mpoffo
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I am seeking some opinions on if I should buy one more GTX 780 for Tri-SLI (while I can). Just the vanilla or SC version for Tri-SLI. I currently game at 5940 x 1080 in a 2D surround set-up. I know ideally I should get the 6GB cards coming out but that does not seem to be an option for me atm. I also realize that scaling with 3 cards is not as good as it is with just 2-way. I am trying to maximize my current set-up for about the cost of 1 new "generic" GTX 780 card. I personally never had three way SLI. From what I gather in many games I will see a boost in FPS over 2-way. http://us.hardware.info/reviews/4632/geforce-gtx-700-series-sli-review-geforce-gtx-760770780-in-sli-and-3-way-sli The bottom line question is will 3-way SLI be a good investment with these cards at my resolution? The VRAM situation won't be ideal but I am willing tweak the settings should it become an issue. I realize that there are better options out there but financially they are not doable for me at the moment. Thanks for your thoughts.
X299 System:
Windows 10 Pro 64-bit | Intel Core i9 7900x (4.4 GHz)| ASUS Rampage VI Extreme | 32 GB 3200 G.SKILL TridentZ RGB Corsair 900D | Corsair AX 1200i PSU | Corsair H115i Elite Capellix (in Push/Pull) | EVGA RTX 3090 FTW3 Ultra & 1080 8 GB
Samsung 870 PRO 2 TB | Samsung 850 EVO 500 GB | Intel 520 SATA SSD 240GB HD | 2 & 4 TB WD Black Hard Drive
Creative Sound Blaster Z | Logitech THX 5.1 speaker setup | LG Blu-ray burner | Corsair AF 120 and 140 Fans
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ATGSteakHouse
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Re: Should I tri SLI?
2014/04/14 17:01:37
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What kind of FPS are you getting with (2) cards? If you're over 60 I wouldn't bother with those 60Hz monitors (i.e. no benefit). There are some big jumps coming out with 120Hz monitors, 4K & G-Sync. You're probably better off putting that cash towards something like that.
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mpoffo
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Re: Should I tri SLI?
2014/04/14 17:38:50
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Thanks ATG.
With eye candy turned on in some games I don't get 60. Also looking for a smoother experience overall. I probably won't be able to jump to a new generation for at least a few years (2-4) due to household finance changes. I can be content with my GTX 780's but looking for a bit of extra power. As for the cash, that won't last as it will go to other household needs.
I realize that a large chunk of this is subjective based on personal tastes etc. I am not sure if I am trying to talk myself into it or out of it, lol. I just want some reassurance that it would be a reasonable bump, albeit a smaller one. I suppose the numbers in the review speak for themselves.
On a side note I was considering getting an Nvidia Shield instead. Anyone have any experience with that in a surround set-up?
X299 System:
Windows 10 Pro 64-bit | Intel Core i9 7900x (4.4 GHz)| ASUS Rampage VI Extreme | 32 GB 3200 G.SKILL TridentZ RGB Corsair 900D | Corsair AX 1200i PSU | Corsair H115i Elite Capellix (in Push/Pull) | EVGA RTX 3090 FTW3 Ultra & 1080 8 GB
Samsung 870 PRO 2 TB | Samsung 850 EVO 500 GB | Intel 520 SATA SSD 240GB HD | 2 & 4 TB WD Black Hard Drive
Creative Sound Blaster Z | Logitech THX 5.1 speaker setup | LG Blu-ray burner | Corsair AF 120 and 140 Fans
Acer x34 Predator (G-Sync) | 2 x Samsung SyncMaster PX2370
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_Nite_
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Re: Should I tri SLI?
2014/04/14 17:55:15
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I wouldn't no, the scaling seems to be best with only 2 cards in most games. tri SLI or even Quad SLI is only worth it for heavy benchmarkers
post edited by _Nite_ - 2014/04/14 17:59:03
Gaming Rig: AMD Ryzen 7 2700x @ 4.25Ghz - Asrock B450 Pro 4 - 16GB Crucial Ballistix DDR4 3000 - 240GB SSD (OS), 1TB ADATA SU800 SSD and 2TB ADATA SX8200 Pro M2 NVME (Games) - 8GB RTX 3070 XC3 Ultra - Sound Blaster Audigy 5 RX - EVGA Supernova 750w G2 - Antec 302 - 24" Asus VG248QE
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Noodle Gaming
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Re: Should I tri SLI?
2014/04/14 20:33:00
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I have a tri sli system so let me give you a bit of advice... I don't know what game you play ( I play bf4) but a 3rd gpu for bf4 works pretty well and did add a bit of a bump to performance on insane res's but unless your prepared to unload an extra 1k on watercooling (especially with summer coming) your better off staying with 2 cards and nerfing your in game settings a bit. Not to mention alot of games do not get the same SLI support a "AAA" title like bf4 gets.
