GTX 770 4 GB SLI vs GTX 780 3 GB?

[anandsap123]

I know that GIGABYTE GTX 770 4 GB SLI performance is better than that of a single Titan. So I know that GTX 770 4 GB SLI will destroy a single GTX 780 3 GB. But here is my question: Are there lots of problems with SLI? Are they worth the performance? Is SLI so much of a headache to setup and maintain (from a software POV, not cooling ) that I am better off going with a single 780?

I ask this because in the build I am about to make, I can lower my PSU wattage and get a midtower instead of full tower and save enough from those two to get a single 780. The problem is that if I bump down the PSU and case to get a single 780 I cannot do GTX 780 SLI in the future without upgrading PSU and case (which I do not want to do).

OR, I can keep the PSU and full tower case and just get a GIGABYTE GTX 770 4 GB VRAM and in the future I can always get another. But I don't know if SLI is worth it yet...

 

[GhostRyder]

It's an interesting debate of whether sli/cfx over a better single card is worth it in the end.

It comes down to the resolution your gaming at:

If 1080p, get a single 780.

If 1440p+, get a pair of cards.

For you, I would say grab a single heavy clocked 780.

 

[anandsap123]

Honestly, I think I will go with a single 770 4 GB for now because the extra VRAM will help in editing and games are starting to use more VRAM. Also by this time next year, I will add in another 770 4 GB and blow a single GTX Titan out of the water. Also in the newest release of Adobe CC, you can now make use of EVERY GPU in your rig during rendering. With GTX 770 4GB VRAM SLI and an SSD, my renders are going to be insanely fast.

Also, I do not really want to invest in a top of the line 7 series card with 8 series right around the corner. I think I will opt for a single card in two years when I leave for college. I will probably pick up the "880ti" at that point.

 

[Jack1n]

Just get a 780 it will run every thing maxxed up to 1600p

 

[anandsap123]

yeah but adobe cc can make us of every GPU in a system during a render. combined with an SSD im going to have blazing fast render times.

 

[GhostRyder]

yeah but adobe cc can make us of every GPU in a system during a render. combined with an SSD im going to have blazing fast render times.

But you wont hit beyond 3gb for gaming at the resolution your looking at and Adobe will not benefit from the 1gb extra Vram. It will however both benefit from the Higher powered GPU.

 

[OneMoar]

lose the full tower get the RM 750 psu and get the 780 sli is not worth it 3gb is enough

 

[MxPhenom 216]

Honestly, I think I will go with a single 770 4 GB for now because the extra VRAM will help in editing and games are starting to use more VRAM. Also by this time next year, I will add in another 770 4 GB and blow a single GTX Titan out of the water. Also in the newest release of Adobe CC, you can now make use of EVERY GPU in your rig during rendering. With GTX 770 4GB VRAM SLI and an SSD, my renders are going to be insanely fast.

Also, I do not really want to invest in a top of the line 7 series card with 8 series right around the corner. I think I will opt for a single card in two years when I leave for college. I will probably pick up the "880ti" at that point.

I disagree on the vram. The GPU is not strong enough to begin with to take advantage of the extra 2gb of memory over the normal 2gb 770 cards.

benchmarks can confirm that. There is like a 1 2 frame difference between the 2gb and 4gb cards when you increase resolution. The 780 has less memory, but more bandwidth and overall more gpu performance so it'll still be better.

also the 4gb cards have more memory latency then the 2gb cards.

 

[yogurt_21]

I disagree on the vram. The GPU is not strong enough to begin with to take advantage of the extra 2gb of memory over the normal 2gb 770 cards.

benchmarks can confirm that. There is like a 1 2 frame difference between the 2gb and 4gb cards when you increase resolution. The 780 has less memory, but more bandwidth and overall more gpu performance so it'll still be better.

also the 4gb cards have more memory latency then the 2gb cards.

You're forgetting about sli essentially halving the effective memory. So while a single 770 couldn't drive 4GB of memory, 2 of them can. With standard 2GB 770 sli you won't have any extra memory to work with and will likely be capped by that despite the extra horsepower provided by the second card. Game series like total war can already use up to 2.7GB of vram. Texture packs for games (such as a heavily modded skyrim) can use over 2GB vram as well.

a 40$ price hike now could potentially pay dividends if he chooses to sli later. Besides the guy you quoted mentioned gpu rendering where the extra vram will be used whether or not the gaming horsepower is there. You can sli at any time. If he's a 3-4 year upgrader like myself he could end up paying the price of a single 780 now and end up with 770 4GB sli. (ie get a 770 4GB now and pick up another for 100-150$ 2-3 years down the road). Soing it that way will also give new life to his rig and prevent him from overspending on the latest shiny simply because its shiny.

