Is SLI worth the trouble?

[dpodblood]

I've always bought the fastest single card I can buy simply out of fear that if I have an SLI/Crossfire setup it will be plagued with issues. Every time a new release comes out we hear about SLI performance issues, or games without proper SLI support that require you to scale back to a single card. And then there's the dreaded "micro-stutter" that I want to avoid at all costs?

So at the end of the day is SLI really worth it for the average person? Is it really only worth getting into if you are trying to do something special like 4K, 3D, Surround, etc?

 

[toyota]

how is anyone going to give you any information that has not been said a million times? nothing has changed and SLI will have more issues than a single card just like before. dont worry someone will pop in here claiming to have always run SLI and never have an issue. they are full of crap because its impossible to have never had any game or driver issue related to SLI if they actually play games.

 

[MongGrel]

At the end of the day or before just stop.

more Micro stutter BS.

 

[rgallant]

just saying

then there are times like the bf3 release where 20k+ of peeps were crying that they could not run the game in ultra settings after spending their life savings [money spent was always quoted] on 1 gpu and a new cpu/system.
while my sli 580 and the cf = , had no issues.
-some might say that was priceless.

 

[TreVader]

SLI will probably have slightly better game support. Crossfire has better scaling, but both are great if you go dual GPU. Anything more than 2 cards you start to get diminishing returns.


IMO SLI/CFX is worth it if you have multi monitor or 4k.

 

[Fastx]

I also am thinking about possible SLI down the road ( poss. 1440?) and I'd also be interested in hearing from current SLI owners/users maybe list the games you play with no problems, ones with problems and your games that didn't support SLI. I am selective on games and don't buy a ton of games and I would currently be interested to hear specifically about BF4 & Crysis 3 in 700 series SLI?

Looking forward to C4.

 

[mango123]

i had 2x 7970 for a short period of time.

I had some stutter issues. I know people with xfire and SLI setups, they all have a little stutter..


needs a lot of tinkering, pain to setup, consumes alot of power, IMHO I could not justify keeping the 2nd card especially since some of the games actually performed LESS fluidly with xfire. I sold the 2nd card.

 

[MongGrel]

Frig I still have a EVGA GTX 260 216 on the HTPC I used to have another on many years ago on another system on SLI.

Try it or don't I guess, Tom's hardware seems to have posted something awhile back that started this whole micro stutter crap.

 

[bystander36]

My rule of thumb:
If you can get the performance you want from a single GPU (not a dual GPU single card), that is your best option, exceptions on some extreme cards like a Titan.

If you want more performance than a single GPU can give, then SLI/CF high end cards.

I do not like the idea of getting high end performance from two mid ranged cards. When SLI/CF isn't well supported, then you be stuck on a mid ranged or lower card's performance. At least with high end cards, you are getting the max performance you could have gotten without SLI.

 

[rgallant]

it's old but I usually look here for quick sli 780sli vs 780ti sli
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/gtx_780_ti_sli_geforce_review,19.html

 

[lavaheadache]

I have run probably 50 crossfire and sli setups. If I were to give advice I would say don't do it. I find that even when it works perfectly I'm am still monitoring the crap out of everything to make sure I am getting my monies worth.

I just threw in the towel on trying to figure out my mouse stutter/sli problem. I tried everything you could try aside from different cards.

 

[Carfax83]

Long time SLI user here, so I can give my 2 cents..

To me, SLI is only worth it if you:

1) Play at resolutions above 1200p, or want to play games at very high IQ while maintaining high frame rates.

2) Have a very fast CPU; preferably an overclocked i7.

3) Have good airflow in your chassis, or use water cooling for the GPUs.

4) Play with V-sync turned on. Only applies to games where the frame rate is much higher than the monitor's refresh rate, which are most games provided you're using a 60hz monitor..

The last three will mitigate a lot of the issues most people have with multi GPU, like micro stutter and hitching..

Of course there will be things that you cannot control, such as immature SLI profiles, and certain games that just don't run well with multi GPU.. But for the most part, those issues eventually get resolved through patches, driver updates etcetera..

So you may have to wait a little longer to get the best performance out of SLI in a title, but if you like to play at high resolutions and high IQ, then the wait is a small inconvenience.

That said, I personally do not notice microstutter on my system provided I have V-sync turned on. That doesn't mean it doesn't occur, but not everyone notices it..

 

[escrow4]

No. Just buy a GHz 780 Ti or the Maxwell equivalent eventually and game problem free. No stutter, no driver irritation (beyond initial drivers and game bugs). It may push 16x MSAA but the vast bulk of options will be turned up. 2 cards, eh.

