New card/s to replace 2 x GTX670s

[EvilEbert]

Hi!

I used to have 2x Gigabyte GTX670s in SLI and damn me if they weren't just the sweetest and most stable little cards I ever did run. Bought them at the end of their generation for about 300AUD each and they were an excellent investment in future-proofing, outperforming most of the next generation's shiny new cards admirably.

Time makes fools of us all, however, and recently one of the cards went BSOD/red-line crazy (I'm not going to oven-bake it because I don't see the point in risking its already compromised integrity on a short-term expedient, and anyway I've resigned myself to a card funeral). I have the remaining card running happily along and meeting most of my graphics needs, but I really did like the little boost that two cards gave me, I'm sure you understand. Also, this card I bought earlier than the other, and its operational age is showing in a number of eccentric but adorable ways.

I guess what I'm saying is, what is the most affordable, stable card solution for replacing two Gigabyte GTX670s? I bought the two and ran SLI because they performed similarly to a GTX690 in that config, so if there is a single card in the nVidia stable that you think currently runs better than a 690 for a good cost, please let me know. Otherwise, I'm perfectly happy to SLI a couple of (admittedly mid-to-high-range) workhorse cards again for the price/performance trade-off.

Also let me know if you think it's worth waiting a month or two. I saw word somewhere or other (a touch sleepy and cbf scrolling right now) that nVidia were about to make a potential launch that would bring their range down in price, so that may be a factor in deciding which cards I get and when I get them.

Finally: The newest and most labour-intensive games I currently run are Arkham Asylum, Battlefield 3, Hitman Absolution and Far Cry 3. I haven't really bought new games in a looooooong-ass time. What I'm looking for in a card seriously is, as stated above, something that can perform similarly or slightly better than my old GTX670s. I'm not too stoked on many games that have come out since I built my rig.

Finally finally: Cards that could run Far Cry 4, GTAV and maybe the next run of triple-As well would be good, but to be honest I could do without.

Thank you so much, Hardwarers. You're amazing. Sorry I went off on a rather long one.

 

[JingLuci]

SLI GTX 970. 30% more performance than a single GTX 980 flagship card.

 

[king3pj]

A single 970 will run all the games you mentioned well. If you decide you want some more performance in the future you can grab a second one and SLI it.

 

[kira70591]

What resolution are you playing at or do you want to play at in the near future? If it is just 1080p, then you should be good to go with a single 970; however, if you can afford it, it is most always better to purchase the single most powerful card that you can budget for. I am always a fan of, if you want to SLI then SLI now instead of waiting until some point in the "future." This cycle keeps going and going... you get your next card and then are told, if you do not like it then SLI in the future. You never get around to adding that second card. The fun part comes when they discontinue the lineup and it becomes difficult to find a card that matches yours.

 

[hotter-than-Vishera]

Ideally, the newest modern configuration that would most closely match your existing setup would be two GTX 960s in SLI. And it will cost you exactly the same: the most expensive GTX 960s on the American market are going for the equivalent of $297 AUD. However, I have looked into GTX 960 SLI scaling, and while they do scale at around 50-60%, it's still barely any better than a reference GTX 970. In some benchmarks in Tech Spot's GTX 960 SLI review, the GTX 970 consistently kept up with the GTX 960s in SLI. TechSpot's review used heavily factory overclocked Gigabyte GTX 960s. And here's the bad part: for two GTX 960s in SLI, you're paying around $600 AUD. The most expensive GTX 970, EVGA's FTW+ model, costs only $500AUD. That would give you better performance than two GTX 960s in SLI.

I would support the idea of two GTX 970s in SLI - especially for 1440p or even 4k, that is a sweet setup. However, something to keep in mind is that this will cost you about $850 AUD total. If that's a bit much for you, you can still go for a basic factory-overclocked GTX 980 for about $700-750 AUD.
However, I still stand by what I said: the best option for you that would match or be lesser than your budget would be EVGA's GTX 970 FTW+. It's available on Newegg's Australia site for $504 AUD (here's the link: http://www.newegg.com/global/au/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487090). Tech Radar's benchmarks show that a single reference GTX 970 can keep up with dual overclocked GTX 960s in SLI. If that's the case, then the most factory overclocked GTX 970 will certainly perform more strongly than dual GTX 960s, and still save you $100 AUD. In fact any GTX 970 such as the Asus Strix or Gigabyte G1 Gaming would work well for you - I just feel that EVGA's FTW is the best option here.

Questions?

 

[maxalge]

Hi!

I used to have 2x Gigabyte GTX670s in SLI and damn me if they weren't just the sweetest and most stable little cards I ever did run. Bought them at the end of their generation for about 300AUD each and they were an excellent investment in future-proofing, outperforming most of the next generation's shiny new cards admirably.

