Can I SLI A GTX 970 And A GTX 960?

[ChrisDovahkiin]

Title says it. I have a GTX 970. Just wondering if I can SLI it with a GTX 960.

 

[endeavour37a]

No.....

 

[ChrisDovahkiin]

No.....

Can you be a little more specific? Like is a technical thing? Or can two different cards NEVER be SLI'ed?

 

[drixkarasu]

No, the graphic card needs to have the exact same chip for SLI to work, you can only SLI a 970 with another 970.

 

[ChrisDovahkiin]

No, the graphic card needs to have the exact same chip, you can only SLI a 970 with another 970.

Ok, I didnt know thanks! Another question.....is two 970's comparable to a 980?

 

[Mousemonkey]

No, two 970's in SLi is faster.

 

[drixkarasu]

Two 970 perform better than a single 980.
Here's a review with some benchmarks.
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/geforce_gtx_970_sli_review,18.html

 

[hamzahfelix]

2 970's will cost about 20% more than a 980, but will absolutely wreck the 980, scoring 50% better performance than the 980.

 

[ChrisDovahkiin]

No, two 970's in SLi is faster.

Last question. Do the two 970's have to be the EXACT model or can I use two different versions of an EVGA 970. The only difference, one being super superclocked, and the other not being SSC.

 

[ChrisDovahkiin]

Don't get the FX 9590, its just a factory overclocked FX 8350, its not worth it, it has a 220W TDP, its insane, it also needs some hardcore cooling. Just get the FX 8320, and by the way what mobo do you have? for the FX 8xxx I recommend something around the GA-970A-UD3P, for a FX 9590, take a look at this, https://pcpartpicker.com/parts/motherboard/?compatible_with=amd-cpu-fd9590fhhkwof

I have an ASUS M5A99FX Pro R2.0. It's actually a really nice mobo for the price.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131851

 

[ChrisDovahkiin]

But, dont get the FX 9590, its not worth it, you can save an extra ~$100 by getting a FX 8320 + a CM Hyper 212 Evo (the stock fans will be really loud when the CPU is at load)

Thx (Again!) I'll grab the 8320. I don't mind a loud fan. I have a modded stock fan that runs ~4,300rpm. Keeps the OC'd 6300 down to ~40 degrees celsius

 

[ChrisDovahkiin]

But, dont get the FX 9590, its not worth it, you can save an extra ~$100 by getting a FX 8320 + a CM Hyper 212 Evo (the stock fans will be really loud when the CPU is at load)

Ok, honestly is it really necessary for me to upgrade? I looked at this: http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/304/AMD_FX-Series_FX-6300_vs_AMD_FX-Series_FX-8350.html

It appears the 8350 is only a little better than my 6300. Or will the 6300 bottleneck with the two 970's?

 

[ChrisDovahkiin]

TBH, both will bottleneck

I feared as much. Will it be noticeable in Skyrim with the 8350? Honestly right now, the 6300 runs great. Without an ENB, I get a solid 60. With ENB, I have 45-60 outdoors and a solid 60 indoors. But then, I'm only using one 970.

 

[ChrisDovahkiin]

But you should really overclock the FX to lessen the bottleneck

Alright. Thanks a million dude. Honestly you've really influenced my decisions, and I appreciate that!

 

[ChrisDovahkiin]

Through some ini adjustments, Skyrim can use up to 6 cores, but honestly my 6300+GTX 970 haven't had any isuues. I just want more VRAM for all the textures that I used. I've basically maxed out the 3.5gb that I have

 

[ChrisDovahkiin]

lol. I have 3.5. Add another 3.5. 3.5 + 3.5 = 7. I'm ok with 7.

 

[drixkarasu]

SLI doesn't work like that, the data is duplicated in both cards so 3.5+3.5 = 3.5GB. You won't get extra vram.

 

[ChrisDovahkiin]

oh. Derp. Again thx for that info! But the speed and performance is still better? It just splits the load, so to speak?

 

[drixkarasu]

Yes, the load is split between each GPU, usually by having each card rendering every other frame. So GPU 1 would render frames 1,3,5... and GPU 2 would render frames 2,4,6... This increases performance quite a bit, but you have the same vram as with a single card.

 

[ChrisDovahkiin]

Yes, the load is split between each GPU, usually by having each card rendering every other frame. So GPU 1 would render frames 1,3,5... and GPU 2 would render frames 2,4,6... This increases performance quite a bit, but you have the same vram as with a single card.

Again, thx for all this info that I didn't know. Bottom line, I'm getting an FX 8350 and another 970. And a bigger PSU, of course! Thx to all of you!