Upgrading soon- GTX 670 SLI or GTX 780?

TomDuffus · Dec 16, 2013

I already have a GTX 670, so upgrading to the GTX 670 SLI build would be pretty cheap. My other option is selling my GTX 670 (for whatever its worth) and buying a GTX 780. The biggest issue that presents itself to me is that I am very much a "smoothness"-whore I guess. I've never played on a SLI computer, and I don't know if the microstutter is going to really bother me. I really love fluid 60 fps wherever I can get it. Obviously the cheaper option is to buy another GTX 670, but could someone tell me how bad/noticeable the microstutter is on SLI GTX 670s?

My current build is
GTX 670
i5 3570k CPU
16 GB Ram
64bit Windows 7
1,000w PSU

MysteryINC · Dec 16, 2013

Microstutter was solved by nVidia ages ago. Only certain AMD cards in CFire still have this problem.

woltej1 · Dec 16, 2013

well the 670s would give better performance, but what resolution are you playing at?

TomDuffus · Dec 16, 2013

1980x1080, never higher

EvgaLover · Dec 16, 2013

get the 780. If you sli 2 cards, the second card will perform like 20% - 50%

MrAMD · Dec 16, 2013

I say get another 670 GTX SLI mode give you 75 % and save money and wait 980 GTX 8 GB GDDR6

TomDuffus · Dec 16, 2013

So wait, is it 20-50% more speed or is it 75% more? I mean what sort of difference am I gonna be seeing from getting another GTX 670? (In games which support SLI of course) also, do my GTX 670s have to be exactly the same? (brand etc etc)

woltej1 · Dec 16, 2013

As you get higher and higher res, the advantage of sli goes up, so performance is getting close to double. As long as you don't need to upgrade any other hardware go for SLI, nvidia has it ironed out pretty smoothly. As for the cards they don't have to be exactly the same brand, but it doesn't hurt. Also matching the clock speeds is a good idea.

TomDuffus · Dec 16, 2013

okay good stuff. So there should be no micro stutter at all right? As I said, i'm only ever running a 1080p monitor for the foreseeable future. Does that mean my FPS gains will be similar to if i just got a single GTX 780?

woltej1 · Dec 16, 2013

2 670s will be faster. For example, in BF3 at 1920x1200, 670s hold a 30+fps advantage, but the 780 still puts up 90fps.

TomDuffus · Dec 16, 2013

just to be clear- microstutter is gone, correct? I mean outright non-existent, because as I said I am a "smoothness" whore.

woltej1 · Dec 17, 2013

Yea, I have no personal experience with SLI but from what I've read people say it hasn't been an issue for a long time with SLI.

MrAMD · Dec 17, 2013

yeah go for another 670 GTX make sure you match the same model and memory sized and clock speed. I wouldn't go with like evga and pny. cause pny make there own memory or sometime they do buy same reference design. Like Asus have a Derct CU and the EVGA have a classy never know they are different little bity parts inside of it could cause little bit of problems like gaming and matching the SLI mode and BIOS are not the same or anything out of the ordinary.

Ponyface · Dec 17, 2013

i recently upgraded to a gtx780TI from dual-570's. i now realise how powerful that setup was, in real world performance, without fraps to see the fps, i cant really notice much difference... those dual 570's would have lasted me until the next generation had i been a bit more patient. ran all the latest games at ultra settings with generally over 60fps
.
dont get me wrong, i regret nothing, i had the spare cash and my setup is MUCH quieter and cooler and im sure my psu is breathing a sigh of relief. so if i were you i would get a second 670 and skip this generation, then go all out when the 880 or whatever comes out

juanjostorreshernndez · Dec 17, 2013

I prefer single card solution, only if you are looking at triple monitor gaming, or a 4k monitor, might sli/cf will be needed.
Even that is now changing with triple monitor support on top end cards and stronger single card solutions.

1-Dual gpu support is dependent on the driver. Not all games can benefit from dual cards.
2-Dual cards up front reduces your option to get another card for an upgrade.It will often be the case that replacing your current card with a newer gen card will offer a better upgrade path.
3-Dual gpu's do not always render their half of the display in sync, causing microstuttering. It is an annoying effect.
4-The benefit of higher benchmark fps can be offset, particularly with lower tier cards.
5-Case cooling becomes more of an issue with dual cards. also the noise is higher.
6-Your psu costs are more expensive too.

The GTX780 is a tremendous card, I dont think you need more, for gaming at 1080p for the next 2~3 years

huilun02 · Dec 17, 2013

Another 760 would be a more economical way to upgrade, but no microstutter doesn't mean no problems with SLI.

Like juan said, running two cards takes more power and produces more heat. You will have to throw both cards to make another upgrade. And the 2gb vram limit will hurt when you finally decide to get a bigger monitor.

So I'd suggest selling your 760 and get the 780.

Also, your 1000W PSU is overkill.

TomDuffus · Dec 17, 2013

"3-Dual gpu's do not always render their half of the display in sync, causing microstuttering. It is an annoying effect." Seriously does microstutter still cause issues or not? Everyone is contradicting one another.

TomDuffus · Dec 17, 2013

huilun02 :

670s, not 760s. Also, I said I will NOT be upgrading to a new monitor until far, far into the future (at least 4 years or so) please read carefully.

huilun02 · Dec 17, 2013

No microstutter, but there can be other problems with SLI.

No one here is going to guarantee you there will not be problems, no matter what you go with.

TomDuffus · Dec 18, 2013

I don't need a guarantee, but there seems to be a lot of contradictions on the whole "microstutter" thing. Some people say it exists and is awful, others say theres no such thing anymore. I'm very confused, as right now thats the only think turning me off the 2-card setup (cheaper, better fps, dont need a bigger monitor etc etc)

huilun02 · Dec 18, 2013

Microstutter is not an issue with SLI anymore.

RobCrezz · Dec 18, 2013

Worth bearing in mind that you could sell your gtx 670 for a good price still, so doing that and buying a gtx 780 might be better in the long run, although the SLI 670s will ultimately have higher performance.

Upgrading soon- GTX 670 SLI or GTX 780?

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