4GB 770 SLI or 3GB 780 SLI?

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geok1ng

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This article made me wonder if enthusiasts are going the wrong way with 780 SLI builds.

I looked at triple-1080p numbers in high settings:

Adding a second 770 increases FPS by 75,6% on average.
Adding a second 780 increases FPS by 64,8% on average.

Looking closer to the results, game by game:

Metro Last Light - Medium - 5760x1080 53 fps vs 60 fps SLI 780 wins
Metro Last Light - Very high - 5760x1080 39 fps vs 43 fps BOTH (UN) PLAYABLE
BioShock Infinite - 5760x1080 - Ultra DDOF 41 fps vs 50 fps BOTH (UN) PLAYABLE
Tomb Raider - 5760x1080 - Ultra 4x AA 33 fps vs 38 fps BOTH (UN) PLAYABLE
Crysis 3 - 5760x1080 - Very High 4x AA 20 fps vs 28 fps BOTH UNPLAYABLE
Hitman: Absolution - 5760x1080 - High 4x AA 38 fps vs 47 fps BOTH (UN) PLAYABLE
Far Cry 3 - 5760x1080 - Ultra 4xAA 33 fps vs 40 fps BOTH (UN) PLAYABLE
Max Payne 3 - 5760x1080 - 16x AF 2x AA 60 fps vs 48 fps SLI 770 wins
Dirt: Showdown - 5760x1080 - Ultra 4x AA 63 fps vs 79 fps BOTH PLAYABLE

Looking at the numbers one can only speculate that there may be games and settings where a 4GB 770 could close the gap or even pull ahead of SLI 780.

Only in Metro LL the 780s reached the magical 60fps target while the 770s did not. It means that there are not that many games or settings that would be playable on 780s that 770s didn't get the job done. Things get even more interesting once you factor in SLI 760 results. next post i will dissect 1440p numbers for 770 SLI vs 780 SLI.
 
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1440p SLI numbers are relevant for a number of reasons:

1440p gamers are more prevalent than 3x1080p gamers.
1440p its a resolution where one may want numbers above 60fps because a few monitors on this resolution OC up to 120hz.
Triple 1440p is the first resolution where one can not assume a priori that 2GB will be enough for every game and setting, so larger frame buffers like the 4Gb 770 become less epennis and more reasonable concerns.

bf3-multi-avg.png
skyrim-multi-avg.png

bioshock-multi-avg.png
borderlands-multi-avg.png
crysis-multi-avg.png
farcry-multi-avg.png
hitman-multi-avg.png
tombraider-multi-avg.png


Only in BF3 did we see performance to justify going SLI 780 in place of SL| 770. And that only if the monitor can actually display 120fps.
At such a "low" resolution as 1440p we are running into processor-bound scenarios before raw GPU power can actually make a difference. But this also means that unlike the previous 3x1080p numbers, here a 4GB 770 wont make better than a vanilla 2GB 770.
 
Back to face the question of 3x1080p numbers comparing 2x3GB 780 against 3x2GB 770.

Metro 2033 - 5760x1080 - Medium 63 fps 58 fps TRISLi 770 wins
Metro 2033 - 5760x1080 - Very High 10 fps 36 fps SLi 780s wins *looks like 2GB is too little for this
The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim - 5760x1080 - High 4x AA 151 fps 126 fps 3x770 wins
Battlefield 3 - 5760x1080 - Ultra 4x AA - DoF 90 83 fps 68 fps 3x770 wins
Crysis 2 DX11 - 5760x1080 - Extreme Hi-res-Edge AA 75 fps 63 fps 3x770 again
Unreal 3 DX11 Benchmark - 5760x1080 - High 4x MSAA 102 fps 82 fps 3x770s
Dirt: Showdown - 5760x1080 - Ultra 4x AA 90 fps 79 fps 770s
MaxPayne3-5760x1080-Highest 16xAF 2xAA 86 fps 48 fps 3x780=67 fps.Game likes high memy clock
Far Cry 3 - 5760x1080 - Ultra 4xAA 44 fps 40 fps 770 again
Hitman: Absolution - 5760x1080 - High 4x AA 38 fps 47 fps * No scaling beyond 2 GPUs
Crysis 3 - 5760x1080 - Medium 97 fps 83 fps 770 wins
Crysis 3 - 5760x1080 - Very High 4x AA 27 fps 28 fps 780 wins *likes more memory, 3GB not enough?
Tomb Raider - 5760x1080 - Ultra 4x AA 46 fps 38 fps 770 wins
BioShock Infinite - 5760x1080 - Medium 136 fps 114 fps 770 wins
BioShock Infinite - 5760x1080 - Ultra DDOF 48 fps 50 fps 780 wins.
Metro Last Light - Very high - 5760x1080 38 fps 43 fps no scaling beyond 2 GPUs,

