Widescreen Gaming Forum

Hi guys just looking to get some feedback/insight - I'm probably looking to update my system a little and apart from CPU and memory upgrades I was thinking of foolishly spending some money on a new video card/s.

Current specs:

Intel i5 2500K @ 4.4g
8gig
2 x 3gig 580's SLi
5760x1080

Now I'm going to go an Ivy bridge i7 3770K and some more ram, but I wasn't sure about video cards. I'm looking at 4gig 680 x2 or 690 x 1 or Titan x 1 (when available).

Can anyone provide some insight on what would be best? I game a lot with 3 x 27" monitors and also do some video/photo editing.

cheers.

Not sure why you want to update your cpu/mobo/ram? I don't think you would see any advantage by doing so gaming wise. If you really want to anyway, just wait until Haswell has been released in the next couple of months.
I would upgrade to a Titan. Check this review to see why: http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graphics-C ... 0-CrossFi/

Also please tell us at which resolution your are playing.

Wijkert wrote:Not sure why you want to update your cpu/mobo/ram? I don't think you would see any advantage by doing so gaming wise. If you really want to anyway, just wait until Haswell has been released in the next couple of months.
I would upgrade to a Titan. Check this review to see why: http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graphics-C ... 0-CrossFi/

Also please tell us at which resolution your are playing.

Thanks for the input Wijkert. I suppose the effort behind upgrading the cpu and ram, is mainly to stay ahead etc. I believe if I go Ivybridge then I can utilise PCI 3.0? Am I right in that assumption? Whats Haswell?

I read one review in regards to the Titan and the obvious benefits of it being a single gpu over the 690, and having 6gig for higher res's. I'll have a look at the review you posted. Cheers

Also the res I'm running is 5760x1080 - i'll update my OP.

Toothless Spoon wrote:Thanks for the input Wijkert. I suppose the effort behind upgrading the cpu and ram, is mainly to stay ahead etc. I believe if I go Ivybridge then I can utilise PCI 3.0? Am I right in that assumption? Whats Haswell?

I don't think there is such a thing as staying ahead in computer hardware. Haswell is name of Intel's next microarchitecture. You can indeed utilise PCI 3.0 with either Ivy Bridge or Haswell, but that won't make much of a difference at all (maybe 1-3% if even that).

Wijkert wrote:

Toothless Spoon wrote:Thanks for the input Wijkert. I suppose the effort behind upgrading the cpu and ram, is mainly to stay ahead etc. I believe if I go Ivybridge then I can utilise PCI 3.0? Am I right in that assumption? Whats Haswell?

I don't think there is such a thing as staying ahead in computer hardware. Haswell is name of Intel's next microarchitecture. You can indeed utilise PCI 3.0 with either Ivy Bridge or Haswell, but that won't make much of a difference at all (maybe 1-3% if even that).

Haha its funny because when I typed that, I thought to myself I don't think that's possible I thought PCI 3.0 was a heap faster then PCI 2.0? Looks like I might just get another SSD and a titan

sure is pci-e 3.0 faster. but i don't think you will hit the bandwith limit on 2.0 with a titan on 5760x1080. in SLI maybe.

Haldi wrote:sure is pci-e 3.0 faster. but i don't think you will hit the bandwith limit on 2.0 with a titan on 5760x1080. in SLI maybe.

Cool, well I think that's settled - I'll just get another SSD and a Titan card...or two So expensive.

Toothless Spoon wrote:

Haldi wrote:sure is pci-e 3.0 faster. but i don't think you will hit the bandwith limit on 2.0 with a titan on 5760x1080. in SLI maybe.

Cool, well I think that's settled - I'll just get another SSD and a Titan card...or two So expensive.

Well, let us know how the Titan handles that resolution.

If the card was more affordable, it would be a fantastic single-GPU solution for surround gaming since one won't have to rely on multi-GPU technology anymore. Obviously multiple GPUs perform better, but that's when they work properly.

rene13cross wrote:

Toothless Spoon wrote:

Haldi wrote:sure is pci-e 3.0 faster. but i don't think you will hit the bandwith limit on 2.0 with a titan on 5760x1080. in SLI maybe.

Cool, well I think that's settled - I'll just get another SSD and a Titan card...or two So expensive.

Well, let us know how the Titan handles that resolution.

If the card was more affordable, it would be a fantastic single-GPU solution for surround gaming since one won't have to rely on multi-GPU technology anymore. Obviously multiple GPUs perform better, but that's when they work properly.

Just ask Wijkert he has a very similar system to me and has a titan!

So you guys think that 1 x Titan will be a vast improvement over my 3gig 580s SLI>?

So you guys think that 1 x Titan will be a vast improvement over my 3gig 580s SLI>?

In a word- YES!

And, I agree- a 2500k @4.4 is a pretty decent setup. Plus an Ivy chip will run hotter (Ghz for Ghz) then Sandy will.

Extra ram (above 8gb) for gaming is a gimmik, just like 'faster internet'... it won't do you any good... as in at all... unless you're multi-boxing, or playing more than one game at once?

If you want to see actual improvement, go SSD (I'd recommend a Samsung 840 pro series) and a Titan (if you can spare the $$$ premium they're demanding right now).

Erik765 wrote:

So you guys think that 1 x Titan will be a vast improvement over my 3gig 580s SLI>?

In a word- YES!

And, I agree- a 2500k @4.4 is a pretty decent setup. Plus an Ivy chip will run hotter (Ghz for Ghz) then Sandy will.

Extra ram (above 8gb) for gaming is a gimmik, just like 'faster internet'... it won't do you any good... as in at all... unless you're multi-boxing, or playing more than one game at once?

If you want to see actual improvement, go SSD (I'd recommend a Samsung 840 pro series) and a Titan (if you can spare the $$$ premium they're demanding right now).

Thanks for the info Erik. I think I will get another SSD to put some of my more played games on. As for the Titan, it looks like a great bit of kit, but you;re right the price tag is pretty steep, and I would consider getting another one down the track. I could easily get the same gains from 2x 680's or 2 x 660 Ti's. But they are single gpu, and in a review I saw 2 in SLI murder everything.

Toothless Spoon wrote:Thanks for the info Erik. I think I will get another SSD to put some of my more played games on. As for the Titan, it looks like a great bit of kit, but you;re right the price tag is pretty steep, and I would consider getting another one down the track. I could easily get the same gains from 2x 680's or 2 x 660 Ti's. But they are single gpu, and in a review I saw 2 in SLI murder everything.

Did you read this one? http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graphics-C ... 70-CrossFi.

Wijkert wrote:

Toothless Spoon wrote:Thanks for the info Erik. I think I will get another SSD to put some of my more played games on. As for the Titan, it looks like a great bit of kit, but you;re right the price tag is pretty steep, and I would consider getting another one down the track. I could easily get the same gains from 2x 680's or 2 x 660 Ti's. But they are single gpu, and in a review I saw 2 in SLI murder everything.

Did you read this one? http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graphics-C ... 70-CrossFi.

Yeah I saw that review and looked at this one also http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVID ... Titan_SLI/ which has a great comparison of 1 x Titan and 2/3 x titans. 1 x titan isn't far off 2 x 680's and 2 of them you gain 10-20 fps so pretty good, and that's considering their drivers aren't even that optimised.