Replacing SLI 480s

A

AlvinMaker

Limp Gawd
Joined
Dec 8, 2009
Messages
288
Hi guys-

I am getting back into the PC gaming mix after a hiatus, and am seriously considering replacing my beloved EVGA SLI 480s. While they provided me hours of gaming goodness, the fan noise/hurricane that ensues is getting to be a bit much. (I have written off water cooling after a friend had his Titan loaded dream machine spring a leak, so I am staying on air.)

I game on 3 Dell 27" displays, so my normal res is 5760x1200. Mainly a shooter guy, i.e. BF3 (and eventually 4, I imagine), Crysis, etc... My latest addiction is re-visiting a highly modded ENB Skyrim. (which of course can completely cripple my current setup without some careful tweaking).

SO- in a perfect world, I would like to stay single GPU, if possible- this had me looking at the Titan. The single card is because technically my mobo does not support 3 PCI cards at the proper bandwidth. (my boot drive is a 120GB PCI SSD). I am using HyperSLI to force SLI on the 2 480s at the moment. It's worked flawlessly, but I'd prefer to not need a "hack" with my next setup.

So single GPU for 5760x1200...Titan, or should I be looking elsewhere? (It probably goes without saying as I am IN the NVIDIA forum, but I would much prefer to stay green- I had a TERRIBLE experience when I built the 1st iteration of my machine a few years ago, and it left a NASTY taste in my mouth for the red side.)

I have been rooting around other forums, and so far the consensus is either 780 SLI (again, not really wanting to go 2 card again, due to the PCI situation with my Z77 mobo), and a few have tossed out the R9 290 from the red side. The ref ones seem to have the same problem I am having now, though....crazy, hair dryer noise and loads of heat. Kinda' hoping to get away from that.

I'm starting to think my only real options in "single card land" are to go with something like the 690 (or 790 if that comes to fruition), or a 7990 if I get over my fear of the "A" word. :D

Anyone with experience in the triple monitor/5760x1200 res dept., suggestions are much appreciated! (especially with a single card solution... It is appearing to me that VRAM is pretty critical, I just can't seem to get a straight answer on whether 3GB is enough for my setup, or I should be looking to the 4+ range in the highest end cards)

Thanks for any advice. Cheers.
 
Stay far, far away from the 7990, or any dual card AMD setup that isn't a 290(x). I run the same res you do on a single 780 lightning. Skyrim with tins of mods, and some enb stuff rubs great, as does metro ll, hitman, bf3, crysis 3 etc.
 
Ah, thanks- great to know! I was looking at the 780/690 as possible replacements. (along with the Titan, of course). Just trying to keep the budget in check.

(I had a BAAAAAAD experience with a 5970, then on to dual 5870s...it was a NIGHTMARE :eek: ).
 
I have a 690 and I love it very much, but at this point it's pretty much pointless to get one (especially for a triple monitor setup as 2gb probably won't cut it). Any overclocked 780ti will more or less match a 690 and you get the benefit if it being a single gpu with 3gb of vram. I'm looking at getting the EVGA 780ti SC ACX myself in a month or two.
 
Thanks guys-

As a side, I just loaded up Skyrim with all of my mods, and no surprise...I am maxed out at 1536. (I of course had to trim back a the textures to get it playable on my current setup. Hoping to NOT have to do that with this next upgrade..:D )

SO- I am wondering if the 3GB 780 is the way to go. Less power and heat and double the VRAM.
 
I personally would go for a factory OC'ed 780 and see how you like it. A 780 should actually be pretty close to 480 sli in performance - you may want to go reference just in case you opt for SLI later though. You can pretty much judge how a 780 feels for you (IMO you'll love it) and then if it isn't enough you can opt for SLI. But I really think a single 780 with an overclock will be fine.

An overclocked 780ti aftermarket card is faster than the GTX 690, but it costs a lot more than a regular 780 which is no slouch itself.
 
xoleras said:
I personally would go for a factory OC'ed 780 and see how you like it. A 780 should actually be pretty close to 480 sli in performance - you may want to go reference just in case you opt for SLI later though. You can pretty much judge how a 780 feels for you (IMO you'll love it) and then if it isn't enough you can opt for SLI. But I really think a single 780 with an overclock will be fine.

