buyer's remorse - SLI 680s

T

twzTechman

Limp Gawd
Joined
Apr 14, 2011
Messages
223
I just picked up a 2nd GTX680 for a pretty good price ($279 after rebate and 2 games I would end up buying). So now I am running SLI, and I am able to crank up some stuff. FYI - for those wondering, I am not have any problems doing SLI with these 2 cards. I see alot of forum posts where folks are questioning SLI compatibility between different versions of these cards.

But what's with BF4. I pretty much have everything on ultra, except the post processing stuff which will give me some jerkiness - especially on sideways scrolling. Any others have the same issue?

I just read Kyles review on the 290x SLI and am thinking I might have been better going for a couple of 290s or even an OCed 780. Oh well - gonna install Far Cry 3 and see how high I can get the settings to run smooth.
 
try 280x sli cheaper than 290 especially now. Can you return them?
 
You may be running out of VRAM... assuming those are 2GB 680s. BF4 maxed out for me uses like 2.6-2.7 at 2560x1600 with AA.
 
what about Vsync? is that your issue? if not, id say probably not enough gpu memory.

I would not recommend the 280x at current market prices. cryptocurrency has all the AMD stuff sold out and marked up. i was able to snag 3 r9 290s at MSRP though 2 weeks ago. i lucked out.
 
Running out of VRam at that resolution. Same thing happened to me with my 680's running in SLI before I upgraded.
 
My SLI'd GTX 670's had some kind of stuttery business that sounds maybe like what you're describing, and watching stats on afterburner showed me it coincided almost every time with the game exceeding the cards 2GB of VRAM. The game, with stuff like textures and other things all on Ultra at the same time, tends to go over 2GB on a fairly regular basis.

Alternately, I've now played the game on both Crossfire R9 280X's and SLI GTX 770 4GB, and neither config exhibits anything like the kind of behavior my 670's did. Either setup will kick ass for BF4.

The 280X's are faster and the gaming experience is really good, but at least the ones I bought (Sapphire Vapor-X) dump heat into my case like no other cards I've ever owned before (both break 90C) and when they spin up they're really loud. It's a complete hotbox after less than 5 minutes of BF4. Combined with the noise... and both cards went back in the boxes. I don't have A/C in my house so there's no way my system survives a summer here with those cards in it.

So to the 770's I went. The 770's run 10-15C cooler at load and as a result my CPU and the rest of my system all stay cooler.

If I had A/C, I'd have probably stuck with the 280X's though, to be honest. Granted, I got my pair when they were just barely over $300. Not $420 :p
 
Last edited:
Here are the settings that work best for me. I set my V-Sync to Adaptive in the Nvidia control panel so the FPS pretty much sit on 60 which is where my monitor maxes.

BF4+Video+Settings.JPG
 
Last edited:
I went with 290s also. Using a 30" and soon to be 4K, I couldn't turn down 512bit bus and 4GB.
 
Last edited:
twzTechman said:
Here are the settings that work best for me. I set my V-Sync to Adaptive in the Nvidia control panel so the FPS pretty much sit on 60 which is where my monitor maxes.

BF4+Video+Settings.JPG
Click to expand...
your settings make no sense. I just upgraded from 680SLI. I ran 2560x1440, 2x MSAA and SSAO, all else Ultra. Ran well enough to play 64 player online without problems. HBAO is a pretty decent perf hit with almost no noticeable difference for me. Try turning that off and turning the other settings up.
 
I have two 670 GTX 4GB running in SLI with Adaptive on and it runs smooth. Ultra all on AA4X, HBAO, AA Post on low.

2 GB card may hurt with the 30" screen.
 
Turn they motion blur shit down to low or off and raise your fov to 100%.

I disable any post processing as well. At that res it's a waste bro
 
OK - ths works pretty good. At this resolution, not seeing a whole lot of difference with the aliasing (not getting any significant jaggies). The MSAA is just not smooth enough so went with the FXAA (Anti-aliasing Post). I am getting 60 FPS pretty solid, but with the MSAA just does not feel smooth.

BF4+Video+Settings+2.JPG
 
Bf4 sli optimization for,me is horrible. I have a 120hz and just did the lightboost how to setup. Prior to the lightboost, I had around 90 avg fps running high. After lightboost, I am running 120ish majority of the time, and I may have upped it to ultra. I cant remember.

