Seeking SLi and general build Advice

KonfuciousK

KonfuciousK

KonfuciousK

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DISCLAIMER ;) I know X99 build would have been better but I got caught up in the marketing hype and started buying before researching properly so I'm committed more or less. :)

So what I've learned from reading around is that I might be in a spot of bother with the amount of pci-e lanes I have, or at least I am a little confused... I am not entirely understanding their function with regard to GPU's so need some help.

Will I not be able to handle more than one SSD alongside two 970's?
Is it a case of one SSD and two GPU's or two SSD's and one GPU?
Have I crippled my SLi possibilities by going with this chipset?
Will one 970 run a dual screen setup with 1440p and 1920 x 1200 monitors at optimum (30+fps) rates in modern gaming?
What if I decide to stream, will I be bottlenecking anywhere?
Any advice for working with the below?

Current parts list:

MOBO: Gigabyte Z170X Gaming GT
CPU - i7-6700k ***NOT YET PURCHASED but getting it for 150 GBP :)
CPU COOLING: Closed Loop Intel RTS2011LC
RAM - 16 GB SavageX 2400mhz ***NOT PURCHASED YET
GPU - Palit GTX 970 Jetstream (Plan to SLi soon)
STORAGE - 240 GB Intell 535 SSD, 240 GB Netac SSD, 2TB Seagate 7200rpm
PSU - Changed based on suggestion SuperFlower Leadex Platinum 750W ***NOT YET PURCHASED
OPTIONAL - Blu-ray drive
CASE - InWin 707 ***NOT YET PURCHASED

Thanks for any thoughts!
 
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Use as many SSD's as you want and this will not affect the PCI-E lanes, only using the M2 slot will disable one of the PCI-E x4 lanes, but you will be able to run SLI in the future at dual 8x.

Also have a look at the EVGA or Superflower range of power supplies.
 
Ahh ok, thank you, that makes sense now that I see where the slot is. So if I buy the smaller 80mm m2 SSD I will have an issue running SLi? Or will it block the function entirely?
 
That's a flashy mobo.

Just look at the specs on the Gigabyte website you'll see you can use two GPUs in SLI at x8/x8, and still use one M2 device (which will disable the x4 slot). This will be fine. Whether you can use the second M2 as well isn't clear.

KonfuciousK said:
Will one 970 run a dual screen setup with 1440p and 1920 x 1200 monitors at optimum (30+fps) rates in modern gaming?
What if I decide to stream, will I be bottlenecking anywhere?
Click to expand...

These questions depend on what you do with it. You'll just have to wait and see.

From reviews a 970 can usually do a decent job at 3840x2160 with medium graphics settings. That's more pixels than a 1440 and 1080 screen together (is that what you meant?).
 
joeyjojo said:
That's a flashy mobo.

Just look at the specs on the Gigabyte website you'll see you can use two GPUs in SLI at x8/x8, and still use one M2 device (which will disable the x4 slot). This will be fine. Whether you can use the second M2 as well isn't clear.



These questions depend on what you do with it. You'll just have to wait and see.

From reviews a 970 can usually do a decent job at 3840x2160 with medium graphics settings. That's more pixels than a 1440 and 1080 screen together (is that what you meant?).
Click to expand...

Thanks :D, now I'm trying to justify some of the expenditure :o

Basically I have two 1920 x 1200 monitors and want to upgrade one to a 1440, or 4k if within SLi capabilities - not decided yet but leaning to the 21:9 at the moment.

At max use I would intend to record gaming at 1080p, stream at the same time, while running stats and monitoring on the auxiliary monitor. Ideally I would aim for high to max settings on the main monitor too.

I think the i7 is up to the task but I'm worried the GPU may be holding me back and my budget is beginning to run low so don't want to invest in SLi if I am just going to have to end up getting two 980s or something...

Also by going 8x8, does that have any actual performance hit? Believe me I really am checking the specs, just not everything always goes in or gets understood fully...
 
No worries. Also sorry I misread 1200 as 1080 there.

So question 1: can i7-6700k stream? Yes. You'd hope a £390 CPU would be up to that. :p

Question 2 is the GPU. So you intend to only game on one of them, and use the other for other stuff? Then the question is "is the 970 up to 1440 gaming?". Have you looked at reviews? It can generally average 60+ FPS at 1440 in high settings.

x8/x8 is no problem for SLI.
 
joeyjojo said:
Question 2 is the GPU. So you intend to only game on one of them, and use the other for other stuff? Then the question is "is the 970 up to 1440 gaming?". Have you looked at reviews? It can generally average 60+ FPS at 1440 in high settings.
Click to expand...

Much appreciating the attention and promptness!

Ok I guess I see where you're coming from. My main worry was that the extra load brought on from recording and streaming at the same time as playing might have put extra load on the GPU and took the resources away from achieving the rates found in reviews as they don't really address such things. But great, that's awesome and what I was hoping for really. :cool:



Quartz said:
From the specification page:
Click to expand...

This motherboard has two M2 connectors, so I guess I still have one left over at least if running SLi?
 
I don't have any experience streaming but from what I've read the CPU takes the hit, not the GPU. In fact Twitch and OBS both say not to worry so much about the GPU. Check out the estimator in the second link.

You'll have the other M2 left over but as I wrote earlier there's no telling if it'll work with SLI.
 
joeyjojo said:
I don't have any experience streaming but from what I've read the CPU takes the hit, not the GPU. In fact Twitch and OBS both say not to worry so much about the GPU. Check out the estimator in the second link.

You'll have the other M2 left over but as I wrote earlier there's no telling if it'll work with SLI.
Click to expand...

You're just a fountain of information! I never saw that on the OBS site before. Thanks.
 
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