Is a quad-sli GTX460 setup a viable option?

[gibbey531]

It's that time of year again where I look at upgrading pc parts. This year I'm hoping to do quite a major upgrade. I have been eyeballing the GTX 670 4gb card for a while and it seems like a solid buy. Right now I'm running dual GTX460's in sli and was going to get one 670 to replace one 460 and use the other for PhysX dedication. My question: Would I have better, i guess you could call it "longevity", if I opt to upgrade my mobo and pursue running three or four 460's in sli, if it would be a smarter way to go, performance wise? I haven't found too many benchmarks for quad SLI gtx460's, so any info would be much appreciated.
cheers!

 

[maestro0428]

Go with the 670. A single card is more compatible with games and drivers. Also, Quad SLI is not an option for 460s as there is only one tab for connecting cards instead of two on each card.

 

[dudewitbow]

assuming you have the 1gb 460, you will be limited by the vram max in specific games.

 

[geofelt]

No.

Do you have the requisite 1100w psu to run 4x gtx460 cards?
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm

You might win some benchmarks, but your gaming experience will be better with a GTX670.
The third and 4th cards will get progressively less useful.
Some games have trouble with sli in the first place.

Then, there is the issue of microstuttering with lower end cards.
Read about that here:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-geforce-stutter-crossfire,2995.html

Lastly, do not pay a premium for 4gb vram.
Here is a study with 2gb and 4gb GTX680 cards:
http://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Video-Card-Performance-2GB-vs-4GB-Memory-154

 

[gibbey531]

I saw a 4gb 670 on an email promotion for only $50 more than the 2gb model, so i figured i'd fork over the extra and maybe have a little power to spare. But thanks a lot!

 

[dudewitbow]

the extra vram will only help you on multiple screens. the slightly limiting factor when it comes to changing the screen resolution lies more with the memory bus size and not as much as the vram limit.

 

[geofelt]

I saw a 4gb 670 on an email promotion for only $50 more than the 2gb model, so i figured i'd fork over the extra and maybe have a little power to spare. But thanks a lot!

With some sharp shopping, I bet that $50 will come close to getting a GTX680, or a factory overclocked GTX670.

 

[mightymaxio]

It's that time of year again where I look at upgrading pc parts. This year I'm hoping to do quite a major upgrade. I have been eyeballing the GTX 670 4gb card for a while and it seems like a solid buy. Right now I'm running dual GTX460's in sli and was going to get one 670 to replace one 460 and use the other for PhysX dedication. My question: Would I have better, i guess you could call it "longevity", if I opt to upgrade my mobo and pursue running three or four 460's in sli, if it would be a smarter way to go, performance wise? I haven't found too many benchmarks for quad SLI gtx460's, so any info would be much appreciated.
cheers!

Actually you can't Quad SLI or even Triple SLI gtx 460's you can with 470's but drivers and the physical limitation will stop you. You could use 4 gpus for folding though as that doesn't use SLI it uses each individual gpu for computations. You can run two in SLI and use the other for phsyx if you want but then the 4th gpu goes unused.

"3-Way SLI is possible using all GeForce GTX except GTX 295, GTX 590, GTX 690 and GTX 460 (680, 670, 580, 570, 480, 470, 465, 285, 280, 275, 260 are supported). The GeForce GTX 295, 590 and 690 do not support 3-way SLI but support 4-way SLI and Multi-GPU. The 460 GTX was rumoured to support 3-Way SLI but upon release people found the 1 toothed 2-Way SLI bridge, this is because the 460 was not meant to replace the 260, it was supposed to push up the rest of NVIDIA's product line and make the 465 GTX more appealing, but due to heat issues 465 GTX's were considered flops and the mass of gamers stuck with 2-Way SLI 460 GTX. "