I went from standard temps with 2way sli to 3 way sli with me having to open the side of the case to get extra airflow in the dead of this winter which was the coldest one in 100 years and my office has no heat outside of a space heater which didn't get used thanks to my 3 cards. My top card was bouncing off of 95 degree's consistently. Mind you I had 3 acx models which do a worse job of getting the heat out the back door but it was only 40 degrees and when the temps go up blower cards or not your going to be playing in 10 minute segments if you go 3 way.
Just the advice form a person who had to spend the 1k on the h2o, but dam it looks cool.
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Baltothewolf
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Re: Should I tri SLI?
2014/04/14 20:45:44
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Noodle Gaming
I have a tri sli system so let me give you a bit of advice... I don't know what game you play ( I play bf4) but a 3rd gpu for bf4 works pretty well and did add a bit of a bump to performance on insane res's but unless your prepared to unload an extra 1k on watercooling (especially with summer coming) your better off staying with 2 cards and nerfing your in game settings a bit. Not to mention alot of games do not get the same SLI support a "AAA" title like bf4 gets.
I went from standard temps with 2way sli to 3 way sli with me having to open the side of the case to get extra airflow in the dead of this winter which was the coldest one in 100 years and my office has no heat outside of a space heater which didn't get used thanks to my 3 cards. My top card was bouncing off of 95 degree's consistently. Mind you I had 3 acx models which do a worse job of getting the heat out the back door but it was only 40 degrees and when the temps go up blower cards or not your going to be playing in 10 minute segments if you go 3 way.
Just the advice form a person who had to spend the 1k on the h2o, but dam it looks cool.
Also, he could go with kraken G10's for 90$ and 3 h50's for around 150 and then liquid cool them all. If OP has enough space that is.
post edited by Baltothewolf - 2014/04/14 20:48:51
My Laptop (GE63VR-7RF): - 7700HQ. - 16GB RAM. - GTX 1070. - 128GB SSD.- 1X 1TB 7200 spinny drive. 
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Noodle Gaming
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Re: Should I tri SLI?
2014/04/14 20:58:13
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True you could do that, honestly you only need to put the top card on water because the bottom 2 are just fine temp wise but mind you Im basing my knowledge off a time when it was 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
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Muromets
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Re: Should I tri SLI?
2014/04/14 22:23:36
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Having gone from 2x680 4Gb to 3 cards driving 6Mpixel surround, I did see nice improvements in some games, and not at all in some others. Games that took advantage of the 3rd card were: Crysis (all three), Metro 2033, Tomb Raider (3rd card allowed me to turn on the TresFX option), Bioshock Infinite (it mostly did not need the 3rd card, only for "guaranteed" smoothness in some scenes), Witcher 2, Sniper Elite 2. On other hand adding the 3rd card did nothing for Metro Last Light and Skyrim. With regards to cooling: on Asus RIVE the middle card can go in the black" slot 2B, leaving empty slots between all three cards (the other two cards go in red slots 1 and 4). This would require a longer 3-way SLI bridge; ASRock has one -- I got it from EBay. P.S. I ended up going water-cooling in the end, but more for the sheer thrill of doing it.
post edited by Muromets - 2014/04/14 22:26:58
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mpoffo
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Re: Should I tri SLI?
2014/04/15 20:28:33
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Thanks for all the replies. I currently have the reference coolers on my 780's and not the ACX cooler. I have very decent airflow right now. 15 fans total in the system and it remains relatively quite (9 intake and 6 out). The cards barely get above the 60's in game with everything turned up. I have thought about switching to straight water cooling, perhaps this is the time - If can afford it. The EVGA Pro SLI Bridge should work for 3-way SLI. I would want to use the cards in slots 1,2 and 4 on the RIVE. They would be sandwiched this way. I suppose I could put them in other slots but probably wouldn't unless I absolutely needed to do that. Plus I would need a new bridge. And I have plenty of room inside the 900D. :)
post edited by mpoffo - 2014/04/15 20:41:10
X299 System:
Windows 10 Pro 64-bit | Intel Core i9 7900x (4.4 GHz)| ASUS Rampage VI Extreme | 32 GB 3200 G.SKILL TridentZ RGB Corsair 900D | Corsair AX 1200i PSU | Corsair H115i Elite Capellix (in Push/Pull) | EVGA RTX 3090 FTW3 Ultra & 1080 8 GB
Samsung 870 PRO 2 TB | Samsung 850 EVO 500 GB | Intel 520 SATA SSD 240GB HD | 2 & 4 TB WD Black Hard Drive
Creative Sound Blaster Z | Logitech THX 5.1 speaker setup | LG Blu-ray burner | Corsair AF 120 and 140 Fans
Acer x34 Predator (G-Sync) | 2 x Samsung SyncMaster PX2370
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lehpron
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Re: Should I tri SLI?
