Replace my GTX 670, add another, or chill?

[M0rt]

I can buy a lightly used Gigabyte 670 2GB locally for around $220 and run SLI.

I can sell mine for roughly the same and then grab a 780, 290, or 290X non-reference.

Or, I can wait a few months for Maxwell and reevaluate then.

The 2GB of my 670 is making me hesitant to add another, should I be?

Is the downside of SLI real and significant?

O wise TPUers, what sayeth thou?

 

[Mindweaver]

I would sale and get a 780 or a 780 ti. The 290's are not bad, but if I wanted one I would wait for one with an aftermarket cooler.

 

[radrok]

Is there a game that's bringing you to this conclusion?

I mean if there is something you can't play with your current GPU then go ahead and upgrade but otherwise just wait for Maxwell imho.

 

[M0rt]

I'd definitely wait for the aftermarket 290's; the Ti's are a bit rich for my blood though. Thanks for the response.

 

[M0rt]

Is there a game that's bringing you to this conclusion?

I mean if there is something you can't play with your current GPU then go ahead and upgrade but otherwise just wait for Maxwell imho.

The availability of the 670 locally is really what prompted my ?

 

[Kaynar]

My only advice: we are nearly in 2014. Buying a GPU with 2GB ram is a bad idea, its too low (cause - as it seems you have realised - you will still have 2GB ram in SLI). Either don't change anything yet or buy a 780 or 290 with custom cooler. Have in mind several 290 can be flashed to 290x safely.

Personally I think your 670 can still hold till next GPUs for 1080p. You might only need more to max out The Witcher 3. Can't think of any other title that will need more, since everything else is console port...

 

[rtwjunkie]

I think you are still fine with 2GB RAM and a 670. I would wait if I were you on buying new. If you want to SLI and get that other 670, the performance increase would certainly help, and not much is going to max out that 2GB right now at 1080p on the memory side.

 

[newtekie1]

I think at this point there really isn't anything better that you can get for ~$440, so I say get the second GTX670. SLI GTX670s basically match a GTX780Ti. Yes, there are concerns with 2GB of VRAM not being enough, but for 1920x1200 it should be plenty for quite a while. In fact, currently, even at 2560x1600 the 2GB cards in SLI are still right there with the 3GB and 4GB cards, so I don't think 2GB will really be as big of a problem as people make it out to be.

 

[M0rt]

I read that BF4 is flirting with 3GB, but it isn't my cup of tea. Watch Dogs is the next title that's gonna give me a stiffy, so I wonder how demanding it'll prove to be.

I'm at 1200p now, but my baby is still holding her own and doing me proud.

The extra shaders on 290 can be unlocked? Can someone second the notion?

I hope I'd be able to walk away with roughly $250-350 in 6 months after reselling either 2 670s or a 780/290 and that either additional expense would essentially be a wash. I suspect moving 2 less desirable 670's would be more difficult though.

I'm just afraid that Maxwell will erode their resale value to a greater degree and that I'll wind up feeling like an impatient meathead.

How badass is Maxwell expected to be vs. the current crop? 680 to 780, or something more profound? I know, stupid ?

What about SLI issues? Are they overblown or a legit concern?

Thanks for humoring my lunacy gents.

 

[Crap Daddy]

I would have said sell and buy now a 780 but just noticed the three free AAA games just vanished. I don't think you'll be able to get an aftermarket 290 this year and given the bitcoin craze they might slap an inflated price on it. Do you have real problems playing games with the 670? 20nm Maxwell is far and SLI could be another option until then. For your monitor 2GB is just fine.

 

[dhdude]

I'd go for the second 670 if you feel the price is right, I nabbed two new 670s here in the UK a few months ago for £160 (~$276) each, performance is incredible, to the point my expectations are set too high when I play on friends machines. As mentioned above, you're looking at around 780ti performance for less, but the VRAM issue may become worse by 2015. I think people worry too much about VRAM, I don't have any issues or frame drops on any game I play at 1080p, new or old, including BF4, AC: Black Flag and Splinter Cell Conviction.

 

[Chetkigaming]

Maxwell

 

[DarkOCean]

Get a custom 290 or wait for maxwell

 

[radrok]

I read that BF4 is flirting with 3GB, but it isn't my cup of tea. Watch Dogs is the next title that's gonna give me a stiffy, so I wonder how demanding it'll prove to be.

I'm at 1200p now, but my baby is still holding her own and doing me proud.

The extra shaders on 290 can be unlocked? Can someone second the notion?

I hope I'd be able to walk away with roughly $250-350 in 6 months after reselling either 2 670s or a 780/290 and that either additional expense would essentially be a wash. I suspect moving 2 less desirable 670's would be more difficult though.

I'm just afraid that Maxwell will erode their resale value to a greater degree and that I'll wind up feeling like an impatient meathead.

