980 SLI worth it?

[Adam Georgeson]

Hiya,

I recently(only last week) bought a 980 and got rid of my 770.
I just got some more extra $ and can afford another 980 for SLI, but is it really worth it ?

Do I need to get a cooling system?

What are the main benefits of SLI?

I only run two screens and have never tried playing a game on both, would it be an idea to spend money on a 4K monitor then purchase another 980 ?

In your honest opinion, with my current build(See sig) would it just be a waste of money to upgrade to another 980 so quickly?

I want my system to last, some people have said it is pretty good and will, but I also want to get the best system I can buy with the current extra money I get monthly(This month it was 900 Pound hence the PSU upgrade & The first 980, got some extra now so..)

Is there any downsides to SLI?

Would I need a bigger PSU?
XFX ProSeries 850W PSU - XXX Edition Semi-Modular 80 Plus Bronze rated

What would you suggest guys?

Hope someone can help! Cheers

 

[sizzling]

Your PSU is good. If its worth it is totally down to you, personally I am waiting till something more powerful than the 980 is on the market with more vram and under £500. At that time I will probably bite and go 4k

 

[TechyInAZ]

It's not worth buying another gtx 980 unless your doing triple monitors and/or 4k.

 

[Adam Georgeson]

So running two 980s on SLI wont increase performance on a 1080p monitor?

 

[13thmonkey]

it might, but not in a way that you will notice, more unused frames. going to 1440p might be an idea, rog swift gsync

 

[Adam Georgeson]

@13thmonkey

I've hit the resolution through DSR in nvidia control panel up to 3840x2160 and am getting 30FPS solid in the city now, will getting another 980 in SLI improve it to like 60FPS? All I'm aiming for is that resolution on this 27 Inch monitor I have. It was default 1920x1080 and then I just figured how to get it to the max resolution my screen can do, which is 3840x2160 apparantly.

It looks absolutely amazing the graphics everything ultra its just the frame rate thats an issue now.

Hope you can help! cheers

 

[13thmonkey]

Ahh, i'd forgtten about DSR, it's still only showing you 1080p, but you are getting some improved Image Quality. In that case yes, another one will help, and if that's how you want to play then it is worth it.

 

[Adam Georgeson]

@13thmonkey. I just measured the card sizes and the current slot space I have, I think I can get the second card in slot 3(First is in slot one) however it will be a super tight fit between the PSU and a button on the motherboard.. any suggestion?

 

[13thmonkey]

go for a blower card so it sucks air in beyond the PSU, can the PSU still get good air? It'll need it.

 

[Adam Georgeson]

@13thmonkey

Just doing some looking around, can you judge by this and my estimates and let me know what the best option would be.

I have the card in the top slot, and planning on getting the next card in the first top grey slot in the picture here:
http://puu.sh/hjKBg/7b08cc8d23.jpg
With that being said, the Bottom of the card including fan space goes down right into the middle of the last grey slot where the slot is.

The card I have is approx 4cm thick including fan length,
The complete space I have from top slot to bottom middle slot is 12.5cm(approximately)

That's about 2ish - 3 ish cm from the PSU where the fan on the new card will be, do you think temperatures will be okay? and do you know what the black slot is ? It has a different kind of connector thing at the end, could i use this to put the graphics card in or is it a completely different slot?

Looking at this photo of my motherboard http://puu.sh/hjLc6/90890c15be.jpg may help

 

[13thmonkey]

because your PSU is (in my opinion, but not in many peoples opinion) upside down, you have no problem with PSU cooling. If you get a reference blower style card then you'll be fine, if you get a normal card then you'll be fine, the top card will be the concern with regards to temps, but that's just what SLI does to temps.

 

[Adam Georgeson]

@13thmonkey So if I leave it as it is and get the exact same graphics card which is the MSI GTX 980 Twin Frozr V OC. The temperatures shouldn't reach destroying levels?(breaking my card)

 

[13thmonkey]

it'll throttle first, if it can't get fan speeds high enough, in practise it'll boost less.