780 SLI vs 980

[El_Capitan]

 

  However, if I want to utilize the high refresh rate of 110Hz for twitch-beneficial games, then I need to SLI/Crossfire two cards. 

 

Because lowering settings isn't an option

 

Never!

[wevsspot]

I hate SLI and CF, wait until the next "titan" comes out.

 

Hey Black, do you have some specific reasoning behind your statement or are you just being silly?  There are some drawbacks to multi-gpu setups; power requirement, heat, noise (maybe), lack of game or driver optimization.  But hate is a strong word..........................

[Nyt]

 

I hate SLI and CF, wait until the next "titan" comes out.

 

Hey Black, do you have some specific reasoning behind your statement or are you just being silly?  There are some drawbacks to multi-gpu setups; power requirement, heat, noise (maybe), lack of game or driver optimization.  But hate is a strong word..........................

 

 

You probably answered your own question. All those drawbacks are why many people prefer single GPU setups.

[wevsspot]

They are only drawbacks in certain situations......................  And certainly wouldn't apply to everyone.  Many (if not most) enthusiasts are already running grossly over-provisioned power supplies for their rigs that would easily support another video card.

 

Noise is dependent on the design and style of the gpu cooling asssembly

 

Heat may or may not be a problem depending on the size of the case, the case design, the model and brand video card being used.  Black didn't say he prefered single GPUs, he said he "hated" SLI and CF.  So I'm curious as to what drives his hate....................

[El_Capitan]

^ For me, the drawbacks don't outweigh the benefits. I'm curious as to why people "hate" it.

Edited September 23, 2014 by El_Capitan

[ClayMeow]

I hate it because to me, the drawbacks do outweigh the benefits.

[wevsspot]

Crow, looks like you're going to have to put it up for a simple vote    and then just go with the majority (or against the majority depending on which way the wind is blowing today).

[Crow47]

Well really the only point I'm hearing against the SLI setup are considerations like heat and power. Neither of these have an effect on me in any way. I have plenty of power and an airy case in a cool room. I've had four different multi-card setups over the years so the pitfalls are fairly well known to me at this point.

[l1il]

I would go with War saying "because lowering the settings isn't an option". Yea it does feel good to have graphics looking the way you want, plus you paid over 1500$ more than a console, so you expect some noticeable advantages over them. Yes, those damn pixels are just ugly to look at, aliasing is one of the worst thing when looking afar.

 

I think that for newer games, you don't have to wait as long as before to get SLI/XFire compatible, and is launch day compatible when game is optimized for your graphics chip. On a lot of sites they are saying that stuttering for SLI setups is negligible since the 480. The 780, being the smaller brother of the 780 Ti, doesn't consume as much power and could be a very good SLI candidate, as the 3GB is going to help as well as a sizable memory buffer.

 

If the ambient temperature of the room stays close to 30

[Bosco]

If your needs require Dual GPU's then there is nothing wrong with it.

 

The performance you gain is usually noticable, but if you are starting from scratch it can be a costly purchase no doubt. I have been running dual GPU's for quite a few years now and don't see myself going to a single GPU anytime soon.

[ClayMeow]

Well really the only point I'm hearing against the SLI setup are considerations like heat and power. Neither of these have an effect on me in any way. I have plenty of power and an airy case in a cool room. I've had four different multi-card setups over the years so the pitfalls are fairly well known to me at this point.

Actually the biggest one is optimization issues and lack of support. Big-budget titles may get driver updates eventually, but for smaller titles, multi-GPU setups can actually cause problems and require you to turn one GPU off, which completely defeats the purpose. Why spend money on something that you won't get the benefit of 100% of the time?

[Crow47]

 

Well really the only point I'm hearing against the SLI setup are considerations like heat and power. Neither of these have an effect on me in any way. I have plenty of power and an airy case in a cool room. I've had four different multi-card setups over the years so the pitfalls are fairly well known to me at this point.

Actually the biggest one is optimization issues and lack of support. Big-budget titles may get driver updates eventually, but for smaller titles, multi-GPU setups can actually cause problems and require you to turn one GPU off, which completely defeats the purpose. Why spend money on something that you won't get the benefit of 100% of the time?

 

 

That's quite true and a valid point. However, it all comes down to the games that I play, and a few months ago when I had SLI 670's there were only one or two games that didn't fully support SLI (*cough* Watch Dogs *cough*).