Would a 970 sli with a 650w power supply be better than getting one 980 using the same 650w psu

[RoxasForTheWin]

I'm in the market to upgrade my gpu to prepare for 1440p at max settings and have been looking at the maxwell series of cards. I have been looking at the 980 but for fun looked at what the estimated wattage would be with sli with two 970's (http://pcpartpicker.com/p/RHkZWZ)

Either option seems viable but I do want the best gaming experience I can, hopefully as close to at least 50-60 fps average as possible. If I get the 980, I plan on overclocking it as much as possible because of all the extra power I have left in my psu. If I get the sli, I have to keep the two cards at stock so I don't go over my power limit

 

[Bhavneet Pannu]

gtx 970 sli on 650w impossible. Buy the gtx 980 single card and in the future sli the 980. How ever even a 980 is a overkill. Since the 970 beats the gtx 780.

 

[MeteorsRaining]

970 SLI would be tad better than single 980, but overkill for 2.5k display. I'd get a single 980 and SLI in future, as it'd be good enough for 60+ FPS on Ultra 1440p with single card. You'd need a new PSU for 980 SLI in future though. For SLI 970, the CPU is a real power drainer and I'd upgrade here aswell.

 

[sla70r]

The 970 in SLI blows a 980 out of the water. It is a huge step up. I ran the figures on the PC PART PICKER and with two 970 sli I was still under a 550 w draw.

 

[Eximo]

That's what I am doing with my 1080p monitor. Single 980 until there are a few more G-Sync options out there.

 

[Eximo]

The 970 in SLI blows a 980 out of the water. It is a huge step up. I ran the figures on the PC PART PICKER and with two 970 sli I was still under a 550 w draw.

As testing showed, they can draw a lot more then their ratings. Not sure it is wise to ride that close on the power supplies edge. No overclocking taken into account either.

 

[sla70r]

The 970 in SLI blows a 980 out of the water. It is a huge step up. I ran the figures on the PC PART PICKER and with two 970 sli I was still under a 550 w draw.

As testing showed, they can draw a lot more then their ratings. Not sure it is wise to ride that close on the power supplies edge. No overclocking taken into account either.

I would agree , but I do think its possible if you have a good power supply.

 

[ezskills]

In linus Tech Tips Test the GTX 970 Don't Beat a GTX 780 it fall between the 780 and the 770 and they overclocked both cards.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eqz4tDM6Wl8&index=1&list=UUXuqSBlHAE6Xw-yeJA0Tunw

 

[sla70r]

In linus Tech Tips Test the GTX 970 Don't Beat a GTX 780 it fall between the 780 and the 770 and they overclocked both cards.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eqz4tDM6Wl8&index=1&list=UUXuqSBlHAE6Xw-yeJA0Tunw

I would trust Toms and the 5 other benchmark websites that have put the 970 easily ahead of the 780.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Forget pcpartpicker for wattage determinations:

1. Look at nVidia website

http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-970/specifications

Thermal and Power Specs:
98 C = Maximum GPU Tempurature (in C)
145 W = Graphics Card Power (W)
500 W = Minimum System Power Requirement (W)
2x 6-pins = Supplementary Power Connectors

So for SLI = 500 watts for system w/ one card + 145 w for the 2nd = 645 watts
With overclocking, figure a 750 watter

2. Do a web search on "Guru3D [ card name]"
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/nvidia_geforce_gtx_970_and_980_reference_review,7.html

Subjective obtained GPU power consumption = ~ 164 Watts

Here is Guru3D's power supply recommendation:

GeForce GTX 970 or 980 - On your average system the card requires you to have a 500 Watt power supply unit.
GeForce GTX 970 or 980 in 2-way SLI - On your average system the cards require you to have an 800 Watt power supply unit as minimum.

If you are going to overclock your GPU or processor, then we do recommend you purchase something with some more stamina.

Remember this test was done with a highly OC'd 3960X .... (they can hit 230 watts) .... so adjust to your CPU accordingly.

3. Use a trustworthy calculator
http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

In linus Tech Tips Test the GTX 970 Don't Beat a GTX 780 it fall between the 780 and the 770 and they overclocked both cards.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eqz4tDM6Wl8&index=1&list=UUXuqSBlHAE6Xw-yeJA0Tunw

I would trust Toms and the 5 other benchmark websites that have put the 970 easily ahead of the 780.

Keep in mind that Linus does all his test with all cards overclocked "bawlz to the wall", Toms and everybody else does "outta the box" performance. You will also see the 780 topping the 290x for the same reason under their tests.

They also explain why the 970 doesn't overclock like the 980 / 780 Ti.

 

[RoxasForTheWin]

gtx 970 sli on 650w impossible. Buy the gtx 980 single card and in the future sli the 980. How ever even a 980 is a overkill. Since the 970 beats the gtx 780.

So in the end I have to upgrade my psu in the long run anyway? I'm not too sure I can even pick up another 980 in the future, although it might just be safer overall to go one card for now.
Would a 980 be good to play 1440p at the settings I want though?

 

[sla70r]

gtx 970 sli on 650w impossible. Buy the gtx 980 single card and in the future sli the 980. How ever even a 980 is a overkill. Since the 970 beats the gtx 780.

So in the end I have to upgrade my psu in the long run anyway? I'm not too sure I can even pick up another 980 in the future, although it might just be safer overall to go one card for now.
Would a 980 be good to play 1440p at the settings I want though?

Could just save an extra hundo and update the power supply.

 

[RoxasForTheWin]

gtx 970 sli on 650w impossible. Buy the gtx 980 single card and in the future sli the 980. How ever even a 980 is a overkill. Since the 970 beats the gtx 780.

So in the end I have to upgrade my psu in the long run anyway? I'm not too sure I can even pick up another 980 in the future, although it might just be safer overall to go one card for now.
Would a 980 be good to play 1440p at the settings I want though?

Could just save an extra hundo and update the power supply.

I might do that. I found a 750w version of my powersupply for 109.99. Would the 980 (single) be enough for 1440p?

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Here's a gift $50 ....\ not their best PSu ... that would be the G2 or P2 but the B2 is better than most things out there and the $50 cost is incredible.

5 year warranty ....http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438028

EVGA SuperNOVA 750 B2 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified 750W Active PFC ATX12V v2.31/EPS 12V v2.91 5 Year Warranty 110-B2-0750-VR SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular NEW 4th Gen CPU Certified Intel 4th Gen Ready
Received 9 out of 10 and Recommended Award from JonnyGURU

$70 - 10 year warranty .... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438027

$100 - 10 year warranty .... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438017

2560 x 1440 performance not listed but 2560 x 1600 is

 

[RoxasForTheWin]

Here's a gift $50 ....\ not their best PSu ... that would be the G2 or P2 but the B2 is better than most things out there and the $50 cost is incredible.

5 year warranty ....http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438028

EVGA SuperNOVA 750 B2 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified 750W Active PFC ATX12V v2.31/EPS 12V v2.91 5 Year Warranty 110-B2-0750-VR SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular NEW 4th Gen CPU Certified Intel 4th Gen Ready
Received 9 out of 10 and Recommended Award from JonnyGURU

$70 - 10 year warranty .... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438027

$100 - 10 year warranty .... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438017

2560 x 1440 performance not listed but 2560 x 1600 is

That's really helpful! Thank you!

 

[Frag Maniac]

I wouldn't go 650w on two 970s. It's rec by MSI and EVGA that you use a 500w (preferably at least 28a) for one, and the general rule of thumb is to add 50% power for another GPU, or 750w, 42a.

And keep in mind that is for total system power running that/those cards.