Card(s) for GPGPU

[Mastergrief NPR]

I am currently planning to build a micro atx system for college. I will be majoring in physics and pursuing a graduate degree thereafter. I am wondering what a good GPU for GPGPU and games. Several combinations I have found are 2 x r9 290x, 2 x 970, 2 x 780 ti super-clocked ($350 on newegg), and 2 x 7990 (found for $350 on newegg). I do not know if I need more single or double precision for physics(maybe engineering as well) calculations. Could you please provide me with recommendations and explanations as what to buy. Also I will get an i7 4790k and fast ram so other bottlenecks are not an issue.

 

[TheCheapGamer]

2x970's are always a good choice to go with, see as you are also build a Micro System, the GTX 970 does come in Micro form :

http://www.asus.com/Graphics_Cards/GTX970DCMOC4GD5/

And also the 970's are slightly less power hungry than the other cards. I cant see you going wrong with them. The r9 290's are also really good cards and are slightly cheaper than the 970's if you are strapped for cash.

 

[Saberus]

I think nVidia has the better cards for GPGPU work, but all the cards you listed are geared for gaming, and may feel a bit sluggish for stuff like physics modeling or CAD work. Double precision can't hurt the accuracy, but it may slow down the performance even more.

As far as getting two cards, while they may fit on a micro ATX, if you cram them in a tiny case they're going to slowly roast themselves to death, to get enough airflow for two GPUs will make for a very loud case from the fans.

 

[smorizio]

http://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/anton-shilov/possible-specifications-of-unlocked-intel-skylake-processors-leak/
http://www.techradar.com/us/news/computing-components/processors/leaks-detail-intel-s-plans-for-broadwell-and-skylake-1291625
http://wccftech.com/amd-taped-radeon-r9-380x-gpu-amds-employee-lists-development-300w-25d-hbm-gpu-soc/
windows 10 looks to go to rtm in july. from amd leak.
http://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/2015/03/17/pascal/
if amd new r300 is as good in rt as it on paper nvidia may have to push up the date pascal may drop.
there few things right now to watch out for. one the intel 1150 line going to be replaced by 1151 cpu. may/june you be seeing the newer x100 chipset mb. newer mb ddr3/ddr4 ram. then amd r300 line on paper there going to be like the nvidia 900 line...less power and more work. one issue to watch out for is there not to many gaming micro atx that may fit two larger gpu. also if you do go with a smaller mb there may not be room for a wifi card or if you want a better sound card latter on do to slot placements.