Sign in with
Sign up | Sign in
Your question
Solved

Upgrading to GTX 680 SLI Worth It?

Tags:
  • Gtx
  • SLI
  • Graphics
Last response: in Graphics & Displays
Share
October 8, 2013 7:09:22 PM

Hi everyone,

New on this forum so I'm glad to meet everyone! I have gathered that this community is really nice so I thought I'd ask my question here. Anyways, I have a single GTX 680 2GB version running on my rig. I was THINKING of upgrading to SLI 680's because the benchmarks state that i can get 50% or more performance with having 2 680's instead of 1. Now, if I do this, I'd need to upgrade my motherboard too.. I was looking for something in the 100 dollar range that supports 1155 sockets and has USB 3.0 support because my current MOBO has USB 3.0 AND 3.0 a expansion slot for my card.With all that being said, will the 2GB of VRAM be enough for future games? Currently BF4 is out and its pushing the limit of having 2GB of VRAM so I don't want to upgrade to 2 680's SLI to only be able to play current games at crazy FPS, if you understand what I mean. Any help on all of my wacky questions would be appreciated.

My current Setup:
Intel Core i7-3770 3.4GHz
EVGA GTX 680 2GB Overclocked
700 Watt PSU
16Gb of DDR3 RAM @1600MHz

Thank you,
Alex

More about : upgrading gtx 680 sli worth

October 8, 2013 7:12:04 PM

It would be nice if we knew that your current system specs were, in particular, your motherboard.

-Wolf sends
m
0
l
October 8, 2013 7:14:57 PM

Wolfshadw said:
It would be nice if we knew that your current system specs were, in particular, your motherboard.

-Wolf sends

Sorry I honestly forgot.
My current Setup:
Intel Core i7-3770 3.4GHz
EVGA GTX 680 2GB Overclocked
700 Watt PSU
16Gb of DDR3 RAM @1600MHz
m
0
l
Related resources
October 8, 2013 7:17:15 PM

Quote:
... in particular, your motherboard.


-Wolf sends
m
0
l
October 8, 2013 7:20:47 PM

Phillyfan112 said:
Hi everyone,

New on this forum so I'm glad to meet everyone! I have gathered that this community is really nice so I thought I'd ask my question here. Anyways, I have a single GTX 680 2GB version running on my rig. I was THINKING of upgrading to SLI 680's because the benchmarks state that i can get 50% or more performance with having 2 680's instead of 1. Now, if I do this, I'd need to upgrade my motherboard too.. I was looking for something in the 100 dollar range that supports 1155 sockets and has USB 3.0 support because my current MOBO has USB 3.0 AND 3.0 a expansion slot for my card.With all that being said, will the 2GB of VRAM be enough for future games? Currently BF4 is out and its pushing the limit of having 2GB of VRAM so I don't want to upgrade to 2 680's SLI to only be able to play current games at crazy FPS, if you understand what I mean. Any help on all of my wacky questions would be appreciated.

My current Setup:
Intel Core i7-3770 3.4GHz
EVGA GTX 680 2GB Overclocked
700 Watt PSU
16Gb of DDR3 RAM @1600MHz

Thank you,
Alex


Wolfshadw said:
Quote:
... in particular, your motherboard.


-Wolf sends


Holy dump.. Haha sorry. But I honestly don't know. It came with a reference ASUS built computer. It's fairly nice but cannot run 2 cards. There 2 slots but the other won't work. If that helps any.. I need sockets 1155 for ivy bridge i7

m
0
l
October 8, 2013 7:22:19 PM

System model number?

-Wolf sends
m
0
l
October 8, 2013 7:25:38 PM

It's not worth doing in my opinion. You're eventually going to want more video RAM and you'll be stuck in a situation were you want to upgrade for more vRAM but the GTX 680 in sli will perform so well that it will make the decision to upgrade much more complicated than it needs to be. I'm in a similar situation with my SLI 470's. I would like to upgrade to HD 7970 for more vRAM but the GTX 470's play all my games great and that makes my decision to upgrade more complicated. I'm concerned that 1.25GB is too little for the new games coming out soon.

Also I'm pretty sure you would need to upgrade that PSU too to at least a high quality 850 watt unit.
m
0
l
October 8, 2013 7:27:06 PM

Dark207, I am in the same situation as you, I run 2 680s now
m
0
l
October 8, 2013 7:28:49 PM

forget it, its too much trouble, just see if you can sell your 680 and buy a new 780 or something, I never recommend SLI on a low-end motherboard, because it makes small issues with sli (i.e. microstuttering) more pronounced. Also, if your gaming on 1080p, a 680 should be enough.

I find single cards to be "smoother" then sli, almost always.
m
0
l
October 8, 2013 7:30:23 PM

Dark207 said:
It's not worth doing in my opinion. You're eventually going to want more video RAM and you'll be stuck in a situation were you want to upgrade for more vRAM but the GTX 680 in sli will perform so well that it will make the decision to upgrade much more complicated than it needs to be. I'm in a similar situation with my SLI 470's. I would like to upgrade to HD 7970 for more vRAM but the GTX 470's play all my games great and that makes my decision to upgrade more complicated. I'm concerned that 1.25GB is too little for the new games coming out soon.

Also I'm pretty sure you would need to upgrade that PSU too to at least a high quality 850 watt unit.


Yes I realize that I would need another PSU too. But the gtx 680 is only 300 dollars used and 330 dollars new on eBay. I would like some other answers as well, but know that I am taking yours into great consideration on my decision
m
0
l
October 8, 2013 7:31:22 PM

oczdude8 said:
forget it, its too much trouble, just see if you can sell your 680 and buy a new 780 or something, I never recommend SLI on a low-end motherboard, because it makes small issues with sli (i.e. microstuttering) more pronounced. Also, if your gaming on 1080p, a 680 should be enough.

I find single cards to be "smoother" then sli, almost always.


I actually game on a 1600x900 (20") monitor

m
0
l
October 8, 2013 8:11:03 PM

For the resolution you are playing at I wouldn't recommend it, The 680 you have is plenty for it , 680 SLI at 1600x900 is overkill.
I suggest you upgrade your monitor before you do your gpu.
m
0
l

Best solution

October 8, 2013 10:07:42 PM

My sli 470's play BF4 at 1600x900 on the high preset and get an average of 60 FPS. On the ultra preset I got an average of 51 FPS. vRAM usage was 1271MB on the Ultra preset at 1600x900. I think you're going to be ok with your GTX 680 on BF4 since your GPU setup is a bit more powerful than mine. At 1080P Ultra preset is about 30 FPS average with lots of sub 20 dips. I don't consider Ultra playable at 1080P but the high preset does great averaging 58 FPS. With your resolution and graphics card you should do awesome on Ultra at 1600x900 in BF4.
Share
!