SLI 680 w/ 955 OR single 680 and i5 3570k Upgrade

B

bodine1231

Limp Gawd
Joined
May 10, 2005
Messages
364
Hi,I've got $500 to upgrade my gaming PC and just wondering where best to put my money.

I currently have a 955BE w/ GTX 680 2gb and I game at 2560x1440 (27"). Would I be better served by buying another 680 with my current rig or upgrading my mobo/ram/cpu (i5-3570k) and sticking with the single GPU? I'm worried about bottle-necking issues with two GTX 680's and a 955BE.

Both upgrades will cost about the same ~500 give or take.
 
Last edited:
I would highly suggest getting the i5. A 955 can bottleneck 1 GTX 680, so I'm sure most of the gains of the second card would be mostly lost.
 
i have to agree with everyone else, cpu/mb/ram. there is a big jump in cpu performance between a pii and an ivy. seeing as you have a 25x14 monitor it makes it a little bit of a harder choice, but i would still go with the cpu/mb/ram.
 
I am going to be the odd ball here and recommend you go with another AMD chip.

The FX 8350 is faster in quite a few games.

Watch this review
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eu8Sekdb-IE

For $500 I would go with this setup:
Corsair Vengence 16gb ddr3 1600
AMD FX-8350 FX-Series Eight-Core Processor

ASUS SABERTOOTH 990FX R2.0


I agree with the other guys that a barebones upgrade is needed and a 3570k would be a heck of a performance increase and it is a heck of a cpu that you will be very happy with. in fact if you don't already have an ssd I would recommend adding another $50-$100 to your budget so you can get one. That advice is for what ever cpu you decide. Once you have one you wont ever want a system w/o one.
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
I'm going to disagree. I would definitely not recommend a FX8350 over the i5 3570k, especially for gaming.
 
tokey said:
I am going to be the odd ball here and recommend you go with another AMD chip.

The FX 8350 is faster in quite a few games.

Watch this review
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eu8Sekdb-IE

For $500 I would go with this setup:
Corsair Vengence 16gb ddr3 1600
AMD FX-8350 FX-Series Eight-Core Processor

ASUS SABERTOOTH 990FX R2.0


I agree with the other guys that a barebones upgrade is needed and a 3570k would be a heck of a performance increase and it is a heck of a cpu that you will be very happy with. in fact if you don't already have an ssd I would recommend adding another $50-$100 to your budget so you can get one. That advice is for what ever cpu you decide. Once you have one you wont ever want a system w/o one.
Click to expand...

Wow,that is really eye opening. I wish he would have used/compared a GTX card as well though. Also he didn't mention the heat/power difference as well.
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
 
tricky0502 said:
i call bs. there isnt enough info in the video for me to believe their results.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/fx-8350-vishera-review,3328-13.html
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2012/11/06/amd-fx-8350-review/6
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6396/the-vishera-review-amd-fx8350-fx8320-fx6300-and-fx4300-tested/5
http://hothardware.com/Reviews/AMD-FX-8350-Vishera-8Core-CPU-Review/?page=8
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/fx-8350-8320-6300-4300_6.html#sect0
Click to expand...
Exactly. Guy has an agenda or is an idiot and doesn't know how to properly set up a system. In either case, don't believe it.

OP, upgrade to a 3570K, a decent mobo, and 8GB of RAM (DDR3 is cheap, why not?). Then overclock the snot out of it. GTX 680 SLI will be wasted on a 955.
 
Depends on the game and resolution. At that high resolution, a GPU upgrade might be more beneficial than a CPU upgrade, since high resolutions demand more GPU power than CPU power. Of course, there will be some bottlenecking, but the real question is, which will net you more performance for the same amount of money?

What games do you play?
 
Tsumi said:
Depends on the game and resolution. At that high resolution, a GPU upgrade might be more beneficial than a CPU upgrade, since high resolutions demand more GPU power than CPU power. Of course, there will be some bottlenecking, but the real question is, which will net you more performance for the same amount of money?

What games do you play?
Click to expand...

Thats what I was thinking. At 2560x1440 the 2gb of vram may be holding me back as much as the cpu. I play everything.
 
Adding a second card in SLI will not increase the amount of available VRAM.
 
I didnt see anything on OC your CPU. Do you have it OC? If not that would help also, provided you have a good cooler.
 
bodine1231 said:
Thats what I was thinking. At 2560x1440 the 2gb of vram may be holding me back as much as the cpu. I play everything.
Click to expand...

