To SLI or not to SLI

[Boyiee]

Friend always told me, get the best single gpu you can afford.

I've always stuck to that, never sli'd or xf'd before. I just sold my GTX480 on ebay and was going to grab a 580. Got a great price for the 480, so the 580 is actually quite cheap to get.

GTX 570's release tomorrow morning, they are already up on newegg to order. Looks like they are on par with the 480, except they are cooler, quieter, and use a ton less wattage. Lots of headroom for OCing.

For a few more bucks (200), I could get 2x 570's and run them in SLI. Now, I've never ran it before, and currently am only using 2x 1900x1200 monitors... the 580 is more than enough to max anything on the main monitor which I use for gaming, shit, so is the 570, but with SLI I would get the option to add a 3rd for surround.

Do I go for the single 580, or the chance at 2 570's? Since I sold my card, someone mentioned getting 2 570's would be great incase one came in DOA - as I have no other GPU to use once I ship the 480.

Thoughts? Just stick to single? Or grab the 570(s). Keep in mind that the 580 also runs considerably cooler and quieter than the 480, it's a really really great card.

[Shojin]

If you have a good enough power supply and enough cooling, fuck yeah SLI. Nvidia cards get a lot more power out of SLI than ATI/AMD cards do with Crossfire.

[Boyiee]

Yeah I have the setup for it, but only running 2 monitors @1900x1200, and only gaming on one, doesn't make it too worth it unless I get the 3rd.

[Shojin]

Aside from being able to run more than 2 monitors, it should easily outperform the single 580 too. The only downside to getting 2 570's instead of a single 580 is you lose out on the possibility of getting another 580 later on and SLI'ing that instead.

[Boyiee]

The 580 right now isn't too expensive since I'll use the profits from the 480 I sold... but a 2nd one is a hell of a hit.

Looks like $225 for me to grab 1 580, $420 to grab 2 570s... But when you break it down, it's only another 100 for a 2nd 580 lol. The idea with the 480 in this machine was get the best card you can, and if you get a chance to SLI another one, do it. It never happened, so will it happen this time?

[Shojin]

Go for the dual 580's if it isn't much more expensive, although you could wait on the second 580 and hope for a price drop before you pick another up. Maybe it'll drop its price to be more competitive when AMD launch their 69XX series?

[Boyiee]

It should, it's almost guaranteed to drop a couple dollars in a week or so when those release. I need to place an order like tonight or tomorrow morning for whatever I decide on since I gotta ship out my current card lol.

I think the 580 is only 15-20% more performance than a 570 thought for 200$... but they scale well in sli. If you want to get technical, think you can get 3 570's for about the price of 2 580's.

[Franzer]

Also something to consider is what games are you going to be playing that you want SLI for? I have 2 gtx 460 in SLI and its great, but in all honesty, I don't really put my SLI power to use as much as I would like.

[CoronA1979]

You seem to be doing alot of PC upgrading - I like that :D

Here's my take...

Step back and decide what you REALLY utilize your GPU's for. I currently run 2x 470's in SLI and couldn't be happier. There isn't much I have thrown at them that they couldn't handles sans some Metro 2033 bullshiz. The reviews are indeed showing the 570 (@ Stock) to be about on par w/ the 480 in terms of performance. However, the 480 from being a loyal forumer @ EVGA tends to have a little more headroom in the overclockability area. It's also been said that a OC'd 570 puts them on par 2/ a 580. Granted this needs a pretty heavy OC to get there.

The biggest difference *IMO* of the 570 and the 580, is the VRAM. When do you need more VRAM? You need it when you start utilizing larger resolutions. So, with that said if you are not planning on going above the 1920x1080 or in your case 1920x1200 res then the 570's would surely be a good direction for you to go. If you ever think you may do surround gaming then I would suggest taking up the 580 for the extra VRAM it offers. Do you do Folding@Home? If so, the 580 will surely surpass the 570 in that department.

Now for my GPU rant... It seems like the 400 series cards were just a pissing stepping stone. I know a year ago they weren't out yet iirc because when I built my old system w/ GTX 275's the 400's weren't around yet. It just seems like the 400's were top for a really really short time. Does it annoy me because I just got my 470's a few months ago on my new build? Yah, it does but is what it is I guess. For me, upgrading would be a pain in the ass since it would also need an added cost of waterblocks to go w/ the new GPU's. So, with all that said I will be sticking w/ 470's for a while since they seem to do well for me. Hell, with the prices dropping I may consider throwing a 3rd in for TRI SLI.

