Should I run SLI or upgrade?
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feelinfroggy777
Glorious
- Dec 13, 2016
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What resolution are you running? If you are going with 1440p I would not do it. A 1080 will push that resolution good enough by itself. If you really want 4k at 60hz, I'd just get a 1080ti. Until they come out with a 4k 144hz monitor, the bottleneck will be the monitor, regardless of what cards you have.
Honestly not worth the trouble. I have SLI, but I am a junkie and I like to tinker. But it is never worth the extra cost. You will be better off by going with the best single card option. Here is a really good write up on SLI. I would take a look at it before jumping in. It is a couple of years old, but it is updated regularly with current data.
https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/197327-the-sli-information-guide/
Honestly not worth the trouble. I have SLI, but I am a junkie and I like to tinker. But it is never worth the extra cost. You will be better off by going with the best single card option. Here is a really good write up on SLI. I would take a look at it before jumping in. It is a couple of years old, but it is updated regularly with current data.
https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/197327-the-sli-information-guide/
photonboy
Titan
- Jun 20, 2006
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Don't run multi-GPU. Some games have NO support, or may have added judder/stutter.
Some games may get 50% scaling (i.e. 60FPS vs 40FPS), or higher but that's not common.
*It can be MISLEADING to look at results about the "top games" that work with SLI because those are going to be the ones that provide more incentive for the GPU driver team to support.
**Also, SLI (actually AFR or Alternate Frame Rendering specifically as there are other SLI modes) is hard or impossible to support on some modern games because they now have optimizations that depends on CONSECUTIVE FRAMES on the same GPU (similar to video compression looking at common elements in the frames).
I'll post this then see what kind of IMPROVEMENT you can expect, though I believe Maxwell suffers seriously in a lot of modern titles.
Some games may get 50% scaling (i.e. 60FPS vs 40FPS), or higher but that's not common.
*It can be MISLEADING to look at results about the "top games" that work with SLI because those are going to be the ones that provide more incentive for the GPU driver team to support.
**Also, SLI (actually AFR or Alternate Frame Rendering specifically as there are other SLI modes) is hard or impossible to support on some modern games because they now have optimizations that depends on CONSECUTIVE FRAMES on the same GPU (similar to video compression looking at common elements in the frames).
I'll post this then see what kind of IMPROVEMENT you can expect, though I believe Maxwell suffers seriously in a lot of modern titles.
photonboy
Titan
- Jun 20, 2006
- 21,567
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http://www.babeltechreviews.com/battle-titans-pascal-titan-x-vs-maxwell-titan-x/3/
(I did it this way because I couldn't find a great comparison of Titan X(M) to GTX1080, but this will be close enough)
A GTX1080 would sit in between these two Maxwell cards. At 2560x1440 it's probably about a 30% boost max from a GTX1080 to a new Titan X(P).
So it only looks like you'd get 25 to 30% boost on average going to a GTX1080.
For example, look at Alien Isolation. If we assume:
Titan X(M) to GTX1080 = 30% boost, then
GTX1080 to Titan X(P) = 30% boost then
1.3x1.3 = 1.69
It works out close (at 2560x1440 the boost from Titan X(M) to X(P) was 67% so it means about a 30% boost is what you can expect going to a GTX1080.
*also look at the FPS value. If you can get above 60FPS anyway is it worth it to you?
I jumped up from a GTX680 to GTX1080 and performance in some games was tested at 3x (i.e. 20FPS to 60FPS), but with careful TWEAKING of game settings I could play almost every game with excellent quality at mostly 60FPS.. there is DIMINISHING RETURNS for quality at the higher settings...
(in fact, some games drop to HALF the FPS at Ultra vs HIGH yet you may have a very hard time telling the visual difference)
So basically I recommend turning down a few settings, then wait for a GPU that gives you a much better jump in performance. If it was me I'd wait until 2019.
I'd also look into getting a GSYNC monitor if you don't have one, or if the monitor is good now (even if not GSYNC) maybe wait for GSYNC + HDR and prices to drop closer to $600USD for a good 2560x1440 screen (or 3440x1440).
