780 vs Titan vs 780ti (All in SLI)

[imported_bigbacon]

Looking at getting some used video cards to replace my aged 480SLI set up.

Going used because I can get something way better with water blocks than a newer setup.

I have the opportunity to get a set of Titans but I out of touch with hardware.

for the money it seems like a good bet because I can't get new stuff + water blocks + back plates for the amount im looking to spend.

good idea? Titans seem to fix between the 780 and 780ti.

 

[tential]

We need prices.... Because getting a set of Titans at more expensive than 290x or 970s is useless. Titans aren't getting a lot of support moving forward (or any of kepler clearly) so o ly expect your purchase of an nvidia 700 series/Titan to get even worse as time progresses.

I'd give a recommendation but no clue at the prices you're looking at.

 

[imported_bigbacon]

one thing I didn't make clear (I dont think) is that they need to be water cooled which obviously add about 150 bucks per card.

obviously I wouldn't be getting them new or at a cheaper price than something newer + new water blocks.

the price really isn't that important, I'm looking more towards the performance side vs the others.

when you say they aren't getting a lot of support what does that mean? I mean this upgrade is for gaming only and any option is better than my current setup which struggles greatly on even semi-new games like Far Cry 4.

 

[bystander36]

If it isn't about cost, the Titan is the way to go. 3Gb may be a problem from time to time.

 

[imported_bigbacon]

no you didn't understand. cost matters other wise I'd go all out..

What I'm asking is, I can get 2 titans with blocks for the price of say 2 new 780/970 without blocks or I can get a set of used 780s (not TI) with blocks for a little less than the titans with blocks.

again,

I'm curious about the "Support" thing.

 

[RaistlinZ]

no you didn't understand. cost matters other wise I'd go all out..

What I'm asking is, I can get 2 titans with blocks for the price of say 2 new 780/970 without blocks or I can get a set of used 780s (not TI) with blocks for a little less than the titans with blocks.

again,

I'm curious about the "Support" thing.

There you go. Just get the two Titans with blocks if it's the same price as the 780/970. At least you'll have more VRAM to utilize.

 

[RussianSensation]

no you didn't understand. cost matters other wise I'd go all out..

What I'm asking is, I can get 2 titans with blocks for the price of say 2 new 780/970 without blocks or I can get a set of used 780s (not TI) with blocks for a little less than the titans with blocks.

again,

I'm curious about the "Support" thing.

Why would you want the complexity of water cooling on old cards that are slower than a single after-market overclocked 980Ti (or AMD's Fiji Fury). I don't get that. Even if you have the world's most expensive/nicest waterblocks, if you put them on old cards, it's like putting Pilot Super Sport 2 Cup tires on a BMW 3 series. Not to mention NV has more or less stopped optimizing drivers for Kepler (Titan = Kepler architecture).

Finally, even if dual Titans will be as fast in FPS to a 980Ti, once we consider that not all games scale with SLI and frame times, 980 Ti OC >>>> Titan OC SLI for games.

It makes a lot more sense to buy water-blocks for the latest GPUs, not last generation ones.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/9306/the-nvidia-geforce-gtx-980-ti-review/17

If absolutely do not want to go 980Ti/Fiji Fury X route, you could always consider a $550 R9 295X2. It's faster than Titans SLI and already has water cooling, plus warranty.

 

[Hinda65]

you could probably pick up (2) 780's for around $500 - $600 on ebay...possibly new in box but most likely used. I got a second new EVGA ACX 780 about 6 months ago for $300 in the Sale/Trade section of Anandtech. I've been very pleased with the SLI performance so far. I have exceeded 3gb fairly easily in some games but I play at 1440p so I usually keep AA low, It can usually handle 2x/4x smaa...2x msaa.

I won't speak to your other options as I wouldn't be able to give any valuable info.

 

[bystander36]

Without giving us prices, we can't really give a real recommendation, other than the Titan's are better than the others for performance.

 

[RussianSensation]

you could probably pick up (2) 780's for around $500 - $600 on ebay...possibly new in box but most likely used. I got a second new EVGA ACX 780 about 6 months ago for $300 in the Sale/Trade section of Anandtech. I've been very pleased with the SLI performance so far. I have exceeded 3gb fairly easily in some games but I play at 1440p so I usually keep AA low, It can usually handle 2x/4x smaa...2x msaa.

I won't speak to your other options as I wouldn't be able to give any valuable info.

Why? Wasn't it way better to sell your 780 and get dual 970 SLI? 780 Kepler performance in modern games is not good at all.

970 SLI is 65% faster than 780 SLI in The Witcher 3

970 SLI 30% faster in Project CARS

970 SLI beats Titan SLI, 780 SLI, 780Ti SLI and cards like MSI Gaming/Asus Strix 970 turn off the fans up to 65C. Going water cooling on older cards that are slower and have worse driver support just for the sake of water cooling isn't logical imo.

