Titan X, 980TI or wait?

steveoz · 13 Jan 2016 at 12:05

Hi Chaps,

Long story short, sold my dk2 a year back, been waiting for CV1, got a preorder on CV1 on release day.

There's been a lot of talk that VR won't support SLI. I guess drivers and software aren't ready for it yet.

I'm still running 5910x1080 on 3x screens. And to be fair, I've not had any major issues in the two years or so I've had this build. The only titles it's struggling on now is Witched 3 and the Far Cry series (I simply don't have the VRAM for AA).

Battlefront, GTA etc etc all ramped up with AA on max with buttery smooth frame rate.

So anyhow, I started looking at 980ti's and Titan X. I discovered though, that even in 3dm those two cards aren't getting the as higher GFX score as my 780SLI rig.

I'm a bit reluctant to upgrade now just for more VRAM, it is a limitation but if I'm going to drop 600-1000 on a single card, I'd really like something substantially better for my cash.

So anyhow, the option is sell my AMP's for say 200ish each, get a single GPU like the Titan or 980TI for the rift and gaming for now, then maybe later add another 980ti. But I don't know what's around the corner with Pascal.

I did consider a Fury X, but then realized they only have 4GB of VRAM, and as far as I know as it utilizes dual GPU's, it actually runs in x fire mode so I would have a similar issue.

What would you guys do?

Gregster · 13 Jan 2016 at 12:08

Big Pascal doesn't look close in release and as you have 2 decent cards in the 780's, I am inclined to say wait. I understand that GameWorks VR is now supporting SLI in VR and to what extent I don't know but it will be doing one GPU per eye in its full workings.

VRAM "Could" be an issue of course but I would wait for your March date and then see what is what.

Cooper · 13 Jan 2016 at 12:10

Wait.

The new gen of cards will be the first, no compromise cards designed for the new 4K & VR demands

Dropping £500+ on a Maxwell chip only months before the Pascal launch is crazy IMO.

Radox-0 · 13 Jan 2016 at 12:12

I would just wait to be honest, sounds like your cards are doing an okay job at this point, see what the next gen brings.

If you did happen to upgrade, I would opt for the 980Ti over a Titan X at this point, not much of a performance difference.

The Fury X is a single card solution and does not utilise Crossfire.

Simon Belmont · 13 Jan 2016 at 12:21

Cooper said:
Wait.

The new gen of cards will be the first, no compromise cards designed for the new 4K & VR demands

Dropping £500+ on a Maxwell chip only months before the Pascal launch is crazy IMO.

This^

Pascal is coming sooner then we think.

steveoz · 13 Jan 2016 at 12:23

Thanks for the quick reply chaps - can always rely on no BS straight answers on here, that's what I like!

On other forums people have been going back and forth and a lot saying 780 SLI won't cut it for VR.

I've started hitting the VRAM limitation as mentioned @ a little over 6 million pixels, shame there weren't 6gb versions out when I built this rig, or it might still be good to go for another couple of years or more (well I guess it would if it had a single screen).

I'm still playing all the other games I want to well atm.

I was thinking VR should be optimized eventually for SLI, I mean, it's leaning towards the enthusiast market atm, and ruling out SLI builds seems crazy to me.

I like the 12GB Vram, that was the attraction to a Titan, I see OCUK have them for £800, I guessed I could get £400 ish back on mine atm. But, in terms of pixel pushing, I don't see either card (if SLI is working well in future titles) as an advantage really there.

I guess in terms of Nvidia I will wait, see how it runs like you say, although Pascal will probably push prices of others down again quickly. That's PC's for you though right.

RE the Fury X, I saw two GPU's on one board, but saw a few posts on rendering forums where it was crashing their system and they were trying to essentially disable the inbuilt crossfire driver. I don't know if that was BS then, and whether the machine treats it as a single GPU?

If that's the case, a single Fury X for 400-500 could be nice, but only if there is a 4gb> version?

Cheers!

Gregster · 13 Jan 2016 at 12:32

As we stand now, there is no twin Fury Xs on a single PCB but there is a 295X2 which is 2x290Xs on a single PCB. VRAM is going to be your biggest potential issue but come March 28th (ish), you will be able to see what is what and if you are struggling, go for the 980Ti (6GB is more than enough) and the 980Ti is above the recommended 980 specs (by quite a margin).

