Upgrade options for 980 SLI at 4k?

[Viper87227]

I'm currently running a pair of 980 SC cards in SLI. I use my desktop for two different applications. Gaming at my desk at 1440p on a 144hz monitor. The other is for 4K on my TV. These two cards do just fine at my desktop, but I'm not getting satisfactory results at 4k.

Recent titles that come to mind that no combination of settings can make 4k 60fps happen: Witcher 3, DX:HR, Rise of the Tomb Raider, ME: Andromeda.

In all of those titles, I'm managing around 40fps. And on the rare occasions where I get up to 60fps, it still feels... jittery? Sometimes I'll see low GPU utilization at i'll be capped at 4GB VRAM. If I turn down AA and texture options though, I can get my VRAM usage into the 3-3.5GB range my cards are suited for, and in doing that I may see higher GPU utilization, but I still get get to 60fps. Witcher 3 comes to mind as a title that maxes out both my cards but still cant hit 60. Tomb Raider and Dues Ex seem like I'm always around 70-80% utilization no matter what settings I have, and no matter if I've maxed out my available VRAM or not.

I don't know if my issues are because of poor SLI support, lack of VRAM... both? What are my options? I'm having a hard time finding benchmarks comparing 980 SLI to the current crop of cards. Are there any single card solutions faster than what I have? Will a 1080 Ti outperform my two cards? I assume 1070 or 1080 will be closer to breaking even, or even slightly slower, but with more VRAM?

I don't know shit about what the red team is doing these days... anything in camp AMD worthy of my attention?

 

[Araxie]

go with a single GTX 1080Ti and it will be a HUGE upgrade over your setup and you will be free of multi-GPU issues. a single GTX 980Ti should be about 30% faster than a single the GTX 980, and a single 1080TI it's from 70% to 100% faster than the 980Ti depending on tittle.. so the upgrade will be huge over your current cards even when you have decent SLI scaling.

 

[Viper87227]

go with a single GTX 1080Ti and it will be a HUGE upgrade over your setup and you will be free of multi-GPU issues. a single GTX 980Ti should be about 30% faster than a single the GTX 980, and a single 1080TI it's from 70% to 100% faster than the 980Ti depending on tittle.. so the upgrade will be huge over your current cards even when you have decent SLI scaling.

That's what I'm finding. I can't find shit for benchmarks comparing my current setup to a 1080 Ti, but I am finding some for a 980 Ti and kinda doing the math in my head from there. Seems like it'll be a pretty positive upgrade. With Newegg having a Gigabyte 1080 Ti for $635 w/ no tax and free shipping, I think I'm going to bite.

 

[ssnyder28]

In games that have good sli scaling your setup should be similar to the 1080. The 1080ti is substantially better than your current setup and you don't need to worry about scaling/compatibility.

 

[whateverer]

And if it's not satisfying your needs, you can always add a second 1080Ti

Start with one, then see if you need more.

 

[Viper87227]

And if it's not satisfying your needs, you can always add a second 1080Ti

Start with one, then see if you need more.

Honestly, I'm kind of getting tired of SLI. I've had it for several generations now... I think I went 560 Ti, 680, 980... all of them were SLI'ed at some point. It always seemed easier to just a second card at upgrade time instead of selling and starting over. It almost seems to me that as time goes on, SLI support gets worse and worse (the opposite of what I'd expect). For now, one 1080 Ti is all the pocket book will allow for. A few years from now, I'll have to serious consider whether or not it's better to get a second card or just start again with a single top-tier card.

 

[eclypse]

The memory of a 1080 alone would make a huge difference even for 1440. So the ti would be even better.8.

I had 980sli at 2560x1440 and i had to turn settings down as there wasnt enough ram on the cards.. ive mase a pc for my son ans put the 980s in there and bought him a 1080 monitor which is perfect for them.. 1440 needs more vram!

Im runing 1080 sli at 4k and its fine.. so ti would be best.. though id go with a single evga ftw3 cause of the cooler.. large and quiet.

I would not put 2 of the evga cards side by side as the top card woyld cook.. sli you want founders edition cards with there blowers to blow the heat out of the case or one would want to water cool whatever cards in sli. Fe card will be loud in sli though.

 

[Viper87227]

I would not put 2 of the evga cards side by side as the top card woyld cook.. sli you want founders edition cards with there blowers to blow the heat out of the case or one would want to water cool whatever cards in sli. Fe card will be loud in sli though.

I ended up getting the Gigabyte card that NE has on sale for $635. It's $55 less than the next best option (MSI FE card at $690... I don't count Zotac). I would have preferred a blower card, but it's honestly not a big enough deal to justify the extra expense. I am not anticipating getting a second card. If I do, I'll deal with that when the time comes.

 

[eclypse]

I ended up getting the Gigabyte card that NE has on sale for $635. It's $55 less than the next best option (MSI FE card at $690... I don't count Zotac). I would have preferred a blower card, but it's honestly not a big enough deal to justify the extra expense. I am not anticipating getting a second card. If I do, I'll deal with that when the time comes.

Enjoy that upgrade!