More of a bottleneck?

B

Bonifah

New member
First off, which of the two graphics card options would you guys would go with? I've seen some people say that the 660 sli would be better performance wise and others say the other way around. Just looking for some more input before I buy. I really like the sabertooth for the aesthetics and would have to be really convinced to go with something else, but it's only x8/x8 in SLI unlike some of the other higher end boards. Not sure what to take into account with the one card in x16 opposed to the sli in x8.

Second, I'm looking to upgrade a couple parts of my system but can only do two at a time. I'm wondering which to get first, the ivy bridge processor which I believe is supposed to double the pcie bandwidth? or step up the the sabertooth which has the 3.0 slots.

Intel i5-3570k - $219.99
ASUS Sabertooth Z77 - $239.99
EVGA GeForce GTX 670 FTW+ 4GB - $449.99
2x MSI GeForce GTX 660 Twin Frozr III OC 2GB - $479.98

Anyone who can shed some light on this would be awesome. Feel free to make suggestions on the components if you think something else around the same price range would be better.

Have a nice day. :D
 
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16x 16x is at best 5% faster than 8x 8x.

You can double the bandwidth all you like mate but if you're not using it it's kind of a waste.

Personally I would rock the MSI 660 TFs but that's just my opinion. You haven't pointed out which resolution you will be running so I can't recommend the 670 4gb at all tbh. It would only come into use in SLI on 1440p or greater.

These are also cheaper, only $199 after rebate.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121660

Edit. To 'upgrade' from a 2500k to a 3570k would be among the biggest thing you could ever waste your money on. They're only about 5% slower.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
AlienALX said:
16x 16x is at best 5% faster than 8x 8x.

You can double the bandwidth all you like mate but if you're not using it it's kind of a waste.

Personally I would rock the MSI 660 TFs but that's just my opinion. You haven't pointed out which resolution you will be running so I can't recommend the 670 4gb at all tbh. It would only come into use in SLI on 1440p or greater.

These are also cheaper, only $199 after rebate.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121660

Edit. To 'upgrade' from a 2500k to a 3570k would be among the biggest thing you could ever waste your money on. They're only about 5% slower.
Click to expand...

So you're saying that I wouldn't see much of a performance boost upgrading the cpu or motherboard?

I also only plan on getting one of the 670s and playing games/editing video at 1080.
 
I'm not sure on the board you are using no. If it can do 8x 8x then there's absolutely no reason AT ALL to switch from the 2500k to the 3570k. It's just a huge waste of money !

If you're gaming at 1080 then I still stick by my suggestion of 660 in SLI as they beat a 680 very well, let alone a single 670.

http://alienbabeltech.com/main/?p=32679&page=2

Edit. Just looked up your board in your sig and it does SLI.

So this one is very easy - get a pair of 660s (the Asus ones I linked you to) and you'll be all sorted for just shy of $400.
 
The 670 won't come anywhere close to 660s in SLI.

If you're scared of dual GPUs then yeah, get a 670 but there's no comparison IMO
 
the sli 660 (non-ti) is only 13% quicker benchmarks over the 670
the sli 660 ti is 25% quicker benchmarks over the 670

id always opt for a best single card solution due to cooling bias of SLI/CFX and
then if need be, you need more then splurge on a second. ive found a SLI/CFX
outta the box leaves no upgrade path for later expansion.

and budget is always the biggest concern. some appz/gamez dont scale well using
SLI/CFX and there a bug to deal with. just some insight and experience..
 
get 660's because they will perform better and as long as you have the psu to handle it it will work a lot better than a 670 unless you plan on getting another 670 in the future
 
airdeano said:
the sli 660 (non-ti) is only 13% quicker benchmarks over the 670
the sli 660 ti is 25% quicker benchmarks over the 670

id always opt for a best single card solution due to cooling bias of SLI/CFX and
then if need be, you need more then splurge on a second. ive found a SLI/CFX
outta the box leaves no upgrade path for later expansion.

and budget is always the biggest concern. some appz/gamez dont scale well using
SLI/CFX and there a bug to deal with. just some insight and experience..
Click to expand...

Out of interest what sort of issues have you had?
 
on video editing and some 3D CAD/CAM (autocad) had severe issues with
SLI 580 and refresh, studdering, and anomalies. swicth to non-SLI and issues
disappeared. premier can be a pissie with after effects. just depends on the job
at hand. a couple of times, id have to manually shut a PCIe lane down (MIVE-Z)
to just finish a project. it acted like a feedback/interference issue in "whos gunna
do the work and how is it going to output that signal" battle.

the newer GPUs seem to have a far less time of it. i think only one-time ive switched
the PCIe lane off and disconnected the SLI bridge once as well.
 
I would seriously advise you go for the 670 dude

Just to summerise why -
A 670 maxes out just about any game at 1080p
SLI 660's arn't even that much better than a 670
SLI 660's leave no upgrade path other than getting new gpu's
With 1 670, if you want more performance in the future just get another
 
Tbh mate, look at the benchmarks that I posted. The SLI 660s beat the 680 by a fair bit and they're only like 40 quid more than a 670. You make a good point about the upgrade path, but for most people, when they have money for their second card, newer and better cards will be out and they'd want to get that.

SLI doesn't really give problems in any modern games (and most apps) unless they are really terrible console ports :L And even if it does, one 660 will be plenty for most games on high settings at 1080p and you could even use the second card as a dedicated PhysX card :)
 
Feronix said:
SLI doesn't really give problems in any modern games (and most apps) unless they are really terrible console ports :L And even if it does, one 660 will be plenty for most games on high settings at 1080p and you could even use the second card as a dedicated PhysX card :)
Click to expand...

You have pretty much just said why a 670 would be the better option, if a 660 is good enough for most games, then a 670 certainly is.
 
Taking it out of context xD

I also said that 660s SLI are quite the boost over a 680/670 while they really don't cost that much more :p I have a GTX 670 FTW myself and its really good, but it does struggle with some games at max settings at 1080p
 
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