TLDR; If you're only going to run the resolution you run now - Go w/ the 570's. If you think you will ever move up in that department or Folding@Home is something you do, 580 it is. Or, you know you could always snag another 480 since the price on them are coming down :D

-Edit- Nevermind, like an idiot I forgot in your OP you said you already sold your 480. /facepalm on reading comprehension

[Boyiee]

Thanks for the help guys. On hardforum someone made 2 good points that helped aid my decision. Since I sold my current card, I need the new one asap: if I order one 570 and it comes in DOA I'm fucked. If I order 2, that likely wont happen. Another thing mentioned was getting a 570 specifically due to the AMD cards releasing next week. Basically, if they shit on the 580, the price could drop a bit, and if I wanted to part with it, the market for a 580 is smaller than a 570. Much harder to resell it.

I went ahead and ordered 2 570's for now. This gives me the option of grabbing a 3rd monitor (been looking at a new TV lately, also my current monitors are a decent price on newegg now), and I could tri SLI them for the same price as 2 580's. Because of my 480 selling on ebay, the one 570 is essentially free, so im only really buying one card. Also there is only a 12%-15%, sometimes 20% increase between the 570 and 580 for 200$. For only a few bucks more I get sli and the option to go surround. Oh, also, the 570 isn't much different than my 480, so it'll be as if I did get to sli the 480's like I originally wanted to do (till the fan noise drove me nuts).

If I don't like them, I'll sell them. They are fresh, new, and really in a good market even with the release of the AMD cards... really only the 580 is at risk there. I have a motherboard made for SLI, shit, tri SLI, I should make use of it. It's my first time running a setup like this, gotta get into it sometime. I've always ran high end parts and OC'd shit, but never ran multiple gpu's, I've been dying to for a long time.

As for PC upgrading; most things I've done in the past month or so were for sister and family members. I upgrade My computer more often than I should (bi-annually?) but I make use of the parts quickly.

edit: love newegg, most items ship from about an hour away in NJ, so I get them within 1-days sometimes. I made the order so early this morning that they should be here tomorrow lol. Looks like the 570SC's just came back in stock, damn.

[Vandole]

mind linking the monitor/tv you're usin for the pc now? i'm shoppin around for a second monitor

[Boyiee]

I'm using 2x Asus VW266H's: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...047&Tpk=vw266h

It drops to about 200$ all the time, if not less. Thing goes on sale so much. I absolutely love it. HDMI, HUGE, 1900x1200 1:1 for ps3 if needed, never been happier with a monitor. I loved it so much, I bought it twice. lol.

As for what will be the 3rd now that I have the option to surround and lose my mind, a 3rd VW is seriously tempting but like I said, I was debating a 40-46inch TV. One of the main reasons I haven't bought the TV yet is because I want to use it as a Monitor as well, and one of my 26inch's would then become useless... but with SLI I can now make use of it. Although I'm not to sure I'll find a comfortable and non-retarded looking setup for 2 26" monitors and a tv. Going to have to google images of other peoples setups.

[CoronA1979]

I don't run a multiple monitor setup as I mentioned in a previous post but this is the one monitor I have.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824001431

I've only had it for a little over a week but have loved it so far.

OT but... Vandole, what part of MS are you in? I too am in MS.

[Celeras]

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1317582

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTfwhcQZphw

Read the first link explaining what Microstutter is on multi-GPU systems. Watch the youtube. Some people can't even see Microstutter, others like myself see it immediately and can't have it anywhere near their system. If you're fine with it, SLI. If not, don't.. because theres no escaping it.

For me personally, I see it immediately and fucking hate it. And since its an inherent flaw in all multi-GPU systems, I'll probably never SLI/CF.

[Boyiee]

Yeah I've always gotten the best single I can afford but I'll at least give it a real try. Won't be hard to get rid of one or both if i change my mind.

[Boyiee]

God I love Newegg. Nothing beats ordering something and having it in your hand within 24hours.

[CoronA1979]

God I love Newegg. Nothing beats ordering something and having it in your hand within 24hours.

Yeah - I live just outside of the Memphis, TN warehouse. So, since I live in Mississippi and so close to the warehouse when I buy from them not only do I not pay tax but I also get my order with pretty much 1 day shipping :D