Single Gpu or SLI/Crossfire

ak195

Distinguished
What will be better, single GPU or dual gpu? I decided to buy "GTX750 OC Edition" but ignored it because it doesn't support SLI. Now i'm thinking of "HD7770 OC Edition" because it supports crossfire, and I need SLI/Crossfire supported gpu for future.

I'm confused. Someone says that SLI/Crossfire is not supported by many games and mostly new games are not supported. is it really true?

 
Solution
agreed.

if crossfire is supported two lesser cards can surpass a more expensive single card however if they arent supported then your frame rates drop like a stone. there is also the microstuttering to worry about.

generally going with a good strong single card is the best option.
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 high end Maxwell and amd 8000 or 9000 series are due the end of the year or next year.
-------------------------------End of rant-----------------------------------------------------------
 

ak195

Distinguished
I play games at max 1368*768 resolution. i have 650 corsair supply and dual pci-E supported gigabyte motherboard. Medium casing with one fan only.
So, due to microstuttering I think single gpu will be better. AM I Right or not????
 
Your 650w psu can support virtually any single gpu card, up to a gtx780ti.
Buy the strongest single card you feel comfortable paying for.
If or when it no longer does the job for you, sell it and replace it with one that does.

The reason dual gpu's have issues is because two independent cards will not be exactly the same and render their part of the display exactly in sync. Sometimes that is apparent, sometimes not.
How well dual gpu's are implemented is partly in the game code, and partly in the driver. Not all will do well.
Synthetic fps benchmarks will show up well, and that is what the sellers are touting.
It is much simpler to use a single card so long as it can do the job.
 
agreed.

if crossfire is supported two lesser cards can surpass a more expensive single card however if they arent supported then your frame rates drop like a stone. there is also the microstuttering to worry about.

generally going with a good strong single card is the best option.
 
Solution

enemy1g

Honorable
Go with a strong single card. The performance will be better, it will generate less heat, and use less power. The only time you should consider multiple GPUs if you can afford higher end GPUs to crossfire/SLI. Or if you need it for business needs, like 6-8 monitors.