 

[Jacky60]

I'd say yes SLI or CF is worth it if you play games that struggle to give good fps with the best single high end card and you have a good or very good CPU. There will always be some issue with some game with SLI or CF BUT if you really value image quality and fps then I say yes. However the 'average' person should probably steer clear and carry on playing console ports on their mid range machine.

 

[Silverforce11]

Its worth it when you run higher res as its the only way to run modern games well. 1080p, CF and SLI is pure overkill and not worth the hassles.

 

[Puffnstuff]

I ran 480 sli for 4 years and during periods of intense graphics I had microstutter. Now I run a single 780 ti and guess what I no longer have?

 

[biostud]

I've run my first CF setup (7990) for half a year and found out the following. (I've had VoodooII 12mb in SLI )
1. It generates lots of heat.
2. If I turn vsync on my games feels like they're stuttering
3. I get much better frame rates than my GTX 670, so even the most demanding games can run with max settings (Except SSAA)
4. Not all games scales well.

I'm happy with choosing a 7990 because I got it new for a very competitive price (only 30% more than the 290), and I was aware of the limitations of the technology.

 

[Pandamonia]

I have 780 GTX SLI and have no issues. The only problem i have is Steam Early access games seem to only use 1 GPU.

 

[Attic]

Long time SLI user here, so I can give my 2 cents..

To me, SLI is only worth it if you:

1) Play at resolutions above 1200p, or want to play games at very high IQ while maintaining high frame rates.

2) Have a very fast CPU; preferably an overclocked i7.

3) Have good airflow in your chassis, or use water cooling for the GPUs.

4) Play with V-sync turned on. Only applies to games where the frame rate is much higher than the monitor's refresh rate, which are most games provided you're using a 60hz monitor..

The last three will mitigate a lot of the issues most people have with multi GPU, like micro stutter and hitching..

Of course there will be things that you cannot control, such as immature SLI profiles, and certain games that just don't run well with multi GPU.. But for the most part, those issues eventually get resolved through patches, driver updates etcetera..

So you may have to wait a little longer to get the best performance out of SLI in a title, but if you like to play at high resolutions and high IQ, then the wait is a small inconvenience.

That said, I personally do not notice microstutter on my system provided I have V-sync turned on. That doesn't mean it doesn't occur, but not everyone notices it..

That pretty much nails it.



And I'd say yes, SLI is worth it if you can afford it and meet the above. You want stupid fast frames at crazy high details right?,.... RIGHT?

Where feasible I think SLI and xFire (especially with the new Hawaii chips) is the shizznittlebam, though you do need to go the extra mile for setup (heat concerns, CPU speed, GPU choice).

 

[guskline]

Had 2 EVGA GTX670 FTWs in SLI in my rig below and they were fast and solid. Replaced them with a single GTX780 Classified.

They are now in rig2 with a 3770k @4.5ghz. Still fast and solid.

 

[Yuriman]

Back in late 2007, I picked up a pair of HD3850's for a screaming deal to pair with my Q6600, but I primarily did not run them in Crossfire. I was playing EVE Online at the time and would often have two clients running on different screens, one screen per card. When using CF I had no complaints sans one: games needed to be run fullscreen in order for CF to function. I never noticed microstutter, and everything else I played, scaled.

In late 2008 I picked up an HD4870 at a great price to replace my 3850's (which I then sold and made a profit on) and found I actually lost performance in the games that I had bothered to use CF in, and also in EVE when running two clients. I threw a waterblock on my 4870 and appreciated the noise reduction though.

In early 2012 I paired the 4870 with my current 3570K.

In late 2012 I got a second HD4870 for $10 and ran them in CF for about 8 months. It was a pain having to switch from fullscreen-window to actual fullscreen, but Skyrim / Civ5 / GW2 all stayed at 60FPS+ where they had been in the 40's with a single card.

In mid 2013 I replaced my HD4870's with a 7850 which I got for $180 (and made about $100 in bitcoins on before losing interest) and sold the 4870's for $120. I lost performance in GW2 and Civ5 but was able to mod Skyrim due to the extra VRAM. It's also nice that I can again run my games windowed.

Around Christmas, I picked up a used 7850 for my wife's PC for $120. I figure when I get a new card, I'll CF the 7850's in her machine.


Overall, my experience with CF has been very positive. It gives value to cards that otherwise might be struggling to keep up with the latest games, and leaves a cheap upgrade path. Other than my wife's 7850, I think I've actually profited on my video card upgrades overall since 2007. Maybe right now is the time to sell the 7850's?

 

[dn7309]

I got gtx 660 at launch. Was able to play any game af the time. Year and a half later I got 1440p monitor I was able to puck up another gtx 660 half the price and SLI it have the juice for 1440p, no problem except the cards run hotter