Time makes fools of us all, however, and recently one of the cards went BSOD/red-line crazy (I'm not going to oven-bake it because I don't see the point in risking its already compromised integrity on a short-term expedient, and anyway I've resigned myself to a card funeral). I have the remaining card running happily along and meeting most of my graphics needs, but I really did like the little boost that two cards gave me, I'm sure you understand. Also, this card I bought earlier than the other, and its operational age is showing in a number of eccentric but adorable ways.

I guess what I'm saying is, what is the most affordable, stable card solution for replacing two Gigabyte GTX670s? I bought the two and ran SLI because they performed similarly to a GTX690 in that config, so if there is a single card in the nVidia stable that you think currently runs better than a 690 for a good cost, please let me know. Otherwise, I'm perfectly happy to SLI a couple of (admittedly mid-to-high-range) workhorse cards again for the price/performance trade-off.

Also let me know if you think it's worth waiting a month or two. I saw word somewhere or other (a touch sleepy and cbf scrolling right now) that nVidia were about to make a potential launch that would bring their range down in price, so that may be a factor in deciding which cards I get and when I get them.

Finally: The newest and most labour-intensive games I currently run are Arkham Asylum, Battlefield 3, Hitman Absolution and Far Cry 3. I haven't really bought new games in a looooooong-ass time. What I'm looking for in a card seriously is, as stated above, something that can perform similarly or slightly better than my old GTX670s. I'm not too stoked on many games that have come out since I built my rig.

Finally finally: Cards that could run Far Cry 4, GTAV and maybe the next run of triple-As well would be good, but to be honest I could do without.

Thank you so much, Hardwarers. You're amazing. Sorry I went off on a rather long one.

A single overclocked 970 will easily match or beat sli 670's. Running cooler and eating less power plus having more vram.

Comes with witcher 3 and Batman: Arkham Knight as well.

 

[king3pj]

What resolution are you playing at or do you want to play at in the near future? If it is just 1080p, then you should be good to go with a single 970; however, if you can afford it, it is most always better to purchase the single most powerful card that you can budget for. I am always a fan of, if you want to SLI then SLI now instead of waiting until some point in the "future." This cycle keeps going and going... you get your next card and then are told, if you do not like it then SLI in the future. You never get around to adding that second card. The fun part comes when they discontinue the lineup and it becomes difficult to find a card that matches yours.

Based on the games the OP mentioned I think a single 970 will be enough. I think it makes sense to buy just one first and see if he is happy with the performance before he spends twice as much money. Since we know he already has a SLI capable motherboard and his power supply was strong enough for two 670s adding in a second 970 would be a pretty simple upgrade if he decides he needs better performance.

You make some good points, however, future doesn't have to mean years down the line. In my case I bought a single 970 about 4 months ago. It performed well with everything I threw at it. I wanted a little more performance for Witcher 3 and Arkham Knight so I started looking into adding a second one in SLI.

Once Nvidia started their promotion with free copies of Witcher 3 and Arkham Knight it was a no brainer for me since I was going to spend $120 on those games anyways. Not only that but the exact model I bought before had come down in price about $20 on Amazon in the few months between my purchases. For me it made sense to buy one back then and then add another one in later. It was also nice to be able to spread the expenses out over a few months instead of all at once.

 

[EvilEbert]

What resolution are you playing at or do you want to play at in the near future? If it is just 1080p, then you should be good to go with a single 970; however, if you can afford it, it is most always better to purchase the single most powerful card that you can budget for. I am always a fan of, if you want to SLI then SLI now instead of waiting until some point in the "future." This cycle keeps going and going... you get your next card and then are told, if you do not like it then SLI in the future. You never get around to adding that second card. The fun part comes when they discontinue the lineup and it becomes difficult to find a card that matches yours.

Based on the games the OP mentioned I think a single 970 will be enough. I think it makes sense to buy just one first and see if he is happy with the performance before he spends twice as much money. Since we know he already has a SLI capable motherboard and his power supply was strong enough for two 670s adding in a second 970 would be a pretty simple upgrade if he decides he needs better performance.

You make some good points, however, future doesn't have to mean years down the line. In my case I bought a single 970 about 4 months ago. It performed well with everything I threw at it. I wanted a little more performance for Witcher 3 and Arkham Knight so I started looking into adding a second one in SLI.

Once Nvidia started their promotion with free copies of Witcher 3 and Arkham Knight it was a no brainer for me since I was going to spend $120 on those games anyways. Not only that but the exact model I bought before had come down in price about $20 on Amazon in the few months between my purchases. For me it made sense to buy one back then and then add another one in later. It was also nice to be able to spread the expenses out over a few months instead of all at once.

Hear, hear! Exactly what I was thinking! With my last two cards, I bought the 670 on its own, sat comfortably on the one card and decided I was happy with its performance for a while. Then a few months later, juuuust as the generation was being phased out I picked up a second card and enjoyed that performance boost until just this year. Hanging on for the price decrease to get the SLI was totally worth it, since I couldn't have afforded the two cards straight up and didn't need the performance until the end of the generation anyway.