2 x GTX 980 or 3 x GTX 970

[garamo]

Which of these would be the best SLI setup? I can't make my mind up on this. It's to run at 1440p with all the bells and whistles and be future proof for a long while (hopefully).

It's to go in my new X99 build:

Case
COOLERMASTER HAF-X FULL TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Six Core Processor i7-5930K (3.5GHz) 15MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® X99-S: ATX, HSW-E CPU, USB 3.0, SATA 6 GB/s
Memory (RAM)
16GB KINGSTON HYPER-X PREDATOR QUAD-DDR4 2666MHz X.M.P (4 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
NONE, I ALREADY HAVE A GRAPHICS CARD
1st Hard Disk
240GB KINGSTON HYPERX 3K SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 555MB/sR | 510MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
2TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD2003FZEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W RM SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET (£139)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H100i Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler (£89)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Operating System
Genuine Windows 8.1 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 7 to 9 working days
Quantity
1

 

[SmokeDarKnight]

I would go for the 2 off GTX 980s.

Not all games support SLI right off the bat so a single GTX 980 would out perform a single GTX 970 if you needed it to.

When you add a third SLI i think the GPU incrase is only about 42% so the value for money is going down the pan a bit.

Also the system would run cooler with 2 way SLI than 3 way SLI

Im currently using SLI GTX 970's and they are beastly so a SLI GTX 980 would be an amazing combo, i would go with that.

PLUS if you really wanted to go three way SLI and a later date, and you already have a two way SLI with GTX 980's then that would be mental

Hope this helps/

 

[garamo]

Yes that's a big help, thank you! Have you come across many games that don't support SLI or do most modern power hungry games support it? I've seen that Metro LL doesn't really work with a 3rd card in triple SLI but haven't seen any that don't work with 2.

 

[SmokeDarKnight]

At the moment, the only game that i have that doesn't support SLI is Shadow of Mordor but it is coming as stated in the latest update for the game however im having no problem running the game at max with 1080 resulution on a single 970 so you should be laughing.

The only game that disappointed me was Assassins Creed Black Flag, if you turn Physix on higher than low the game really starts to judder but thats a problem with the game apparently not the hardward. I tried multiple techniques but couldn't get it to run smoothly with physics on high. Hopefully this has been fixed for Assassin's creed Unity.

Borderlands 2 runs amazing with Physixs set to high and three monitors running at 5040 x 1050. (I have 1 bad monitor with a bad resolution)

So with GTX 980's i think you will be sorted for quite a while.

 

[steaky360]

You can get an sli profile to work with shadow of mordor using NVidia inspector and selecting the F.E.A.R 3 SLI bits profile (I've had no problems with it so far)

But I'd agree with Smoke's sentiment referring to the age old argument that you should always get the single best graphics card you can afford, then add another one if you really want to push some frames out

2x GTX980 > 3x GTX 970 for most games I'd recon

 

[garamo]

That's great, thanks guys. 2 980s it is then!

 

[SmokeDarKnight]

That's great, thanks guys. 2 980s it is then!

PLLLEEEASE do a review once you get them, would love to hear your experience with them

 

[SlimCini]

Hang on... where's the option for voting for 4 x 980s??

 

[mrducking]

you know you entered the crazy thread when someone is asking for a 4x 980s SLI

 

[SmokeDarKnight]

On the discussion of SLI 3 Way, maybe you should increase your PSU.

1000W should work but it might be tight, someone else might be able to comment if they agree or not

http://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/geforce-gtx-980-sli-review,4.html

 

[mrducking]

i think the 1000W should be fine, after all you have to remember that the 900 series requires a lot less power to function than the keplers, there was a chart somewhere, but i dont remember where

EDIT:
"...the TDP for the GeForce GTX 980 with 4GB is just 165 watts."

 

[SpyderTracks]

i think the 1000W should be fine, after all you have to remember that the 900 series requires a lot less power to function than the keplers, there was a chart somewhere, but i dont remember where

EDIT:
"...the TDP for the GeForce GTX 980 with 4GB is just 165 watts."

800W should be fine for two GTX980's, apparently they'd work on 750, but it's good to have some spare power.

 

[SmokeDarKnight]

I went for a 1000W for mine incase i decided to SLI which i did. Feel link i might have went overkill.

Its covered at least. If i wanted to run 2 PC's off 1 PSU lol

 

[DeadEyeDuk]

You just want to leave yourself wiggle room for that 4 way SLI, don't try and hide it

 

[SmokeDarKnight]

I would but my MOBO can only handle to, unless theres some extreme modding.

I could always change the MOBO though.

 

[keynes]

I would but my MOBO can only handle to, unless theres some extreme modding.

I could always change the MOBO though.

Sello tape, just add them for display purposes

 

[SmokeDarKnight]

Sello tape, just add them for display purposes

Like having two spare tyres