Upgrading from two GTX 480s in SLI to single card solution?

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garetjax27

Limp Gawd
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Feb 24, 2006
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I've been running two EVGA GTX 480's in SLI (don't laugh) for the last couple of years, and I'm now looking to run a single card solution. My question:

1) What nVidia single card solution would exactly match (or come close to power/performance) when benchmarked against two stock GTX 480's in SLI?

Is it a 7-series videocard? A 6-series? Something else? The GTX 480's in question are 015-P3-1480-AR.
 
I'm guessing a GTX770 would match and most likely best a 480 SLI config while also being a helluva lot more power conservative along with the massive reduction in heat.
 
cortexodus said:
I'm guessing a GTX770 would match and most likely best a 480 SLI config while also being a helluva lot more power conservative along with the massive reduction in heat.
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That gets my vote, even a good 680 would work if op is ok buying used.
 
cortexodus said:
I'm guessing a GTX770 would match and most likely best a 480 SLI config while also being a helluva lot more power conservative along with the massive reduction in heat.
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LOL, yes that is the main reason I'm looking for a single card solution. The heat alone (and noise) has pretty much ran me out of my room.

257Tony said:
That gets my vote, even a good 680 would work if op is ok buying used.
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Thanks for the replies guys. So basically, I'm looking at least at a GTX 680 while a GTX 770 would be a better alternative?
 
Yes, at stock clocks, a single 680 is roughly on par with SLI'ed 480's. If you want a nice and noticeable bump in performance going to a single card, I'd recommend a 780.
 
Two GTX480's will most likely beat out a single GTX680/GTX770. As a GTX480 is comparable (slightly stronger) than a GTX570. Two GTX570's = GTX590 > GTX680/GTX770 assuming scaling goes well.

GTX780 on the other hand would be the no brainer.

GTX680/GTX770 would make a great side grade though, if noise/heat/power consumption is a problem for you.
 
I'm pretty certain the 770 would outright win against GTX 480 SLI. Not by much, but by a slight bit. 10% or so perhaps, or slightly more. It won't be an amazing performance increase, but still - I remember the GTX 680 at launch bested the GTX 590 in various benchmarks. The GTX 590 is either equal to or faster than 480 SLI. 480 SLI = 570 SLI = 590. Therefore if the 680 beats the 590, then the 770 definitely beats 480 SLI.

Again, not by a big margin, but like you said. It's a good sidegrade with heat and noise considerations.\\

edit: actually, I have to retract this, it's a little muddier than I thought in terms of performance. Seems the 590 on average is about 4-5% faster than a single 680. The 770 would still be a little faster than 480 sli, but definitely not by much.
 
I just moved from a 480 SLI setup to a single 780 Gigabyte Ghz Edition. It's faster and much cooler now.
 
Maybe due to something called budget and performance per $. GTX 780 is ~$530 while 770 is ~$330. Performance difference for a game like BF4 is ~12% faster for ~60% more money. Absolutely not worth it.
 
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Sodapopjones said:
Why do people constantly bring up 770's, they're garbage buy a 780...
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Not sure why you'd think that. A gtx 770 (a gtx 680 with moderately faster clocks) is a superb card for ~$330, only around 10% slower than a gtx 780 which costs $180 more.

As for OPs question, a gtx 680/770 will be just about on par with dual gtx 480s and be a hell of a lot cooler/less power-hungry. Ive had both setups and would say if you're simply interested in gpu power, it's not really a step up. Since you seem to keep your cards for a while, id suggest waiting for higher-end Maxwell at 20nm later this year -- this will give you the performance boost you're looking for plus significantly better power efficiency.
 
Sodapopjones said:
Why do people constantly bring up 770's, they're garbage buy a 780...
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OP's question was:

What nVidia single card solution would exactly match (or come close to power/performance) when benchmarked against two stock GTX 480's in SLI?

So the answer is basically: "GTX 770" ;)
 
harmattan said:
Not sure why you'd think that. A gtx 770 (a gtx 680 with moderately faster clocks) is a superb card for ~$330, only around 10% slower than a gtx 780 which costs $180 more.

As for OPs question, a gtx 680/770 will be just about on par with dual gtx 480s and be a hell of a lot cooler/less power-hungry. Ive had both setups and would say if you're simply interested in gpu power, it's not really a step up. Since you seem to keep your cards for a while, id suggest waiting for higher-end Maxwell at 20nm later this year -- this will give you the performance boost you're looking for plus significantly better power efficiency.
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An OC'ed 760 is just as capable, as a 770. Just like everyone with a brain bought a 670 vs a 680 to begin with.

If you're buying nVidia 760 or 780. ;)

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That is not an Apples-to-Apples comparison. Notice the AA, post AA and resolution differences.
 
garetjax27 said:
I've been running two EVGA GTX 480's in SLI (don't laugh) for the last couple of years, and I'm now looking to run a single card solution. My question:

1) What nVidia single card solution would exactly match (or come close to power/performance) when benchmarked against two stock GTX 480's in SLI?

Is it a 7-series videocard? A 6-series? Something else? The GTX 480's in question are 015-P3-1480-AR.
Click to expand...

I'd recommend a 780 minimum.

cortexodus said:
I'm guessing a GTX770 would match and most likely best a 480 SLI config while also being a helluva lot more power conservative along with the massive reduction in heat.
Click to expand...

No actually it wouldn't assuming the 480's are performing well in a fully SLI scaled game. I've got 3 of my old GTX480's I had in Tri Sli on my old i7 980x rig and did comparisons with my 680 4GB (slightly overclocked, which the 770 is) and on some games and benchies the 2 480's are plain faster then the single 680. Comes at the cost of heat, noise and power draw.

Supercharged_Z06 said:
Yes, at stock clocks, a single 680 is roughly on par with SLI'ed 480's. If you want a nice and noticeable bump in performance going to a single card, I'd recommend a 780.
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See above.

TFchris said:
Two GTX480's will most likely beat out a single GTX680/GTX770. As a GTX480 is comparable (slightly stronger) than a GTX570. Two GTX570's = GTX590 > GTX680/GTX770 assuming scaling goes well.

GTX780 on the other hand would be the no brainer.

GTX680/GTX770 would make a great side grade though, if noise/heat/power consumption is a problem for you.
Click to expand...

Two 570's are a bit faster then the 590 actually again depends on the game and application. The 590 again is a bit faster in some applications then the 680. But the 680 has no bullshit issues such as microstuttering the 590 had and at least can overclock. The 590 was a flop with overclocking (most cases with dual gpu single pcb solutions).
 
You should sell the 480's and get an ASUS GTX 780 DCUII http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DWV3NM6. The 780 will outperform SLI 480's, use much less power, and last you quite a bit longer than a 770 will due to it's larger bus and VRAM.
 
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So the general, overall consensus is that a single GTX 770 is approximately as powerful as two GTX 480's in SLI. I do recognize that I probably wouldn't want to go this route (after all, I'm not acheiving much of anything in pure performance according to many here), so I will probably wait until the GTX 780 drops in price.

Thanks to all for the advice and replies! =)
 
Looking at the HWBot rankings for SLI 480's using 3DMark Vantage, it looks like single GTX 680 and the HD 7970's each are very close in to what you're looking for.
 
Just went from 760 SLI to 780 and I'm happy I did. Very fast when OC not quite what the SLI 760's put out in benchmarks but it's pretty close. Quiet & uses less power. I would recommend EVGA GTX 780 SC.
 
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