970 in SLI with downclocked FX 8120!

[vega22]

Actually the BIOS limits temperatures to 92C , I actually tested this on my 1060 , the temperature control takes place at the driver level.

i'm not sure it is the same for all cards?

 

[Vya Domus]

i'm not sure it is the same for all cards?

It is , the BIOS will only trigger shutdown/throttle if it hits 92C , BIOS can't be modified on Pascal , they are all the same on all cards.

 

[EarthDog]

NVIDIA can put out a different throttling point...(you mention modification for some reason).

That said, i believe 92c is for all the silicon, yep.

 

[Keullo-e]

You do realise that

1. The Nvidia BIOS limits cards at 83 C anyway, so you seeing 85 C is an indication that your system/case runs too hot and needs to exhaust more hot air, and also that these GPUs are definitely throttling like nobody's business. You may think otherwise, but indulge me and go monitor your core volts and boost clock stability.
2. 970 SLI is crap today because you have a huge CPU bottleneck, and it will be shit after you upgrade the CPU because you will be having a VRAM bottleneck.
3. You basically just threw 160 eur out the window on an old GPU that'll scale for perhaps 50-60% of its actual performance

1. MSI Afterburner gives me a 91C max
2. I know, just want to try SLI after many years. And I'm running on 1080p so 3.5GB is enough in almost all cases*
3. I know, wasn't the wisest choice. Like I said, I just want to try SLI after long time. Otherwise I would just got beer with that 160eur and that's a worse idea.

* CoD AW was unplayable at max settings, turned the graphics down a little and we had a stable 76fps. I guess it hit that slow VRAM area.

 

[Keullo-e]

It is , the BIOS will only trigger shutdown/throttle if it hits 92C , BIOS can't be modified on Pascal , they are all the same on all cards.

GTX970 is Maxwell.

 

[ASOT]

Op sell man the FX is dead,get R3/B350 and OC also the 970 SLI

Why get old gen when u can get better performance,new stuff,less noise/heat

 

[FreedomEclipse]

Op sell man the FX is dead,get R3/B350 and OC also the 970 SLI

Why get old gen when u can get better performance,new stuff,less noise/heat

Because it was dirty cheap

 

[Keullo-e]

At least my G4560 runs games better with SLI when compared to one 970.

Also, got two of those total of 270 euros, so I don't think that it was a bad deal.

 

[Iciclebear]

Mostly i game at 1680*1050 and at medium to custom settings!!

In my opnion,

SLI on that monitor is completely wasted on any modern game. Unless you were running DSR you wouldn't even push the card. The 970 used to be the champion of 1080p gaming, (which is why they were so popular on steam) and it should be able to rock any modern game on high/ultra at 1680x1050 with ease. The only things you would need to sli 970s for is 2560x1440 on ultra or 4k settings, and the memory capacity will become an issue at 4k. I would run the 8120 for all that it's worth (or replace it with a fx-63xx or 83xx that you can get on sale) instead of crippling it as you are down in cpu power compared to gpu power.

Also,

I used to run a 4790k and a pair of 970s in sli on a SeaSonic M12II 620 Bronze 620W. One of the best power supplies I've ever owned and the one I recommend heavily. It keeps showing up on newegg for 39.99 after rebate. It's a bit of a tight fit for a 8120 and 2x 970s but for 40$ i don't think you'll find a more quality unit. I didn't have an overclock on the 970s or the cpu at the time so take that into consideration.

Backstory:
I got the 970s when they launched, I would have needed to buy the titan x to get that power in a single card at the time. I also bought the foxcon produced "nvidia" branded ones (yes the ones they sell at bestbuy) becuase they came with the "titan" style blower cooler with a backplate. They were essentially a "Reference" 970 despite everyone telling me that they didn't exist and gtx 980 water blocks and hybrid coolers fit on them. I needed the blowers because the rig was inside an Antec Solo II, a quiet case with less than stellar airflow. Overall the rig was quiet, performant, and it did what I wanted, which was to stream games at 2560x1440 and 4k to my tv via my shield TV. Although the 970 sli and the 755m sli in my Lenovo y510p will be the last SLI setups I own if I can help it. If all you play is AAA games sli is fine, but that second GPU is just a boat anchor if you like non mainstream games. I've enjoyed my GTX 1080 much more than I did the finicky sli setup.

 

[Zyll Goliat]

When you playing games in lower res as 1680x1050 or even 1080p then is more likely that your CPU is going to become bottleneck and that is exactly what is going to happened with FX 8120.....Believe me I recently switch from FX 8300(OC 4,2Ghz)and now I am using X58 with 6core Xeon E5645 OC 4Ghz.....Also I am using GTX 970 and can give you my scores example in Fire Strike FX8300&GTX970=8900p and Xeon&GTX970=11,500p so it is significant difference with just 1 GTX 970 in SLI FX will become severe bottleneck......Anyway it´s important to know that if you thinking about some higher resolution 4k or triple monitor gaming around 60FPS then that difference is going to be negligible and even FX can handle easy as in that case GPU will become bottleneck.........