I would say that Hitman Absolution and Metro LL favored the 780s while max payne favored the 770s. On the other 2 games where we saw 2x780 victories the issue clearly was memory, because 770s were winning in lower settings, so one can presume that 4GB 770s could surpass the 3Gb 780 numbers.

Too bad the 4GB EVGA 770 with the reference Titan cooler is out of stock, because looking at the numbers 3x4GB 770s look really yummy.
 
geok1ng said:
Back to face the question of 3x1080p numbers comparing 2x3GB 780 against 3x2GB 770.

Metro 2033 - 5760x1080 - Medium 63 fps 58 fps TRISLi 770 wins
Metro 2033 - 5760x1080 - Very High 10 fps 36 fps SLi 780s wins *looks like 2GB is too little for this
The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim - 5760x1080 - High 4x AA 151 fps 126 fps 3x770 wins
Battlefield 3 - 5760x1080 - Ultra 4x AA - DoF 90 83 fps 68 fps 3x770 wins
Crysis 2 DX11 - 5760x1080 - Extreme Hi-res-Edge AA 75 fps 63 fps 3x770 again
Unreal 3 DX11 Benchmark - 5760x1080 - High 4x MSAA 102 fps 82 fps 3x770s
Dirt: Showdown - 5760x1080 - Ultra 4x AA 90 fps 79 fps 770s
MaxPayne3-5760x1080-Highest 16xAF 2xAA 86 fps 48 fps 3x780=67 fps.Game likes high memy clock
Far Cry 3 - 5760x1080 - Ultra 4xAA 44 fps 40 fps 770 again
Hitman: Absolution - 5760x1080 - High 4x AA 38 fps 47 fps * No scaling beyond 2 GPUs
Crysis 3 - 5760x1080 - Medium 97 fps 83 fps 770 wins
Crysis 3 - 5760x1080 - Very High 4x AA 27 fps 28 fps 780 wins *likes more memory, 3GB not enough?
Tomb Raider - 5760x1080 - Ultra 4x AA 46 fps 38 fps 770 wins
BioShock Infinite - 5760x1080 - Medium 136 fps 114 fps 770 wins
BioShock Infinite - 5760x1080 - Ultra DDOF 48 fps 50 fps 780 wins.
Metro Last Light - Very high - 5760x1080 38 fps 43 fps no scaling beyond 2 GPUs,

I would say that Hitman Absolution and Metro LL favored the 780s while max payne favored the 770s. On the other 2 games where we saw 2x780 victories the issue clearly was memory, because 770s were winning in lower settings, so one can presume that 4GB 770s could surpass the 3Gb 780 numbers.

Too bad the 4GB EVGA 770 with the reference Titan cooler is out of stock, because looking at the numbers 3x4GB 770s look really yummy.
Click to expand...

Have they made a 4GB 770 with the Titan cooler? All I see is 2 GB.
 
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EVGA GeForce GTX 770 SC 04G-P4-3773-KR

This was the link i saw with a classified 4GB +Titan cooler.Turns out this part number now refer to an ACX cooler card.

Of course i was daydreaming: 4Gb cards are non-reference by definition, so why would EVGA slap teh high cost Titan cooler over a non-reference card?

I think we consumers are to blame for such extinctions: we continue to shop for raw price and forget to value the building quality of truly high end coolers. Brands compete and will always try to force us to buy low cost solutions, like the open air designs with heat pipes instead of blowers with vapor chambers.
But even so the blower used in some 4GB 770 is OK.
 
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