To SLI or not SLI, that is the question

[hero1]

Hello folks

How are you all doing? I hope that you all had great holdiay season. Mine was super.

So I got a 27" Dell U2713HM and I wondering whether I should add another GTX 670 to the one I already have or just wait for the next generation. I can afford it and would like smooth play as usual. So far things work the way they are supposed to but I feel like a second GTX 670 would be nice to push the monitor to the max and I'm planning on adding another monitor of the same make in few months. Please let me know what you think.

 

[iceclock]

well 2x670s is quite good, and a non costly sli option and when overclocked can reach sli 680 levels depending on how good the card u get, and how it handles overclocking, but even stock sli 670s is quite good.

 

[Derza10]

Adding the second monitor will not make it so you need more GPU power... Unless for some reason you try to play games with both monitors will the bezels right in the middle, so don't consider that a factor in getting a second card(unless you are going to get 2 more making it 3 monitors and then you could play in surround). Do you have the 2gb model or the 4gb? if its the 2gb you might want to run your games as you plan to be able to with 2 cards and check your ram usage... Sure the game might not be playable but seeing if the 2 gb of ram could be your limiting factor with 2 of the cards would be good to know.

 

[the great randini]

What to expect if you choose to sli
Two GeForce GTX 670s In SLI (Tom's review)

 

[hero1]

well 2x670s is quite good, and a non costly sli option and when overclocked can reach sli 680 levels depending on how good the card u get, and how it handles overclocking, but even stock sli 670s is quite good.

As you can see I currently have the Asus GTX 670 DC2 @GB version and it OCd awesomely and no crashes, ever. I took it back to stock mode and it boosts to 1100 on it's own so I'm lucky in that department. I was also considering maybe selling this and just grab 2x7970 from MSI or Saphire and go from there.

 

[hero1]

Adding the second monitor will not make it so you need more GPU power... Unless for some reason you try to play games with both monitors will the bezels right in the middle, so don't consider that a factor in getting a second card(unless you are going to get 2 more making it 3 monitors and then you could play in surround). Do you have the 2gb model or the 4gb? if its the 2gb you might want to run your games as you plan to be able to with 2 cards and check your ram usage... Sure the game might not be playable but seeing if the 2 gb of ram could be your limiting factor with 2 of the cards would be good to know.

I have the Asus GTX 670 DC2 and that is a 2GB yet it reads as 4GB when I click on properties. Weird I know. You really think that a single GTX 670 2GB version can push 2 x2560*1440 monitors without a huge drop in performance? And yes the plan is to have a 3 27" monitor setup by August.

 

[hero1]

What to expect if you choose to sli
Two GeForce GTX 670s In SLI (Tom's review)

http://media.bestofmicro.com/T/X/336741/original/gtx 670 sli scaling.png


http://media.bestofmicro.com/T/Z/336743/original/gtx 670 sli.png

I've read the charts before and thanks for putting them up. I might as well just get it or sell this one and push for 2x7970 for even better performance when I OC them. What do you think?

 

[Derza10]

I have the Asus GTX 670 DC2 and that is a 2GB yet it reads as 4GB when I click on properties. Weird I know. You really think that a single GTX 670 2GB version can push 2 x2560*1440 monitors without a huge drop in performance? And yes the plan is to have a 3 27" monitor setup by August.

Yes... due to the fact that you can't really game on both monitors at the same time... One would be game the other would be web/chat/whatever and use next to no GPU power. That being said you might be better off staying with the 670 you have right now untill you get the 3rd monitor then at that point see what GPUs are out that can run all 3 in surround/eyefinity because the GTX 7XX and AMD 8XXX will be out by then.

 

[hero1]

Yes... due to the fact that you can't really game on both monitors at the same time... One would be game the other would be web/chat/whatever and use next to no GPU power. That being said you might be better off staying with the 670 you have right now untill you get the 3rd monitor then at that point see what GPUs are out that can run all 3 in surround/eyefinity because the GTX 7XX and AMD 8XXX will be out by then.

I guess I'm just going to stick with one monitor for now and cancel the order for the other one. I was planning on gaming on both of them by grabbing a second card. And this monitor does have one of the thinnest bezels around so when time comes 3 of them would be awesome. I want the GTX 7XX and AMD 8XXX here asap so I can make a completely new rig and dedicate this to wife in an HTPC case.

 

[hero1]

Yes... due to the fact that you can't really game on both monitors at the same time... One would be game the other would be web/chat/whatever and use next to no GPU power. That being said you might be better off staying with the 670 you have right now untill you get the 3rd monitor then at that point see what GPUs are out that can run all 3 in surround/eyefinity because the GTX 7XX and AMD 8XXX will be out by then.

When I said push I meant gaming on both. I don't think it can. But I could use one for game and one for other stuff, if it came to that.

 

[hero1]

Best answer selected by hero1.

 

[Derza10]

Yea gaming on 2 monitors does not really work... really only works with 1, 3 or 5. The 670 will support up to 4 monitors though but only a max of 3 for gaming. Two monitors would be like i said in my other post, only one used for game the other is basiclly just your desktop with whatever you care to use it for.

 

[the great randini]

did you see the review from techreport about the frame latency on the amd 7000's.
the amd's run faster but nvidia delivers a smoother experience. amd could fix the driver issue next week who knows, which would make them the sure choice.

http://techreport.com/review/24051/geforce-versus-radeon-captured-on-high-speed-video.
watch the 240 fps video to really see the spikes.


see how the amd has a bunch of fast frames then slow then fast, and the 660 only has a few spikes.