worries to deal with as well as the fact that SLI means hotter temps, more noise, more money, etc. Not worth it unless you watercool or have hybrid cards.

 

[Roguey000]

Hi there guys, a big thanks for your suggestions. I guess in hindsight I should have chose either a reference or hybrid design - at the time I never kind-of planned for SLI. Usually for me; when I start to consider SLI, there already something faster in a single card solution. I did really look at the hybrid designs but (as you know) it took a lot of money to get into the 980Ti territory; something which I felt was more important than a AIO 980 or 970 - not that they are 'bad' cards in any way; just that the Ti offered more performance (without the complexity of SLI), extra VRAM and thought it be handing everything until the new chips.

I guess we have no idea when these new chips are due? basically everything is just rumors. Although I guess I know what to look at in the future.

Really easy to fit and the Temps never go above 60 even with high voltage bios while being pretty quiet. Totally worth it over stock cooling.

Sounds good although im not keen on losing my warranty. My last card (an 670GTX) failed just under 3 years, and was replaced under RMA. Are hybrid cards really that much quieter? Just normally my open-air is quiet when not in 4k

I would personally turn down the settings or even run at 2k ? the difference between 2k and 4k is not as big visually as 1080p to 2k imo.

Maybe im being a bit thick, but I thought 1080p was more or less 2k? Just seems strange having a newish GPU and already having to turn things down already.

If you go SLi then get a Hybrid card, the top card gets VERY hot (speaking from experience)

Thanks for confirming, I did think this may be an issue and did think an hybrid card on the top would solve that. Does it matter if the cards have different clock-speeds? as often hybrid have a much higher clock speed; would that encourage things like micro stuttering?

Only thing you have to consider is not all games work with SLI.

Yea that kind-of sucks. At the moment playing Assassins creed in 4k, getting around 30-40fps. Ive read around and that game doesnt support it. I was keen on the new Tomb-raider but guess that may not work with SLI at release either. Didnt fallout 4 have its fair share of SLI problems too?

4. For SLI 1000W is nice. I did run 970 SLI on a 750W but 980 SLI was on 1000W PSU. It was more than enough.

Well, all I was saying with the 1200w is that if I had to replace it, then I would make sure it wouldnt need placing again. Seasonic PSU arent cheap.

---

Well, I guess its time to turn down a few settings and see what happens.

big thanks,

 

[JediFragger]

Thanks for confirming, I did think this may be an issue and did think an hybrid card on the top would solve that. Does it matter if the cards have different clock-speeds? as often hybrid have a much higher clock speed; would that encourage things like micro stuttering?

Tbh the heat isn't the worse thing about it, it's the major clockspeed throttling that happens as a consequence. Believe me, a Hybrid card will handle the heat a lot better and top out in the 50s instead of 90c+

 

[mahius]

Wait for Pascal/Polaris and then see if theres a single card that might be able to do 4k at 60fps with reasonable settings. If not, then you'll be waiting a few more years mate. That or go SLI with the 980Ti to give the 4k a go.

 

[Spuddy]

Waiting for Pascal is surely the sensible thing to do. If you have the patience that is.

 

[beany_bot]

2x 980TI's is going to cost you the best part of £1200. Wait for Pascal

 

[wunkley]

If you want to game at 4K now, properly with full settings, then 2x 980ti is your only real option.
And speaking from a lot of past SLI experience I wouldn't go SLI now unless both cards were AIO/ hybrid water cooled.

You might get away with running your current card in the bottom slot and a hybrid /AIO in the top. My previous build had this with 2x 780tis, which run hot, but the bottom one was a reference exhaust cooler with top one DIY AIO cooled with a corsair h55 and n780 bracket. With this setup the top card temp never broke above the high 50s, and the bottom card would just about keep under the low 80s throttling figure.

But, if you've got one cool, quiet card, you want them both to be don't you.

So it's desire vs cash vs patience, for you to decide bud.

 

[faheemrazzaq]

I will personally wait for pascal now and just turn down the settings. I will never go SLI without liquid cooling. As mentioned before, the upper card gets very hot, specially when you have non-reference air coolers on.

 

[Jim99]

I would stick with 4K, but turn down the settings a bit. In a lot of recent games, half the settings are nigh-on impossible to tell the difference between in gameplay, or pointless anyway (the godrays from FO4 spring to mind).

If you're looking on the web at comparison shots with a setting on or off, and are struggling to tell which one looks better, the chances of you noticing whilst you're focusing on the gameplay is minimal.

On the flipside, going from 4K to 1080p will be extremely noticeable.