HD 5870 CF to GTX 670 SLI?

[ambam]

I am considering upgrading my old HD 5870's (1GB) dual CF setup and getting two GTX 670's in SLI.

Is this a good solid upgrade? I only have a 1920x1080 resolution monitor, but will I still notice an improvement in performance?

I have a Core i7 930 (Nehalem) and I wonder if it will CHOKE (bottleneck) on the two GTX 670's massive throughput. For some reason I cannot access overclocking features in my BIOS so I am forced to run it at 2.8 GHz. I have the MSI big bang x-power X58 motherboard. I use MSI's auto-overclock feature and my CPU idles at 55 *C in desktop.

It shouldn't matter anyway, as my framerate should rarely dip below my monitor's maximum refresh rate of 75Hz. Although there are some slowdowns in games like Crysis 1 and 2, GTA 4, Battlefield 3, and whatnot. I'm assuming this is caused by me only having 1GB of VRAM on my cards.

Super-powerful GPU setups are meant for 2560x1600 resolution + tons of AA + multiple monitors.

 

[cooldudesubho]

Yes,it will botteneck.Single GTX 670 is fasten than 5870 crossfire when full scaling is not happening.You need to OC cpu or settle with one card.

Slowdown in GT4 is is due to cpu and BF3 MP cpu is heavily used.

 

[JJ1217]

It might bottle neck the CPU, maybe try and overclock it a bit. Trust me dual 670's IS COMPLETE OVERKILL on a 1080p at 60Hz. Considering this card gets 60 hz in most 1080p encounters, it utterly slaughters games.

75 Hz shouldn't be worth another 670, however I won't stop you.

Its a definitely a good upgrade, but however do you need the dual 670's? Probably not. I'd much rather get a Korean 1440p Pixel Perfect Monitor from eBay, and then consider getting a second 670.

 

[ambam]

It might bottle neck the CPU, maybe try and overclock it a bit. Trust me dual 670's IS COMPLETE OVERKILL on a 1080p at 60Hz. Considering this card gets 60 hz in most 1080p encounters, it utterly slaughters games.

75 Hz shouldn't be worth another 670, however I won't stop you.

Its a definitely a good upgrade, but however do you need the dual 670's? Probably not. I'd much rather get a Korean 1440p Pixel Perfect Monitor from eBay, and then consider getting a second 670.

Then should I just get a single GTX 680?

Will this still be faster than two HD 5870's?

 

[cuecuemore]

Your slowdown in Crysis 1 is a CPU bottleneck, your slowdown in Crysis 2 is indeed VRAM related. If you can get up to 75Hz, then SLI 670s would definitely be the way to go, especially for BF3. You won't come anywhere close to pushing a minimum of 75 FPS in BF3 on max with a single 670.

 

[ambam]

Your slowdown in Crysis 1 is a CPU bottleneck, your slowdown in Crysis 2 is indeed VRAM related. If you can get up to 75Hz, then SLI 670s would definitely be the way to go, especially for BF3. You won't come anywhere close to pushing a minimum of 75 FPS in BF3 on max with a single 670.

I was thinking about getting a single GTX 680 to replace my HD 5870 CF setup.

Is this a good choice?

 

[cuecuemore]

It's certainly not a bad choice, but as the 670 is a better value and there isn't a huge performance gap between it and the 680, I'd go for a 670 and start saving for a second one. That's just what I'd do if it were me.

 

[ambam]

It's certainly not a bad choice, but as the 670 is a better value and there isn't a huge performance gap between it and the 680, I'd go for a 670 and start saving for a second one. That's just what I'd do if it were me.

GTA 5 is going to require TONS of VRAM. Should I get the 4GB 680?

 

[manofchalk]

The 680 is identical to the 670 hardware wise (Same memory, VRAM quantity, GPU and memory bus. Though the 680 has some more CUDA cores), a 670 is just a lower clocked and binned 680. You can overclock a 670 to 680 speeds quite easily.

I suspect a single 670 will be a big improvement to dual 5870's. Your comparing a modern high end card with two mid-range cards from two (near three) generations ago. A 670 will just about max any game at 1080p (maybe not with full AA though).

The amount of VRAM only matter when you have a large resolution (think 3x1080p). For single screen 1080p gaming, 2GB of VRAM is plenty. And if you are looking for performance at high resolutions, look to AMD.

 

[ambam]

The 680 is identical to the 670 hardware wise (Same memory, VRAM quantity, GPU and memory bus. Though the 680 has some more CUDA cores), a 670 is just a lower clocked and binned 680. You can overclock a 670 to 680 speeds quite easily.

I suspect a single 670 will be a big improvement to dual 5870's. Your comparing a modern high end card with two mid-range cards from two (near three) generations ago. A 670 will just about max any game at 1080p (maybe not with full AA though).

The amount of VRAM only matter when you have a large resolution (think 3x1080p). For single screen 1080p gaming, 2GB of VRAM is plenty. And if you are looking for performance at high resolutions, look to AMD.

Will a single GTX 680 max out Crysis 1, 2, and 3, GTA4, GTA5, Battlefield 3, and so forth? Will my FPS ever drop below my monitor's maximum refresh rate o 75Hz?

I have been looking into getting a 120Hz 1080p monitor. But many of them are quite expensive..

Is it necessary to have more than 2GB of VRAM for 1080p resolution? What if you max out AA?

 

[manofchalk]

Without doubt your FPS will drop below 75, I doubt even a GTX690 could hold that FPS as a minimum in the likes of Crysis 2 or BF3. But you will get an average FPS around 75 with a 670.

No, 2GB is plenty for 1080p. Then your FPS will drop because it has much more work to do, not because you have run out of VRAM.

 

[cooldudesubho]

Ok listen up there is no system in this world which will give you 75fps min in those games.

 

[cuecuemore]

For Crysis 1 you'd still be CPU bottlenecked with a 680, in all the other games you'd get great performance, but not a minimum of 75 FPS, that's still a job for 2x 670.

 

[ambam]

For Crysis 1 you'd still be CPU bottlenecked with a 680, in all the other games you'd get great performance, but not a minimum of 75 FPS, that's still a job for 2x 670.

My BIOS will not allow me to access overclocking features.

I have no idea how to overclock a processor, I have never done this before.

My ZALMAN CNPS9900 aftermarket CPU cooler probably doesn't give me very much overclocking headroom.

I use MSI OC genie which boosts my CPU to 3.4 GHz, but it overheats idling in desktop @ 55*C

 

[cuecuemore]

I use MSI OC genie which boosts my CPU to 3.4 GHz, but it overheats idling in desktop @ 55*C

Yep, that'll happen. Are you saying that you'd have too much of a bottleneck?

 

[ambam]

Yep, that'll happen. Are you saying that you'd have too much of a bottleneck?

My GPU's performance is limited because I can only run my Core i7 930 at it's stock speed of 2.8 GHz.

For some reason, I am not able to access my enthusiast MSI motherboard's advanced overclocking features. And the "OC Genie" automatic overclock causes my processor to overheat idling in desktop.

 

[amuffin]

Are you sure>?

 

[ambam]

Are you sure>?

I am not "sure" about this, but a CPU @2.8GHz limits powerful GPU setups in many cases.