Should I Upgrade to GTX 780 or add another 680 and SLI?

[Krulani]

As the title suggests, which is a better upgrade if I'm trying to run a 1440p monitor. Also, can a GTX 680 by itself run a 1440p adequately?

[Shinzai]

A single 780 is pretty weak in my opinion. A pair of sli 680s, however isn't being touched by anything less than an overclocked 780 ti.

[Krulani]

Thank you very much for your post. Anyone else have some insight?

[igniter]

I'm also curious, since I'm considering upgrading from my 570 gtx.

[Krulani]

So my current card is a --> EVGA 04G-P4-2686-KR GeForce GTX680 4GB. I didn't really realize when i bought it that the 4gb version isn't easy to find. Do i have to get another 4GB version if i want to link them together in SLI, or could i get a 3GB without any problems? I've never done a dual-GPU before and don't know the requirements of SLI.

[Lixo]

Get them R9 290s.

[Fluorescent0]

So my current card is a --> EVGA 04G-P4-2686-KR GeForce GTX680 4GB. I didn't really realize when i bought it that the 4gb version isn't easy to find. Do i have to get another 4GB version if i want to link them together in SLI, or could i get a 3GB without any problems? I've never done a dual-GPU before and don't know the requirements of SLI.

You could get a 3GB one but that means the one with 4GB would run with 3GB of VRAM as well.

[Krulani]

Okay i found one i think i like. Will my current card: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
work with this card in SLI: http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-C...Classified+4GB ?

[Fluorescent0]

Going for classifieds is mostly done for overclocking purpose. Considering that in a SLI setup the highest core clock / memory clock card gets downclocked to the lower one's speeds, SLI'ing one classified with one which has less overclocking capability is just wasting money on the first card since you won't be able to actually reach its full potential (which is what you're paying the premium for). You're also buying used at 460$, if you'd prefer looking for new cards there's this one on Newegg which is slightly cheaper after rebates and also comes with two free games.

[Krulani]

Going for classifieds is mostly done for overclocking purpose. Considering that in a SLI setup the highest core clock / memory clock card gets downclocked to the lower one's speeds, SLI'ing one classified with one which has less overclocking capability is just wasting money on the first card since you won't be able to actually reach its full potential (which is what you're paying the premium for). You're also buying used at 460$, if you'd prefer looking for new cards there's this one on Newegg which is slightly cheaper after rebates and also comes with two free games.

Noted. Does the Classified work with my current card in SLI? If the answer to that question is yes, it's a conservative overclock to my current card to reach the Classified's stock speed, right? If the answer to both of those questions is yes, I believe that is the setup i'm going to use. Thoughts?

[Majesticii]

What games are we even talking about. Is it starcraft 2 or crysis 3. (two ends of the spectrum).

[Krulani]

It's not really any game in particular. The goal is the best setup to run a 27" 2560x1440p monitor with. I mainly play WoW (which i know is more CPU dependent), Dota 2, and the occasional FPS casually. I've never played Crysis 3, I don't plan to. FPS games i'd likely play would be BF4 and/or something from the COD franchise.

[Fluorescent0]

The classified is a base +105mhz on the core clock, +7 offset on the boost clock and standard memory clock. Depending on how good/bad your old card's chip is you may not be able to reach a +100 on its core clock even at 132% power which iirc is the max on a 680. And pardon, I got the wrong link on the last post, I was suppposed to be linking this card.

[Krulani]

Wow, didn't realize the card i was looking at was used. Nice catch Fluorescent0. Will SLI work if one card is a EVGA GTX680 4GB and the other is a Gigabyte GTX680 4GB?

[Fluorescent0]

Yes it will work just fine. If you can try and overclock your old card to the much more manageable speeds of the gigabyte one in order for it not to downclock, but don't stress it too much if it can't hold them.

[Krulani]

The more and more i look into this it makes me wonder if i should consider just building a new system from scratch. I'm already planning on replacing the CPU, Mobo, adding another 680 which costs almost as much as the 780's, and adding a H100i liquid cooler. I'm worried the 750W PSU i have in there won't support a 2 GPU rig and overclocking. Money isn't really a problem, I'm fine shelling out money to get the best, I just don't want to be wasteful. Should i replace parts or start over and sell my old system as is?

[Fluorescent0]

Depending on what PSU it is, it may very well support everything.

[Swampmoose]

The more and more i look into this it makes me wonder if i should consider just building a new system from scratch. I'm already planning on replacing the CPU, Mobo, adding another 680 which costs almost as much as the 780's, and adding a H100i liquid cooler. I'm worried the 750W PSU i have in there won't support a 2 GPU rig and overclocking. Money isn't really a problem, I'm fine shelling out money to get the best, I just don't want to be wasteful. Should i replace parts or start over and sell my old system as is?

IMO, if you're upgrading everything else I would scratch the second 680. Sell your old one if they are going for $400+ used. You can get a single GTX 770, which is faster than a 680 for $350. SLI them and save money, while getting a faster pair of GPUS.