Gtx 480 sli in 2014?

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Azard

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Feb 20, 2014
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I'm just wondering what performance I'm able to get if I buy two gtx 480s (I know they're old cards but scan UK sells them £80 new) to sli in 2014 at 1080p resolution and at 720p resolution. Will most games still run maxed out or am I at the tail end of their life cycle. I do need this build to last a few years and this is probably the only way I can get better than gtx 680 performance for under £500. Thanks!
 
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They'll be very powerful for 720p, and should still handle 1080p well.
Don't go any higher than 1080p though, and avoid high levels of antialiasing because 1.5GB is not cut out for 1440p or extreme antialiasing.

However, keep in mind running video cards in SLI always has some stability issues and you may encounter unusual performance fluctuations in certain games, especially ones not well optimized for SLI.

For reference...

GTX 480 = GTX 570 = GTX 660
So it's similar to running 2x GTX 660s in SLI, just with less VRAM and higher power consumption.
http://gpuboss.com/gpus/GeForce-GTX-660-vs-GeForce-GTX-480
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They'll be very powerful for 720p, and should still handle 1080p well.
Don't go any higher than 1080p though, and avoid high levels of antialiasing because 1.5GB is not cut out for 1440p or extreme antialiasing.

However, keep in mind running video cards in SLI always has some stability issues and you may encounter unusual performance fluctuations in certain games, especially ones not well optimized for SLI.

For reference...

GTX 480 = GTX 570 = GTX 660
So it's similar to running 2x GTX 660s in SLI, just with less VRAM and higher power consumption.
http://gpuboss.com/gpus/GeForce-GTX-660-vs-GeForce-GTX-480
 
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kenny3105

kenny3105

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The GTX480 is still a powerful card the only drawback you will have is power consumption they can pull almost 300 watts per card trust me i know so a good quality psu is needed 850 watt minimum and heat can make them loud when the fan spins up at peak temp they can hit 85 - 90 degrees C.
 
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Yep, I mentioned stability issues.
 
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iam2thecrowe

iam2thecrowe

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I say avoid. A very inefficient card the 480 is, let alone 2 of them. your talking about a 750w psu to run them. And as has been mentioned, no matter how powerful, having less than 2gb vram is an issue. Let us know your full system specs when asking this type of question, it will help greatly with recommendations. Cheers.
 
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Eggz

Eggz

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The 480 has the same performance as the 750 ti, which does fine in 1080p games. Granted the 750 ti does have 500 GB more of VRAM, but I'm not sure it (nor the 480) have the processing power to fully utilize it anyway. The 750 ti is only $150 new, though it can't do SLI. That said, you might be able to get a pair of 480s for about the cost of a single 750 ti. In that case, I'd say it's a pretty good cost-to-performance scenario. Games that can't use SLI generally aren't the most demanding titles, so a single 480 would likely be able to run them. For games that can use SLI, you'll get pretty solid performance, as others have pointed out, on par with a 770. For the money, it's hard to beat (see e.g. this eBay listing for a pair of EVGA 480s currently at $130: http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-EVGA-NVIDIA-GeForce-GTX-480-015-P3-1485-AR-1-5-GB-GDDR5-SDRAM-PCI-Express-/261478707476).

When it comes to combingation of performance, stability, compatibility, and power efficiency, however, you'll likely need to spend more money on a modern single GPU to get the best balance. This decision will mostly depend on your budget. Good luck!
 
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The GTX 480 has a bit better performance than the GTX 750 TI. More comparable to a reference GTX 660 or a GTX 750 TI FTW.
 
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Eggz

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From what I've read, they trade by slight margins depending on the application. Nothing super noticeable (see e.g. Tom's GPU chart . . . just one of many examples). But even assuming the 480 were hands-down faster (which I don't think it is), that would serve to prove the point even further. A pair of 480s for the price of a single 750 ti is a great deal! I mean, the 480s would eventually cost more than a newer card because of the power consumption, but I doubt OP intends to keep them forever. He's only looking to spend about $150, maybe less. Even though I'm an advocate of a single powerful card being generally better, I don't think you can find that type of performance for that price in any single card. If my computer's graphics were bogged down and I only had $130-$150, I'd definitely be hitting up eBay for a pair of these things - if nothing else, to hold me over until I save up for a single card that kicks ass.
 
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Azard

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Feb 20, 2014
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Guys thanks for all the replies and yep I did consider the increased power consumption and sli ready motherboard and I've decided to just get two used r9 280x and crossfire them instead. That should be complete overkill at 720p and probs ready to take on 2k in the future. Thanks guys
 
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