Which option would you choose?
Using SLI / Crossfire is dumb if you don't have the LATEST released card.
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I'm not quite sure I would totally agree with that, but I do think it's a bit of a waste if your CPU does not have enough lanes to allow both to perform at their peak.
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So, get a single card… or get two cards that use triple the amount of power (therefore, money) and have to be put in SLI which even in 2016 is a generally non-supported feature. For a what, 30% performance boost? Even less?
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It's more the fact that I can put them back into my cooling loop without having to wait much longer... either way will provide enough power for gaming. My monitors are 1080p @ 144MHz... I'm spending too much on cards to afford 4K, but believe me this is one of the reasons I keep going back and forth.
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A single 980Ti should be enough to support a 144 Hz monitor at 1080p. If you are throwing away GPUs this fast, by the time you get a 4k display, you will mostly likely be able to get a 1080Ti or whatever they will name this line's Titan.
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:D
It sounds like NVIDIA is allowing 3-way and 4-way go the into the sunset slowly. Users that wish to use that configuration will need to get a special "enthusiasts" key to unlock that functionality. It's such a rarity that anyone has these setups that official support for them may be dying or already dead.
... besides, everyone knows that you wait for 1050 Ti to 4-way. :P
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SLI, and old cards using bigger transistor, mean your electricity's bill will much bigger.
And NVIDIA have a tradition, newer driver make previous gen graphics weaker =))
So If I were you, I will sell GTX 980 to buy GTX 1080.
And for more p/p solution, I will buy a 2nd AMD.
Sorry for my English !!!
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Your English is probably better than mine!
Power wise the 1080 is definitely more efficient, but compared to its predecessor the 980s are as well... but it is definitely a factor.
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if you don't plan to upgrade to a 1080ti get the 1080, if you'll get a 1080ti in the next year, spend as little as possible with just 1 or 2 980ti
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That's kind of where my thoughts are lying... I probably will do the 1080 Ti sometime next year.
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Will do the same, so just be patient like I need to as well. It's gonna be worth the wait! :)
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Then get the 980ti, you can get them cheap and cash out on the 1080 hype before it drops in price or gets more common due to larger supplies.
:)
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according to rumors the 480 has a performance similar to a 390(x)
even if it wasn't true it's a much lower tier, maybe a 1080 can be compared to a new fury with the vega architecture (october 2016)
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well for my budget the 480 wud be enough, i can't pay 680$ tbh. maybe i go for 1070, maybe!
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Are you going for the best FPS attainable or are you looking for a power-efficient setup? If it's the former go for the sli. If it's the latter, go for the 1080 :) Although it would be better if you just use a of the two cards then just get 2 1080tis if you can wait :)
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I would go VW Up.
No, but seriously, what do you do that needs so much firepower? I still have my 560Ti 448 and I can do every single thing I want.
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you probably have big problems getting good frame rates with that card in modern games...
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Not that much to be honest. But then again, I don't do shooters or mmo's.
My question remains, what on earth does the OP do with his computer that he needs that much performance? Does he simulate creations of universes or something?
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well, what do you think why those cards exist? he obviously wants to have optimal performance in games. i have a i7-6700k and a gtx 970, and with some modern games that pc struggles to achieve constant 60fps on ultra settings at my resolution (2560*1080). so even for that resolution i could use more power. now imagine someone has a 1440p or even 4k monitor. or a 144Hz monitor. not even a 1080 can be considered enough for such high resolutions and frame rates.
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im waiting for the new amd polaris r9 400 series
a lot of power for low money
http://videocardz.com/60253/amd-radeon-r9-480-3dmark11-benchmarks
the 480 will cost beetween 200-250$ with a low tdp arround 120-150 watt
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2x SLI will consume more power, SO NO.
Just sell your 980TI
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Why preordering 3 GTX 1080? xD
As for question - one card will be better. Not only it will need less power, but also both NVidia and AMD have problems with SLI / CrossFire profiles. So it can be buggy, stuttering and so on. Some games even don't have working 2-GPU modes - like Batman: Arkham Knight.
