Sli performance on single screen

kylegorter

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Apr 9, 2012
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Hello,
Look guys im not the typical lazy to search for a topic in sli in general but i HAVE been searching up specifically a few times and i still have not gotten my answer at all. So im wondering you could answer in detail for me.
So to start off, i have a 460 gtx running on single monitor but it gets choppy on gta 4 when i want it on maxed visual settings. i read everywhere for the most part, that sli is the key for multiple monitors but does it also make a difference in performance (visual wise) when i stick just that one monitor to one graphic card on sli? To elaborate more, even though im not using multiple monitors (on sli), will it still make a jump in performace graphically on a single monitor when stuck to that one card
 
Not sure what you looked at when you searched but you seem to have missed the basic concept of SLI(and crossfire). Should have had a look at nvidias page.

In SLI each card draws every other frame. In theory this means your FPS should double, but its a little less than that. It had NOTHING to do with multiple monitors. Dual gpu setups can have driver and support issues and micro stutter, as well as heat and power issues. They should generally be avoided if you can get a single card that will offer the same performance at a price that's reasonably close.

However, if you already have a GPU buying a second for SLI to up performance instead of a new higher end card can save money. The other reason to use SLI is in high resolution multi monitor setups because one GPU can't cut it and (except for the GTX 680) Nvidia cards can only run 2 monitors off one card, unlike AMDs that can run 6. this may explain your confusion.

For your situation you need to determine if you are hitting a VRAM limit, which SLI wont solve, of if it is just FPS. You then need to decide if the cost.of a second 460 is worth it, keeping in mind you may need to buy a new PSU, or if you should just sell your 460 and upgrade to a better single card
 

ricardois

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Dec 21, 2011
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GTA IV is a very heavy game, to max it out you will need a lot of Video Memory (VRAM) even a 460 SLI would not be able to "max it out".

Sli is necessary for multiple monitors on your video card, but that doesn't mean it is only for that, of course it will increase your performance here you see a little graphic:

http://static.techspot.com/articles-info/309/bench/JC2_03.png

meaning that you can go over the 480 doing sli, this for single screen of course, if you add another monitor you will have a high performance loss because of the increased resolution, higher resolution also requires more VRAM.

So yes you will gain a big jump in peformance by doing SLI but at the time i think the best solution would be buying another single video card, but if you have it already, or find in a good price go for it, of course you have to make sure your motheboard can handle SLI with minimum x8 Pci-e Speeds, and your PSU should be able to handle both video cards power consumption.

But even SLIng it your will not be abel to MAX out gta IV graphics.

SLI really depends on the game, some games you will gain more than double framerate with 460 SLI and some you will gain just 1/2 of them but there will be a good performance jump in the system.

but like i've said, it would be better going for a stronger single card.
 

MMO Fan

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Mar 28, 2012
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SLI GTX 460 are a top performer for single 1080P monitor and highly recommender as an excellent budget oriented high performance solution. GTA 4 will run mint on a SLI GTX 460 config however do remember that GTA 4 is very demanding both on the GPU front and on the CPU as well so make sure you have a beefy CPU and OC that thang and you will be enjoying great visual and framerates in GTA 4 and many others.
 
In short, yes running another 460 in SLI will nearly, not quite, but nearly double your frame rate on a single monitor. Actual performance varies depending on the game, and how well it is optimized for multiple cards. 460's in SLI are powerful and a great performance for the price setup.
 

MMO Fan

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I would hands down run GTX 460 SLI setup if I did not already own an AMD chipset Mobo. This is coming from a guy that generally speaking enjoys Radeon cards more than Nvidia so take it for what it is.