Single GPU vs Multiple GPUs

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Steel111

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What will be better, a single gpu or multiple gpus (with around same budget, i.e. cost of multiple gpus ~ cost of single)? For single display? For multiple displays? For VR?

I know it is an old question with lot of answers, but most of the articles are old. What is the current scenario, considering the fact Dx12 supports multi-gpu and newer games seem to benefit from multiple cards? Is it still worth sticking with a higher end card rather than spending the same amount of money on two cards?

(I am mainly looking for 1440p@144Hz, 4k@60Hz and VR)
 
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Average fps isn't everything. Compare the minimums too. In some games dual cards are faster overall than a single, in others they aren't. And the minimum fps is all over the place, Metro actually drops from 11 to 4 min with two 480's vs just one. When the fps fluctuates over a wider range, that means stuttering. If you look at any of the more recent reviews here on Tom's you'll see they now graph average fps over time and frame times:

aHR0cDovL21lZGlhLmJlc3RvZm1pY3JvLmNvbS9RLzQvNjU4MDEyL29yaWdpbmFsL2FzaGVzLTE0NDBwLWZyb3QucG5n


aHR0cDovL21lZGlhLmJlc3RvZm1pY3JvLmNvbS9RLzUvNjU4MDEzL29yaWdpbmFsL2FzaGVzLTE0NDBwLWZyYW1lLXRpbWUucG5n


Dual cards fluctuate a lot, and...
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maxalge

maxalge

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a single powerful gpu will always be better



for 4k there is no single card that can do the job, you are looking at two gtx 1080 ti in sil
 
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TMTOWTSAC

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Seconding the single GPU over multiple. Even best case scenarios hover around 140% of the performance of the single card. It also introduces issues of its own in regards to frame timing and system overhead.

But if you absolutely have to have 4k@60 fps max settings no compromises, I don't exactly disagree with maxalge but I think the Titan XP may have a shot at being a single card solution. In fairness to max, it only hit the market 3 days ago and the NDA hasn't lifted yet so no benchmarks yet. Not to mention the $1200 price tag...
 
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maxalge

maxalge

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XD you are correct


nvidia is releasing a new titan "XP" which is a beefed up version of the titan X ( pascal )


 
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k1114

k1114

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Single will always be better. Devs can't get the extra time to optimize sli/cf when the higher ups want to push deadlines. Even more so these days. They can't even spend the time to kill big bugs before release. Even though dx12 supports multi gpu, the same issue occurs and devs don't have time to add it. Newer games are still the same with sli/cf as the past. Some are optimized better than others and some don't support it at all.
 
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Steel111

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What about VR and other resolutions (like 1080p)? Does dual GPU provide any advantage over a single card within same budget?

I would assume that the support for multi-GPUs in game would only get better with time. Can we expect multi-GPU systems to get outperform single GPU systems in the near future (in general, and not just at 4k)?

 
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TMTOWTSAC

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Unfortunately, any sort of frame time discrepancies are magnified by VR. If one eye gets a signal slightly out of sync with the second, well, that's when even the hardiest testers reached for the buckets. For lower resolutions, single GPU is still better for the aforementioned reasons. Also because the time between frames decreases, so any sudden spike becomes even more noticeable.

As far as support, multi-GPU has been around since the mid 90's. Notably the Voodoo 2. It hasn't really improved all that much, and most developers don't dedicate much (none in some cases) resources for something that will be used by so few people. Most of their time is spent optimizing for low and mid-range setting try to get their games able to run on as many systems as possible. High end features are often extremely poorly optimized, figuring that $600+ cards can power through on brute force.
 
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k1114

k1114

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The same issues arise no matter the res, vr, monitors or any situation. This is because of how multiple gpus get used together and there's no way around it. They're 2 separate gpus.

Multi gpu support will not get better. This is proof over the ages. The same issues always get run into. Multiple doesn't outperform single gpu in 4k exactly. There's just no single gpu that powerful...yet. You're just literally forced to use multiple top of the line gpus or get subpar performance. You're running into the limit of what current tech is capable of.
 
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Steel111

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So, are benchmarks like this http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/7770/amd-radeon-rx-480-crossfire-beating-geforce-gtx-1080-4k/index7.html fake or misleading? It shows two rx 480 beating gtx-1080 in some games at 4k.

 
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TMTOWTSAC

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Average fps isn't everything. Compare the minimums too. In some games dual cards are faster overall than a single, in others they aren't. And the minimum fps is all over the place, Metro actually drops from 11 to 4 min with two 480's vs just one. When the fps fluctuates over a wider range, that means stuttering. If you look at any of the more recent reviews here on Tom's you'll see they now graph average fps over time and frame times:

aHR0cDovL21lZGlhLmJlc3RvZm1pY3JvLmNvbS9RLzQvNjU4MDEyL29yaWdpbmFsL2FzaGVzLTE0NDBwLWZyb3QucG5n


aHR0cDovL21lZGlhLmJlc3RvZm1pY3JvLmNvbS9RLzUvNjU4MDEzL29yaWdpbmFsL2FzaGVzLTE0NDBwLWZyYW1lLXRpbWUucG5n


Dual cards fluctuate a lot, and there's no guarantee they'll even work in every game. It's a risk, whereas 1 card will always be more consistent. And in CPU heavy games the extra overhead is a killer. At the end of the review you linked they even say:

As always, I still highly recommend a single-GPU solution for all gamers - no matter the resolution.
Click to expand...
 
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