4k gaming requirements ?

robertisha

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Jul 1, 2012
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Ok so here is the deal..I recently quit photography and sold my gear. And now have few cash 2 burn. I am thinking about 4k tv and couple good video cards. My video cards are good. But not good enough for 4k. I have 3770k gtx 680 ftw edition 4g sli. 16g of ram. Asus Maximus v extreme..seasonic psu 1050 w. And I have dell 32 inch 2k monitor. My question is. What would be the best sli configuration out of the new video cards in the market right now. I would be happy with 40fps and 60fps maxed out. Is it possible? money is not an issue. But definitely not Titan z lol. And do I need a new psu ? Because I really love my seasonic. And wondering if 1050 w are good enough for 2 of the new video cards. Thanks in advance. Cheers guys.
 
Solution
It all comes down to what you'll be playing, if it's a TV or a Monitor and the refresh rate of that display.

Gaming in 4k is the equivalent of trying to play 1080p across 4 displays. 4k will require a load of gpu cores and a lot of video memory, plain and simple. Another thing to consider is that SLI'ing isn't a 1:1 performance increase, you're usually only getting about 75% out of each card because they're trying to work together to render a continuous picture. Also, it doesn't double your video memory count - it will only see the video memory count of a single card. That's why they started building cards with SLI'd GPUs on a single card to try and compensate for the inability to pool video memory across 2 cards.

Your power supply...

game junky

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It all comes down to what you'll be playing, if it's a TV or a Monitor and the refresh rate of that display.

Gaming in 4k is the equivalent of trying to play 1080p across 4 displays. 4k will require a load of gpu cores and a lot of video memory, plain and simple. Another thing to consider is that SLI'ing isn't a 1:1 performance increase, you're usually only getting about 75% out of each card because they're trying to work together to render a continuous picture. Also, it doesn't double your video memory count - it will only see the video memory count of a single card. That's why they started building cards with SLI'd GPUs on a single card to try and compensate for the inability to pool video memory across 2 cards.

Your power supply should be fine unless you have a crap load of drives, a massive cooling element and dual Titan cards. So, a pair of 780ti's will get you the GPU power you would need to push 4k but 3GB of video memory will be very limiting for games with lots of texture effects and mod layers like Skyrim. I initially hoped Nvidia would release a 780 ti with 6GB of memory since they release a 780 with double the ram but I kinda doubt they're going to release that this late in the cycle since they're working on Maxwell. So, if you wanted to be able to play at a high frame rate on 4k res on a game with lots of added effects options, you're stuck looking at a Titan or TitanZ. I think an individual TitanZ is OP enough to destroy 4k gaming regardless of the title for at least the next 2-3 years.

Next, the display - there are a lot of different monitors starting to release that support 3840X2160 but the refresh rate and connection requirements seem to vary from display to display. In some cases, you'll need 2 separate display port connections from the GPU to your monitor. Ideally, you want one of the ones with a 60hz refresh rate. Most of the 4k TVs on the market are going to support 60 Hz, 120 Hz, 240Hz or 480Hz - depends on the quality. Pretty sure most of those will function via a single HDMI cable, but I haven't tried connecting one yet so I will have to check.
 
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robertisha

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Jul 1, 2012
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that was very informative..i truly thank you for that..as for drives i have 4ssds and one hdd and 2 cd roms ..as for a monitor i am planing to get a 50 inch 4k tv ..i think 4k is better viewed on large screen ..i am probably getting this one
http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/lg-electronics-lg-49-4k-120hz-3d-ips-led-smart-tv-49ub8500-chrome-49ub8500/10292471.aspx?path=91582bf8b40ef000e5b81c0a141b0d46en02
and if you think 780ti is limited by 3g of vram..what do you think about Radeon R9 290X amd XFX Black Edition?..should the heat be a my main concern ..or maybe i add a third 680 ftw edition ..thanks again..i really appreciated..cheers
 

game junky

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3GB is enough for most games, but there some current titles (like BF4 on Ultra w/ AA & MB, Skyrim on max settings w/ mods, etc.) and likely some games on the horizon will exhaust that 3GB quickly @ 1080p. I haven't used the R9 series yet but spec-wise it seems comparable and they do have options with more vram available. As long as you have solid cooling fans in the case pulling hot air away from that area of the motherboard, you shouldn't have any problem with the card overheating - they make card cooling solutions but unless you're going to overclock the card you shouldn't need to resort to something like that. Graphics cards are always the most painful part to buy because you have the option of spending nearly a grand to get hardware that will be able to handle anything with ease that in 2 years will be worth 50% of what you purchased it for or you can spend $500 and get something that won't be able to handle what you're ideally wanting to do in 2 years. I have always resorted to a single card config at the time of creating a new build and SLI'ing down the road when the card price drops and my GPU performance need increased. If you start with an SLI'd config, then you're going to have to replace both cards when you're ready to upgrade and that gets real expensive
 

