Should I upgrade from a single GTX 780 to SLI?

I'm currently running the following build:

Mobo - ASrock P67 Extreme4 Gen3

CPU - i5-2500K clocked @ 4GHz

Cooler - Hyper 212 EVO

Memory - 8gb Corsair Vengeance

HD1 - Crucial M4 128GB SSD

HD2 - Western Digital 1TB 7200RPM

HD3 - 3TB HDD

PSU - Corsair Professional Series HX750

GPU - GTX 780 DirectCU II

With the new release of Geforce GPUs, there was a price drop in the previous gen. I could pick up a 2nd GTX 780 for $300 now. I doubt that those cards will go much, if any, lower before they stop being sold so I'm interested in popping another one into my current set up. Last time I waited to get an additional card for Crossfire (Radeon 7950 OC), they sold out and I couldn't get one anymore so I kind of want to get one of these soon.

Am I correct in saying that my PSU is technically enough power to run these cards without any OC? I imagine people will tell me to get at least an 850W PSU to be safe. I'm looking at different Corsair PSUs on Newegg between 850W - 1050W for less than $200 right now. I also plan on adding another 8gb of ram in the near future. I'll probably want to buy the card now, and then buy a PSU and ram around Black Friday.

My end game here is I also want to upgrade to a 1440p monitor and be able to max out new games with 60fps or higher. I don't think I'm ready for the 4K generation so I'm not looking to get a brand new card with a ton of vram yet. I think I can spend ~750 on parts ($300 card, $100 PSU, $300 monitor, $50 ram). Or am I looking at this wrong and I should just wait until 4K gaming is a little cheaper and then upgrade stuff at that point?

Also, would a card like the GTX 780 DirectCU II go any cheaper than $300, such as around Black Friday/Cyber Monday, or is this probably the low point that it will reach before it is discontinued?

Go for it!

Regarding the PSU, I did a post ages ago about PSU monitoring (I'll try and find it in a min and link it) but the most I could pull from the wall with 2 780's @ 1300MHz and a 3770k @ 4.7 plus ancilleries was 806 watts I think. That was during Firstrike.

Edit: Found my old topic here

The morel is there is no need to overboard on the PSU just get a quality 800 or 850 and you're golden.

Sell 780. Grab two 970. Psu upgrade averted... just poke around for the 970s to restock.

You're fine with your PSU because 2x 780s take 500Watts, and if you decide to OC your CPU to 4.7Ghz because it's possible some way, you'd be still fine (163Watts on that clock)

Aside that you should grab that card right away because it's going to be gone soon with prices such low, I bet many folks would like to grab some too.

You'd be fine with 4K too, trust me just not always on max settings, sometimes it's going to be only high or mixed of low and max.

Also the DCUii is a great clocker so will last you even longer if you OC

I don't recommend it. 3gb of VRAM is barely enough to run some newer games at max settings at 1080P (with little to no AA). 1440P with 3GB of VRAM will be bottlenecked by VRAM by pretty much any newer game (like the new Middle Earth game, for example).

If you want to be running new games at high/max settings over the next couple years at 1440P (with any MSAA), another 780 definitely won't cut it. You want more VRAM, or stick to 1080P.

With the way video RAM and resolution works is that 1440P requires top-end videocards with extra video ram. 780 isn't top end any more, and neither is two. 4k requires an even more ridiculous setup. 1440P and 4k is only the future if you can keep your PC constantly upgraded.

You seem to be one of the only people that I can find who is saying the 3gb of vram is not enough for 1440p. Obviously games would benefit at 1440p with more vram, but from what I've seen the FPS hit you get with 3gb is negligible, at least for now. I could see it possibly being a future proofing problem.

This could work, but it'll end up costing a bit more. I'd probably sell my card for $200 and then pay $700 for the new cards. If I can get away with not buying a new PSU, I could just spend the $300 now and sell both cards down the road for a bit when I'm ready to upgrade again. Decisions decisions.

I guess my main concern would be performance of the 780 SLI. KHAndAnime got my kind of worried about the 3gb of vram at 1440p.

+1 with what @KHAndAnime said.

