Need help sli or not

[SMANN55]

Hello all building a gaming pc with my son to hook up to our plasma tv for gaming only . I have a $2500 budget , should I sli 2 GeForce 770's or put in one better card. Can you guys recommend a case to put in the Living room that will fit sli(preferably cube)
CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($167.86 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($123.99 @ Best Buy)

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($409.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 850W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($129.99 @ Newegg)

 

[Vecna6667]

My usual advice is to go for the best single GPU solution possible. Multi-GPU setups can have issues with configuration and driver support. I do have a question though and that is why are you using a plasma tv for gaming? Plasma tvs tend to have an issue with ghosting when used for games.

 

[manofchalk]

Unless that Plasma TV is running a 4K resolution (dont know of any 1440p TV's) dont use SLI. Two cards for a 1080p screen is very overkill, and the performance potential of the cards will be wasted.

 

[diellur]

For a new system, it is definitely better to get the most powerful single card you can. A 770 would be fine for 1080p gaming, though. Also, if you get a single GPU, you have a lot more options for a small case. A mini ITX board would work well, and there are some good mini ITX cases on the market. The only point to consider is whether it's worth getting a 'K' CPU for a small form factor system. Mini ITX boards don't tend to have the best overclocking options and the excess heat may be hard to deal with in a small chassis. A non-'K' CPU will still keep you going for a good long time.

Unless that Plasma TV is running a 4K resolution (dont know of any 1440p TV's) dont use SLI. Two cards for a 1080p screen is very overkill, and the performance potential of the cards will be wasted.

Not 100% accurate. SLI is a good option when you have an older card and want to get some more performance., even at 1080p. I'm using 2 560Tis now, and am able to max settings out on the majority of games where previously I was starting to notice the age. The upgrade is relatively cheap too, in comparison to a newer card. I've got a friend who's got a GTX285 (I think) and has picked up another one for £30! Way to go upgrade.

Always good to point out SLI isn't excellent for new games, as it takes a bit of time for Nvidia (and AMD for Crossfire) to get the drivers updated for new titles.

 

[manofchalk]

True, but that's applicable to mid-range cards.
The 560Ti's were actually quite popular for SLI back in the day, you could buy two of them cheaper than a 580 and get better performance, back then the 1GB of VRAM didn't even matter.

Also completely missed the question about cases.
Have a look at the Bitfenix Shinobi, anything by Fractal Design and some of the Corsair cases (350D, though max of M-ATX board). Nanoxia is also another with a similar aesthetic to Fractal, but are a pretty obscure brand.
In terms of Cube cases your kind of out of luck, mainstream offerings are few and hard to find, what lies outside the mainstream take the opposite approach and are usually massive. If you decide to go with an ITX rig, a Bitfenix Prodigy is a very good case. M-ATX a Coolermaster HAF-XB is an option but its aesthetic could be a turn off.