2-way Titan Black vs 3-way GTX 770 FTW for SLI Setup

[btech]

Hi folks,

I recently got my 3-way SLI rig up and running, but I believe that one of the cards might be defective. Since it was an absurd amount of effort to get the setup the way I wanted it, particularly the cooling, I'm trying to decide if I should stick with the 3 card setup and replace it, or if I should go back to a 2-way SLI setup with Titan Blacks for my 4K build.

My current cards: 3x EVGA 4GB GTX 770 FTW
compared to: 06G-P4-3790-KR NVIDIA GeForce GTX Titan Black

From what I've read, and what I naturally assumed, 2 780Tis in SLI would outperform a single Titan Black, but I wanted to see how that would translate to 3 770s vs 2 Titan Blacks, and if I'd lose any performance by going the Titan Black route. Honestly, even if the performance is about the same, I'd be satisfied if it meant the cooling wouldn't be an issue.

Thank you for any input or assistance you can provide!

 

[17seconds]

Here's the only review on the web of Titan Blacks in multi-card configurations. Hopefully, it'll give you a start.
http://uk.hardware.info/reviews/5231/nvidia-geforce-gtx-titan-black-4-way-sli-review

 

[clutchc]

Most 3-way SLI boards have a x4 lane 3rd slot. I never had 3 cards, (so I don't speak from experience) but I always assumed the 3rd card in the weak slot would be a waste of money.

 

[btech]

Most 3-way SLI boards have a x4 lane 3rd slot. I never had 3 cards, (so I don't speak from experience) but I always assumed the 3rd card in the weak slot would be a waste of money.

This is the board I'm using: ASUS P8Z77-WS

It can go dual x16/x16 or three way x16/x8/x8

 

[clutchc]

Most 3-way SLI boards have a x4 lane 3rd slot. I never had 3 cards, (so I don't speak from experience) but I always assumed the 3rd card in the weak slot would be a waste of money.

This is the board I'm using: ASUS P8Z77-WS

It can go dual x16/x16 or three way x16/x8/x8

I guess I'm a little behind the times. yeah, that will do triple SLI well.
Have you pretty proven to yourself that one of the cards is bad? That's a shame. Is it too late for a manufacturer warranty?

 

[btech]

Most 3-way SLI boards have a x4 lane 3rd slot. I never had 3 cards, (so I don't speak from experience) but I always assumed the 3rd card in the weak slot would be a waste of money.

This is the board I'm using: ASUS P8Z77-WS

It can go dual x16/x16 or three way x16/x8/x8

I guess I'm a little behind the times. yeah, that will do triple SLI well.
Have you pretty proven to yourself that one of the cards is bad? That's a shame. Is it too late for a manufacturer warranty?

I actually have all 3 cards covered under warranty through Micro Center, so I can definitely exchange one or all of them under that. I just didn't know if I should go for the same setup, or if I could reduce heat and increase performance by going down to 2-way with more powerful cards.

Originally, I had set out to build a 3-way SLI configuration, but I'm not 100% convinced it's stable. After getting cooling sorted out, I've had several similar crashes in different games and now a hardware failure alert in Action Center; I also think I can hear a bad fan. It could be bad drivers, but the whole thing got me thinking if there was a simpler way to get the same or better performance by just going 2-way.

 

[bystander]

Performancewise, the Titan Blacks SLI should win, but you may get a better deal with 780 ti 6GB, EVGA and Palit, and a few others have announced 6GB 780 and 780ti's. If they don't beat it out, it would be extremely close, and with fewer issues.

 

[17seconds]

Most 3-way SLI boards have a x4 lane 3rd slot. I never had 3 cards, (so I don't speak from experience) but I always assumed the 3rd card in the weak slot would be a waste of money.

This is the board I'm using: ASUS P8Z77-WS

It can go dual x16/x16 or three way x16/x8/x8

Performancewise, the Titan Blacks SLI should win, but you may get a better deal with 780 ti 6GB, EVGA and Palit, and a few others have announced 6GB 780 and 780ti's. If they don't beat it out, it would be extremely close, and with fewer issues.

If those 780 Ti's have 6GB, then the only advantage of the Titan Black would be the double precision abilities; useless for gaming.

 

[bystander]

They do, but they aren't released yet, but are announced to be coming soon.

http://www.evga.com/articles/00830/

 

[btech]

Performancewise, the Titan Blacks SLI should win, but you may get a better deal with 780 ti 6GB, EVGA and Palit, and a few others have announced 6GB 780 and 780ti's. If they don't beat it out, it would be extremely close, and with fewer issues.

The 3GB of VRAM was the only thing preventing me from going 780 in the first place. If they are coming out with 6GB versions of both, then that sounds like the way to go.

Thank you so much!