How badass is Maxwell expected to be vs. the current crop? 680 to 780, or something more profound? I know, stupid ?

What about SLI issues? Are they overblown or a legit concern?

Thanks for humoring my lunacy gents.

I wouldn't count on getting a 290 for the purpose of unlocking it, what I mean is that you should buy a 290 only if you are content with its performance.

Unlock may come as an added bonus but just don't buy it expecting it to unlock, that's what I want to say.


I think Maxwell's performance jump could realistically be in the order of performance you saw from past generations.

GTX 560Ti to GTX 680 as midrange chip and GTX 580 to GTX 780/Titan/780Ti as high end big die.



SLI is fine, it's not like having a single card but it's good.

 

[M0rt]

The bundle is still live on Amazon and EVGA's site, Newegg might just be temporarily toast. I think the offer runs until the 31st, hence the "holiday bundle."

Truth be told, I'm pretty content with my lone 670. Granted I'm a noob with no frame of reference to know better.

I pondered grabbing a 780, but figured I'd wait until the non-reference 290's were released to see if they put some more downward pressure on the price or maybe I'd just go with the 290. I'm in NYC, so getting a non-ref 290 shouldn't be a problem. Worst case scenario, somebody in a stockroom gets a 20 spot richer.

Then, I read that Maxwell is gonna ship end of Q1 2014, so I half put my thinking cap on.

Then, last night I find out there's a 670 to be had a few blocks away and now my cranium is cooking.

I hope I'd be able to hock the 670's Q3 2014 once Maxwell prices settle and before the VRAM becomes a constraint, but I fear the writing will be pretty clear on the wall by then and I'll get offered a membership to the jelly of the month club for the pair.

Eating $200-300 isn't a problem, I just really hate bad decisions.

Leaving economics aside, you'd say SLI stutter, etc., is virtually a non-issue especially on mainstream titles?

How does it differ from a single card?

 

[Jack1n]

I would get an aftermarket cooled 290 or a 780 over a 670 SLI simply because it would be much easier to sell when you make your next upgrade.

 

[newtekie1]

I read that BF4 is flirting with 3GB, but it isn't my cup of tea. Watch Dogs is the next title that's gonna give me a stiffy, so I wonder how demanding it'll prove to be.

I'm at 1200p now, but my baby is still holding her own and doing me proud.

If it is going over 2GB, the recent reviews from W1z aren't showing any issues with the 2GB cards.

If you look at the ASUS Mars GTX760 review he just did, that card is basically two GTX760 2GB cards in SLI. Even at 2560x1600 the 2GB GTX760s are matching Titan in performance. And the GTX690, which again only has 2GB of available memory is right where it should be matching a GTX780Ti. The only time the 2GB seems to hurt performance is in the 3-Way Eyefinity/Surround setup at 5760x1080. And even at that point, the GTX690 is still able to keep up with the GTX780. So I don't think the 2GB memory size is really going to be as big of an issue as many seem to think.

The extra shaders on 290 can be unlocked? Can someone second the notion?

Rarely, yes they can, but I wouldn't count on it.

I hope I'd be able to walk away with roughly $250-350 in 6 months after reselling either 2 670s or a 780/290 and that either additional expense would essentially be a wash. I suspect moving 2 less desirable 670's would be more difficult though.

I'm just afraid that Maxwell will erode their resale value to a greater degree and that I'll wind up feeling like an impatient meathead.

How badass is Maxwell expected to be vs. the current crop? 680 to 780, or something more profound? I know, stupid ?

I'm not sure how badass Maxwell is supposed to be, we're still in a wait and see type of stance. However, if it is really a major leap, I'm guessing what we will get is another mid-range GPU launched as the flagship that compete with Hawaii. Then in a few months when AMD released the successor to Hawaii, we'll see the full fledged Maxwell come out. If Maxwell doesn't turn out to be a huge leap, then it probably isn't worth waiting for. If you constantly wait because something slightly better is coming out in a few months, you'll never buy anything in the PC world.

What about SLI issues? Are they overblown or a legit concern?

Thanks for humoring my lunacy gents.

I've use SLI and Crossfire for years. IMO, the issues with SLI are definitely overblown. In my experience nVidia is really good with working with game developers to make sure they have driver out that makes SLI compatible with major games on launch day. So the concerns that most people have that when SLI doesn't work it is like only having one card is definitely overblown. With major titles, which are usually the ones that really need the power from SLI, I can't remember one that didn't have a working SLI setup on launch day, or within a day of launch. That being said, there are a lot of indie titles that don't work with SLI, but really those types of games aren't graphically intense enough to need SLI, so it isn't a big problem.

 

[M0rt]

Thanks for the comprehensive answer and thanks to everyone who weighed in.

Gonna go mutter to myself in a corner now.