 

[fusseli]

Rofl, too much psu being recommended to improve gaming performance where the cpu and gpu are both outdated, what a joke. Big psu won't increase fps I ran SLI gtx670 and an overlocked 8350 with a quality seasonic psu, no problem. Upgraded to a single 970 and it was a huge gaming upgrade.

In the case of an 8120, an 8350 isn't going to be much of an upgrade unless you can get it for free or minimal $$$, not worth the expense for a tiny gain

 

[eidairaman1]

It will run better, can be oc'd to 4.5GHz. Vrms may need a little cooling though.

 

[Artas1984]

FX-8150 is piece of shit! You will get no SLI benefit, because this CPU can barely push one GTX970 to it's limits.

Sell one of your GTX970; one GTX970 will do the job perfectly at 1650 resolution.

trust me for your monitor,easy buy gtx 1060 3gb and be happy!!!
lower power consumption,no sli issues, around the same performance.... what else ca nyou ask for,bonus newer card so longer driver suport..

That is the most STUPID advice i've ever seen!!! If you did not know PAL, GTX970 is just as good as GTX1060 3 GB. Having in mind that GTX1060 3 GB has, CAPTAIN OBVIOUS, even less VRAM, what kind of abysmal advice is that?

GTX 1070 will be an overkill for 1680x1050 monitor. Not to even mention GTX 1080.
I recommend RX 470 4GB, new or used, which will rock at that resolution. From my personal experience, RX 470 4GB can easily push very demanding games like Far Cry Primal on Ultra settings at 1920x1080 monitor.

Again WTF? So you are recommending him to replace GTX970 with RX470 4 GB? What? Did you know that GTX970 G1 Gaming is actually faster than whatever RX470 OC you are hinting? Whatever... If you at least have said to upgrade from GTX970 to RX570 8 GB, that would make some sense for future proofing.

 

[EarthDog]

With FX, that thing is choking single mid-high end GPUs. Add another GPU and it lowers potential more (you will still get better FPS, but you are wholly CPU bound with SLI/Cfx). For that low res, sell the 970 and overclock the CPU.

 

[ASOT]

Sell mobo/ram/cpu and get R3 1200 with B350 mobo

 

[EarthDog]

Ick, at least get one with SMT... I wouldn't buy a 4c/4t CPU new today unless my budget forced it.

 

[ASOT]

Bla bla bla, Earthdog again rullz )))) Yeah!

 

[EarthDog]

Just trying to be helpful... sorry you take exception to that.

 

[ASOT]

Can i play Crysis 3 with 1800x atleast or need Threadriper 1950x ? )))

 

[EarthDog]

I'm not going to humor your petty response. If you can't handle when other opinions differ from yours, perhaps you should not be on forums.

All I am saying if the budget allows, I would get a 4c/8t part. This will help in several titles now, and more as time goes on. Its just facts.

 

[ASOT]

Maybe he cant afford 1400 mate ...always u have something to advise aka"better"

Imagine ppl that buy nowdays 7700K wich is great cpu,but limit in is corees..and nonse to get,when ryzen offer more perf/core at great price.

 

[EarthDog]

And I already addressed that out of gate...did you miss it?

I wouldn't buy a 4c/4t CPU new today unless my budget forced it.

ASOT, I'm sorry there are differing opinions on what we think is best. I'm sorry you have a problem with me offering advice... perhaps you should put me on ignore if you are going to continuously respond to me like this when I have something different to say. I fully believe, IF HE CAN AFFORD IT, he should get a 4c/8t part. I am sure many would agree this is the way to go these days, again, IF THE BUDGET ALLOWS (like a said initially).

Imagine ppl that buy nowdays 7700K wich is great cpu,but limit in is corees..and nonse to get,when ryzen offer more perf/core at great price.

I have no idea what this has to do with anything... I didn't mention getting Intel... I simply said a 4c/8t part man.. Come on..........

 

[ASOT]

HE can go later IF finds 4c/4th on limits with R5/R7,anyways from FX to Ryzen is next step

I sayd 7700k bcs is popular and ppl get it..

 

[EarthDog]

He can.. but if he can afford it now, he should get a 4c/8t part over a 4c/4t part. Simple. That is all I said. Never mentioned Intel, just 4c/8t if his budget allows. if not, then 4c/4t it will have to be.

 

[ASOT]

Only OP can clear us with conclusion of that