2 way GTX 660 OC SLI or new graphics card?

[nick8876]

Hey guys,

I'm at a bit of a crossroads here and I could use some advice. I own a Gigabyte GTX 660 OC edition graphics as part of my gaming build. Great card, but I don't know if it would be a good idea (money-wise) to run a 2 way SLI to improve performance with the newer games coming out or just save up for a new GPU in the future. I've only owned it for a few months so I'd like to get the most out of it. I'd appreciate any advice. If I were to do SLI, I'd have to upgrade the PSU (currently running 600w 80+ bronze unit as of now).

As a side note, I have a z97 motherboard and an i5 devil's canyon chip coming for christmas, if that factors in at all.

 

[Danbuscus25]

eh, i would just get a 970 if i were you, you could keep your current psu, and it should perform better than 2 660's

 

[nick8876]

I figured as much. I bought the card because I was on a strict budget. I do want to get some more life out of this card, if possible. How well do you think it will perform on newer titles like Dead Rising 3 and other games that were released recentely?

 

[GOM3RPLY3R]

970. Do it. Now.

I got mine two weeks ago and I have not regretted it. Currently getting much better performance than my 770, my friends 780, and from benchmark standards, better than a 780Ti. I would also recommend the Gigabyte Gaming Edition with the 3 display ports. You never know if those will come in handy, lol. Joking aside the cooler on it is a beast. Running Furmark Burn-in @ 1080p, the max observable temperature was 68ºC @ ~104% power, which is great, even to mention that it uses ~175-180 watts on that level compared to my old GTX 770 that used ~ 250-255 watts. ^_^

These new silicon improvements are really showing these days.

 

[Danbuscus25]

it should handle them fine on medium-high

 

[BradleyJames]

the problem i find with sli is that new games usually only run off of 1 card until drivers with an sli profile are released. sometimes you can create your own settings to enable sli, sometimes you can. I have been finding that the vast majority of newer games are only running on 1 of the gpus

thats pretty much my only complaint with sli.

with that being said, if you have to upgrade your psu, i agree with Danbuscus25, just get a 970

 

[frag06]

I figured as much. I bought the card because I was on a strict budget. I do want to get some more life out of this card, if possible. How well do you think it will perform on newer titles like Dead Rising 3 and other games that were released recentely?

It's best to have a single GPU if possible. The 970 will perform better, and for $350, it is a great deal.

 

[nick8876]

Cool. I look into the 970 once the price drops a little. I'm a college student so my money goes towards books, tuition, that sort of thing. I want to get some more use out of my 660 before I blow any major money.

Regarding the 970, how big is it? Size is a factor for me because I have an mATX case, namely the Cougar Spike mATX tower. Would it fit?

 

[frag06]

Cool. I look into the 970 once the price drops a little. I'm a college student so my money goes towards books, tuition, that sort of thing. I want to get some more use out of my 660 before I blow any major money.

Regarding the 970, how big is it? Size is a factor for me because I have an mATX case, namely the Cougar Spike mATX tower. Would it fit?

Their site says it will fit a 330mm card, and the biggest 970 so far is the Gigabyte G1 at 312mm.

 

[Danbuscus25]

most 970's are well under 300mm

 

[nick8876]

That's good. I shouldn't have any problems mounting it in my case then. Thank's for your help. Appreciate it.

 

[GOM3RPLY3R]

Well according to Newegg, my 970 is 403.86 mm long . Looking at my case (Corsair 750D), it seems to be about 25-30mm to spare before the hard drive cage.

Note: though the prices are low now, who knows if they may go up. Looking at the last release of the GTX 700 series, the cards started out at X, then after a couple days went down about $20, then increase by almost $100 or more. I'd say if this happens again, you might have about 1 month to do so. :/

 

[frag06]

Well according to Newegg, my 970 is 403.86 mm long . Looking at my case (Corsair 750D), it seems to be about 25-30mm to spare before the hard drive cage.

Note: though the prices are low now, who knows if they may go up. Looking at the last release of the GTX 700 series, the cards started out at X, then after a couple days went down about $20, then increase by almost $100 or more. I'd say if this happens again, you might have about 1 month to do so. :/

Newegg has the wrong specs listed for the Gigbayte G1. The 15.9 inches is the length of the box, the actual card is only 12.28 inches long.

 

[GOM3RPLY3R]

Spoiler

Well according to Newegg, my 970 is 403.86 mm long . Looking at my case (Corsair 750D), it seems to be about 25-30mm to spare before the hard drive cage.

Note: though the prices are low now, who knows if they may go up. Looking at the last release of the GTX 700 series, the cards started out at X, then after a couple days went down about $20, then increase by almost $100 or more. I'd say if this happens again, you might have about 1 month to do so. :/

Newegg has the wrong specs listed for the Gigbayte G1. The 15.9 inches is the length of the box, the actual card is only 12.28 inches long.

*facepalm* Good job newegg.

Thanks. But yeah, it is a pretty long card, lol. The cooling on it is very good though, for air, and also the fact that it takes much less power is a part of that as well.