Just to add, I will be gaming on my Rift come the 28th March (ish) and a single Titan X till there is something a fair chunk beefier out and can't bloody wait

steveoz · 13 Jan 2016 at 12:43

Gregster said:
As we stand now, there is no twin Fury Xs on a single PCB but there is a 295X2 which is 2x290Xs on a single PCB. VRAM is going to be your biggest potential issue but come March 28th (ish), you will be able to see what is what and if you are struggling, go for the 980Ti (6GB is more than enough) and the 980Ti is above the recommended 980 specs (by quite a margin).

Just to add, I will be gaming on my Rift come the 28th March (ish) and a single Titan X till there is something a fair chunk beefier out and can't bloody wait

Cheers

Congrats on the order. I sat through 10 minutes of a blank screen, I had six browsers on six screens lol. Eventually one got in and I then went through another 10 minutes of errors until the order was placed. I'm guessing it will ship probably early - mid April

You've probably seen all the commotion on the dev forums then too

A titan X should be more than enough though, it's nearly as powerful as say a 780 SLI but on a single card with a shed load of Vram isn't it? So I would think you are good.

Talking of Radeons, I've just seen this in the shop:

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/powe...aphics-card-axr9-390-ii-16gbd5-gx-185-pc.html

Two 390 Hawaii's on a single board? 8GB ram each? Sounds like a beast and a bit of a bargain. Would nearly be a straight swap for my current GPU's if I buy this and sell them on? Maybe in interim solution? That is if the whole dual GPU thing isn't an issue again.

Struggling to find benches, but I note it should be faster than 780TI SLI, so a bump in performance and Vram for now?

Ayahuasca · 13 Jan 2016 at 12:46

Buy the best you can afford now.

There is no solid information on the new cards so they are still some months away, I can't see higher end pascal being this side of the year.

Gregster · 13 Jan 2016 at 12:55

steveoz said:
Cheers

Congrats on the order. I sat through 10 minutes of a blank screen, I had six browsers on six screens lol. Eventually one got in and I then went through another 10 minutes of errors until the order was placed. I'm guessing it will ship probably early - mid April

You've probably seen all the commotion on the dev forums then too

A titan X should be more than enough though, it's nearly as powerful as say a 780 SLI but on a single card with a shed load of Vram isn't it? So I would think you are good.

Talking of Radeons, I've just seen this in the shop:

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/powe...aphics-card-axr9-390-ii-16gbd5-gx-185-pc.html

Two 390 Hawaii's on a single board? 8GB ram each? Sounds like a beast and a bit of a bargain. Would nearly be a straight swap for my current GPU's if I buy this and sell them on? Maybe in interim solution? That is if the whole dual GPU thing isn't an issue again.

Struggling to find benches, but I note it should be faster than 780TI SLI, so a bump in performance and Vram for now?

Sorry, I forgot about the 390X2, which is 2 x 390s but not the kind of upgrade I would jump on if I am honest.

As for ordering, I slipped home from work, waited for the countdown to stop and the shop and just kept pressing F5 for 2 mins till it showed up and then hit order. I have my bank card details saved on my PC and only needed enter the CV code and that took less than 30 seconds

Well chuffed to see my March date and wouldn't surprise me if I wasn't one of the first 5 people who successfully ordered in that shambles of a pre-order

Edit:

Just to add and not 100% on this but I don't think Crossfire works with VR yet? Hopefully someone can confirm though.

Rilot · 13 Jan 2016 at 13:28

What order number are you guys with your Rifts? The last 7 numbers are apparently the important ones for when you will ship. I'm in the 25xxxxx range so will apparently be in the first batch.

Gregster · 13 Jan 2016 at 13:29

Rilot said:
What order number are you guys with your Rifts? The last 7 numbers are apparently the important ones for when you will ship. I'm in the 25xxxxx range so will apparently be in the first batch.

Same as that.

Caracus2k · 13 Jan 2016 at 13:37

Simon Belmont said:
This^

Pascal is coming sooner then we think.

'small' Pascal is coming 'soon' don't be surprised if performance of this product is not much different from current 'big' Maxwell........

You'll be waiting a while for 'big' Pascal with its rumoured big improvements.....

