Why SLI Sucks

[cchalogamer]

As someone who has run several nvidia cards in SLI over the years and only one set in crossfire I feel that I'm somewhat qualified to make the statement that SLI sucks. (I would say the same for crossfire but it's been years since the last time I used it and that wouldn't be fair) 

 

Why you ask?

 

1. Performance is very hit or miss and with every new game expect double the time to get drivers ironed out along with the SLI profiles to make everything happy. 

 

2. Half the time you have an issue with SLI the answer you get back across the internet is Multi-GPU setups never work right and if a single card works fine then SLI is to blame that's just that no fixing it right now. 

 

3. It's expensive, but I could easily argue if I had run my GTX 670 with another in SLI and put it up against a GTX 780/Titan/780ti I would have been faster and cheaper at times in the past

 

4. If something small breaks it will half work and drive you nuts after having an already bad weekend.

 

Number 4 is what prompted me to type this up...it's not really a useful post in that I'm not trying to say do or don't use SLI, but if you choose too prepare for fun unless you are one of the lucky 5% that never have real issues (honestly I ran GTX 260 core 216s in SLI and only had trouble out of them ONE time that was so hard to fix I had to disable SLI for a week).

 

Some of you may have already seen that my GA-Z77X-UD5H "ultra durable" decided to let me down after I talked about how wonderful a board it was just a few days before on this very forum.

 

Well I bought a GA-Z87X-UD5H just over a week ago to replace the Z87-K in my main rig and now in the course of just a few days use something's already broken on it. What i hear you ask? Just the simple little SLI bridge it comes with.  I was getting poor results in BF4 last night with SLI enabled (3-12 FPS) then back to 70+ disabled, then issues enabling SLI this morning. Finally got it "working" and ran a quick benchmark:

 

 

Oh yay SLI enabled but with performance that's closer to the Intel 4600 integrated (OK maybe not THAT bad lol)

 

Here's another guy's single GTX 770 from another forum that I was using as a reference point (seeing as my OWN reference point from the single GTX 770 is saved on one of the drives in the dead computer from the other thread and I'm lazy.

 

 

Now SLI had worked on this PC very well the night a put this motherboard in and after much reading, debate and speculation I tried something that I had already done one more time with closer inspection as it kept coming up again and that was the SLI bridge and to reseat it.  Well THIS time I paid attention while doing so and behold, one of the connectors is VERY loose and doesn't seem to be making solid contact with the video card, for now I flipped the bridge over and forced it to bend in an odd way and now I get this:

 

 

Now to see if Gigabyte can send me a new one or if I want to try and source one of the "old" style solid connectors that never game me troubles over the years to fit this board.

 

If just one person out there running SLI with games stuttering, performing terribly and worse than a single card finds this thread and this fixes it all that typing was worth it.  If not then I at least got to shout about it on the internet and for some reason that makes me feel a little bit better. [/rant]

Edited December 9, 2013 by cchalogamer

[ClayMeow]

#2 has always been the main CON for me. The first thing I ever tell someone that experiences a problem with a game with a multi-GPU setup is to disable SLI/CrossFire and see if the problem still exists. This is especially true of indie games, where devs simply don't have the resources to test SLI and CrossFire configurations and thus don't code for it.

[Bosco]

I have been very lucky to have min problems with SLI. CF has not been as friendly but its getting better.

[mattyamdfanboi]

I haven't had any issues with either SLI or Crossfire really.. minimal issues anyway

 

if its just a bridge, then just get another one?

[Puck]

Maybe I am just lucky, but I have been running crossfire rigs since the external dongle X1900 days and there was only ONE game that ever game me worse performance with the second card then without it (Champions Online). Sure, not all games benefit, but it never made my system slower except on that one title.

[Black64]

I've had the same problems with both SLI and CF. I don't like or dislike either one. But I won't use either one. One powerful card is always the way to go.

[VaporX]

I have not been a fan of either solution. Basically if a game likes the solution you get nice gains, if not you basically lose use of one card. This hit and miss can be a pain in the arse. I always suggest spending more on one single card over two lesser cards.

[Crow47]

Unfortunately I have to agree with some of the other members here and say I've been lucky enough to not have any issues with my dual card setups. 

 

I'm running one right now, and I am extremely happy with the performance I'm getting. I purchased my first 670 about a year ago, and I just added the second one when I found a deal I couldn't pass up on eBay. I spent easily a third of what I would've buying a single 780.

 

As to stability, I find the lion's share of games I play support SLI just fine, and the others it's no worse than not having the additional card. 

[cchalogamer]

Unfortunately I have to agree with some of the other members here and say I've been lucky enough to not have any issues with my dual card setups. 

 

I'm running one right now, and I am extremely happy with the performance I'm getting. I purchased my first 670 about a year ago, and I just added the second one when I found a deal I couldn't pass up on eBay. I spent easily a third of what I would've buying a single 780.

 

As to stability, I find the lion's share of games I play support SLI just fine, and the others it's no worse than not having the additional card. 

 

That's the joy of it and hell I'm sitting here with two GTX 770s that even with 2GB of video ram limitations is better than any single card I could currently buy so here I am and I didn't spend it all at once (actually I got the second card more or less for free *shh don't tell anyone*) 

 

Oh well had my fiancee's mother fall down and hit her head on the sidewalk so I ended up driving well over an hour round trip and around town because of that and grabbed the Z77X-UD5H box that contains the SLI bridge from that board so when this one give me problems again (or next time I pop the side of the case off here) I can swap it.

[slick2500]

Last time I had an SLI setup was back in the socket 939 days. Had duel 7800 GTs. Only issue I ever had was when Windows Vista first came out it didn't support SLI, once you installed the Nvidia drivers the screen would display black when you booted unless you disabled SLI.

[ir_cow]

My only problem with SLi ever was when installing the second card . You have to make sure and wipe the previous drivers.

 

I did however find one powerful card to give less framerste and shutting issues and as for Crossfire, I've tried it twice over the years and it has never work . Either would not show the CF option or preformed horrible in games. Sli on the other hand I've done it a number of times over the years with very minor problems .

[IVIYTH0S]

My first "SLI" setup was a disaster, I had a 9800GX2 and it ran like absolute garbage. My friend's 8600GTS ran games better in my own system, if the 9800 would even start the games lol.

I got a 4870 and was damn happy, but I did have a 4870x2 and 5970 after that with not issues (until the 5970 was sold quick after it QUICKLY hit a vram limit in Skyrim). I imagine the GX2 was more to blame than SLI itself but I still use it as my story that "anyone can make shitty drivers"

 

Doesn't mean I didn't enjoy my 260 for a while or my cousin's 460 for a bit.