Advice Needed: Upgrading GPU and should I upgrade any other components

You won't need to upgrade your CPU/ motherboard right away.

The i7-3770k is still plenty for most games, even on ultra. In the next few years you'll probably want to upgrade, but for now your current CPU paired with the GTX 980ti will play current games just fine (especially if you have a decent overclock on it).

The 3770k will run games just fine. ALl it needs to do is feed information to the GPUs fast enough, and the 3770k will be able to feed two 980 ti cards no problem. The only situation where it wouldn't might be if you have a game with bad coding that loads up a single core to the exclusion of the others. But that is unlikely unless you play DX9 games.

You mentioned a pair of 980 Ti's. Personally, I would be concerned with the i7-3770ks limit of 16 pcie lanes for any expansion. If that was a typo and you meant only one card, then you should be fine and won't really need to upgrade the CPU for a while.

Nah, he'll be good with two cards in x 8 each. That's all SLI needs, and there's no bandwidth limitation there. The only catch would be that he couldn't use any other PCI-e devices, but if he doesn't use any, then he's good to go. Also, not even the new Sklyake 6700k would allow both cards to run at x 16 each. He'd have to go to X99 or X79 for that, but there's no point just for gaming if he's already got a 3770k.

I'm not talking about x8/x8 limitations, I was talking beyond that. PCI-e SSDs, Network cards, Audio cards, etc could all interfere with those lanes and cause issues down the road. Having literally 0 lanes worth of fallback isn't ideal. Smashing a 980 ti into a x4 because your onboard ethernet or audio went out would be terrible.

Right. That's why I mentioned he would have to use no other PCI-e devices. That's just a limitation of not having an X99 or X79 system. Even Z170 on the new Skylake chips have a similar limitation, though not quite as much.

In any case, I don't think it's work upgrading the whole system. Motherboards have sound an ethernet. Anything else can be added on USB 3.0.

The answer to the question is, yes, it can work. Just be aware of the fact that SLI will not let you use any other PCI-e devices.

Correct, but that limitation had not been brought up before I posted, hence why I added it to the table. If the op is looking to future-proof, you might want to have those lanes. The next option always being to opt for a Titan X to keep the lanes open for a rainy day.

I saw a guy on Craigslist selling Titan Xs for only $500 each. He only has two. See link below. I'd get one but I just ordered one new for $700 yesterday.

http://kansascity.craigslist.org/sop/5295804304.html

The platform can, but the CPU overall determines how many lanes not the platform. The platform determines what it can go up to. Similar performance with a Titan as two 980 Tis, less power needed, less power from the wall, less headaches with SLI comparability. Less worry with lanes.

Umm, must interject. The 980 ti is about 90% as fast as the Titan X (more or less depending on game or program). Two of them is about 170% - 190% as fast as a single Titan X when SLI support exists. When it doesn't, you'll still be running a single 980 ti, so no huge deal. Point is, SLI 980 ti cards is almost twice as fast as a single Titan X. In fact, if you don't account for over clocking (i.e. just based on out-of-the-box performance), then certain 980 ti cards (e.g. Gigabyte 980 ti G1 Gaming or EVGA Hybrid 980 ti) are actually faster than the Titan X. Just something to consider.

SLIing 2 980 Ti's in a 16 lane PCI-E config while needing additional lanes for firewire and possible other expansions is a bad move. I would stick to a single Titan X. I have two Asus Strix 980 Ti's under water and they're great, but I have had issues with SLI compatibility. DirectX 12 could help some, but we won't really know until the coming years when new engines are created to run on it. At either affect, Your choice in processor, for me, has dictated a single graphics solution. The Titan X has double the VRAM as well which is very useful for running 4K games which would be the only deciding factor between 980 Ti's SLIed or a Titan X as nothing is going to tax them at 1080 and even 1440p.

If you're heartset on going SLI, I would say to spend the extra $300-$400 in your budget by getting the Titan X and new processor and motherboard with more lanes. Upgrade to Broadwell, Broadwell-e, or Skylake. Then you will have enough lanes and can grab another Titan X down the road. Two Titan Xs in SLI will be much more viable with the massive amount of VRAM for 4K gaming in the years to come.

