GTX 780 - Should I SLI?

[Ryanrenesis]

I came across a great looking deal on Craigslist for a second-hand Zotac AMP! GTX 780 for $275 Canadian.

Is it worth to grab it and SLI with my own EVGA GTX 780 ACX at that price?

Will it last me a long time? I noticed the GTX 580 SLI barely beats a single GTX 780. You think this trend will continue with a single x80 Pascal card being as fast as two GTX 780s?

Anyone here with a GTX 780 SLI can chime in on whether you loved or regret your SLI decision? And why? Does Nvidia still update or support SLIs of a previous generation on the newest games?

I'm running 1920x1080 @ 120Hz, the reason I want to SLI is because I want to hold constant 120FPS on all games at max settings. I currently average around 80-90 FPS on Crysis 3, Shadow of Mordor and Far Cry 3, but I can dip as low as 55 FPS occasionally.

Help please!

 

[KaRLiToS]

I would buy it right away. GTX 780 SLI will be good for a big while.

You think this trend will continue with a single x80 Pascal card being as fast as two GTX 780s?

^^This is NOT the way to think, you will end up always waiting and waiting.

 

[toyota]

I dont know what settings you think you are running now as you certainly dont average those framerates in those games on max settings.

 

[Ryanrenesis]

I dont know what settings you think you are running now as you certainly dont average those framerates in those games on max settings.

Well everything is max'd in Crysis 3 except I use SMAA. In Shadow of Mordor, everything is max'd except for Shadows High and Ambient Occlusion High. Far Cry 3 everything is max'd except for 2x MSAA.

What's wrong with my FPS numbers? Is it bad? I see you have the GTX 980 so you definitely will get a lot better FPS than me. Still, my GTX 780 is OC'd 38%.

Still wondering if Nvidia will support future games with the 780 SLIs or will they be forgotten?

 

[toyota]

Well everything is max'd in Crysis 3 except I use SMAA. In Shadow of Mordor, everything is max'd except for Shadows High and Ambient Occlusion High. Far Cry 3 everything is max'd except for 2x MSAA.

What's wrong with my FPS numbers? Is it bad? I see you have the GTX 980 so you definitely will get a lot better FPS than me. Still, my GTX 780 is OC'd 38%.

Still wondering if Nvidia will support future games with the 780 SLIs or will they be forgotten?

no your numbers are a bit too high for an average. at least for Crysis 3 and Far Cry 3 as I dont own Shadow of Mordor. you must be testing in area thats not demanding.

 

[Ryanrenesis]

no your numbers are a bit too high for an average. at least for Crysis 3 and Far Cry 3 as I dont own Shadow of Mordor. you must be testing in area thats not demanding.

Oh, well it's not really accurate, it's just a guesstimate of my average FPS. I'm really only sure about my minimums and maximums: I go from 55-110 FPS in those games.

One thing I know for sure is I never drop below 55 FPS in Crysis 3, 70 FPS in Far Cry 3, and about 55 FPS as well on Shadow of Mordor.

 

[KaRLiToS]

I dont know what settings you think you are running now as you certainly dont average those framerates in those games on max settings.

Can you answer the OP? Or we have to argue for a couple of numbers again.



Ryanrenesis, since you have a 120hz monitor, you deserve higher average FPS. Do you want that card? GET IT !!

 

[xgunnas]

Shadow of mordor and Far Cry 4 is what i'd use for reference, if the SLI scales nicely you are looking at about 90-100fps, i really don't know if a 750w PSU is enough though. If you have to upgrade your PSU it's probably better to wait for a better single card.

 

[Ryanrenesis]

Okay, so I tried my luck and lowballed him for $200 CAD and he's willing to let it go for that price.

I'm now skeptical if this card is even in working condition.

If I pay via Paypal, and he ships the card to me but it's defective somehow, will I be able to get my money back? Or am I screwed?

EDIT: It seems legit in that he has the actual card. I Googled pictures of Zotac AMP! GTX 780 and the picture he has in the listing is no where to be found on Google.

 

[toyota]

Can you answer the OP? Or we have to argue for a couple of numbers again.



Ryanrenesis, since you have a 120hz monitor, you deserve higher average FPS. Do you want that card? GET IT !!

once again all you do is stir up crap with me. really please stop replying to me if thats all you can do.

 

[PhIlLy ChEeSe]

Yer good to go with PP, if the deal goes south Whine loudly they will pay shipping.
Only concern with be the age of the GPU and the warranty, not sure on second parties. I have 2 Asus 780 TI DCII flashed to go higher, I really only play Bf3 alil BF4. Don't have a great monitor so can't give feedback on a 1440 or what ever they are. I mostly bench.......
I'm very happy with them on a 1080 display, was gonna water cool them in a separate loop but just lazy lately.

 

[guskline]

Ryanrenesis: For that price and what you want to do I would get it. I have 2 R9 290s in CF in my rig below and I have 2 GTX670 FTWs in SLI in my 3770k rig. Both setups really help keep the fps higher.

 

[Insomniator]

No worries about 3GB on the 780's?

I have one now, don't currently play anything that requires another one for me, but have been wondering if jumping on another one down the line as they get cheaper would be worth it.

 

[n0x1ous]

I have been a 780 sli user @1080p 120hz for the past 6 months and I can tell you a couple things. First, its worth it as long as you have the CPU power to push it to 120hz. No AMD CPU will get the job done no matter how high its overclocked. You need a modern overclocked intel cpu (if you want to play bf4 multiplayer anyway.....)