If you have the 6GB Version of GTX780 then go for it, it would be a great upgrade.

But if you have the 3GB then sell it and grab a GTX970. Or wait to see what GM200 will offer.

VRAM will always be a problem when you consider SLIing two high end GPUs.

Take GTX690 for example. It was released 2 years ago. Last year people found that they are more limited from its 2GB VRAM rather than its rute force (which is huge).

Last VRAM fortress was 3GB. Slowly but steadily games that can take advantage of more than 3GB VRAM are being released. And more will come.

Wouldn't be shame to have extremely great brute force (GTX780SLI) but being limited of their own VRAM?

In the end is your call, I am just saying that I wouldn't buy for $300 a previous gen GPU when I already know that in a couple of weeks you will find this performance on Maxwell DX12 and in $200-$250 segment...

Actually on second thought I'll echo with KH's word with dual card setup you can benefit with more vram under 1440p.

The last time I played something demanding like watch dogs, the vram would spike up into 3gb+ territory with just 1080p.

Well I'm playing games like Metro LL and Tomb Raider at 1440p in 3D at ultra on my lowly 780's, not running out of Vram. Explain that Mr Mr

If you've got the extra money to get 2x 970 sure, if not just SLI your 780, it's the cheapest extra raw power you can get.

You'd be good at 4K not to mention 1440p

At 1440p you'll get even slighly better performance since it's 1600p

I guess it really falls to two things that I would want to do.

I can pick up another 780 3gb for ~$300 right now, get a relatively inexpensive 1440p monitor and run my games at max or near max settings with good (but maybe somewhat limited by VRAM?) FPS for a few more years.

Or I can not buy anything at the moment, deal with what I've got, and buy a brand new generation video card in a few years with a 4K monitor. I think when more than 3gb VRAM is definitely necessary, instead of arguably or potentially necessary, is when I would want to jump up to the next level.

Well necessary is not even the 2GB. Most games are playable with good settings at 1080p with just 1280MB VRAM (GTX570).

But when you are paying an other $300 for a GPU, you want more than just "definitely necessary".

In the end GTX960 is near, with performance expected at GTX780 levels and a pricetag of $200-$250.

I am following gaming GPU industry since Voodoo 1 eras. If you haven't SLI before a new architecture is out, SLI for older architectures always seem to be a lesser choice than buying a new architecture GPU.

SLI was never ment to be an upgrade option after 2 years. GPU architectures and gaming industry always advanced that much that it wouldn't be a good option.

If I were you I would just stay with GTX780 which is a great GPU and when 4K industry is ready (good and cheap monitors + GPUs ready like GM200) I would buy then both.

Maybe other users thought you were asking about the present, but I figured you were asking about the future. The thing is, right now, you already won't be running Middle Earth at max settings at 1440P. Probably not Watch Dogs either (not with any MSAA).

My end game here is I also want to upgrade to a 1440p monitor and be able to max out new games with 60fps or higher.

To clarify, you can run most games out now at max settings at 1440P. If that what's you want, another 780 will be fine for that. I assumed you're looking towards the future. Any games attempting to push graphics here on out - chances are looking low that you'd max them with 3gb of VRAM at 1440P. Hell, I'd be nervous even with 4gb of VRAM.

From what I'm seeing on rumors and stuff, the GTX 960 doesn't look like it will have more than 3GB VRAM, it will perform perform near or below GTX 780 levels, and cost $250. If that's the case, I could spend $250 on one of those for something that isn't better, or $500 on SLI. Doesn't it make more sense to spend $300 on SLI (if I'm going to SLI anything) right now? I know SLI isn't as optimal is a single new card, but for $300 I think it would help out in keeping games at 60FPS at 1440p for a while, until I'm ready for 4K in which case I'll just upgrade everything.

From what I've read, it looks like the only things that are currently pushing past 3gb VRAM usage are either poorly optimized, or (for example) run pretty much as well using 3GB on a 3GB card as they do running 4GB on a 6GB card.

I understand that eventually the VRAM will be limiting, but does that seem like something that will be a problem in the next couple years? I imagine I'll want to upgrade to 4K around then, and I feel like doing the 780 SLI in the meantime will ensure that games keep running optimally. I'm already seeing 30-40 FPS on ultra at 1080p as is in a few games. At 1440p would be even worse with just the 1 card.

