2 x GTX 970 Strx in SLI or 1 x GTX 980 Stix

Kirk

New member
Hey guys,

I have a question for you guys in know.....

2 x GTX 970 Strx in SLI or 1 x GTX 980 Stix?

I do play different games such as CoD, WoW, Crises, Far Cry, Borderland etc.... I am two weeks away from the new build now but just trying to clear up some questions I have going on in my head. WoW I know does not benefit from SLI.

I have never had SLI and would love to have it but not sure if it a waste at this stage to get two 970's and to get the 980 and the second when the price goes down for SLI.

What do you guys think?
 
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Two 970s in SLI will perform WAY better than a single 980. Usually I recommend a single higher end card, however in this case I'm going to go ahead and recommend SLI 970s. Even Linus from Linustechtips has said the same ;)
 
I have the Asus PB278 Monitor and play games at 2560 x 1440 my other monitor is HP 2310i which is at 1920 x 1080 that being said I do plan on replacing the second monitor at some stage in the near future.
 
To be honest, my motto for video cards is to buy the single best card you can afford, with the only exception being SLI or Crossfire of the 2nd best card of the current generation.

In terms of price to performance 2 of the second best card usually is the better buy.
 
If your decision comes down to price/performance then the SLI 970's are the logical choice as they really deliver considering their modest price.

I can think of plenty of reasons why a single 980 might be appropriate though. It would certainly have enough power to handle any game at 1440p with high-ultra settings, probably not quite a solid 60 for the demanding titles but more than playable in most scenario's. So if it is enough power for your needs then all of the advantages of a single GPU setup will shine through... reduced power consumption, reduced noise levels, inherently half as likely to develop a fault, less likely to suffer from driver issues (although SLI is pretty rock solid lately) and fundamentally it could be packaged in a smaller rig. I assume this probably isn't for a new build but you have to think what future plans you may have short term or long term. Plus the big bonus you can always add another 980 ;) it might be way out of budget now but down the road things will change.

On an aesthetic level I can see merits to both, ATX SLI rigs always look nice and full, it adds a few levels to the build and it's just quite visually pleasing to have a pair of GPU's. At the same time I think it's fair to say the Strix 980 is a better looking card in itself, I know they are similar but it just seems more heavy and premium in it's construction with that huge brace. Also EK's 980 Strix block is really pretty.

I wouldn't want to point you in either direction, they are decisions you have to make based on what you value in a rig/product.

JR
 
Decision made, I'm going to do the single 980 Strix and get a second one later when the price moves a little, it going to be a complete new build and I cant wait to get stuck in...
 
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