Anyway, I have a side screen running graphs and my gpus usage sits at 50% or below prior to and after lightboost hack. Even if I OC, the cards only use the extra core speed when I die or at the end of round looking at the scoreboard then goes back down to the bios base clock. I'm running 780 classifieds btw.

I am still messing with settings though
 
Curious, what is your 4770K running at?

I'm trying to find differences in our systems. The 670FTWs are pretty much 680s. I'm running 2400 memory, 4.4 daily OC, HT on, and W8.1. I'm getting nice smooth performance running 2x MSAA, all ultra and high AA post. Have you tried running vertical sync ON? I don't know why, but it totally smooths out my system, even compared to times when I'm getting 75-95FPS with it off. WAY smoother with it on.

I'm always above 60FPS unless I get blown up in a vehicle and it zooms in on the firey wreckage for those 3-4 seconds.
 
twzTechman said:
OK - ths works pretty good. At this resolution, not seeing a whole lot of difference with the aliasing (not getting any significant jaggies). The MSAA is just not smooth enough so went with the FXAA (Anti-aliasing Post). I am getting 60 FPS pretty solid, but with the MSAA just does not feel smooth.

BF4+Video+Settings+2.JPG
Click to expand...
Use SSAO instead of HBAO and you will see a larger performance boost than disabling Post Processing quality.
 
You'd be better off with a single GTX780. I sold my HD7950 Crossfire and GTX680 SLI cards. I will pass on AMD this time.
 
twzTechman said:
OK - ths works pretty good. At this resolution, not seeing a whole lot of difference with the aliasing (not getting any significant jaggies). The MSAA is just not smooth enough so went with the FXAA (Anti-aliasing Post). I am getting 60 FPS pretty solid, but with the MSAA just does not feel smooth.

BF4+Video+Settings+2.JPG
Click to expand...

That screenshot looks like it was shot through a fogged or frosted glass. Does it represent your actual image quality? :D
 
Iching said:
You'd be better off with a single GTX780. I sold my HD7950 Crossfire and GTX680 SLI cards. I will pass on AMD this time.
Click to expand...

Huh? 2 680s blow away a single 780. My 2 stock 670FTWs JUST squeak past a stock 780 Ti.
 
Brahmzy said:
Huh? 2 680s blow away a single 780. My 2 stock 670FTWs JUST squeak past a stock 780 Ti.
Click to expand...

Performance wise aren't they almost the same if the 780 is overclocked though? I mean a 780ti is almost on par with a 690 which is 2 680's and an overclocked 780 can reach 780ti speeds.
 
I'd say 680 SLI would have a healthy lead of maybe 10%+ or so if not overclocked - the GTX 690 is closer to 670 SLI, with 670 SLI being slightly faster due to having more thermal headroom. Although in many games, you would probably get a similar experience in terms of gameplay between all three. ;)

Personally if you asked me which I could have out of the 4, (680 sli, 670 sli, 690, or 780ti) i'd go for a pre-overclocked 780ti easily, if cost were no issue. It's fast at stock, but really really REALLY fast once you overclock it.
 
xoleras said:
I'd say 680 SLI would have a healthy lead of maybe 10%+ or so if not overclocked - the GTX 690 is closer to 670 SLI, with 670 SLI being slightly faster due to having more thermal headroom. Although in many games, you would probably get a similar experience in terms of gameplay between all three. ;)

Personally if you asked me which I could have out of the 4, (680 sli, 670 sli, 690, or 780ti) i'd go for a pre-overclocked 780ti easily, if cost were no issue. It's fast at stock, but really really REALLY fast once you overclock it.
Click to expand...

I agree I'd take the 780ti as well. After several SLI systems, I'm finding running one card over multiple cards and setting vsync to adaptive creates less stutter and headache for me. Plus not turning my room into a space heater and having loud fans running all the time is a huge bonus. The 690 would be me second pick becuase it's at least one card, but still multiple gpu's and it costs more. LOL
 
hdgamer said:
I agree I'd take the 780ti as well. After several SLI systems, I'm finding running one card over multiple cards and setting vsync to adaptive creates less stutter and headache for me. Plus not turning my room into a space heater and having loud fans running all the time is a huge bonus. The 690 would be me second pick becuase it's at least one card, but still multiple gpu's and it costs more. LOL
Click to expand...

The issue for some of us going 4K this year is that one card isn't enough, and probably will remain that way for the next two generations.
If a GTX 790 happens or R290x x2, then a single card could still be an option for 4K at the low price of $1,000.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top