GTX 460 + GT 420, New GPU or 460 SLI?

[cnirei]

Hi guys, need some advice on my current system. Here are my specs.

ASUS P8P67-M Pro
Intel Core i-7 2600k @ 4.372Ghz (28% Overclock)
Ultra Carbon X7 Heatsink with 120mm Antec Fan
8192 MBytes Dual Channel DDR3 PC-10700 at 667Mhz
NVidia GeForce GTX 460 1GB OC'd to 765MHz Core Clock, 1530Mhz Shader Clock
Nvidia Geforce GT 420 1GB, 700Mhz Core Clock, 1400Mhz Shader Clock
Seagate 1.5TB HD @7200RPM
DiabloTek PHD850 850W ATX PSU
Rosewill Smart One ATX Mid Tower, 2x120mm Exhaust Fans, 1x120mm Intake Fan, 1x80mm Side Intake Fan


I work from home on this machine, running a three monitor + 1 TV set up. My 460 runs my two main monitors, the 420 runs the third and the TV.

I tried playing Oblivion, BF3 and Witcher 2 on Ultra settings and was unable to do so without massive slow down. I ran FRPAS on Witcher 2 last night, on high settings I was getting between 30-40FPS, where on Ultra I was down to 12-15. This is making me wish I had went with the i-5 CPU and spent the extra money on a better graphics card. The GT 420 was from my sisters stock box that we upgraded, which turned out to be a quick and easy solution to running more than dual monitors.

My question is does it make more sense for me to buy another GTX 460 and run them both in SLI, or to get a GTX 570 and run either the 460 or 420 as my secondary card? Keep in mind I need to be running two cards to use the 4 monitor set up.

I can get the GTX570 with manufacture OC for 293.99
http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?p=ZT-GTX570M&c=pw&hash=8c45GuSpgdHLNhtlYFE8M15N%2FmoNbQdSIcoTbqGYTAvblJbXvSdg1k8%2BqNRisfT2tVsSh4qXzT7CMfCrXJbNbO6akaw6PqlHG70vrQhGr8cmZPnwIHH8fKTDk3k

or I can save a bit and get the GTX460 for 144.96
http://www.portatech.com/catalog/viewitem.asp?id=71047&r=p

I read a little bit about using the secondary card for PhsyX and the primary card for rendering, does anyone have any thoughts on the 570+460 combo for that? Also, with the layout of my MOBO would the 570+460 even fit together? You can see in the pictures below that the space is rather limited.

http://techtipsnreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/ASUS-P8P67-M-Pro-2.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/310230_2274652193683_1470042616_32192506_2144472964_n.jpg (this was before I installed the 420)


Thanks in advance for all of your thoughts and comments!

 

[po1nted]

If I had to do this type of setup I would probably get a 570 (or better yet, the 670) for the gaming monitor and one of the side monitors. Then use the 420 solely for your other two side monitors. Or a cheaper card with less heat output and power requirements, to be honest since it isnt running games.

I wouldn't bother with a single card for phsyx, IMHO. Just use the main 570/670. But if you CAN enable it and see that it DOES improve... then go with that. I haven't noticed any difference with a GTX580 and using a GTX260 OC specifically for physx, though.

 

[Sunius]

You should get another GTX 460, since them in SLI would be faster than having GTX 570 in your setup. It would be cheaper, too.

 

[benski]

With SLI enabled you won't be able to run all you screens, when you enable it it shuts the outputs of the slave (secondary) card off unless you are spanning 3 screens in surround mode (which requires 3 of the same screens). Now you can always turn SLI on and off as needed when you want to run more screens vs when you are gaming, but it is an issue to be aware of for your setup.

 

[cnirei]

Good to know about the SLI issue. I think the real question now is whether or not I want to spend another 100+ on the 670 over the 570.

I'd be looking at this one
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2585856

I'm also a little bit worried about the size, both with the MOBO and the case fan.

Also, any thoughts on whether or not the 580 would be something to consider as well?

They have one listed on newegg for 379.99.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814134124&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-Video%20Cards-_-ECS%20(EliteGroup)-_-14134124&AID=10440897&PID=3962334&SID=

 

[Sunius]

Benki, where did you get that info from? I am pretty sure you can run 4 screens in non surround mode with SLI.

 

[cnirei]

Best answer selected by cnirei.

 

[cnirei]

Just wanted to give you guys an update, I went with a second GTX 460 and left the GT 420 in the third PCI-E slot to run the third monitor and my TV. Also swapped out the P8P67-M for a P8P67 Pro. Overclocked both cards to 820Mhz Core Clock, 1640Mhz Shader Clock and 2200Mhz Memory Clock. Here are the improvements:

3DMark 11 Score, Single GPU, P8P67-M Pro:
3DMark Score: P4146
Graphics Score: 3815
Physics Score: 7862
Combined Score: 3926
GraphicsTest1: 18.51 FPS
GraphicsTest2: 18.16 FPS
GraphicsTest3: 23.06 FPS
GraphicsTest4: 11.28 FPS
PhysicsTest: 24.96 FPS
CombinedTest: 18.26 FPS

3DMark 11 Score, SLI, P8P67-Pro:
3DMark Score: P7485
Graphics Score: 7527
Physics Score: 8685
Combined Score: 5994
GraphicsTest1: 36.21 FPS
GraphicsTest2: 35.8 FPS
GraphicsTest3: 45.98 FPS
GraphicsTest4: 22.26 FPS
PhysicsTest: 27.57 FPS
CombinedTest: 27.88 FPS

Witcher 2:
Single GTX 460 on Ultra (UberSampling Off) AVG FPS: 39.076
Single GTX 460 on Ultra (UberSampling On) AVG FPS: 19.025
SLI GTX 460 On Ultra (UberSampling Off) AVG FPS: 57.895
SLI GTX 460 On Ultra (UberSampling On) AVG FPS: 39.091

COD:MW3:
SLI GTX 460 Max Everything AVG FPS: 180.555

BF3:
SLI GTX 460 Ultra Settings: 52.951

All framerates recorded with Fraps.

Pretty good performance increase in my opinion. Well worth the money. Thank you guys again for your input!

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey