New GPU advice needed

Guys I am at a crossroads....

I have a chance to get 2 used Nvidia GTX 780ti cards for around $1100

- 2x used GTX 780ti (reference style )
- 2x EVGA backplates
- 1x EVGA SLI Pro
= $1100

I hate reference cards. They have crappier cooling (higher temps + louder), also the 2 backplates and the sli bridge don't add value to me as I already have sli bridges (came with my old board), and the backplates are overrated and hardly affect cooling, I heard like 1-2 degrees only, also, unless you are using a huge & heavy card (eg. asus 3 slot cards) then these cards don't weigh enough or sag from what I'm aware of to really require a backplate.

Also, regardless of how good the deal is, in the end $1100 is still $1100.

I am really at a crossroad here guys.......

Not sure if I should go for it. The deal is only for both, plus ive always had great succes with multi GPUs for the most part I had great scaling on a single screen with an AMD Radeon HD 6990, then w/ 2 6970s, and finally w/ 3 6950s even on GT legends and Factor 1, and RFactor 2 so please no "2 cards aren't worth it comments" , plus the deal is for both only anyways. Also I love high framerates, 2D Lightboost is the most amazing visual setting for any monitor, PERIOD! http://isiforums.net/f/showthread.php/10564-Zero-motion-blur-amazing!!! (if you think just standard 120/144 hz is amazing then you havent seen anything yet ) and it requires anywhere from 100 hz /100 fps to 120 hz / 120 fps.

Current build:
- 4930k @ 4.4 GHz
- HD 7970 Matrix Platinum
- 16 GB RAM (4 GB x 4 in quad channel)
-3x VG248QE monitors

I just can't decide......

 

Just do it.

 

Seeing that you're also driving in rF2, switch to nVidia ASAP. The rF2 AMD/nVidia difference in performance is staggering and I can't believe I put up with a 7950 bottlenecking me for an entire year.

As above, just do it

 

I know, but it's just the whole $1100 thing vs getting a single used non-ti 780 for like $450-ish lol.

I'm going to read some reviews to try and convince myself lol

 

RF2 doesnt work with SLI at least it doesnt with my Titans including the latest build and latest NV drivers, use SLI and lose about 30 fps lol. AC works great though and the latest build is using less vram as I was getting some pretty high numbers but now even with 24 cars I get about 1GB less vram usage so it really wont be going over 3GB any more I think. I have been running full field all maxed except cube res medium and no motion blur at 2560x1440 staying pretty much locked at 60fps 780ti are pretty awesome cards and you can always upgrade the coolers or go to water if you feel you want to OC or get less noise.

 

I have recently owned the MSI TF OC GAMING versions of the 760, 780, 780ti in a single card setup. I wanted to choose the best card for single performance now and for adding another for SLI in the near future.

I have decided to stick with the 780 (non-ti). Though MSI's version of the 780ti is still relatively quiet, it had significantly more audible coil whine and the fans constantly ran higher making it (relatively) noisier than the 780. That being said, the 780ti was really an impressive card. But for me, I saved $250 ($500 overall for SLI later) and have a quieter card with the 780. I know coil whine is not necessarily going to happen for everyone, but something to consider regardless.

Mildly overclocked on a single 780, I run triple-screen at 5760 x 1080p and have most things high other than smoke and cube maps, HDR enabled. I can get a grid of 12 cars and get above 60fps at start, keeping it that way for the race with the odd dip in the 50's in "crazy AI corners" when all cars are still together. But 99% of the race is 60fps+

I don't know how much noise the stock fans make compared to the MSI TF cooling systems from experience, but reviews tend to make the difference seem significant.

 

RFactor 2 is confusing some people have issues with mult GPUs some have it working just fine, I think it's mostly only when you combine multi-GPU w/ multi-monitor in that game (hopefully they fix this soon).

Badk to Assetto Corsa does the SLI scale good on multi monitors as well or are most of you SLI users on single monitor setups?

 

Spending 1100€ just for high FPS is retarded. You already should have 100+ with your current build, so paying 1k for FPS you wont even see is just....

and I don't really see any sim needing a stronger gpu any time soon as well, so there really is no reason, aside from you wanting it. And if you are buying this just because you want to have 2 780's in SLI, for no good reason, than I don't know why you are posting here.

If you are intent on spending 1k on useless things, you might as well spend that for a trip to the nurburgring and rent a supercar for a day... Since we are talking about ways to spend 1k....

 

The 1k will get you one day of real driving pleasure but a good pc setup will let you get the most out of any sim for a very long time. Sure the one day will be awesome but unless you have millions just lying around your not going to make that a regular thing beyond a one off or very rare occasion. Also using your track day comparison its the same as if you went to the nords for a day and rather then spending the 1k you could always just get a daihatsu and spend maybe less then $100 but if you want the best experiance you will need to spend a bit more cash when it comes to everything.