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I have heard rumors that Nvidia's next GPU chip, Volta, is about to be released sometime in the near future.
Reports it will be able to "power a small moon" are said to be "slightly overstating things", though ;P
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They just released 1 card from Pascal architecture, and we will have to wait some time for cards like GTX 1060 or Titan. So they won't release Volta earlier than in next 1 - 1,5 year.
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It was meant as a joke ;) Yeah, they won't get Volta released before 2018 most likely.
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Go for the GTX-1080 thats a no brainier.
Got lucky and was able to catch a gtx-1080 on sale today on newegg,nvidia sold out of theres in like 2 minutes time and evga's site crapped out 5 minutes before the cards even went on sale and hasn't been back up yet so they will likely have some for sale if there site ever come back up if anyone is still looking:)
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Personally, I would prefer the simplicity, power efficiency, reduced heat output, and universal compatibility of a single card, so my vote is to keep the 1080. Also, consider your longer-term plans. You can always add another 1080 in SLI down the road if you so choose, but I doubt you'd want to add a third 980Ti if you were already running a pair of them. :)
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I'm gonna just keep my 970 and ain't nobody gonna stop me.
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I was an early adopter of SLI and after a few years I finally switched back to a single card and couldn't be happier. SLI simply isn't worth the hassle for the modicum of performance you gain. You're never sure if the new drivers will bunk your system, or cause strange issues that no one else seems to be having. I went through 5 chipset fans as well, they can run quite hot.
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I'd sell it and get 1080Ti next year.
Of course that's based on my habit. I don't know yours, so can't make the right judgement or advice.
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A single, powerful card is always better than two less powerful ones in SLI/Crossfire.
Stick with the GTX1080, or wait for AMD's 400 series
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I supose you can allways sell all your cards and try 1080 on air to see if its tolerable. If not you can allways buy waterblock and reroute your wc later. Just my 2 cents. Also, your 980 tis are about to devaluate A LOT really quick so it was me I would sell them as fast as I could.
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I don't have the Ti pair in hand. I actually sold off two standard 980s a while back to put towards the three 1080s I ordered. I was given an offer for two of the 980 Ti in exchange for one of the 1080s I purchased... the offer was a little tempting is all since it would still leave me with two 1080s that I could sell. Then I could run the pair, keep the proceeds from the sale of the 1080s, and keep those on hand to put towards (if not fully cover) the cost of a pair of 1080 Ti upon release later this year.
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Thanks for all of thoughts everyone... I think I wanted to hear go the 980 route since they will include the waterblocks, but you have all cinched the deal on what I think I knew was the better option.
GTX 1080 it is!
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Because of the power supply, I would go for the single GTX 1080 and take advantage of the reduced heat generation between two GTX 980 TI's, but I don't have (and probably won't have in the foreseeable future) a water cooled system, so heat is more important to me.
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So here is my FWP: I pre-ordered 3 GTX 1080s. I have sold two of them, and have one remaining. I can sell it or keep it. Part of me really wants to keep it. I sold off my 980s a short while back in preparation for this release. However, I have come across two 980 Ti. Both also come with full EK waterblocks. My rig is configured with a custom cooling loop. So far as I know there is only one company that has previewed a 1080 block, and it is not presently available to all. That means I would have to wait for the release of one. It also means that I would need to reroute my loop. I use rigged ribbing so it's a bit more complex of a process than flex tube.
I realize this is a problem a lot of people would love to have. Believe me, I recognize it is not of terrible importance. I'm not trying to insult anyone nor the complex issues we all face. I'm just trying to make a decision here that I keep going back and forth on, and know some of you have invaluable insights that perhaps I am overlooking.
If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask.
FYI: I'm still sans rig so please excuse the spelling and other mistakes that I'm certain to have overlooked above... I've been living off of my phone for last few months.
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