Also, buying new 970s or a single 980Ti means getting warranty. After-market $680 980Ti OC >>> $600 water-cooled Titan SLI OC in gaming due to lack of SLI scaling in all games and frame times.

one thing I didn't make clear (I dont think) is that they need to be water cooled which obviously add about 150 bucks per card.

Why? I bet MSI Gaming 980Ti OC in a Fractal R5 case will be just as quiet as Titan/780Ti SLI OC on water, but feel faster. Spending $150 per card on waterblocks for old gen Kepler cards is generally a bad idea since if SLI doesn't work, you end up with a Titan / 780Ti card 50% slower than a 980Ti. You should check the reviews more closely on this point:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/9306/the-nvidia-geforce-gtx-980-ti-review/17

 

[Hinda65]

Why? Wasn't it way better to sell your 780 and get dual 970 SLI? 780 Kepler performance in modern games is not good at all.

970 SLI is 65% faster than 780 SLI in The Witcher 3

Better? 970's would have been more power, but I would have spent $500 ....I only had $300 to spend at the time

OP would probably be better off buying (2) 970's if he had the $$$ to spend. he asked about 780's so I figured I'd give him my 2cents.

But you are correct .... 65% Faster 970's for what, 30% more $$.

And I wouldn't say Kepler performance is "not good at all".... but if your starting from scratch than it would probably be wise to buy (2) 970's over (2) 780's

 

[Headfoot]

Don't buy Kepler now. Terrible idea when you can get GCN 1.1+ or Maxwell which are both going to support DX12_0 and 12_1 feature levels respectively and hold up better over time.

Once AMD announces Fury X and Fury, decide between that and 980 Ti and put a block on a single new one and overclock the crap out of it. It'll end up being way more reliable than SLI, and equally as fast if not faster.

 

[xthetenth]

Better? 970's would have been more power, but I would have spent $500 ....I only had $300 to spend at the time

Don't forget the sale value of the card you already had in that calculation.

 

[happy medium]

970 SLI is 65% faster than 780 SLI in The Witcher 3

your using old drivers/ benchmarks for the gtx780's , performance is much better now.
Do you have any performance figures with gtx780ti's in sli with driver fix? I cant find them but I'm sure it will bench a lot better than 65% slower than a gtx970 now.

Edit: I think the OP should sell his gtx480's, and just grab a single gtx980ti.

 

[happy medium]

OP would probably be better off buying (2) 970's if he had the $$$ to spend

What? what am I missing ? why would the OP be better off spending 650$ for 2 gtx970's @ 4gb vs a single gtx980ti @ 6gb for 680$?

I just heard a guy say he got a gtx980ti for 580$ on ebay in one of these threads here.

 

[amenx]

For around same price I would go 980ti over 970 SLI.

 

[FxSoap]

Why? Wasn't it way better to sell your 780 and get dual 970 SLI? 780 Kepler performance in modern games is not good at all.

970 SLI beats Titan SLI, 780 SLI, 780Ti SLI and cards like MSI Gaming/Asus Strix 970 turn off the fans up to 65C. Going water cooding on older cards that are slower and have worse driver support just for the sake of water cooling isn't logical imo.

Also, buying new 970s or a single 980Ti means getting warranty. After-market $680 980Ti OC >>> $600 water-cooled Titan SLI OC in gaming due to lack of SLI scaling in all games and frame times.

Why? I bet MSI Gaming 980Ti OC in a Fractal R5 case will be just as quiet as Titan/780Ti SLI OC on water, but feel faster. Spending $150 per card on waterblocks for old gen Kepler cards is generally a bad idea since if SLI doesn't work, you end up with a Titan / 780Ti card 50% slower than a 980Ti. You should check the reviews more closely on this point:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/9306/the-nvidia-geforce-gtx-980-ti-review/17

awesomely informative, cost benefit post!@

 

[RussianSensation]

your using old drivers/ benchmarks for the gtx780's , performance is much better now.
Do you have any performance figures with gtx780ti's in sli with driver fix?

It's better but still a fail. A single 980 is enough to keep up with dual 780s and 970 SLI walks all over 780 SLI by a whopping 42%. Sure, it's not 65% but my point still stands. 780 is only 2 fps faster than a 960. 780Ti SLI is only as fast as a single 980Ti. These benchmarks are as of June 17, 2015. If SLI doesn't work, you end up with 50%+ less performance going 780/780Ti SLI. For anyone contemplating spending $600-650 on a new card, 980Ti (or Fury) should be a no brainer over 2 mid-range cards.

awesomely informative, cost benefit post!@

Thanks! At this point I would skip all Kepler cards. The deal would need to be spectacular to consider any of them. If someone is willing to get 780 Ti SLI, might as well get a 980Ti/Fury X. Water-cooling Kepler is a waste of time and $, imho.

 

[FxSoap]

Thanks! At this point I would skip all Kepler cards. The deal would need to be spectacular to consider any of them. If someone is willing to get 780 Ti SLI, might as well get a 980Ti/Fury X. Water-cooling Kepler is a waste of time and $, imho.

Is the price point worth it (and performance increase comparison) to go from 980TI vs Fury X vs 780TI?