An overclocked 780ti aftermarket card is faster than the GTX 690, but it costs a lot more than a regular 780 which is no slouch itself.
Click to expand...

Thanks - I think I am getting closer to making a decision. Last thing in the mix...is it worth it to look at something with 4+ gb vram, i.e. a 770 4gb. (without going all out budget busting Titan). I am MAXED out right now in Skyrim at 5760x1200, with the HD texture mods. (only 1536mb, and it's all gone)
 
Avoid the 4 gig 770's, they don't have the horsepower (or bandwidth) to really use that extra VRAM at your resolutions, unless you go SLI...in which case you're right back at 780 Ti money.
 
The GTX 770 is basically a rebadged GTX 680 with a slightly higher base and boost clock. The 680 in turn has slightly less performance than GTX 480 SLI. I'm sure the boosted clocks on the 770 would even things out though.

With that said, I'd go with a factory overclocked 780 or 780ti for some future-proofing.
 
AlvinMaker said:
Thanks - I think I am getting closer to making a decision. Last thing in the mix...is it worth it to look at something with 4+ gb vram, i.e. a 770 4gb. (without going all out budget busting Titan). I am MAXED out right now in Skyrim at 5760x1200, with the HD texture mods. (only 1536mb, and it's all gone)
Click to expand...

You'll be fine with 3GB VRAM IMO. I have a few buds that use that resolution with 780s, modded Skyrim, and they are fine gameplay wise with no issues in surround. The only thing that will have you hitting a VRAM wall is if you use tons of SGSSAA or OGSSAA on top of super high MSAA levels, but that's a non issue because you'd run out of GPU power before VRAM runs out anyway. Let's say you get 100 fps without SGSSAA. That turns into like 10-20 with. So it's not useful at all except in older games.

TL'DR: you'll be fine with 3GB. ;) If you have a roomy full size case, i'd opt for a factory overclocked aftermarket edition. The 780 really scales very well with overclocking, so that's something to consider if you're into overclocking.
 
A GTX 780 will be considerably faster (and smoother, frame rate wise) than GTX 480s in SLI, especially in big resolutions. The 3GB VRAM will help greatly in that regard. IMO spend a few more dollars and get a Galaxy 780 HOF or MSI Lightning 780 -- those cards, for around $30 more than the MSRP for a stock 780, are great overclockers.
 
I went from 480SLI to a single 680 and found it had 90% of the performance of the 480s.

I then went 680 SLI a few weeks later and when the 780s were released, I went 780SLI

At the time, it cost me about $1400 but I think 780s are $450ish now so I would get two 780s before I considered a single Titan or 690.

I run an mATX case (FT03) so I'm limited to two cards but the newer cards run cooler and quieter than the old ones but a wide margin.

If money is not an issue, then I would go with the 780ti card(s) but the regular 780s are probably a better value - either one is going to rock Skyrim without issue.
 
I have the same three monitor set-up as you.
You will not, repeat will not be able to run games to their maximum potential on a single card, Titan or otherwise.
Sure, I could pull off some DX9 stuff with a single card, but not BF3 or 4, not Crysis3, not Metro......get my drift?

I would recommend at least GTX 780 SLi (but I realize you may need a new MB) or 290X Crossfire if you really want to play the way it was meant to be played. (and even then, running Crysis 3 on my GTX 780 SLi I have to run "high" settings whereas my 290Xs can run "ultra".)
 
magoo said:
I have the same three monitor set-up as you.
You will not, repeat will not be able to run games to their maximum potential on a single card, Titan or otherwise.
Sure, I could pull off some DX9 stuff with a single card, but not BF3 or 4, not Crysis3, not Metro......get my drift?

I would recommend at least GTX 780 SLi (but I realize you may need a new MB) or 290X Crossfire if you really want to play the way it was meant to be played. (and even then, running Crysis 3 on my GTX 780 SLi I have to run "high" settings whereas my 290Xs can run "ultra".)
Click to expand...

