6600k with upcoming graphics cards

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ShadowOdysseus

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Apr 23, 2014
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I am saving up and buying parts over the couse of the next year, and I have a few questions. The buil I'm going with features a MSI Z170A GAMING M7 motherboard with an Intel 6600k cpu. The only thing left I have to choose is my video card (stand-in 980), and I am a bit torn. The motherboard I am using has up to 3-way sli and 2-way crossfire, so I would prefer to use Nvidia for upgradability. However, AMD's new cards are powerful and cost efficient, making me think it would be good to try them out. So what are your thoughts on my build, will a 6600k support something like 3 1070s in the long run, or maybe 1 or 2. Or should I wait and get something like 1 or 2 AMD 490x s?

(Full build: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/jfN4D8 , fans are upgrades.)
 
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Barty1884
Again, there's no guarantee 3x 490X's (for example) will actually give you any better results than (say) 1x GTX 1080.
That's especially true if games you intend to play are not optimized for CF (or SLI for that matter) - in some cases, you'll even get worse performance.

That being said, AMD are coming out swinging as far as prices go and some of their offerings sound very competitive (performance & price), so they're definitely worth considering.

I think the max 2x SLI vs X# CF is clouding things a little here. Sounds like your real question is more Polaris vs Pascal and value/performance for $$.
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Barty1884

Barty1884

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A 6600K should be capable of fully utilizing SLI 1070's in future. Officially, only 2-way SLI will be supported in future.

As for CF 490X's, it's difficult to say at this point. Doesn't sound like AMD are going to be limiting CF in the same way nVidia are with SLI, but that's not to say CF will be any better that it is today.

It's always recommended to go with a more powerful, single card than to build around CF or SLI. It'll be great that the options will be available to you, but we're still a little bit away from understanding whether games will be designed to operate with SLI or CF going forward. With single, more powerful cards coming to market I would expect CF and SLI to fall away even more over time.

As for AMD vs nVidia on latest gen cards, I tend to avoid AMD vs nVidia discussions, as you can argue either way. Benchmarks (if/when available) will be your best resource.
 
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Barty1884

Barty1884

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AMD may very well be more power/performance vs $, so that may well answer your question. If you want the best 'power/performance', regardless of cost, the 1080 might still have a little lead there (depending on the game/task/resolution, of course).

I'm not sure why you view 2+ CrossFire as a better choice over 2-Way SLI (at most). nVidia are removing the 'official' feature beyond 2-Way (although I believe it can still be 'forced') as very few games can actually utilize it. The same applies for Crossfire, very few situations can utilize it. Even when they can, the performance 'boost' is generally not proportionate to the additional cost.

Again, a single, more powerful card would be recommended. If you're planning to SLI or CF 2+cards, you'd be so much more better off buying a single, higher 'tier' card.
 
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ShadowOdysseus

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Apr 23, 2014
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I was saying Nvidia because of an up to 3 card upgrade path, over the incredible $ for power efficiency of the new AMD cards, but if there is no more than 2-way supported sli, then I think I will go for an AMD 490x or 490, depending on how well it goes.
 
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Barty1884

Barty1884

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Apr 16, 2015
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Again, there's no guarantee 3x 490X's (for example) will actually give you any better results than (say) 1x GTX 1080.
That's especially true if games you intend to play are not optimized for CF (or SLI for that matter) - in some cases, you'll even get worse performance.

That being said, AMD are coming out swinging as far as prices go and some of their offerings sound very competitive (performance & price), so they're definitely worth considering.

I think the max 2x SLI vs X# CF is clouding things a little here. Sounds like your real question is more Polaris vs Pascal and value/performance for $$.
 
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