GTX660 SLI or GTX970

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Centosan Centosanjr

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Dec 13, 2013
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I have a SLI ready mobo and a 530W PSU (RG530-S12). I wanted to know which option would be better, doable, and cheaper?

Originally I tried OC my gfx but honestly it only adds like 5 fps at the most. I think SLI will more or less double the FPS possible, but according to Newegg PSU calculator, I would need to go from 530W to 605W PSU.

Would my bronze 530 W PSU safety margin allow the SLI of 2x 660 GTX? What is the safety margin of PSUs anyway?

If safety margin is okay, then it would be cheaper to SLI. SLI GTX 660 provides 85 FPS on Crysis 2 at 1920x1200 whereas a single GTX 970 provides 80 FPS. With the slight differences in other hardware components, they are essentially providing the same graphics capabilities at no significant difference.

If PSU not withing safety margin, then buying another PSU as well as a GTX 660 seems like it would cost $155 + PSU. Much better to just purchase the GTX 970 at $280 (and I get a free game).

tl;dr what is the safety margin of a PSU?



 
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KLawinger
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KLawinger

KLawinger

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A single GTX 970 would be much better than dual outdated 660's. simply because you wont have to deal with any micro stuttering or incompatibility. Additionally in the future when the 970's drop in price you can sli those and save money while still getting great performance.
 
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Centosan Centosanjr

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See that's not true at all because SLI GTX 660 provides 85 FPS on Crysis 2 at 1920x1200 whereas a single GTX 970 provides 80 FPS. With the slight differences in other hardware components, they are essentially providing the same graphics capabilities at no significant difference.
 
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KLawinger

KLawinger

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SLI 660's may be marginally faster, but in games that dont have good sli support you'll be falling behind.

its always best to go with a more powerful current gen card than two last gen in SLI
 
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Centosan Centosanjr

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But it isn't cost-effective. Literally double the price for the same amount of performance?

Also, does SLI create that much of an issue in compatibility?
 
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KLawinger

KLawinger

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the 660's also wont support DX 12 when it becomes more popular, also when pascal comes out the 970 will drop and you'll be able to pick up two of them
 
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Centosan Centosanjr

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Dec 13, 2013
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I just realized that a GTX 970 requires a 695 W PSU based on Newegg's PSU calculator, meaning that I would need to purchase another PSU regardless. Sighs. This question has lost its usefulness.

Pascal seems really interesting. I'm defintely going to hold out a bit longer (2 years?) before buying anything and making the pascal a hell of a lot cheaper.
 
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KLawinger

KLawinger

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http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-970/specifications

nvidia recommends a 500w psu

 
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Centosan Centosanjr

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You just blew my mind. So is Newegg Power Supply Calculator wrong?
 
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KLawinger

KLawinger

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Yeah, most of the calculator websites arent very accurate
 
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