760 sli or single 780 + mATX motherboard

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HunterW

HunterW

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Nov 11, 2013
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I'm looking to get a new graphics card or cards. Should I go with two 760's running in sli, or should I go with a single 780?

Also, how big of a power supply would I need that would also give me a little wiggle room?
What would be a good mATX motherboard on the cheaper side that supports sli and has a matte black PCB?
 
Solution
geofelt
I would always go for a single good card if it will do the job.

Here is my canned rant on planning for dual cards:
-----------------------------Start of rant----------------------------------------------------
Dual graphics cards vs. a good single card.

a) How good do you really need to be?
A single GTX650/ti or 7770 can give you good performance at 1920 x 1200 in most games.

A single GTX660 or 7850 will give you excellent performance at 1920 x 1200 in most games.
Even 2560 x 1600 will be good with lowered detail.
A single gtx690,7990, GTX780ti or R9-290X is about as good as it gets for a single card.

Only if you are looking at triple monitor gaming, or a 4k monitor, might sli/cf will be needed.
Even that is now changing...
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HunterW

HunterW

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Nov 11, 2013
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I completely forgot about my cpu. It's an i5-2500, the socket is LGA 1155, and I would overclock some, nothing major. Most benchmarks that I've seen in games I play claim that the 760's in sli give better performance.
 
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varun_02

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Nov 26, 2013
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If you intend to overclock then you will have to change the cpu to a 'k' version and probably get a 4670k.
 
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geofelt

geofelt

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Oct 9, 2006
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I would always go for a single good card if it will do the job.

Here is my canned rant on planning for dual cards:
-----------------------------Start of rant----------------------------------------------------
Dual graphics cards vs. a good single card.

a) How good do you really need to be?
A single GTX650/ti or 7770 can give you good performance at 1920 x 1200 in most games.

A single GTX660 or 7850 will give you excellent performance at 1920 x 1200 in most games.
Even 2560 x 1600 will be good with lowered detail.
A single gtx690,7990, GTX780ti or R9-290X is about as good as it gets for a single card.

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.

b) The costs for a single card are lower.
You require a less expensive motherboard; no need for sli/cf or multiple pci-e slots.
Even a ITX motherboard will do.

Your psu costs are less.
A GTX660 needs a 430w psu, even a GTX780 only needs a 575w psu.
When you add another card to the mix, plan on adding 200w to your psu requirements.

Even the most power hungry GTX690 only needs 620w, or a 7990 needs 700w.

Case cooling becomes more of an issue with dual cards.
That means a more expensive case with more and stronger fans.
You will also look at more noise.

c) Dual gpu's do not always render their half of the display in sync, causing microstuttering. It is an annoying effect.
The benefit of higher benchmark fps can be offset, particularly with lower tier cards.
Read this: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-geforce-stutter-crossfire,2995.html

d) dual gpu support is dependent on the driver. Not all games can benefit from dual cards.

e) dual cards up front reduces your option to get another card for an upgrade. Not that I suggest you plan for that.
It will often be the case that replacing your current card with a newer gen card will offer a better upgrade path.
The Maxwell and amd 8000 or 9000 series are due next year.
-------------------------------End of rant-----------------------------------------------------------
dual GTX760 cards will want a 700w psu.
A single GTX780 will want a 575w psu.
Since your cpu is ivy bridge, lga1155, here is such a M-ATX sli capable motherboard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157300
 
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Solution
HunterW

HunterW

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Nov 11, 2013
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Overclocking the card, not my cpu.
 
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geofelt

geofelt

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Graphics card vendors are wise to overclocking.
They bin their chips and use the best ones in their factory overclocked cards so they can be sold at a higher price.
I think you get fair value from a factory overclocked card, and would not bother trying to eke out a few % more performance.
 
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HunterW

HunterW

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Nov 11, 2013
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I like all of these answers. Consider this, what if I could get a single 760 very soon, and then add the 2nd 760 when I get the money, or wait until I save up the money for a single 780? Which do you think would be the better deal then?
 
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varun_02

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Nov 26, 2013
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If that;s the case i would have bought the 760 and waited for another one.
At last it comes to personal preference.
:)
 
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enemy1g

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Oct 3, 2013
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As it's probably been said already, two 760s ARE faster than a single 780. However power consumption and heat come into play as well.

Personally, I would (and have) go with a GTX 780. If you are wanting to SLI in the future and want to get the PSU now, I would grab a Corsair AX860.
 
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