Don't worry, it won't. Unless you overload Skyrim with unoptimized third-party mods rather than good ones, for no fidelity increase. I run 2560x1600 and love my GTX 670 Gigabyte WindForce 3 OC.
 
tokey said:
I am going to be the odd ball here and recommend you go with another AMD chip.

The FX 8350 is faster in quite a few games.

Watch this review
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eu8Sekdb-IE

For $500 I would go with this setup:
Corsair Vengence 16gb ddr3 1600
AMD FX-8350 FX-Series Eight-Core Processor

ASUS SABERTOOTH 990FX R2.0


I agree with the other guys that a barebones upgrade is needed and a 3570k would be a heck of a performance increase and it is a heck of a cpu that you will be very happy with. in fact if you don't already have an ssd I would recommend adding another $50-$100 to your budget so you can get one. That advice is for what ever cpu you decide. Once you have one you wont ever want a system w/o one.
Click to expand...
lol that the 8350 is not faster for gaming. I guess they are testing gaming and some other tasks at the same time that is taking advantage of the multi tasking of the 8350. those are certainly not pure gaming benchmarks as EVERY reputable review out there will show the 3570k to be faster.
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
cannondale06 said:
lol that the 8350 is not faster for gaming. I guess they are testing gaming and some other tasks at the same time that is taking advantage of the multi tasking of the 8350. those are certainly not pure gaming benchmarks as EVERY reputable review out there will show the 3570k to be faster.
Click to expand...

Right. Gaming + streaming (very CPU intensive and highly parallel), the FX-8350 will beat the 3570k and at times can match the 3770k. It is well documented that on highly parallel multithreaded workloads, the 8350 will match the 3770k at times, and will outright beat the 3570k. But for normal gaming loads, the 3570k will be faster for the most part, with the exception of BF3 64-player maps.

Edit: The true question is though, will the bottleneck of the 955 be enough to make SLI performance worse than single GPU performance on the 3570k? I don't think that is a comparison that is very well documented.
 
Tsumi said:
Right. Gaming + streaming (very CPU intensive and highly parallel), the FX-8350 will beat the 3570k and at times can match the 3770k. It is well documented that on highly parallel multithreaded workloads, the 8350 will match the 3770k at times, and will outright beat the 3570k. But for normal gaming loads, the 3570k will be faster for the most part, with the exception of BF3 64-player maps.

Edit: The true question is though, will the bottleneck of the 955 be enough to make SLI performance worse than single GPU performance on the 3570k? I don't think that is a comparison that is very well documented.
Click to expand...
I dont think a single 680 with a 3570 would ever match the average framerate of 680 sli with a 955. the point is that the 955 would limit the crap out of a 680 setup though and probably have some sketchy minimum framerates. if his mobo can take the 8350 then I might would compromise and go that route. from scratch though, the 3570 would be the way to go.
 
tokey said:
I am going to be the odd ball here and recommend you go with another AMD chip.

The FX 8350 is faster in quite a few games.

Watch this review
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eu8Sekdb-IE

For $500 I would go with this setup:
Corsair Vengence 16gb ddr3 1600
AMD FX-8350 FX-Series Eight-Core Processor

ASUS SABERTOOTH 990FX R2.0


I agree with the other guys that a barebones upgrade is needed and a 3570k would be a heck of a performance increase and it is a heck of a cpu that you will be very happy with. in fact if you don't already have an ssd I would recommend adding another $50-$100 to your budget so you can get one. That advice is for what ever cpu you decide. Once you have one you wont ever want a system w/o one.
Click to expand...

That was actually a pretty interesting review, however it still seems that the largest benefit of going with that chip is if you plan on streaming your gaming sessions. If you don't plan to stream your live gaming sessions, I'd still go with the Intel i5 3570. If you DO plan to steam your gaming sessions, you may want to look for additional opinions/reviews on the validity of Tek Syndicate's review. That was the first review I've personally seen that showed any competitive results that would suggest going with either cpu, instead of Intel being the clear choice. Not saying I don't believe it, but....well...yeah I don't :D
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
OP what motherboard do you have. if you have a good AM3+ motherboard which supports the AMD FX cpus this is your best option.

