GTX 580 SLI CPU Scaling

[UaVaj]

wondering if anyone can link me to a review where it shows how well a pair of GTX580 will scale with CPU clocking.

any CPU clocking will do, however a i7 -3770k will be a plus.

 

[aaksheytalwar]

Don't buy 580 sli unless you already own it. And if you already own it then 3770k of would be ideal for it.

 

[boxleitnerb]

Depends on the game and the settings. I have 580 SLI and at times even a 2600K@4 GHz bottlenecked slightly and couldn't reach 60fps in Serious Sam 3, Skyrim or Hard Reset. Never mind strategy games like Shogun 2 or Sins of a Solar Empire.

 

[UaVaj]

still haven't figure out how to add signature yet.

i7-3770k, 16gb, gtx580, 128gbx2 raid 0 ssd, 3tbx2 raid 1, xfx 850w xxx, 3 asus 23" ips 5760x1080

as for games. bf3, crysis 2, metro, cod, wow, sc2
as for setting. max everything of course - all the eye candy

 

[aaksheytalwar]

Don't go for sli. Either oc your present card. If still not good enough then buy a 7970 and oc past 1200 MHz.

 

[lehtv]

At that resolution, it's not CPU bottlenecking you should be worried about, games are very GPU-limited at such a high resolution. It wouldn't hurt to overclock the 3770K though.

What you should be more worried about is VRAM. 1536mb just doesn't cut it at that resolution. It doesn't make sense to SLI the 580 because VRAM is mirrored, not doubled.

If you're intending to max games out, 580 SLI wouldn't be enough GPU power anyway even if it wasn't VRAM bottlenecked. 7970 GHz edition doesn't cut it either, it's good for medium-high settings at that resolution. You should be looking at 7970 crossfire or GTX 670 4GB SLI overclocked.

 

[UaVaj]

given the application and these titles. cpu bottlenecking is more of an issue than gpu bottlenecking.

i can always pickup a pair of 690 and sli to cure the gpu bottleneck.

as for the cpu bottleneck. no way around. ~4.5 GHz seem to be the ceiling in terms of core speed. most of these titles only "fully" utilize 2 core. all the other available cores are on vacation. even an 8 core E5-2690 is of no help.

this is why i wanted to know how a 580 scales with an i7-3770k or any other cpu.

there is no need for 690 sli ($2000) when i7-3770k (2 core) can not even keep up with 580 sli ($400).

as for the resolution question. if i cannot have eye candy with 3 monitor 5760x1080. i will try to have eye candy with a large single monitor 2560x1440. life will still go on.

 

[boxleitnerb]

It depends what sacrifices you are willing to make for your target fps and what fps level you are aiming at. Btw it's not the end of the world if your GPUs are underutilized sometimes, provided you get the fps you want. Saves power and is less noisy. There is no reason to have 99% GPU usage all the time.

In the games and the resolutions you mentioned, you will most likely be GPU bottlenecked with 580 SLI almost all of the time. Depending on what fps you need, SC2 and BF3 could be still held back by the 3770K once you upgrade to faster GPUs. For example the 3770K will not maintain 120fps in BF3 even at 4.5 GHz.

Aside from all that:
I think now is a bad time to upgrade. I would expect GTX780 with 3GB and around 40% more performance than GTX680 in March or so. GTX780 SLI would be a much more potent solution than 580 SLI. If you can wait 3-4 months, do.

 

[UaVaj]

in any of those titles.

as for fps - 40 absolute minimum and 60-75 average.
as for settings - nothing less than all maxed out.
as for resolution - 3 monitors 5760x1080 is very very very nice, however 1 monitor 1920x1080 is sufficent.


IMHO - given the desire fps above. 3 monitors 5760x1080 with eye candy max setting is simply not possible. just simply not enough cpu power. the game engine needs to be updated to take "full" advantage of those other available idling cores.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

as for the cpu bottleneck. no way around. ~4.5 GHz seem to be the ceiling in terms of core speed. most of these titles only "fully" utilize 2 core. all the other available cores are on vacation. even an 8 core E5-2690 is of no help.

your other cores are in a parked state, that's all i'm going to tell you

 

[boxleitnerb]

in any of those titles.

as for fps - 40 absolute minimum and 60-75 average.
as for settings - nothing less than all maxed out.
as for resolution - 3 monitors 5760x1080 is very very very nice, however 1 monitor 1920x1080 is sufficent.


IMHO - given the desire fps above. 3 monitors 5760x1080 with eye candy max setting is simply not possible. just simply not enough cpu power. the game engine needs to be updated to take "full" advantage of those other available idling cores.

Except Starcraft 2 in heavy battles, the 3770K should be completely able to get you 40+ fps all the time. Probably even 60 if you overclock it a little.

 

[imaheadcase]

I run SLI 580s at 1900x1200. If you want to use just one monitor its a perfect setup. my 2600K @4.8ghz runs most games out over 50fps. BF3 is only one i play on list you have, but easily over 60fps on it.

 

[UaVaj]

thanks for the input.

looks like SLI 580 is what i need for now. one monitor will have to do for now.

necessary hardware is definitely available. intel i7-3970X (dual cpu mb) and GTX 690 (quad sli). sadly none of the titles here can make full use of such hardware. hopefully in the future when "software utilization" catches up. i will be able to run all 3 monitor with eye candy.