That sounds exactly right to me. Keep in mind, though, that if you set any 980 ti and Titan X to the same exact speed, the Titan X will always be a little faster and have double VRAM. The 980 ti shines in value. It's 90% - 95% as fast as the Titan X while costing significantly less. That enables people to potentially get two of them for not much more than a single Titan X but have nearly double the performance of a Titan X (when SLI is working, which is most of the time).



I respectfully disagree. Telling people to shy away from SLI on the basis of a minor add-in card is not good advice, especially when you can get an easy solution around the problem like this usb to firewire plug for only $8.00. There are other options, but that is just one example. There are plenty of people with very stable and capable SLI configurations on a 3770k, and I wouldn't suggest that he should upgrade the entire platform with a new CPU and motherboard just to have both SLI and a firewire plug.

The only thing to look out for is when to replace interfaces currently using PCI-e (e.g. firewire) because the graphics cards are taking up all of the lanes (such as in SLI). But graphics cards are also the only things that NEED the PCI-e lanes. Everything else a 3770k can use allows for offloading the same interfaces to something other than PCI-e (e.g. USB 3.0 or SATA). He also doesn't have to worry about PCI-e storage, since his motherboard doesn't even support M.2, and he is fine with SATA. The PCI-e limitation on the Zxx chipsets like his really only matter in two cases: (1) when you need more than 2 GPUs, and (2) when you need PCI-e storage and two GPUs. Outside of that, there's room to support just about any desired configuration.

I'm not even going to get into the implications of using a usb to firewire plugin for someone that has a pci-e firewire card. Firewire is nearly exclusively used for professional audio equipment and can be a PITA by itself. Nevermind trying to us an adapter through USB which operates completely differently than firewire was ever designed.

A majority of SSDs are bottlenecked by SATA. PCI-E and M.2 drive are becoming more and more common and affordable. They're also one of the most noticeable performance increases you can add to your system. PCI-E lanes are not only used for storage in M.2 drives. There are PCI-E RAID drivers, SSDs, SATA Controllers, Network interfaces, Firewire, extra USB connections, audio cards, capture cards, etc.
You have been saying it is fine and he would have no trouble since the get go with two 980 Ti's in SLI. The OP is using a firewire pci-e device, this means one of the cards would be running in x4 and would be massively bottlenecked and would probably run slower in SLI than just the single card. We do not know the needs of the OP and your posts make assumptions and lead the OP to believe that they would be fine no matter what which is not the case.
The LGA 1155 platform is becoming antiquated. It's not long before you can't find new motherboards. What if his network card goes out? What if the USB controller stops working? What if on-board audio goes out? The OP will now have a $650 paperweight just because he wasn't informed properly to begin with. They would have to replace the entire board and possibly CPU if they cannot find another LGA 1155 or dismantle the SLI.

OP, honestly if you're not going to be gaming in 4K you don't even need the second 980 Ti so a majority of this conversation is a moot point, but even if that is your plan, I would not SLI unless you have a firm intent to upgrade your motherboard and CPU in the very near future. If you have any issues at all with any hardware on that board you're going to be in a bind and as someone who has built hundreds of systems, I never want to back myself into a corner. I'd suggest just a single 980 Ti as that will be plenty for everything but maxing games out at 4K. Even then most games are playable.

I’m all for the latest and greatest. There’s no question that X99 and Z170 are better, faster, and more robust than OP’s current platform. But it just seems like OP is trying to simply build the best 1440p gaming box he can. That simply calls for maxing out graphics. He can upgrade to X99 or Z170, but there is no need to do that if he just wants to have a high-end 1440 gaming box because his platform is fully capable of supporting that function on par with the newer systems.

Firewire isn’t some magical thing that can’t be replaced – which it already has been. Whether OP has a drive or audio interface hooked up to the Firewire card, it’s most likely something he can adapt, and if not, he’ll be able to replace it (in most cases) for less money than upgrading the entire platform to X99 – which is what you focus on PCI-e lanes suggests he upgrade to.

My point is just that getting 980 ti cards in SLI is a good strategy for having the best 1440p gaming box while keeping budget in mind, give OP’s current hardware. Your suggestion of only having one card is also a valid way to go.

Eliciting fear from OP about what could potentially be incompatible, however, is a misleading approach. It suggests that other upgrade strategies aren’t valid, which is false. Given the goal of having a high-end 1440 gaming box, he likely just wants to have the most power graphics solution now. Perhaps expansion isn’t as important at this moment. If he does want expansion later, he can upgrade the platform later to accommodate that. But why give up what he wants now just because there is a change that he might want something else in the future?

