Disadvantages of SLI?
- Thread starter jack2k20
- Start date
wotevajjjj
New member
If u have 1 or 2 slots in between both cards it's really not that bad.
Scaling is very good nowadays. But 2 cards will use morge power and therefore be hotter which means more noise.
Also while on normal resolutions 2 cards can be equal to one high-end one, they might not be capable of higher resolutions with more AA.
pretty much comes down to what you wan't the most.
Scaling is very good nowadays. But 2 cards will use morge power and therefore be hotter which means more noise.
Also while on normal resolutions 2 cards can be equal to one high-end one, they might not be capable of higher resolutions with more AA.
pretty much comes down to what you wan't the most.
Well i'm currently running a GTX580 thinking about getting another. My brother seems to think SLI would be a bad idea.
(Noise isn't really an issue)
dukeReinhardt
New member
here's a list of all the disadvantages. it's up to you to decide how major any of them are:
1. vram doesn't stack, so two 1gb cards still use 1gb total (since each card is rendering separate frames)
2. noise, thermals, power consumption all rise
3. possible increase in cpu usage depending on driver
4. two cards will show microstutter, the amount depends on the driver/game, and it depends from person to person how annoying it is. three or four cards have less noticeable microstutter.
5. cost: multi-gpus require a better power supply, a better motherboard, a better case/more cooling, and more watts. you could instead sell your current gpu and buy a new single gpu. this will maximise resell value. having 2 cards in crossfire for a long time will mean you get less money back for each card.
6. some games don't support sli/crossfire
1. vram doesn't stack, so two 1gb cards still use 1gb total (since each card is rendering separate frames)
2. noise, thermals, power consumption all rise
3. possible increase in cpu usage depending on driver
4. two cards will show microstutter, the amount depends on the driver/game, and it depends from person to person how annoying it is. three or four cards have less noticeable microstutter.
5. cost: multi-gpus require a better power supply, a better motherboard, a better case/more cooling, and more watts. you could instead sell your current gpu and buy a new single gpu. this will maximise resell value. having 2 cards in crossfire for a long time will mean you get less money back for each card.
6. some games don't support sli/crossfire
ExplosiveToaster
New member
I know this thread wasn't for me but I found this really useful! Thanks man!
KING_OF_SAND
New member
You mean will use 2gb total. Two 2gb cards is 4gb but only 2gb effective.
The real disadvantage apart from heat is Drivers. While they have gotten much better SLi or Xfire still have problems in some applications with multi GPU. Because of this you do not get full scaling of both GPU in about 90% of all applications because of said drivers, thus you do not get what you pay for. But to expect to get what you pay out of a multi GPU configuration (Unless you get the second GPU for 25% less) is nonsense. In most cases the second GPU will work only 25% less than the first one because of scaling.
What resolution you running at? Check on Geforce.com if the games you play can use SLI. Some older ones that don't ,are made to run on older gen cards and are no problem for one card anyway, but in those games the SLI is 100% a waste. Check your cards optimal settings against average FPS against other cards, if the game isn't SLI compatible but a 550Ti runs it at 60FPS, it's not a challenging game.
The biggest disadvantage is twice the cards , twice the power , twice the heat, twice the noise. Even browsing the web you got 2 GPUs sucking twice the power as one sitting in there idling. This is where replacing an older card with a newer gen card is better, you can buy down in the stack and sometimes still get better performance, and using less power.
My 2 560Ti's are sucking 121 watts from the wall as I am typing this!! I saw reviews of GTX 680's in SLI only using 115 watts at idle. Even if I could quad SLI 560Ti's the 2 608's whould show them up, just like one 680 would do to my 560Ti SLI set up.
I think it only makes sense using lower end GPUs to get the performance of a higher end one, if you already have one and can get another relativity cheap. With high end GPUs I think you have to weigh out your decision alittle more, as in what are you trying to get out of it?? run higher resolutions?? drive a 120Hz monitor??
With the way Graphic cards are advancing buying a second last gen card to bring up the performance to new gen cards performance is kinda going backwards, If a new game comes out with a new technology your older card doesn't support, your left with 2 old high end cards to unload, but if you get the newest card out and are forced to upgrade you just gotta sell off one relativity new high end card, which will have a higher demand.
If your like me and just like to try things for yourself, I say get your hands on another 580 really cheap and try it, but If your gonna buy new, for alittle bit more than what a new 580 cost , a 670, which is faster and uses less power is a much better deal, once you sell off your 580 to someone else. Plus 2 670's in SLI are looking pretty impressive for the money right now!
The biggest disadvantage is twice the cards , twice the power , twice the heat, twice the noise. Even browsing the web you got 2 GPUs sucking twice the power as one sitting in there idling. This is where replacing an older card with a newer gen card is better, you can buy down in the stack and sometimes still get better performance, and using less power.
My 2 560Ti's are sucking 121 watts from the wall as I am typing this!! I saw reviews of GTX 680's in SLI only using 115 watts at idle. Even if I could quad SLI 560Ti's the 2 608's whould show them up, just like one 680 would do to my 560Ti SLI set up.
I think it only makes sense using lower end GPUs to get the performance of a higher end one, if you already have one and can get another relativity cheap. With high end GPUs I think you have to weigh out your decision alittle more, as in what are you trying to get out of it?? run higher resolutions?? drive a 120Hz monitor??
With the way Graphic cards are advancing buying a second last gen card to bring up the performance to new gen cards performance is kinda going backwards, If a new game comes out with a new technology your older card doesn't support, your left with 2 old high end cards to unload, but if you get the newest card out and are forced to upgrade you just gotta sell off one relativity new high end card, which will have a higher demand.
If your like me and just like to try things for yourself, I say get your hands on another 580 really cheap and try it, but If your gonna buy new, for alittle bit more than what a new 580 cost , a 670, which is faster and uses less power is a much better deal, once you sell off your 580 to someone else. Plus 2 670's in SLI are looking pretty impressive for the money right now!
dukeReinhardt
New member
@KING_OF_SAND sorry, yes that was what i meant. will edit my post to avoid confusion. and definitely, buying a second gpu won't net you 100% returns in performance (but of course it remains a viable option for some - OP is running dual monitors, and a third in future i assume).
dukeReinhardt
New member
is your 580 a 1.5gb or 3gb version? if you intend to get a third monitor as i suspect, 1.5gb vram will not be enough
Mine is 1.5GB I'm not intending to run triple monitors.
WYP
News Guru
the only issue i find is the fact vram doesnt stack, it shouldn't be a problem for a single screen as 1.5gb is enough. the other issue is scaling, most new games now scale well due to drivers.
most modern games that don't scale well would not need more than a single card and if there are issues you can turn off sli for that game in the driver utility. i use sli gtx 460 and never had a problem with scaling, any game with pathetic scaling i just turned sli off and it was still playable maxed out, with one card.
most modern games that don't scale well would not need more than a single card and if there are issues you can turn off sli for that game in the driver utility. i use sli gtx 460 and never had a problem with scaling, any game with pathetic scaling i just turned sli off and it was still playable maxed out, with one card.