The reason I sim is because real driving which i still would love to do much more of is very expensive just for a single day. What you can easily spend on one day on a track can build you a pretty awesome sim setup. Sure sims are still a fair way from the real experiance but you pay once and use it as much as you want. You dont need to spend another 1k just for a set of tyres each time you want a full session.

And the funny thing is i dont really care how many fps it gets i just want it to be as smooth as possible and handle what my screen can render. I run it locked at 60fps even if on my own i could get 400fps plus, turn on all the eye candy and a full field of cars never dropping beyond this is the main reason for a high end sli setup. In AC you get all the benefits of sli and this is why i got a second titan as 1 was just a little short of what i wanted.

If i was still mostly using rf2 id think i completly wasted my money as that has massive issues with sli. Its really starting to show its age in the base engine and physics wise ac feels a lot closer to me and my real track experiance.

I just can wait till i can lap the nords in all its glory getting the most out of the great ac graphics engine at performance that youd normally need to turn everything down to enjoy the driving experiance properly on a lesser setup.

 

With my current build in order to play at 120 FPS with triple screens (5760x1080) I need to play the entire game at almost minumum settings. Pretty pathetic actually. Oh, and that's with a single car hot lapping, no A.I. or anything.

 

It's $1100 not 1100€. Also I just found a guy whos buying my current 7970 off me for $350 (which is actually $25 more than what I paid for the card a year ago) so in a way im only giving away $750 tomorrow for that entire package.

I was going to just say forget it and just go with a single non-ti 780 but then I started thinking about a few things

- Triple screen @ 5760x1080 demands
- How I dislike FXAA (blurs textures, fine for racing games, but not my thing for any other games) and therefore need to use more demanding forms of true AA
- The AMAZING 2D Lightboost and how it's minimum monitor refresh rate that it can run at is 100 Hz and you're advised to keep the FPS = to refresh rate therefore requiring a minimum of 100 FPS
- How even in RFactor 1 (and sims based on that engine, like Game Stock Car etc.) FPS still severely drop when racing against 20, 30, 40, (and even more) opponents (A.I. or human).
- Then there is 3D which I may get into (not for simracing though, too much input lag with the forced on VSync , plus only 60 FPS ) which is effectively the same demands as 120 FPS (ie. It cuts your FPS about in half while you need a consistent 60 FPS).
- The current extremely demanding games, ex. Crysis 3, Battlefield 4, etc.

After reading reviews, there is a massive bump in much needed performance/power that even a single 780Ti cannot handle when you combine triple screen res of 5760x1080, trying to stay at or over 100 FPS, and playing with high/max gfx settings.

Thanks everyone for your input, if it wasn't for this thread (and another one I made on another sim's forum) then I would have probably just went for a single 780 non-Ti, which is a great GPU setup for 95% of gaming setups, but may have disapointed me due to specific gaming needs (mentioned above).

 

You will have an impressive powerhouse of a setup. Enjoy!

 

Im running sli 780's @ 6020×1080 and in hotlap mode am getting (depending on the car) between 140 - 200 fps, so yeah 2 non Ti versions will do just fine

 

And the scaling is good compared to using triples screens but with 1 card?

 

You could save some money and get what I'm getting. I'm pulling the trigger on this bundle tomorrow (payday). 2 - nVidia SuperClocked GTX 760's plus a Samsung 120GB SSD for $US596

http://secure.neweggbusiness.com/shopping/addtocart.aspx?submit=add&itemlist=combo.1462023|1

 

Not sure how it runs on one card. Only ever run in sli and I can say it runs perfectly

 

Does anyone run a single card with Triple screens? I got a micro ATX and it has only a single slot. I'm thinking of upgrading to a triple setup and maybe.. just maybe get a 2DOF racing seat (DIY). I currently have a GTX 660 Ti and I'm thinking of purchasing the 860 (?) from Nvidia once it comes out.

 

I just upgraded from 2x 680 SLI to single 780Ti and at my normal 5760 x 1080 resolution I am seeing a 30% FPS improvement in my racing sims - including AC. Under load it peaks at 58C - great temperature management.

 

Just out of curiosity, what sort of FPS are you getting?

 

These are the FPS using Build 494 of rFactor2 and a standard test comprising 16 GT-Rs at Silverstone on very high settings with my car at the back controlled by the AI.

Red = 780Ti single card 3GB
Blue = 680 SLI 2GB



VRAM usage is around 1.8GB for 16 AI at Silverstone. With the 680s it was just over the 2GB level.

Temperature under load is 58C