GTX 970 3-way sli on a asrock z97 extreme 4 mobo?

[FUBAR44]

I just built a new gaming system and was wondering if I could tri-sli gtx 970's on my asrock z97 extreme 4 motherboard? I already bought 2 but was wondering about getting a 3rd. I know the mobo specs say i CAN but SHOULD I? it would be running a 8-4-4x lanes rather than 8/8 lanes. How slow would the two 4 lanes be and would it be beneficial over my current 2-way sli 970's?

BTW I am running a i5-4690k, asrock extreme 4, 8gb 2133 ram, 128gb ssd, 3tb hdd.

I game on nvidia surround at 5760x1080.

Any help would be appreciated because I searched around the internet to no avail.

Also if anyone has any tri-sli benchmarks for the gtx 970 I would love to see them.

Thanks!

 

[NBSN]

No, I definitely would not. Stick with two.

 

[FUBAR44]

Could you explain your reasoning please?

 

[Jimbob1]

I would defiantly not if I was you. Stick with two, simply the fact because if you went with 3 you would need a big power supply; I'm talking a 1200W as the one shown below. I would recommend just two, having two of them cards will do the job I promise you that. If you were building a simulator fair enough; 3 is needed.

Gaming at 5760x1080 will do fine with them two graphics card; just because how powerful they actually are.

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Professional-Digital-Modular-Platinum/dp/B008Q7HUR0/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1411439821&sr=1-1&keywords=1200w

 

[NBSN]

Could you explain your reasoning please?

Well, simply because three would be bottlenecking by your CPU. Two are enough for your display configuration. You said that they would run in 8-4-4 so you would get worse performance than just using two at 8-8. You would need a lot more power to get no extra performance. And extra cost.

 

[rhysiam]

I'm 90% sure that SLI will only be available with a x8 slot or higher. That's an Nvidia design decision. Crossfire will work in x4 slots, but SLI will not.

I've been doing some googling to try and get an official website stating this and have come up short, but it's on a bunch of forums.

If this information is no longer true, please someone set me straight. It was definitely the case on PCIe 2.0 cards.

 

[babernet_1]

If you want to go with three, get an I7-5930K. It will have the PCI lanes to keep your boards fed. Since you are at such a high resolution you really could use the third board. Keep in mind it will be a waiting game when an if the drivers will be updated to make the third board effective.

Here's a review of SLI 970's. As you can see, even they are brought to their knees at high resolution.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_970_SLI/

 

[k1114]

You can't sli on x4 slot.

 

[FUBAR44]

I would defiantly not if I was you. Stick with two, simply the fact because if you went with 3 you would need a big power supply; I'm talking a 1200W as the one shown below. I would recommend just two, having two of them cards will do the job I promise you that. If you were building a simulator fair enough; 3 is needed.

Gaming at 5760x1080 will do fine with them two graphics card; just because how powerful they actually are.

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Professional-Digital-Modular-Platinum/dp/B008Q7HUR0/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1411439821&sr=1-1&keywords=1200w

My PSU is a EVGA supernova 1300 g2 so I think I would have enough power to push the 3 cards. I am more worried about future proofing my rig because I really don't want to have to upgrade anything for another 5-6 years. I figured if there was a way to tri-sli my rig I would be set for a good long while. And if there WAS a way then my fellow tomshardware friends would know about it.

Can any of the z97 boards run 3 way sli or do you absolutely have to upgrade to an x99 plat form. The reason I ask is Everything for my build is still in the packaging because I was waiting for everything to arrive before I actually put it together.

 

[k1114]

There are z97 with plx so you have more lanes to tri sli. http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/motherboard/#l=3&sort=a8&xcx=0&c=99

 

[FUBAR44]

If you want to go with three, get an I7-5930K. It will have the PCI lanes to keep your boards fed. Since you are at such a high resolution you really could use the third board. Keep in mind it will be a waiting game when an if the drivers will be updated to make the third board effective.

Here's a review of SLI 970's. As you can see, even they are brought to their knees at high resolution.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_970_SLI/

This is exactly why I was wondering about adding a 3rd board. Im mean look at the crysis 3 numbers. That game isn't even playable at 5760x1080, not to mention what are games going to be like in 2-4 years down the line? I love the game witcher 2 but it is a gpu buster much like the crysis games are and with the witcher 3 right around the corner it makes me think if its even going to be playable at that high of a resolution.

This is the build that I am about to put together....

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/M7gjvK
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/M7gjvK/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Micro Center)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($28.66 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 EXTREME4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($128.79 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($82.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra Plus 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($101.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($339.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($339.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Thermaltake Chaser MK-I ATX Full Tower Case ($114.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 1300 G2 1300W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($178.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($13.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: AOC E2425SWD 60Hz 24.0" Monitor ($129.99 @ B&H)
Monitor: AOC E2425SWD 60Hz 24.0" Monitor ($129.99 @ B&H)
Monitor: AOC E2425SWD 60Hz 24.0" Monitor ($129.99 @ B&H)
Total: $1980.31
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-22 23:05 EDT-0400

 

[Delroy Monjo]

From the babernet_1 linked review: "Overall, the GeForce GTX 970 SLI, coupled with $500-ish 28-inch Ultra HD monitors, heralds Ultra HD gaming for PC builds with budgets of under $2000."

 

[rhysiam]

Just swap out your current motherboard for this one: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-gaz97xgaminggt, it'll add only ~$60 to your build. Then you can grab the 3rd video card if you want to either now or down the track.

As others have said, be prepared for driver frustration, particularly if you're someone who likes to pick up games close to release day. You'll be running Surround AND 3 way SLI, both of which are heavily dependent on drivers for a good experience. You'll often have to make compromises to get Surround working (weird UI bugs, cut scene oddities, etc) and you'll often find 3 way performing the same (or even worse at times) than 2 way. You'll need to do some testing and mucking around for each new game.

When it all works you'll be a happy gamer, but expect to have to invest time and energy into getting a good experience... and expect sometimes even after investing time & energy, you'll have to make compromises.