GPU improvement, nvidia 680GTX SLI vs 970 single card

[Alen Pecanin]

Hey guys

Just wanted to ask people that have a bit more knowledge than me in this area.

I've got a GeForce NVidia 680gtx card now. The new 970 cards aren't that expensive, they're even cheaper than my 680gtx.

How big would the improvement be if I bought one more 680GTX and ran SLI? Compared to buy a new 970 card and run it as single card? Also. How big is the difference between a 680gtx SLI and a 970GTX SLI? Can this be measured in percent? Or estimated? Also, are the SLI problems still big as before in the past? That some games don't run it etc, and that people spend as much time finding solutions to run their games on SLI, as much as playing?

Thanks in advance for answers

Not just thinking about car sim games, but in general too

 

[Georg Siebert]

Can answer most of the questions. It's quite late here, will reply soon.

 

[Georg Siebert]

@Alen Pecanin
Hi Alen,
your points:

i) delta 680gtx sli to single card
ii) delta 680gtx to 970
iii) delta 970 sli to 680gtx sli
iv) sli probs & hassle

i) delta 680gtx sli to single card

680 sli: ~63% improvement with second card

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/geforce_gtx_680_sli_review,12.html
Metro 2033: 69% improvement
Crysis 2: 44%
Battlefield 3: 77%

ii) delta 680gtx to 970
estimate: 36%

proof:
http://www.computerbase.de/2013-06/nvidia-geforce-gtx-760-test/4/
click on "12 weitere Elemente" in first benchmark section: "Leistung ohne AA/AF", hover over gpu name:
gtx 760=100%
(gtx)770=123%

compared to:
http://www.computerbase.de/2014-09/...vidia/6/#diagramm-rating-1920-1080-4xaa-16xaf
760=100%
770=123%

-> both tables comparable

from 1st table:
680=100%
770=105%

from 2nd table:
770=100%
970=131%

comparison:
680=100%
970=136% (with 31% delta from 770 + 5% delta from 680)

measurement:
improvement 680vs970 per resolution
4K=~60%
1080p= ~42%

http://www.extremetech.com/computing/190463-nvidia-maxwell-gtx-980-and-gtx-970-review/2
Bioshock Infinite:
4K=64%
1080P=40%

Metro Last Light
4K =56%
1080p=45%

Note that the 970 was overclocked by Zotac:
standard:
[in Mhz]
chip: 1050
memory: 1178

Zotac:
chip: 1102
memory: 1241

=> the 970 performs much better the higher the resolution

The 970 also has relative low power consumption, is more efficient and has useful features like automatic downsampling which noticeably improves the video quality. The 970 also features 4GB of Vram, 2GB more than the 680 - more Vram is used by higher resolutions, the more Vram is available, the more it will be used.
More info:
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/nvidia_geforce_gtx_970_and_980_reference_review,14.html
http://www.overclock.net/t/502403/graphics-card-ranking
gtx680 2GB = 24th place
gtx970 = 9th place

Partnercards:
Palit:
http://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/palit-geforce-gtx-970-jetstream-review,1.html
ASUS:
http://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/asus-geforce-gtx-970-strix-review,1.html
Gigabyte G1:
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/gigabyte_geforce_gtx_970_g1_gaming_review,1.html
MSI:
http://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/msi-geforce-gtx-970-gaming-review,1.html


iii) delta 970 sli to 680gtx sli
970sli: ~71% improvement with second card

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/geforce_gtx_970_sli_review,18.html

[in %]
Bioshock Infinite:
1920x1200 = 69
2560x1440 = 78
4K = 69
mean: 72%

Crysis 3:
1920x1200 = 75
2560x1440 = 80
4K = 55
mean: 70%

=> 970 sli scales better than 680 sli, mainly because of more efficient chip structure and more Vram

680sli vs 970 sli:
3DMark 11 P score:
680 sli: 14463 (vs 9458 single card -> 53% improvement)
970 sli: 20426 (vs 13548 single card -> 51% improvement)

=> a single 970 is not much slower than two 680
Note that 3DMark is a synthetic benchmark and doesn't necessarily represent the performance of specific hardware in stand alone games

iv) sli probs & hassle
Not many from what I've read so far. The new-ish drivers do a good job with scaling.
Having said that, this SLI / Crossfire thing is pure marketing and total bs in my humble opinion.
For it to be a viable alternative over buying a single card of a new gpu generation, SLI should scale 100%, which is only very seldom achieved, SLI/Xfire increases power consumption, heat generation (heat is the lowest form of energy and a waste product in this system) and noise. All of whom you don't want running a decent PC.

Concluding:
Sell your 680 and buy a 970.

 

[Alen Pecanin]

Hey! Thanks for the reply Georg! Im only playing at 1080p so yes, from those tests its much better