Using 2 Gigabyte Geforce GTX 660

[GuessKEY]

Hi, I am currently running a Gigabyte Geforce GTX 660... 2GB of DDR5 OC

I am going to upgrade my GPU but I was thinking instead of spending another 500+$ on a new one, just double up on what I already have.... Any pros and/or cons to this?

 

[Coolboy951]

Hi, I am currently running a Gigabyte Geforce GTX 660... 2GB of DDR5 OC

I am going to upgrade my GPU but I was thinking instead of spending another 500+$ on a new one, just double up on what I already have.... Any pros and/or cons to this?

Pros: games will better FPS
Cheaper

cons: will use up to 300-350W
not all games support SLI
your motherboard has to support SLI
microstuttering, texture flickering,
will not combine the VRAM so you wont achieve high AA or resolutions

 

[JobCreator]

The amount of video memory does not double when you SLI video cards. It's always going to be a better option to get a more powerful, single GPU than to have multiple.

 

[oczdude8]

Nah go for a new GPU. I did the "double up" thing and some games just simply don't run well with SLI. I do get good fps, but SLI introduces some stutter in some games, which is really annoying. I'm waiting for the 980s to lower to their original price so I can get one and sell my 660tis.

Also, if you can sell ur GPU now, you can get around $100-$150 for it, but in a year or two, they will be worthless.

 

[renz496]

Hi, I am currently running a Gigabyte Geforce GTX 660... 2GB of DDR5 OC

I am going to upgrade my GPU but I was thinking instead of spending another 500+$ on a new one, just double up on what I already have.... Any pros and/or cons to this?

Pros: games will better FPS
Cheaper

cons: will use up to 300-350W
not all games support SLI
your motherboard has to support SLI
microstuttering, texture flickering,
will not combine the VRAM so you wont achieve high AA or resolutions

hardly a problem anymore with multi gpu setups in general (CF/SLI). also the only game that i have texture flickering was DAI. never seen them in other games. but it seems those texture flicker in DAI has been fixed in latest drivers.

 

[GuessKEY]

The amount of video memory does not double when you SLI video cards. It's always going to be a better option to get a more powerful, single GPU than to have multiple.

What would be the full purpose of SLI than if not to double up on VRAM?
I don't really need to upgrade at all... I have never ran into slow frame rate or have I ran into a game that doesn't want em to optimize for ultra. I was just want to be prepared for when I am outdated.

 

[JobCreator]

The amount of video memory does not double when you SLI video cards. It's always going to be a better option to get a more powerful, single GPU than to have multiple.

What would be the full purpose of SLI than if not to double up on VRAM?
I don't really need to upgrade at all... I have never ran into slow frame rate or have I ran into a game that doesn't want em to optimize for ultra. I was just want to be prepared for when I am outdated.

It just helps divide the bandwidth between two cards instead of one. Makes things process a bit faster. You wouldn't get 4GB of VRAM out of 2x2GB cards. It's kind of like 1x4GB RAM in single channel vs 2x2GB in dual channel. You don't gain any memory, but it works faster because it's spreading the operations across more lanes of traffic.

 

[GuessKEY]

Nah go for a new GPU. I did the "double up" thing and some games just simply don't run well with SLI. I do get good fps, but SLI introduces some stutter in some games, which is really annoying. I'm waiting for the 980s to lower to their original price so I can get one and sell my 660tis.

Also, if you can sell ur GPU now, you can get around $100-$150 for it, but in a year or two, they will be worthless.

This is what I was originally thinking, word man. Thanks for the input.

 

[Raiin]

single GPU is what you should go for, the r9 290 or gtx 970 are the best bang for your buck atm.

 

[renz496]

Hi, I am currently running a Gigabyte Geforce GTX 660... 2GB of DDR5 OC

I am going to upgrade my GPU but I was thinking instead of spending another 500+$ on a new one, just double up on what I already have.... Any pros and/or cons to this?

at this point just get single faster GPU. in the past people often thinking getting second card by the time next gen hit so they can get performance upgrade for cheap. but the way i see it, it become harder and harder to do that. for one thing nvidia will EOL their card early by the time next generation arrive. when you think of getting second card for cheap the model no longer available or the small quantity left on the market preventing much price drop on the card. this is especially true on high end model. mid range cards are less affected but usually in case of mid range card instead of getting a second card it is better to get single more powerful card. and that solution might not really break the bank either.

 

[renz496]

The amount of video memory does not double when you SLI video cards. It's always going to be a better option to get a more powerful, single GPU than to have multiple.

What would be the full purpose of SLI than if not to double up on VRAM?
I don't really need to upgrade at all... I have never ran into slow frame rate or have I ran into a game that doesn't want em to optimize for ultra. I was just want to be prepared for when I am outdated.

getting more performance. that's all to it.

 

[Coolboy951]

Hi, I am currently running a Gigabyte Geforce GTX 660... 2GB of DDR5 OC

I am going to upgrade my GPU but I was thinking instead of spending another 500+$ on a new one, just double up on what I already have.... Any pros and/or cons to this?

Pros: games will better FPS
Cheaper

cons: will use up to 300-350W
not all games support SLI
your motherboard has to support SLI
microstuttering, texture flickering,
will not combine the VRAM so you wont achieve high AA or resolutions

hardly a problem anymore with multi gpu setups in general (CF/SLI). also the only game that i have texture flickering was DAI. never seen them in other games. but it seems those texture flicker in DAI has been fixed in latest drivers.

The amount of video memory does not double when you SLI video cards. It's always going to be a better option to get a more powerful, single GPU than to have multiple.

What would be the full purpose of SLI than if not to double up on VRAM?
I don't really need to upgrade at all... I have never ran into slow frame rate or have I ran into a game that doesn't want em to optimize for ultra. I was just want to be prepared for when I am outdated.

well microstuttering still occurs in both in CF and SLI but it usually depends on what games and the temps of the GPU