Nvidia will almost certainly release a 'Titan' version of 'big' Pascal first with a price tag to match (£830 +)

Caracus2k · 13 Jan 2016 at 13:45

Ayahuasca said:
Buy the best you can afford now.

There is no solid information on the new cards so they are still some months away, I can't see higher end pascal being this side of the year.

There's been some cracking deals recently on the 980ti if your not after a specific more bespoke version. Nvidia will release a cut down Pascal first with a high price tag close to what 980ti's are going for now. Doubt nvidia will be pulling out at the stops out of the gate for speed..... There going to have to eek out a few generations at 16nm based on past performance......

Simon Belmont · 13 Jan 2016 at 13:52

Caracus2k said:
'small' Pascal is coming 'soon' don't be surprised if performance of this product is not much different from current 'big' Maxwell........

You'll be waiting a while for 'big' Pascal with its rumoured big improvements.....

Nvidia will almost certainly release a 'Titan' version of 'big' Pascal first with a price tag to match (£830 +)

This is all here say? Nobody knows what nvidia will do. We should have a lot more info at GTC

Caracus2k · 13 Jan 2016 at 13:57

Simon Belmont said:
This is all here say? Nobody knows what nvidia will do. We should have a lot more info at GTC

You started by suggesting you knew something about Pascal that was not otherwise common knowledge.... My assumptions are extrapolated from recent and repeated events in the gpu market and as such I would suggest are quite likely to be realised in due course... Of course we wont know for sure till prices/products and reviews become known

Ayahuasca · 13 Jan 2016 at 13:57

GTC is still 3 months away itself.

Jacksonn · 13 Jan 2016 at 14:00

Got to be worth a wait, you already have enough power.

Simon Belmont · 13 Jan 2016 at 14:08

Caracus2k said:
You started by suggesting you knew something about Pascal that was not otherwise common knowledge.... My assumptions are extrapolated from recent and repeated events in the gpu market and as such I would suggest are quite likely to be realised in due course... Of course we wont know for sure till prices/products and reviews become known

All I said was pascal is coming sooner then everyone thinks. Most are saying end of this year because of the recent information from links people posted. I never said I knew for sure, but I would think summer time would be a good time for pascal. Weather I'm right or not is irrelevant.

steveoz · 13 Jan 2016 at 14:37

You guys were some of the first, my order due to 10 minutes of a white screen and 10 mins of re-entering my order with payment errors put me at 28XXX.

First shipping date was 28th March anyhow and I heard that DK1 kickstarter backers are getting theirs first, I'll be happy if it's here before the end of April

I had a DK2 and a surround setup running with it on my SLI rig. Alien Isolation and quite a few other demos were perfect and utilized SLI. But some of the more common demos were showing both very poor CPU and GPU usage on all fronts, so I assume bad coding, run-time and drivers, that was over a year ago now though.

With regards to the change in GPU, although Pascal may be soon, you guys are right, they never release the big guns until they've sold a ton of other units. It was the same when I built this rig in 2013. 780Ti's weren't even out, and 780 AMPS were in some cases outperforming the titan of the day. I went with them as they were the fastest 780 available, then no more than about a month or two later the TI's came out!

They'll probably do some mid range Pascal's and wait to bring out the big guns. They probably already have the products available, but it doesn't make sense on their road map to release yet, not since they are pushing the 900 series as VR and 4k ready.

I guess the only thing I can do now is to try and get a single card that will equal performance of my SLI rig, but that has more VRAM to improve compatibility, but even if I do that, I am kinda stuck again. When Pascal does come with the higher range cards, the switch I made now will be worth even less and I will still have to SLI / Xfire or move up again.

It's so annoying. I did build this PC with 4yrs in mind. In fairness, I recently upgraded my daughters machine to a 680, that is still running an X5460 @ 3.5, and it still runs all the latest games on high > Ultra on one screen.

I guess we pay the price for being greedy and having higher res screens, multiple screens and wanting things like VR headsets!

It does suck that I am playing the latest games I want (Fallout 4, Battlefront, etc) on Ultra with AA ramped up on three screens with my current rig, which is pushing over 6m pixels, but I am being told 2.4m pixels in CV1 may not run on my machine!

So how do the two GPU's on one board work with AMD then? I'm a bit ignorant when it comes to AMD's stuff. Is it internally done as an Xfire solution or is it counted as a single GPU in games and apps?