single GeForce GTX 970 DirectCU II OC Strix 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card

[Deano68]

Hi all
Thinking of buying a PG278Q ROG Swift 27" 2560x1440 but only got a single GeForce GTX 970 DirectCU II OC Strix 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with a i5 4690k cpu and 16gb of ram
Would the single card be enough for now because eventually I will be getting a second 970 GTX later next year

Thanks in advance

 

[humbug]

Hi all
Thinking of buying a PG278Q ROG Swift 27" 2560x1440 but only got a single GeForce GTX 970 DirectCU II OC Strix 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with a i5 4690k cpu and 16gb of ram
Would the single card be enough for now because eventually I will be getting a second 970 GTX later next year

Thanks in advance

Yeah they do ok at 1440P, mid to high settings they are perfectly capable, when you eventually get 2 they will be great for that but they would start to get a bit low of spare VRam.

 

[RanxZy]

When you do upgrade next year, consider selling up to get a 980Ti used, as the price will come down and can possibly run smoother than 970s in SLI. Things could change anyway with the price equivalent to a 970 in Pascal possibly being almost as fast as a 980Ti with an OC.

 

[Amatsubu]

I've got the exact same card and it copes pretty well at 1440p but you certainly won't be maxing everything. You shouldn't run into many vram-related problems, I tested everything I could and framerate starts dipping way before all the available memory gets saturated.

Then again, if I say something about vram there's a risk of getting into a pointless argument with people using benchmarks of old, underperforming games to think up "very limited instances" when vram is actually beneficial on an underpowered card, so you can also consider the 390 at this price point. It should do the job pretty neatly as well.

If you do plan to SLI then I don't think the 970 is the best card for that. With twice the power (assuming pefect scaling), you'll probably want more than 4gb (or 3.5gb, as commonly believed). Something like xfire 390 would be a better bet, I suppose.

But to be honest, I'd just ride it out on a single card and upgrade when the right time comes, I think SLI/Xfire is generally not worth it. And my bet would be on a used 290/290X. Or a used 970 if you find a decently priced one. Overclock to 1500mhz and you're set for the time being.

 

[tommybhoy]

^
Don't want to bring vram it into it but I will...

@op, try it, you'll probably be pleasantly surprised at the performance available, your never going to completely max out titles but it'll be great nonetheless on suitable settings.

I wouldn't bother with mgpu and just sit back for a suitable priced Pascal.

 

[whyscotty]

^
Don't want to bring vram it into it but I will...

@op, try it, you'll probably be pleasantly surprised at the performance available, your never going to completely max out titles but it'll be great nonetheless on suitable settings.

I wouldn't bother with mgpu and just sit back for a suitable priced Pascal.

Good advice