Will Multiple GPUs Bottleneck a Less Powerful CPU?

[jimono123]

Hey Guys,

I wanted to ask a few quick CPU/GPU balance questions. I'm building a new gaming rig and I've been hearing about people effectively using two GPUs to get comparable or superior performance to more expensive individual GPUs. I'm concerned though that the capabilities of the GPU might bottleneck the CPU capabilities, but this whole topic is fairly new to me. I'm really looking for a a PC that will be able to easily max out graphics for current gen games like Skyrim, Crysis 3, etc. but will also be relevant for at least a good 5 years or so with upcoming games like Dragon Age: Inquisition, Elder Scrolls VI (Hoping), etc. I've been thinking about getting 2 GTX 770s and going with the i5 5670k. Here are my questions:

1). How do you determine what a good CPU/GPU balance is?
2). Is this CPU/GPU setup going to allow for efficient operation with good performance?
3). Would I benefit more from getting the 2GB 770s or the 4GB versions?
4). How does 2 GPUs affect power consumption (i.e. which PSU will I need?)
5). Does 2 GPUs generate heating issues that I should be aware of?
6). Is SLI/CrossFire widely supported by current/next gen games?

Thanks again guys for all your help. I appreciate it.

 

[enemy1g]

3) If you plan on using 3 monitors, then 4GB cards are going to be significantly better than 2GB.
4) Generally, some people have gotten away with SLIing 770s with a 750w PSU. I have 780s with a 860w PSU and slgiht overclocking, so either would work depending on whether or not you plan on overclocking.
5) Usually the top GPU will run hotter dude to heat rising from the other card, and in general the overall temps of your computer will be slightly higher.

 

[aznricepuff]

1. There's no easy formula you can look up. You can some idea by looking up some CPU gaming benchmarks with SLI test rigs, but these aren't that common. The best way is to ask other people about specific CPU/GPU combinations and hope someone has the right experience to answer your question.

2. First of all, I'm going to assume you mean the i5-4670k. You shouldn't experience any CPU bottlenecking issues with your setup.

3. I would recommend the 4 GB versions if you can afford them. The landscape is changing such that going forward, you will see more and more games recommending at least 3 GB VRAM.

4. It will obviously increase power consumption, since you now have 2 GPUs sucking up twice the power.

5. If your GPU cooler recycles air back into your case, this can cause heating issues over just having one GPU. This is easily solved by improving case ventilation. There's no need to go buy expensive water blocks for your GPUs.

6. Short answer is yes. It is highly highly unlikely you will see popular games not supporting SLI/CrossFire. That being said, sometimes Nvidia/AMD take a while to release proper SLI/CFX profiles for some games. For example Nvidia still hasn't released a proper SLI profile for Total War: Rome 2 (though they blame Creative Assembly for not cooperating as much as they could have before launch).

And lastly, future-proofing a system for 5 years is really not feasible. Maybe a top-end CPU can last that long, but GPUs tend to get outdated faster. For example I doubt two 770s in SLI will be able to max out graphics on all games in two years. If you dial down settings to medium, though, the lifespan can easily be extended to 3-4 years.

 

[ihog]

"Will Multiple GPUs Bottleneck a Less Powerful CPU?"

Did you mean: "Will a less powerful CPU bottleneck multiple GPUs?"

 

[jimono123]

"Will Multiple GPUs Bottleneck a Less Powerful CPU?"

Did you mean: "Will a less powerful CPU bottleneck multiple GPUs?"

Uhh,... Yeah I guess I did. Thanks for the clarity.