 

[johnspack]

Bugs me to see arguments about "sli stuttering".... used sli 285s and sli 480s and never saw a single instance of that ever. Instant doubling of fps, connect a cable, and away you go!
May take a bit of tweaking, but a much cheaper solution sometimes.

 

[Vario]

You're forgetting about sli essentially halving the effective memory. So while a single 770 couldn't drive 4GB of memory, 2 of them can. With standard 2GB 770 sli you won't have any extra memory to work with and will likely be capped by that despite the extra horsepower provided by the second card. Game series like total war can already use up to 2.7GB of vram. Texture packs for games (such as a heavily modded skyrim) can use over 2GB vram as well.

a 40$ price hike now could potentially pay dividends if he chooses to sli later. Besides the guy you quoted mentioned gpu rendering where the extra vram will be used whether or not the gaming horsepower is there. You can sli at any time. If he's a 3-4 year upgrader like myself he could end up paying the price of a single 780 now and end up with 770 4GB sli. (ie get a 770 4GB now and pick up another for 100-150$ 2-3 years down the road). Soing it that way will also give new life to his rig and prevent him from overspending on the latest shiny simply because its shiny.

Do you have a source for this?
Its still a 256 bit memory bus as well.

 

[MxPhenom 216]

Do you have a source for this?
Its still a 256 bit memory bus as well.

He is right, GPUs in SLI are fast enough to take advantage of the extra vram. But as far as I know, anything Adobe doesn't even take advantage of dual GPUs. On any Adobe app all you really need is Intel HD4000 and you are set. It doesn't make a bit of difference.

yeah but adobe cc can make us of every GPU in a system during a render. combined with an SSD im going to have blazing fast render times.

What app in Adobe are you using specifically. @REAYTH is a professional artist and using the apps for his work and says a GPU vs and Integrated GPU on a CPU doesn't make a difference.

It'll barely use a discrete GPU. It definitely won't use 2 of them.

 

[anandsap123]

Ok let me correct this notion that Adobe products can't use SLI....read this quote directly from the adobe blog
http://blogs.adobe.com/premierepro/2013/05/improved-gpu-support-in-adobe-premiere-pro-cc.html
"Finally, for customers using configurations containing multiple GPUs, Premiere Pro CC can use all of them during export (but not during playback) so customers who require the fastest possible encode times will be able to leverage all the GPUs they own."
You are correct to say that only one GPU can be used during preview playback but during render Premiere Pro CC will use both.

 

[MxPhenom 216]

Ok let me correct this notion that Adobe products can't use SLI....read this quote directly from the adobe blog
http://blogs.adobe.com/premierepro/2013/05/improved-gpu-support-in-adobe-premiere-pro-cc.html
"Finally, for customers using configurations containing multiple GPUs, Premiere Pro CC can use all of them during export (but not during playback) so customers who require the fastest possible encode times will be able to leverage all the GPUs they own."
You are correct to say that only one GPU can be used during preview playback but during render Premiere Pro CC will use both.

Have you ever checked actual GPU usage during the renders? Id be surprised to see it over 50%.

 

[OneMoar]

Have you ever checked actual GPU usage during the renders? Id be surprised to see it over 50%.

so would I adobe is bsing thats the bottom line

 

[MxPhenom 216]

so would I adobe is bsing thats the bottom line

I know Sony Vegas is a bit different, but I have it set to render videos out from the GPU using CUDA and usage never is higher then 20% on my 780. That is with the Codec that seems to use the most GPU.

 

[OneMoar]

I know Sony Vegas is a bit different, but I have it set to render videos out from the GPU using CUDA and usage never is higher then 20% on my 780. That is with the Codec that seems to use the most GPU.

video encoding doesn't take crap for gpu grunt the differenece between a i7's HD5000 and a 680 is roughly a min-30 the op is young and is convinced the claims on the box speak the truth

 

[yogurt_21]

I would be surprised to see adobe take advantage of sli, but rendering the in after effects and premier will bring your rig to a crawl on intel hd 4000. If I remember correctly some of those won't even open without a discreet card.

 

[OneMoar]

http://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Adobe-Premiere-Pro-CS6-GPU-Acceleration-162/#Results
and
https://software.intel.com/en-us/ar...ia-sdk-and-intel-quick-sync-video-technology/

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7003/the-haswell-review-intel-core-i74770k-i54560k-tested/8
now I don't know of anybody that accually uses the quicksync export plugin but on paper the quicksync encoder is 200% faster then a 680