Also, if you are thinking that 4GB of VRAM is already cutting it too close, shouldn't I upgrade to something in the future that is quite a bit higher than that? In the meantime, I imagine I'd be satisfied with the 780 SLI.

When I was talking about GTX960, I didn't mean that it would have great performance but it would offer similar to GTX780 performance at lower prices.

Considering the new tech and the cheaper price (assuming you will sell GTX780 for $200) with $500 you will have a better setup since in SLI reviews I saw Maxwell scales better.

But as I said performance is not my point. My point is that the a 2nd GTX780 performance upgrade right now, is not worth $300.

Now if you don't want to wait and you will change again your dual GTX780 in the future, for a GPU setup that will be able to play 4K and you have $300 that you don't want in your wallet any more, then go for it...

I see what you are saying. Since the cards aren't released yet, for the sake of an easy discussion, we can pretend that the GTX960 may have very slightly worse single card performance, but the same or slightly better SLI performance for the same price as adding in another 780. The cards look like they will still hit the same 3GB VRAM wall, so I would have to upgrade them eventually anyways to be able to take advantage of new games that use, let's say, 6GB VRAM. It seems like I would be getting into pretty much the same situation with SLI'ing either of the two cards down the road, and until then would be likely enjoying relatively similar performances. I could buy the 780 now, or I could wait until the new cards are released, but then I would also want to wait until the release non-reference models as well. I think considering money/performance, I would be pretty happy with either choice.

Actually waiting for non-reference models is not true. Maxwell had non-reference models from day 1.

Hell GTX970 didn't even have a reference model, only non-reference lol...

Although my expectatiions is that GTX960 will be the GTX970M with a lot higher clocks and as GTX970M will have 3GB VRAM, rumors till now talking of 4GB VRAM. Lets see then...

I agree on one part. That money/performance will be the same.

You will just get lower temps, lower power consumption, DX12, DSR, MFAA, VXGI etc etc..

I am just telling you to wait a couple weeks. In the end GTX780SLI might deliver better performance. But in the same time the only way GTX780 price can go is... down...

I was under the impression that DX12 is going to be compatible on the 700 series cards? Lower power consumption would be nice since I'll be pushing the limits of my current PSU with the dual 780s. The temps aren't a big deal for me, I've got the NZXT Phantom with tons of airflow and my current card doesn't go above 60C under maximum load.

I didn't realize that they skipped over reference models lol, I haven't been paying too much attention to new gpus. I kind of doubt that the 780 will go much lower in price before it becomes unavailable.

I guess it really just boils down to the fact that I'm super impatient and would prefer to buy a card now instead of waiting until something else that will likely be very similar to release. Also, I don't want to get Craigslist murdered selling my current card. I appreciate your input on the matter.

You welcome. :) I am impatient too in a lot of things xD

If you think that GTX780 will be sold out in a couple of weeks from the store you want to buy it then go for it.

DX12 will be compatible with all Fermi and Kepler GPUs but Maxwell will enjoy the full features of DX12.

I was thinking your PSU when I was talking about lower power consumption. I believe that the two GTX780 will push your PSU to 90% of its rated potential.

Anyway, good luck with anything you choose.

One thing you need to realize is that most games are going to be poorly optimized (particularly multiplats), especially the best/prettiest looking games. There's a reason they're hard to run. Like I said, it's not just going to be a problem within the next couple of years, it's going to be a problem now (with examples cited). All the big titles coming out recommend 4gb of VRAM. You really aren't going to squeek by at 1440P with 3gb of VRAM without some sort of bottleneck unless you play less graphically intensive games. You should just wait for some 6gb VRAM cards on the 9-series and get those. Otherwise you're just wasting money IMO (if you're trying to futureproof).

The only game I can find that says 4GB (in the optimal requirements) is the next CoD. Can you name any others? If I can get into 2016 without a problem just by adding a $300 card, I'll be fine.