Interesting (and what I feared to be the truth, honestly...). As luck would have it, I impulse grabbed a Sapphire R9 290X to play with. If it is satisfactory to me after a week or 2, I'll set the wheels in motion to move my PCI SSD (or swap the mobo- either one would allow me the extra slot to Xfire...).

Thanks for the heads up on the Xfire 290s- I feel a little better about my impulse shopping, now :D
 
AlvinMaker said:
Interesting (and what I feared to be the truth, honestly...). As luck would have it, I impulse grabbed a Sapphire R9 290X to play with. If it is satisfactory to me after a week or 2, I'll set the wheels in motion to move my PCI SSD (or swap the mobo- either one would allow me the extra slot to Xfire...).

Thanks for the heads up on the Xfire 290s- I feel a little better about my impulse shopping, now :D
Click to expand...

I bought the same way.....one of those gotta have some new tech deals......which sort of spiraled into a whole new system for not one but soon after two 290Xs.
The only thing I had a hard time with was the reference coolers....they are kind of noisy at 75% fan......so now theyre watercooled.......dropped load temps from 94C to 45C.:D

I've only been able to look at a couple games head to head....CF vs SLi using identical graphics, but the 290xs look like clear winners......not to mention cheaper.....GPU AND waterblock for what I paid for the reference GTX 780 when it was released.
 
magoo said:
I bought the same way.....one of those gotta have some new tech deals......which sort of spiraled into a whole new system for not one but soon after two 290Xs.
The only thing I had a hard time with was the reference coolers....they are kind of noisy at 75% fan......so now theyre watercooled.......dropped load temps from 94C to 45C.:D

I've only been able to look at a couple games head to head....CF vs SLi using identical graphics, but the 290xs look like clear winners......not to mention cheaper.....GPU AND waterblock for what I paid for the reference GTX 780 when it was released.
Click to expand...

Haha- that's how most of my "builds" begin, too...a new "have to try" GPU, then a 2nd, and before you know it...a new rig altogether!

I grabbed the Sapphire "Tri-X" version, so it's got a the upgraded cooler on it. Interested to see how much better it performs than the stock one. (I am of course WAY too used to heat//noise with a pair of air cooled 480s :D ). Nice temps on yours! If I do a water rig, I have to do an ENTIRE separate build- I do some freelancing 3D/AV work, and it's all on my main machine. After my buddy's Titan loaded "dream machine" sprung a leak, I vowed not to have my main machine I rely on be water cooled. Just paranoid, I guess. But I'll def update if (more likely when) I Xfire and get some benching done. Should be fun.
 
AlvinMaker said:
Haha- that's how most of my "builds" begin, too...a new "have to try" GPU, then a 2nd, and before you know it...a new rig altogether!

I grabbed the Sapphire "Tri-X" version, so it's got a the upgraded cooler on it. Interested to see how much better it performs than the stock one. (I am of course WAY too used to heat//noise with a pair of air cooled 480s :D ). Nice temps on yours! If I do a water rig, I have to do an ENTIRE separate build- I do some freelancing 3D/AV work, and it's all on my main machine. After my buddy's Titan loaded "dream machine" sprung a leak, I vowed not to have my main machine I rely on be water cooled. Just paranoid, I guess. But I'll def update if (more likely when) I Xfire and get some benching done. Should be fun.
Click to expand...

Well I now have the opposite problem.
I've been looking hard at the newest "rigid" tubing. now that Monsoon has come out with professional cutting and bending tools, I am really getting interested in tearing down my current 800D and redoing the watercooling with those new tubes.
Only thing is the cost of the tools and investment in a bunch of new connectors.......:eek:
 
magoo said:
Well I now have the opposite problem.
I've been looking hard at the newest "rigid" tubing. now that Monsoon has come out with professional cutting and bending tools, I am really getting interested in tearing down my current 800D and redoing the watercooling with those new tubes.
Only thing is the cost of the tools and investment in a bunch of new connectors.......:eek:
Click to expand...

That sounds like a fun project. Closest I got to my last water project was picking up the Koolance 480 blocks. They sat in my office for a couple years until I finally threw em on the 'bay. Little did I know people were after these things and I got double what I paid for 'em. :D
 
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