2014/04/15 21:16:19
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mpoffo
The bottom line question is will 3-way SLI be a good investment with these cards at my resolution? The answer is yes due to future games always using more resources (that has been the trend for the last decade and isn't stopping), but the question is how long will you keep the investment together? If 2+ years, then yes; but less than that is your call; there is nothing wrong with selling the cards when something new comes along, which will. FYI, considering the 2560x1600 type resolution has been around eight years, and in that time someone could have gotten a 3-way SLI of 8800GTX, which nowadays equals a GTX750, the games of today need more power even at the same resolutions available for years-- with every passing year, a pair of the day's flagships will always be a popular choice for the same resolution. So is isn't that your resolution is too low for 3-way today, rather the games you will eventually get into will need more than what you have today. You have to think about time because this upgrade is not about immediate gains, it's for later. 
post edited by lehpron - 2014/04/15 21:18:38
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mpoffo
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Re: Should I tri SLI?
2014/04/17 08:54:12
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Thanks Lepron. That answer helps me think about things in a different light. Decisions...decisions... :)
X299 System:
Windows 10 Pro 64-bit | Intel Core i9 7900x (4.4 GHz)| ASUS Rampage VI Extreme | 32 GB 3200 G.SKILL TridentZ RGB Corsair 900D | Corsair AX 1200i PSU | Corsair H115i Elite Capellix (in Push/Pull) | EVGA RTX 3090 FTW3 Ultra & 1080 8 GB
Samsung 870 PRO 2 TB | Samsung 850 EVO 500 GB | Intel 520 SATA SSD 240GB HD | 2 & 4 TB WD Black Hard Drive
Creative Sound Blaster Z | Logitech THX 5.1 speaker setup | LG Blu-ray burner | Corsair AF 120 and 140 Fans
Acer x34 Predator (G-Sync) | 2 x Samsung SyncMaster PX2370
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Noodle Gaming
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Re: Should I tri SLI?
2014/04/17 12:27:10
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mpoffo
Plus I would need a new bridge. And I have plenty of room inside the 900D. :)
If you do that config you will need 3 bridges one 12cm 1 short one and one very expensive and rare 14cm bridge. (Msi is the only maker of these) A 4 way SLI bridge won't work for tht config, I've tried it in the past with cards in slots 1,2 and 6. It will fit that way but does not route the connection correct.
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mpoffo
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Re: Should I tri SLI?
2014/04/17 17:03:27
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Noodle Gaming
mpoffo
Plus I would need a new bridge. And I have plenty of room inside the 900D. :)
If you do that config you will need 3 bridges one 12cm 1 short one and one very expensive and rare 14cm bridge. (Msi is the only maker of these)
A 4 way SLI bridge won't work for tht config, I've tried it in the past with cards in slots 1,2 and 6. It will fit that way but does not route the connection correct.
Thanks. I probably won't go the route with the space in between. I can run them back to back to back with my current 3-way EVGA bridge. I know it will impact temps but I am willing to take the chance (if I get a 3rd one).
X299 System:
Windows 10 Pro 64-bit | Intel Core i9 7900x (4.4 GHz)| ASUS Rampage VI Extreme | 32 GB 3200 G.SKILL TridentZ RGB Corsair 900D | Corsair AX 1200i PSU | Corsair H115i Elite Capellix (in Push/Pull) | EVGA RTX 3090 FTW3 Ultra & 1080 8 GB
Samsung 870 PRO 2 TB | Samsung 850 EVO 500 GB | Intel 520 SATA SSD 240GB HD | 2 & 4 TB WD Black Hard Drive
Creative Sound Blaster Z | Logitech THX 5.1 speaker setup | LG Blu-ray burner | Corsair AF 120 and 140 Fans
Acer x34 Predator (G-Sync) | 2 x Samsung SyncMaster PX2370
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eikast
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Re: Should I tri SLI?
2014/04/17 19:58:50
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Why not sell the 780s and get two 780 ti sc (reference)?
That route would probably be cheaper than getting a third 780 and better performance (at least for gaming, I could be wrong though).
http://www.heatware.com/eval.php?id=70164 i5 3570K @ 4.5 GHz 1.28V eVGA Titan X SC 1380 MhZ boost core clock. Switech MCR140-X Drive EK Titan X waterblock 16 GB G.Skill 1600 MHz MSI Z77a-gd55 Samsung 1TB 840 SSD 1TB 7200 RPM HDD Logitech G502 Sennheiser PC 350 SE Razer BlackWidow Ultimate (Battlefield 4 edition) Razer Destructor 2 (Battlefield 4 edition) Asus Xonar Essence Stx Acer XB280HK
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