I have had a trouble free experience with my sli setup as I have always had with sli. I recently moved up to a korean 1440p @ 96hz and in BF4 max im just able to hit that with both gpus over 90% utilization. In BF4 @ 1440p max Im using around 2600mb of VRAM so you should be ok on the VRAM front if you plan on staying @ 1080p.....

I say go for it.

EDIT: Looked at your sig - you good on the CPU front!

 

[KaRLiToS]

I have been a 780 sli user @1080p 120hz for the past 6 months and I can tell you a couple things. First, its worth it as long as you have the CPU power to push it to 120hz. No AMD CPU will get the job done no matter how high its overclocked. You need a modern overclocked intel cpu (if you want to play bf4 multiplayer anyway.....)

I have had a trouble free experience with my sli setup as I have always had with sli. I recently moved up to a korean 1440p @ 96hz and in BF4 max im just able to hit that with both gpus over 90% utilization. In BF4 @ 1440p max Im using around 2600mb of VRAM so you should be ok on the VRAM front if you plan on staying @ 1080p.....

I say go for it.

EDIT: Looked at your sig - you good on the CPU front!

Very good post. :thumbsup:

 

[Ryanrenesis]

I have been a 780 sli user @1080p 120hz for the past 6 months and I can tell you a couple things. First, its worth it as long as you have the CPU power to push it to 120hz. No AMD CPU will get the job done no matter how high its overclocked. You need a modern overclocked intel cpu (if you want to play bf4 multiplayer anyway.....)

I have had a trouble free experience with my sli setup as I have always had with sli. I recently moved up to a korean 1440p @ 96hz and in BF4 max im just able to hit that with both gpus over 90% utilization. In BF4 @ 1440p max Im using around 2600mb of VRAM so you should be ok on the VRAM front if you plan on staying @ 1080p.....

I say go for it.

EDIT: Looked at your sig - you good on the CPU front!

Thanks for sharing your experience! I decided not to buy from that guy selling his GTX 780 for $200 as I thought it was too fishy. He refused to meet up and only wanted to ship it. So, I'm going for another seller who's willing to let one go for $300 in person.

Is it still worth it for $300 2nd hand? Or should I wait longer?

 

[ragom]

thx I will buy intel cpu

 

[night.fox]

Okay, so I tried my luck and lowballed him for $200 CAD and he's willing to let it go for that price.

I'm now skeptical if this card is even in working condition.

If I pay via Paypal, and he ships the card to me but it's defective somehow, will I be able to get my money back? Or am I screwed?

EDIT: It seems legit in that he has the actual card. I Googled pictures of Zotac AMP! GTX 780 and the picture he has in the listing is no where to be found on Google.

I say get the 200 and pay thru paypal. You are covered with paypal's buyer protection policy.
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=xpt/Marketing/popup/UAeBay-outside

just remember, dont send money as gift or something. He has to declare the merchandise you are paying.

If he told you to send money as gift, then forget about it. Then something is fishy about it.

hope it helps

 

[Ryanrenesis]

I say get the 200 and pay thru paypal. You are covered with paypal's buyer protection policy.
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=xpt/Marketing/popup/UAeBay-outside

just remember, dont send money as gift or something. He has to declare the merchandise you are paying.

If he told you to send money as gift, then forget about it. Then something is fishy about it.

hope it helps

He is refusing to send me an invoice or have me pay as Goods, citing that "the fees are too high", and now wants me to send via email money transfer or money order. Definitely too fishy, I'd much rather pay $100 more for a guarantee in getting the product.

So, is $300 for a Zotac AMP! GTX 780 2nd-hand with 2-year warranty left worth it?

 

[n0x1ous]

With Black Friday right around the corner, I would wait and see what type of 780 clearance deals there are before jumping on this. $300 isn't really a good deal on a used 780 with the current market situation.

 

[BFG10K]

It's a waste of time buying a second card. It's old tech. Multi-GPU only makes sense if you're getting the fastest new generation GPUs available.

Sell your 780 and get a single 980.

 

[KaRLiToS]

It's a waste of time buying a second card. It's old tech. Multi-GPU only makes sense if you're getting the fastest new generation GPUs available.

Sell your 780 and get a single 980.

This makes absolutely no sense.

 

[BFG10K]

This makes absolutely no sense.

Which part are you having the most trouble with?

 

[hawtdawg]

780 sli should last you a while. I have oc'd 780's and i have no problems keeping the majority of games i've played at 120 fps plus @1440p with everything but AA cranked.

 

[Ryanrenesis]

It's a waste of time buying a second card. It's old tech. Multi-GPU only makes sense if you're getting the fastest new generation GPUs available.

Sell your 780 and get a single 980.

Ok the cheapest GTX 980 here in Canada is $607. If I sell my GTX 780 @ $300. I'll be spending $307 more to acquire the GTX 980.

According to the benchmarks below, even with the GTX 980, I won't be getting getting anywhere close to 120 FPS, even if dramatically overclocked to 1480Mhz/3954Mhz.

But if I acquire another GTX 780, I can practically double my framerates in many games:

In both cases, I'll be spending $300. But a single GTX 980 will only net me about 15% more FPS while GTX 780 SLI can net me almost 100% more FPS. Doesn't sound like a good choice to sell my GTX 780 and go single GTX 980...

What do you guys think?