Going SLI/Xfire need advice

[ixelion]

I have a single GTX670 now and thinking about going SLI/Xfire. I think my mainboard allows for Xfire (Gigabyte GA-P75-D3), but no problem changing the mainboard if really beneficial.

So what config is good to upgrade to? I am running 1440p and have a 700W corsair PSU, will I need to change the PSU as well?

 

[Silverforce11]

If you were to folk out lots of $$ today to go CF or SLI, the only options are ones with 3GB vram or above.

The best bang for buck currently is CF R290s, but if noise is a concern I cannot recommend it, these reference blowers will get noisy in CF configs.

The other option is SLI 780s, but at $500 each it becomes $200 more expensive than the CF R290 option and slower. It's advantage is less noise.

The best option currently is CF R290 with aftermarket coolers, like Gelid or Artic, but they add around $50-60 each on top of the card, so it becomes 2x $460. But this option means cool, quiet operation, R290s will use even less power when it runs cool, and more OC potential.

IMO if I were to go down this route, I would either:

1. Wait for AIBs to release a good custom R290 air cool model. Word is early December. You get all the advantages while being cheaper.

2. Go watercooling CF R290, custom loop ~$200 to setup, + $120 each GPU block, its expensive, but with drastically lower temps and much less power consumption on the R290s and potential to run them at 1.2ghz+ with 4GB vram while being silent, is worth it for the long term if you intend to keep them 2+ years. Its an expensive option, adding ~$440 to the overall cost. If its CF R290, it comes down to around $1240 +/- depending on your loop.

Compared to say, 780ti SLI for $1400 its still cheaper and has the advantage of water cooling. Compared to 780 SLI, its $240 extra but heaps faster and if you do it right, silent and cool.

 

[3DVagabond]

I would get a single GPU, either 290 or 780, to replace the 670. SLI'ing 2GB cards @ 1440 isn't a wise investment. The 290 is the better value, but I'd run the 670 until aftermarket cooled 290's come along.

 

[Silverforce11]

Is a single GPU enough grunt to max games at 1440p?? I'm seeing lots of recent benchmarks really hammer GPUs.

 

[ixelion]

Single GPU is OK for the most part, but my goal is to run with descent AA settings and higher frame rates. Actually even without AA some games dip here and there nothing major.

Single GPU definitely is not going to do it with the kind of performance/settings i'm aiming for.

As for dual R290s, will by Corsair 700W be sufficient?

 

[Silverforce11]

As for dual R290s, will by Corsair 700W be sufficient?

Probably ok for stock but not much room for OC. Would be a waste not to unlock the R290 potential.

 

[Jacky60]

A single GPU can't cut it these days. Even a Titan or 780Ti is slower than my 4 year old GPU solution and my GPU's cost £100 more than a Titan at launch but 4 years ago not 8 months.

 

[guskline]

I have a single GTX670 now and thinking about going SLI/Xfire. I think my mainboard allows for Xfire (Gigabyte GA-P75-D3), but no problem changing the mainboard if really beneficial.

So what config is good to upgrade to? I am running 1440p and have a 700W corsair PSU, will I need to change the PSU as well?

I'm running 2 EVGA gtx670 FTWs in SLI with great results with my Achieva Shimian 27" 2560 x 1440p monitor. My framerates are outstanding.

 

[BertolomeoDiaz]

i´m running sli 770s and it´s been a great upgrade, if you can still get a 670 for a good price, i say go for it.
read reviews about gtx 690, that is the performance you can expect, lots of benchmarks of gtx 690 @ 1440p out there.
i´m running either 6000x1080 (3x fullhd + bezel compensation)
or 3200x1350 (downsampling resolution of 21:9 monitor; 1.25x1.25--> about same resolution as 1440p, actually its more, 4.32Mpixel vs 3.6864Mpixel= 1.17:1)
both resolutions running really good, most games at either ultra settings or high + 4xAA with 60fps vsync, older/less demanding ones ultra+AA
little less for the triple monitor setup, depending on game

sli670 should be like 10-15% slower, i suppose

psu should be fine, i got 720Wpsu with more power hungry cards

good with 1254MHz overclock on both cards valley benchmark, no cpu overclock (xeon)

depending on cpu, as you have lga1155 board, that shouldn´t be too power hungry either

then again, your mobo doesn´t seem to support sli (i checked on the gigabyte homepage), but it does crossfire, maybe you should wait for a decent cooled r290
that alone should be pretty good for a 1440p monitor when run at say a conservative 1100MHz overclock, which should be no problem for the custom cooled cards that are about to come
getting a second of those should even be good for 4k, psu will be close shave

if you want to keep mainboard and psu and the best performance possible for that scenario, go for single 780ti or r9 290x, numbers will be lower than cf r9 290 but framtimes will be smoother and the performance will almost equal the 670 sli
but single card is always preferable, if similar fps (frametimes, inputlag, driver issues)
also, for my part, i love having uncut, full gpus without clusters being deactivated, even though it is stupid from a bang for buck point of view
i thought all the full grown gk110 would go into 3k+$ quadros and teslas, but here they are