Is SLI even worth it?

eden2012

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Jul 26, 2012
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Here's my dilemma. I'm building a new rig and can't decide to go for the Evga P2 1000w[ $280 USD]( So I can SLI in the future) or just save a lot of cash, get the Corsair AX760[ $140 dollars USD] and with the money I save, if i buy the Corsair psu, wait, get the 780ti 6gb edition that is coming out soon. When I first buy the rig I plan on buying ONLY ONE 780ti and if i get the EVGA psu, get another 780ti in the future when I get a 1440p or 4k monitor. BUT if i get the Corsair psu, and with the money saved, get the 6gb edition to future proof my ONE 780ti for the 1440p or 4k monitor I plan on getting in the future. (I can only SLI the 780ti's if I get the more expensive EVGA PSU, the Corsair will be under the recommended wattage for 2 780ti's, obviously)

Keep in mind that if I get the 780ti 3gb and the Evga psu, with plans of SLI'ing it with another one , not all games support SLI so I'll be stuck with ONE 780ti 3g as opposed to ONE 780ti 6gb.

I don't want a hair of micro-stuttering so should I not even bother trying to SLI?

I saw the 780ti 3gb 4k gaming performance and I wasn't pleased with the framerate( well it can be good but i don't want to crank down the graphics) so do you think the 6gb is going to make it a lot better, relieve the 4k pains away? I CAN get the 780ti 6gb( KEEP IN MIND THE 6gb EDITION IS NOT YET RELEASED BUT HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED BY EVGA) with the EVGA psu and if i did SLI, enjoy the SLI games, but if a game didn't support it, just disable one of the GPU's and I'm right back where I would be if I opted for the one 780ti 6gb...but of course for A LOT heftier price tag.

Also, my next monitor, be it 4k or 1440p, will probably have G-sync which can in turn gain fps because I can turn of V-sync.

If I had one 780ti 6gb edition( with the Corsair AX760) would that be enough for 4k gaming? Please help.

I know what I wrote sounds confusing; and it is, but i need help.

And if more Maxwell GPU's are announced tomorrow at Nvidia's GDC talk, how long do you think it would be until we saw the Maxwell equivalent of the 780ti 6gb edition?

Here is the source for the 780ti 6gb edition:
http://wccftech.com/nvidia-preparing-gtx-780-ti-6gb-edition/

There are multiple sources, even EVGA came out and confirmed a 6gb edition for the 780 and then later said the 780ti too. ( No, I'm not talking about the Kingpin edition)

I won't get the build until October 2014, so maybe high end Maxwells will be 4k oriented?
 
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i would get GTX 780 non ti version and get 2 of them better performance and not much more in price then single GTX 780 ti
3gbs should be fine for up to 4k as you only need 1gb for 1080p i run 2 3gbs card with eyefinity with no vram problems
I think the power supply is dependent on whether your rig is going to be in sli. If you going sli, go with the 1000w power supply. A 6 gb 780ti would be a waste of money based on the benchmarks the Titan black produced. For 4k gaming, I would recommend sli 780ti since it is so demanding at high levels of detail. Max settings 4k gaming is out of the reach of modern hardware and waiting for Maxwell isn't the worst idea, but I wouldn't expect Maxwell to fix the preformance issues with 4k, it may take a few years before any sli configuration can max out every game in 4k.
 

bowzef

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SLI in Quad or Tri maybe... but not 2 you will need 3 cards i suggest 3or4 290s and Overclock them. just make sure your mobo can do 3 or 4 asus maximus v formula does 3 way sli i suggest liquid cooling them or get a big blower on side of ur case like me to cool them
 

eden2012

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So, I may be for realistic and get a 2k monitor (2560 × 1440), will the 780ti 6gb be more beneficial at that point?
 

eden2012

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So, I may opt for 2k instead ( 2560 × 1440), would a 780ti 6gb edition be a lot more optimal at that point? I can SLI 2 780ti 3gbs but then I'll be limited to 3gb of VRAM and lower performance for non-sli games. So......
 

eden2012

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Jul 26, 2012
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So, I may opt for 2k instead ( 2560 × 1440), would a 780ti 6gb edition be a lot more optimal at that point? I can SLI 2 780ti 3gbs but then I'll be limited to 3gb of VRAM and lower performance for non-sli games. So......
 

eden2012

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But more resolution means more vram usage. One of the main complaints of the 780ti was that it didn't have enough vram for higher resolutions(2k or 4k) and massive amounts of Skyrim mods slows it down...

I am shooting for 2k though.
 

eden2012

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Jul 26, 2012
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But more resolution means more vram usage. One of the main complaints of the 780ti was that it didn't have enough vram for higher resolutions(2k or 4k) and massive amounts of Skyrim mods slows it down...

I am shooting for 2k though.
 

bowzef

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i would get GTX 780 non ti version and get 2 of them better performance and not much more in price then single GTX 780 ti
3gbs should be fine for up to 4k as you only need 1gb for 1080p i run 2 3gbs card with eyefinity with no vram problems
 
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