oxiide

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If I were in the market for a new high-end monitor today I'd be looking at the awesome 1440p @ 120 or 144 Hz options available. 4K is still a bit impractical and inelegant for my tastes, and requires an absurd amount of video hardware. 1440p is a really good spot to be in with current high-end hardware, and I think you'll have an easier time getting an amazing gaming experience. Just throwing my own opinion out there.
 

game junky

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We're getting close to the point where you have to have a huge display to notice substantial differences in pixel density. 4k definitely looks cleaner, but not as big of a change to my eye as going from 1080i to 1080p or DVD to Bluray on those same displays. Every time any new video standard is released, the displays and players intended to play that media are crazy expensive. Usually, it takes 2 years before the costs are to the sweet spot where the average consumer is willing to test the waters. For TVs, we went from project to LCD to LED in various 1080i, 720p, 1080p configurations. We already know manufacturers are prepping for 8k displays - hopefully once those have hit the consumer market for well south of 10 bills, we'll see 4k displays with a decent feature set in the $1500 range for a 55"

I am a cinephile but I am also a cheapskate so I will be waiting patiently for a steal of a deal
 

robertisha

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i already have dell ultrasharp 32 inch 1440p 60hz tho..but my main problem is the size 32 is kind of small for me..and those 1440p dont come in bigger sizes a 40inch to 50inch would be perfect for me..thank you replaying..cheers
 

robertisha

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the thing with 4k is. bigger is better there is so much pixels..that you really need a big screen to see the true quality of 4k ..here in canada lg 4k led ips 3d 120hz goes for $1900 which is not bad for 50 inch screen ..sure is gonna go cheaper ..but patience is not one of my virtues ..ill get the 4k display and see how good my 680 sli well do..wont have high hopes..ill probably take your advice and try 780 ti or even amd r9 series couple of them..on my gtx 680 ftw edition 4g i get almost 45 to 50 fps at some high settings playing crysis 3 ..but im pretty sure 2 780s well outperform them....well keep everyone updated..thanks so much once again i really and highly appreciate your informative input..cheers
 
4k gaming doesn't need any more than 2-3gb vram if your using fxaa/smaa.... hardware anti aliasing is somewhat pointless at this resolution, and extremely costly performance wise. sli 780s or cfx 290s will do it. the 290s will cost a bit less, but with higher heat, much less overclocking potential, and normal crossfire issues.

your seasonic power supply is a beast and more than capable for what you need.

as far as using a television class monitor for 4k, like said, you need to research them and find one that actually does 4k@60hz with the connectivity options that nvidia and amd offer.

still though... sustained 100fps or higher at 1440p for the 120/144hz models is easily equal to or more demanding than 60fps@4k. good luck finding a 2 gpu setup that will run battlefield 4 maxed out at 1440p and be able to sustain higher than 144fps... it wont happen.
 

robertisha

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Jul 1, 2012
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actually a 60fps an i am very happy man :) ..i mean you have to admit playing games at 4k and 50 inch screen is tempting and i am not much of an online guy more of a solo guy i love campaigns..i will give 4k a try i have nothing to loose ..i mean soon everything will be 4k. like movies sports and stuff so buying a 4k tv is a win win situation..plus if games are 2 demanding then ill just play them at 2k with 50 inch monitor .thank you very much..i appreciated..cheers
 


well depending on the game maxed out, 60fps solid at 4k is going to be tough... your likely to be closer to 40fps. there are quite a few benchmarks out showing 4k sli/cfx numbers... though there are always some adjustments to be made that can boost fps. im my previous post, i was merely comparing how equal the horsepower needed is when comparing 60fps@4k to 120fps@1440p.
 

robertisha

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Jul 1, 2012
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Thank you everyone .who took my the time to write down and help me choose. I end up ordering the amd radeon diamond r9 295x2 finger crossed will keep everyone updated. Cheers and wish you all. A happy weekend. Thanks again.
 

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