Crazy to run dual cards?

[MonKENy]

I am using a Panasonic TC-P50S60 50-Inch 1080p 600Hz Plasma HDTV as a monitor.

It would prob be a waste but Ill confirm. Im slightly debating getting another card to run SLI. I really want to know what real world numbers actually are? Do x2 cards = x2 FPS? Is it as clear cut as that?

Think about Games like Witcher 3, Batman AK, MGS5 etc.

 

[digitaldurandal]

Metal Gear Ground Zeroes and likely the full product on release maxes out at 60 fps. SLI is not going to help you much there. I was unable to locate any SLI benchmarks for Witcher 3 but SLI may be helpful if you want to enable hairworks etc. I don't believe Arkham Knight has benchmarks available yet. It is supposed to be more demanding that the previous games but even so a 680 was able to max settings in the old games at 1080p with AA.

In general SLI gains probably about 1.8x FPS with exceptions of course. Some titles do not play nice with multiple cards and you will find there are a few games you will have to disable it for.

What resolution are you playing at currently?

It is likely that a better upgrade for you at this time would be to think about investing in a high quality monitor. It will last you longer than SLI 980s will.

 

[MonKENy]

I am using a Panasonic TC-P50S60 50-Inch 1080p 600Hz Plasma HDTV as a monitor. I forgot that some games dont like dual cards. I just want my Games to play @ 60fps with everything maxed out. I am a little bummed out there is no W3 benchmark tool.

 

[TemjinGold]

Are you currently NOT getting 60fps on 1080p?

 

[kasakka]

For 1080p I don't think it's worth it. Your current GPU should be plenty. At 1440p you pretty much need a Titan X or at least 970 SLI to run at high fps + high image quality.

Fps doesn't double with two cards but can come pretty close. Caveats are that some features like MFAA may not work in SLI and for example DSR doesn't work in SLI if you have a G-Sync display connected.

 

[MonKENy]

I don't know what fps in getting because there is no overlay. How would I find out what actual fps I'm getting in game. Steam has an overlay but w3 is launching through gog.

 

[guskline]

1080p=no
1440 or above=yes

Sorry, let me clarify. For 1080p dual GTX980s would probably be a waste of $$.

For 1440 resolution or above the extra HP of SLI/CF does help. Does 2 gpus double framerate? Absolutely NOT. I think studies show AT BEST 80% improvement on a few games but most are 60-70% more fps.

 

[guskline]

It would prob be a waste but Ill confirm. Im slightly debating getting another card to run SLI. I really want to know what real world numbers actually are? Do x2 cards = x2 FPS? Is it as clear cut as that?

Think about Games like Witcher 3, Batman AK, MGS5 etc.

Your PSU might be marginal for 2 GTX980s in SLI

 

[boxleitnerb]

1080p=no
1440 or above=yes

Nope, you cannot say that. Depends on the fps he wants. And one has to consider tomorrow's games as well.

@OP:
If SLI works and if you're not CPU bound, it often scales very well (80-90%).

BUT...

The perceived performance is not always 80-90% better. This depends on the fps rate, the game engine and your perception. Having had two SLI setups in the past 5 years, my experience is that AFR on average gives about 50% more "perceived fps" than a single GPU.

 

[guskline]

boxleitnerb, my experience is based upon GTX 660 SLI, GTX 670 FTW SLI, 6970 CF and now R9 290 CF.

 

[boxleitnerb]

boxleitnerb, my experience is based upon GTX 660 SLI, GTX 670 FTW SLI, 6970 CF and now R9 290 CF.

So? What is it exactly that you are disagreeing with? The resolution thing?

I had my 1080p screen since 2009 I think and it was a blessing to game at almost always 60 fps (vsync with fps limit for reduced input lag). Less than 45-50 fps in SLI/CF is terrible in most games, much to microstuttery for my taste. On the other hand, 30-40 fps with SGPU is too slow (input lag) for me too, so the benefit of SLI was always there, even at 1080p. And if there were games that ran perfectly fine at 1080p with only one GPU, I could add/force HBAO, SGSSAA, downsampling (original method, not DSR)...

 

[moonbogg]

OP I can tell you that just playing BF4 maxed at 1080p with one GTX 670 felt like crap. I had to have SLI enabled or else it sucked, but then again I was using a 1080p 120hz monitor. This makes a significant (critical) difference. If you have a 60hz screen, then much of the benefit from having two cards is literally wasted because you don't experience that additional FPS.
On the other hand, If you simply want to ensure that you stay at your max refresh of 60fps/hz, then go ahead and get another 980. I'm sure it will help keep you closer to where you want to be, but if you are currently getting around 50fps, I would not buy another 980 just to experience the extra 10fps while your rig is trying to pump out 80fps while your monitor refuses to let you experience those extra frames.

 

[MonKENy]

ill run some FPS checks when I get home. It may be useless to run dual cards. And honestly Ill wait until Batman AK to really decide. Thats my most anticipated game coming up with the division a close second. But with the division being pushed to 2016 I know the demands will be much higher than I'll have.

 

[guskline]

I probably would wait until the release of the GTX980 TI to see if it pushes the GTX980 prices down some before making the purchase.

 

[MonKENy]

Ill wait until after AK releases and benchmark it with my setup and see how it goes,

 

[MonKENy]

Im getting between 45-60 FPS with everything turned on and up. I will prob get a card when AK comes out so I can play that at a buttery smooth 60fps

 

[MonKENy]

Yeah so after a few weeks playing I notice im getting high 50's touching 60 MOST of the time. And thats with Hairworks off and some other things like DOF and the like turned off.

I will wait and see how BAK runs but Im thinking of going with Mfenn's idea of a 290x but double up on them. It will still cost about the same as my current card and Ill just pass my card over to my son when I build him a new PC in a few weeks
That is of course if BAK even supports Crossfire.


What do you think about that?

 

[RussianSensation]

Yeah so after a few weeks playing I notice im getting high 50's touching 60 MOST of the time. And thats with Hairworks off and some other things like DOF and the like turned off.

I will wait and see how BAK runs but Im thinking of going with Mfenn's idea of a 290x but double up on them. It will still cost about the same as my current card and Ill just pass my card over to my son when I build him a new PC in a few weeks
That is of course if BAK even supports Crossfire.


What do you think about that?

Not a good idea.

1. BAK is a GameWorks title and it will have PhysX and other GameWorks effects that will surely run way faster on NV's Maxwell than AMD.

2. R9 290X CF makes little sense in the context of $650 980Ti (and Fiji PRO/XT cards launching June 16th). Irrespective of AMD's new cards, 980Ti OC ~ R9 295X2 but the single 980TI OC will be that fast in all games, not just in games that require CF/SLI. Which is why spending $540+ on 290Xs isn't worth it.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/9306/the-nvidia-geforce-gtx-980-ti-review/17

 

[tential]

I'd say wait to see where the GTX 980 lands after the new cards come out. Maybe you can pick one up cheap used as a person drops their card for a new Fiji model or a Titan X or 980 Ti.

 

[MonKENy]

I was also looking at dual 970s for 324 each free shipping its tempting

 

[Fox5]

I run dual 970s on a 1080p plasma hdtv. I started with 1, but it's just not enough to run games maxed out at a solid 60fps @ 1080p are maxed out settings. Far Cry 4, the Witcher 3, and GTA5 were all struggling, even at only 1080p.