SLI v Upgraded Card for 2560x1440 Gaming

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Darryl Godden

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Sep 27, 2013
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Hi everyone,

I have to say I'm more than a little confused. I've read a number of threads on this forum about FPS increases, some saying a better GFX card is the single most effective way to get better frame rates and other saying SLI is the way.

Let me explain my scenario.

I bought a nVidia GTX 670 GFX card last year, around the same time I bought a Dell 27" 2560x1440 monitor.

Playing games like DayZ, Arma 3, BF3 etc.. I get a mix of frame rates. Arma 3 is the worse and perhaps can be the most forgiven as it is so new, I get between 10 and 20. DayZ was the next one to cause concern coming in around 20-40 and finally BF3 which hovers 40-50.

I play other games like Left4Dead (1 & 2), War Thunder, Guild Wars 2 etc... all of which returns FPS rates around 45-60.

I have friends who play the same games who report FPS rates as high as 80-100 in some of those games. None of whom are running higher resolutions than 1920x1080.

My questions are these:

1. nVidia extol the virtues of SLI (they would), saying "Why is an SLI-Ready PC an Intelligent Investment? No other PC component upgrade can offer even close to the gaming performance boost gained from adding a second graphics card." (from this page http://), I've read the same on other threads, is SLI the best option for resolutions over 1920x1080?

2. If not SLI, what would be your minimum GFX card upgrade, for a single card, to help with frame rates at 2560x1440?

Thank you very much for your time.
 
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grebgonebad

grebgonebad

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Jun 15, 2012
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Hey there!

The reason for the lower frame rates on your 2k monitor is because the GPU is having to render more pixels for the image than on a 1080p monitor. Think about it like this, if you had a 10x10 grid and a 20x20 grid, which would take longer to colour in? Crude example I know. =) So put simply, your GPU is having to work harder to render the image.

Ahh, the old, SLI upgrade over GPU upgrade debate. I've had so much fun with these. XD

It all depends on what sort of performance increase you are looking for, mainly. I persoanlly have 2 x EVGA FTW 670's in SLI in my rig, and this is because those 2 cards outperform a single TItan. Bearing in mind that you can buy 2 670's cheaper than 1 Titan, it's a significant saving for more performance. But this doesnt always work. As you have a 670, I would strongly suggest simply buying another 670 if you can afford it, as the performance gains will amount to more than enough to run all of those games at 60+FPS. I'm getting around 180FPS in B3 for example. You will still have to tinker with the graphical settings of each game to get the optimum configuration, because even 2 670's isnt enough for max settings @60FPS for alot of games now days. For this though I would suggest you download GeForce Experience, whihc is a program that will scan your PC for your games and set the optimum settings for your system configuration.

If you were not sold on buying a second card for SLI, there are several cards you could buy whihc offer more performance, but if you are looking for an increase in performance of around 80%, then most of the cards will cost more than another 670 ayway. For example, you could just go and get yourself a 780, which has similar performance to a Titan, but at a lower price, but you can still get a second 670 for less money and end up with more performance overall.

If you ahve any more questions just ask. =)
 
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Darryl Godden

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Sep 27, 2013
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Hi grebgonebad,

Thanks for your answer, which makes sense, I think my next stumbling block if I were to go down the SLI route, would be power. I'm currently running an Antec True Power 650w, which I believe wouldn't be enough to power the two cards plus 5 drives, Blu-Ray player etc...

Cheers.
 
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grebgonebad

grebgonebad

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No problem at all, its what im here for. =)

If you were to SLI then yes, I would assume that 650W would be insufficient, however it does depend on the rest of your system hardware. If you could post a complete list of your system specs, including any OC'ing where appropriate, we can easily determine what size PSU would be optimal.

Alternatively, you could just go to this site:

http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

I have used this site countless times and I have yet to have been given a bogus figure. I do, however, always buy a slightly more powerful PSU anyway, just in case and for any upgrades that I may do in the future (Extra drives, fans, ect.)

For example, I used this site when I did my last PC upgrade and it said that my PC's top power draw would be about 750W. So I bought a 850W to be safe. No problems so far! (Touch wood).

If it did turn out that you needed a bigger PSU, but didnt want to splash the cash, you could always go out and buy a good make 300W that you could run things such as the drives such from, and have your 650W spare for the GPU's and Mobo? Just a thought, as I did this with a friends build. They needed a bigger PSU, but didnt have the £100 or so to spend, so they spent £40 on a second, smaller one instead. =)

If you do go down the SLI route, and need some help with that, I'd be happy to oblige.
 
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