(I did it this way because I couldn't find a great comparison of Titan X(M) to GTX1080, but this will be close enough)
A GTX1080 would sit in between these two Maxwell cards. At 2560x1440 it's probably about a 30% boost max from a GTX1080 to a new Titan X(P).
So it only looks like you'd get 25 to 30% boost on average going to a GTX1080.
For example, look at Alien Isolation. If we assume:
Titan X(M) to GTX1080 = 30% boost, then
GTX1080 to Titan X(P) = 30% boost then
1.3x1.3 = 1.69
It works out close (at 2560x1440 the boost from Titan X(M) to X(P) was 67% so it means about a 30% boost is what you can expect going to a GTX1080.
*also look at the FPS value. If you can get above 60FPS anyway is it worth it to you?
I jumped up from a GTX680 to GTX1080 and performance in some games was tested at 3x (i.e. 20FPS to 60FPS), but with careful TWEAKING of game settings I could play almost every game with excellent quality at mostly 60FPS.. there is DIMINISHING RETURNS for quality at the higher settings...
(in fact, some games drop to HALF the FPS at Ultra vs HIGH yet you may have a very hard time telling the visual difference)
So basically I recommend turning down a few settings, then wait for a GPU that gives you a much better jump in performance. If it was me I'd wait until 2019.
I'd also look into getting a GSYNC monitor if you don't have one, or if the monitor is good now (even if not GSYNC) maybe wait for GSYNC + HDR and prices to drop closer to $600USD for a good 2560x1440 screen (or 3440x1440).
At the moment on max settings on my main game that I play (PUBG) I'm capped at around 40 FPS, and that's tops. It usually sits somewhere around 37 FPS.
Side note, I'm running a Intel Core i7-5930K @ 3.5Ghz (12 CPUs). Do you think I'd fair more by upgrading the GPU or the Processor? Consider that the Titan XP is out of my price range.
feelinfroggy777
Glorious
- Dec 13, 2016
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Don't upgrade your CPU. You are fine. PUBG is not optimized very well, so you will have frame drops regardless of what you put in your machine. Considering the 1080ti is on par with the Titan Xp, don't get a Titan. I would probably not go from a Titan Maxwell to a 1080, I would save a little bit more and get a 1080ti. If the stats above are right, the 1080ti would be 200 more than a 1080 and would give you 60% better performance over your current Titan.
feelinfroggy777
Glorious
- Dec 13, 2016
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No one knows when Nvidia will release Volta for gaming. I don't think it will be soon as the 1080ti has no competition, but what do I know.
I'll say this, the 1080ti is a fantastic card and it is the best gaming card in the world. So you cant go wrong with that.
I'll say this, the 1080ti is a fantastic card and it is the best gaming card in the world. So you cant go wrong with that.
One thing that's always confused me is all the different makes and models of the "same" card. How should someone know which make/model is the best GTX 1080ti? With all the different GTX 1080ti's on the market, how can someone who is not adept in GPU knowledge make the best decision?
feelinfroggy777
Glorious
- Dec 13, 2016
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All of the chips inside are made by Nvidia. The only difference is the cooling options and factory overclocks.
Cooling does matter to a degree. If you can keep your card cool you keep it from thermal throttling. But as long as you don't get a blower style cooler, it will be fine.
You can usually get same overclock as te factory can I'm about 30 minutes at home. So I would go for the cheapest card that does not gave a blower style design.
Cooling does matter to a degree. If you can keep your card cool you keep it from thermal throttling. But as long as you don't get a blower style cooler, it will be fine.
You can usually get same overclock as te factory can I'm about 30 minutes at home. So I would go for the cheapest card that does not gave a blower style design.
What does a blower style design look like? This is the one I'm thinking about getting:
http://www.frys.com/product/9149708?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG
feelinfroggy777
Glorious
- Dec 13, 2016
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The one you selected is perfect. The blower style cards are also called reference cards. They have one turbine that brings air into the card and pushes it outside the back of the case. In theory, they are great because they push hot air out of the case away from other components. The problem is, they just don't cool the GPU very well.
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