1. sell the phenom ii x4 955 for 50 bucks.
2. get a AMD FX-8320 for 165 bucks . overclock it to 4.5 ghz

http://www.amazon.com/AMD-FD8320FRHKBOX-FX-8320-Eight-Core-Processor/dp/B009O7YU56/

3. get another gtx 680 for 450 - 470 bucks

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130768

obviously you will have to spend atleast 570 - 590 bucks for this. but worth it. if required save up money and then go for it.
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
and after you go with 8320 or i5 then save some money and just get 670 sli. clock for clock there is only a 3-5% difference between a gtx680 and gtx670 so that would be my choice.
 
raghu78 said:
OP what motherboard do you have. if you have a good AM3+ motherboard which supports the AMD FX cpus this is your best option.

1. sell the phenom ii x4 955 for 50 bucks.
2. get a AMD FX-8320 for 165 bucks . overclock it to 4.5 ghz

http://www.amazon.com/AMD-FD8320FRHKBOX-FX-8320-Eight-Core-Processor/dp/B009O7YU56/

3. get another gtx 680 for 450 - 470 bucks

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130768

obviously you will have to spend atleast 570 - 590 bucks for this. but worth it. if required save up money and then go for it.
Click to expand...

This is my motherboard. Can you mix a 680 and a 670? I thought it had to be the same one. Also,does the VRAM combine when you SLI? I bought the 2GB 680 before I picked up my 27" monitor so I'm wondering if that may be a limiting factor at that high resolution.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131402
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
Thanks for all the advice guys. I decided to go with this,total was 435


1 of: Intel Core i5-3570K Quad-Core Processor 3.4 GHz 4 Core LGA 1155 - BX80637I53570K [Personal Computers]


1 of: AS Rock LGA1155 DDR3 SATA3 USB3.0 Quad CrossFireX and Quad SLI A GbE ATX Motherboard Z77 EXTREME4 [Personal Computers]


1 of: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - CPU Cooler with 120mm PWM Fan (RR-212E-20PK-R2) [Personal Computers]


1 of: Corsair Vengeance 8 GB ( 2 x 4 GB ) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800) 240-Pin DDR3 Memory Kit for Core i3, i5, i7 and Platforms SDRAM CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9 [Personal Computers]
 
bodine1231 said:
This is my motherboard. Can you mix a 680 and a 670? I thought it had to be the same one. Also,does the VRAM combine when you SLI? I bought the 2GB 680 before I picked up my 27" monitor so I'm wondering if that may be a limiting factor at that high resolution.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131402
Click to expand...

GoldenTiger said:
Don't worry, it won't. Unless you overload Skyrim with unoptimized third-party mods rather than good ones, for no fidelity increase. I run 2560x1600 and love my GTX 670 Gigabyte WindForce 3 OC.
Click to expand...

As I said... and reviews back it up.
 
I want to thank everyone who recommended the i5-3570K. I got it in yesterday,overclocked it to 4.6 no problem and have noticed a major improvement in my minimum FPS. Borderlands 2 never drops below 60fps with everything maxed @ 2560x1440 and everything else runs like butter.
 
bodine1231 said:
I want to thank everyone who recommended the i5-3570K. I got it in yesterday,overclocked it to 4.6 no problem and have noticed a major improvement in my minimum FPS. Borderlands 2 never drops below 60fps with everything maxed @ 2560x1440 and everything else runs like butter.
Click to expand...
As I would have expected, but it's great you're satisfied. Happy pwning! :cool:
 
bodine1231 said:
I want to thank everyone who recommended the i5-3570K. I got it in yesterday,overclocked it to 4.6 no problem and have noticed a major improvement in my minimum FPS. Borderlands 2 never drops below 60fps with everything maxed @ 2560x1440 and everything else runs like butter.
Click to expand...

Better future proof option anyways. FWIW your old mobo doesn't support FX series CPU's as listed on the ASUS site, Ph II X6 was top chip. I run both a Ph II X6 and a 3570K and the Intel is a better gamer and folds more ppd on the F@H project. The only advantage the Ph II had going for it was it took way less of a ppd hit while simultaneously folding and running a game. If you're not a folder this is irrelevant. i5's run cooler with alot less power draw too. Enjoy your new rig ! I'd skip the SLI and wait for next gen hardware. Should be some avail with more than 2GB onboard to alleviate any texture memory limitations at hi res.
 
Unless you're running three monitors @ 5760x1200 you don't need more than 2GB of VRAM.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top