OP, just make the decision based on your budget, current prices, your current needs, and your anticipated upgrade plan. If having a PCI-e firewire card is non-negotiation for you, then you can’t have SLI without upgrading the entire platform. But if you can get around that and want to prioritize graphics, you can get SLI cards.

Keep in mind that neither a single 980 ti nor a single Titan X will maintain desirable framerates in all current games with max settings at 1440p. That said, though, both cards will play nearly every current game maxed out at that resolution beautifully without ever noticeable slowing down. It just a few demanding titles that will make things stutter here and there. But as time goes on, future games will make that a more common reality. Getting two 980 ti cards in SLI will delay that issue for quite a while. Such a setup would essentially allow you to totally forget about graphics bottlenecks altogether for gaming at 1440 for longer than your underlying platform will stay relevant. If games play slowly on SLI 980 ti cards in SLI, it won’t be due to the cards. It will be due to poor coding or CPU bottlenecks, and in either case, the game is likely one that cannot be played perfectly on even the best system. SLI doesn’t always work, but it usually does, and it’s considerably faster when it does work.

I personally think that upgrading CPU/motherboard and GPUs in cycles is a good thing. It spreads costs out. You know that both will become outdated. If you have a new GPU than CPU, it can be a good idea to gear you GPUs so that they will outlast your CPU. Then you can upgrade that when you get the money. Then your CPU will be able to support a faster GPU setup, which is the situation you’re in now. Rise, wash, repeat. Rather than spending all the money at once, you spend half every three or so years.

But again, that is only one way to go. All of the options here are acceptable. Contrary to what others suggests, there is no absolute best way to go. Do what makes the most sense to you.

Take a look at the single 980 Ti vs the 980 Tis in SLI.
http://www.pcgamer.com/nvidia-geforce-gtx-980-ti-review/

At 1440p, there's no games that sustain playable framerates with SLI that were not playable with the single card.
The single card gets edged out at max about 30%, but only when talking about 4K resolutions.

Adding that second card isn't going to give you a massive performance increase at 1440p.
There isn't going to be a noticeable difference in frames even with a 20 frame increase from 60-80fps.
The real tell all is the min frame rates. You'll see they're much closer which suggest limitations being elsewhere on the system and they were running an overclocked 5930K@4.2ghz.

I'm not saying don't get a new GPU, I'm saying going with two 980 Ti's isn't the best investment in your current platform. You could take the $650 of that second platform and easily get into another CPU and Mobo platform that would more adequately fit your want for multiple GPUs.

The article you linked compared the 980 (non-ti) in SLI to a single 980 ti, and even so it showed across the board that the 980 SLI was much faster than the 980 ti. That showing that SLI works pretty well because the 980 isn't as fast as the 980 ti.

Here is a sample graph from your linked article showing what I'm talking about.



Also, look at this (click image to see original article)


Here's the conclusion they drew from the article:



Again, OP can upgrade his platform if he wants. But it should be on the basis of unslanted information. Having two 980 ti cards in SLI will give him a very fast graphics setup, faster than a single card by a noticeable margin. He doesn't have to go that way. He can do exactly what you suggest, and that would also be fine. But he should not do it on a misrepresentation that having two 980 ti cards in SLI wouldn't really be noticeably faster than a single 980 ti.

Your graph still makes the case for my argument that a single 980 Ti isn't going to change much for the OP. It won't make a game more playable or less playable for most games in 1440p.

Their conclusion as that it output exceptional framerates which can be said about a single 980 Ti. It makes no case towards the comparison.

When you go SLI, you aren't going for average framerates, or at least your shouldn't be. You're trying to keep the minimum up. In the graph from your article, Tomb Raider went from 62 min fps at 1440 on a single 980 ti to 96 min fps at 1440 on 980s in SLI.

You're going to want to stay above 60 at all times if possible. If a 2013 game like Tomb Raider brings the 980 ti down to 62, then a single 980 ti already barely meets the minimum with games nearly three years old. Adding a second card will keep the minimums up for longer, which is the point. You don't always need it to go faster. You just want to prevent it from slowing down past certain points. I've already discussed this above.

SLI and Crossfire always bring more headaches with them... And I wouldn't invest in any Titan GPU. Stick with the 980 Ti.