chance to upgrade to 760 SLI for 400 euros

[lehtv]

I could get two Gigabyte GTX 760 WF3's for 200 euros each, normally they cost 240 euros. I'm gaming on 1920x1080 @ 120hz, high settings, not necessarily ultra.

My main concerns with the current 7950 are:

- recording in CPU heavy games puts me well under 60 fps with the best case scenario recording settings/software, with Shadowplay this wouldn't be a problem, allowing me to enjoy the high refresh rate to the fullest even while recording (at the loss of some quality versus a lossless codec)
- lack of CUDA which would help considerably in Premiere encoding speed and would also increase IQ slightly (as far as I know)
- the card's cooler is a bit whiny at low speeds, though I'm not sure if having two triple-fan cards would be any better
- and least importantly, performance itself could be better though it's still alright for 120hz gaming

I could probably sell the 7950 for 200 euros. It's 1.5 years old.

My case and PSU should be fine with mild OC'ing.

Is Shadowplay in a good state, or should I wait until it's developed further? Would you go for it, or would it be better to just wait for a Maxwell GTX770 equivalent single GPU (which should cost about the same, 400 euros)?

 

[nwo]

First, I think single card configurations are always a better option. Second, I think waiting for a GTX 770 Maxwell equivalent would definitely be worth it.

However, if you're gonna stick with the 7950 until Maxwell comes out, odds are you will not be able to get more than 100 euros for it.

So that puts you in a real dilemma... Why not just go with a single GTX 760? Why would you go for two of them right off the bat? A GTX 760 is actually slightly faster than a 7950. So not only would you be able to get all the bells and whistles nvidia cards have to offer, but you will also be getting a small upgrade in gaming performance.

Last but not least, I believe each HSF is different, some will be whiny at low RPMs while others will be at high RPMs... There is no sure way to know until you actually use the card because there will always be lemons.

 

[OCGuy]

I would get a single GTX770 instead, personally. That leaves you an upgrade path for the future.

770 rips up 1080p.

 

[lehtv]

However, if you're gonna stick with the 7950 until Maxwell comes out, odds are you will not be able to get more than 100 euros for it.

So that puts you in a real dilemma... Why not just go with a single GTX 760? Why would you go for two of them right off the bat? A GTX 760 is actually slightly faster than a 7950.

Good point, although OC vs OC, the 760 would be a slight downgrade. My 7950 is at 1.1GHz, a full 30% more than the base 850MHz clock speed which I assume is the speed of the 7950 in Techpowerup's charts. The GTX 760 is not so overclockable. That's why I'm hesitant to buy a single 760... but on the other hand, I'd get a brand new card and the NVIDIA perks, for potentially no net cost. Hmm..

I would get a single GTX770 instead, personally. That leaves you an upgrade path for the future.

So if you had a 7950 @1.1, you'd pay 110 EUR net for a relatively small boost in performance, versus 200 EUR net for a huge boost (at least 60%, probably more)? The reason I posted this thread was the availability of the GTX 760 for 40 EUR less than normal, or SLI for 80 EUR less. If a GTX 770 was on sale for 260 euros... I'd be all over it.

Does anybody know about Shadowplay, can you play with any framerate while recording? It would be rather pointless to upgrade to a setup capable of 100+ fps if the framerate was locked to 30 or 60 while recording.

Does the software actually work properly? I've heard some driver update messed Shadowplay up for people, and that there are some technical problems with it, but nothing more specific 🙁. If it's a risk that Shadowplay doesn't work properly, then I'm definitely going to postpone upgrading until it's in a better state

 

[nwo]

How much does a GTX 770 cost?

Edit: Well in that case (310 eur) screw the GTX 770.

Go with the GTX 760 if you can sell your 7950 for 200 eur.... But before you do, make sure you are getting what you want out of shadowplay because that alone would be worth the sidegrade. I haven't used an nvidia card in about a decade, so I can't help you much there.

AMD is improving supply and also releasing the 280 non X which is a revamped 7950. With that said, I would make a move quickly and get rid of your 7950 if you are unhappy with it.

 

[rgallant]

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/gtx_780_ti_sli_geforce_review,18.html
not many good multiple sli reviews out there
this one has some 760 sli , but seems always close to a 780ti.

 

[rgallant]

dp

 

[FalseChristian]

I happen to like SLI and am waiting for a 2nd EVGA GTX 760 2GB ACX for SLI. I'd say go for it.

 

[TreVader]

horrible deal, You'll perform about the same a stock 780/290, you'll have all the problems associated with SLI, worse power consumption, and the cards you're buying are at best worth 200 euros each.



Buy a 290 or 780, same price less headaches and better performance. Literally zero advantages to going with 760sli

 

[IEC]

horrible deal, You'll perform about the same a stock 780/290, you'll have all the problems associated with SLI, worse power consumption, and the cards you're buying are at best worth 200 euros each.

Buy a 290 or 780, same price less headaches and better performance. Literally zero advantages to going with 760sli

If he's in Europe, that pretty much means the 290 hands down due to pricing disparity (aka "nVidia tax")

 

[lehtv]

An AMD upgrade is not gonna happen for reasons stated.

I have looked at the GTX 780, I could get the Asus DCII OC one for 450 euros, or MSI for 460-470. A bit pricey... And GTX 760 SLI outperforms even the GTX 780 Ti.

I've decided not to go for the 760 or 760 SLI. It turns out their CUDA performance is pretty bad relative to their gaming performance. It wouldn't benefit me enough compared to just using the CPU for encoding. I'd get much better performance with a GTX 770.

I'm also not too happy about the prospect of lower VRAM amount... I think I'm gonna wait until I can get a 3GB NVIDIA card with good CUDA performance for <400.