3Gb of VRAM is becoming a standart R9 280, GTX970 and probably 960 but I'm not 100% certain with that, I really hope for Nvidia to make that move it's 2014 for cry out loud.

Only top end GPUs coming with 4Gb of VRAM. (R9 290, GTX980)

When I ran Sleeping Dogs on 780 Ti's it didn't require more then 3GB of vram.But that's up to you. If you play on 1440P, I'd try to get two 970s. The reason I got rid of my 780 Ti's because of vram. I just wanted to be safe for upcoming gen. I feel safe @ 1440P with two 290s.

i m wanting to get another 290 but i m afraid of the dx 12 fuss and the need of dx 12 hardware capability , what do you think guys ?

What are you talking about, your 290 supports DX12 and Mantle

Silicon lottery. Mine didn't hit 1200mhz

@PredatorRules: mantle yes but dx 12 full support i dont think so , and sadly mantle not adopted by alof of companies .

Well it might not get full DX12 support but it will get DX12 support.

Even though AMD's marketing is all promises that sometimes cannot make them happen, this time I think its easier for AMD to keep their promise than Nvidia, cause they only talked about GCN cards (while Nvidia promised like 4 years of GPU architectures).

And if R9 290 can't support DX12 I don't know what the hell GPU from AMD can....

Mantle is a different story. We all knew it would end dead in a few years.

Nvidia has 65% of the global market and AMD has the 35%.

When 3DFX tried something similar (Glide) they had 85%!!! of the global market. We are talking about total domination.

But even that didn't make a lot of devs to support Glide. Most devs don't care to create a game for 2 APIs.

Also Glide didn't had Mcirosoft promising new DX with features similar to Glide (compared to today that before Mantle become availalbe to couple of games, Microsoft promised of DX12 with similar features...).

So now that we live in the era of unoptimisation and with only 35% of the market, what do you think today's lazy devs will do?....

Mantle is DOA, but at least this time M$ is conviced by a third party to release a lowlvl DX API.

@Coseniath: ya :( we live in sad PC world ... games are trash and we got like 1 million game every year and only 1 or 2 is good ... with the same publishers .... dah ... i miss old doom days .

i ll wait tell the witcher 3 released and see if amd bring some new r39x ? if not going for another 290 .

getting new sound card , and maybe new set of keyboard and mouse soon .

I ended up grabbing another 780 directcu ii 3gb. In the end I just don't think the difference between 3gb and 4gb of VRAM is going to make that much of a difference in the near future. The newer cards are nice with the features and reduced power consumption, but I think it would have cost more than I wanted to spend to get 1 x 980 or 2 x 970s. Also, it came with the new Borderlands, which my friend wants and I can just give it to him for his birthday to save $50. I think $260 in the end is a good deal.

Haha I knew that you would buy it. You were impatient.

Anyway at $260 its a good deal. Keep in mind to have your PSU getting good cooling. (It has 7 years of warranty anyway xD)

Have fun with your new GPU :)

Considering it already makes a difference (Watch Dogs, a not-so-new title, and Middle Earth), I don't see how it wouldn't make a difference in the near future. Many new big titles are going to be bottlenecked with 3gb of VRAM at 1440P, unless perhaps you nix AA, but you're not really maxing the games anymore as you desired in your OP. You can certainly squeek by with 3, no doubt, but optimally you'd want 6 if you actually want to max games for the next year at 1440P.

Tomb Raider, Metro LL, and Sleeping Dogs are slightly old games. I never disputed a 780 sli setup's ability to run older games at 1440P, just new and upcoming games. The OP definitely won't be maxing newer games at 1440P with 3GB of VRAM. I don't know who upgrades thinking "Oh, great, I can run old games great now!". People upgrade wanting to be able to play the newest games at max settings. Games on the horizon are asking for more VRAM. Recently released titles already benefit from 4Gb of VRAM. Games have already been using 2GB and utilizing 3GB VRAM for some time now. Running games at high resolutions require a lot of VRAM. It's just how it is. The titles that use a lot of VRAM aren't necessarily unoptimized, they just like to use extra VRAM, and you can bet your arse than tons of next-gen multiplat coming out are going to ask for tons of it.

You don't need AA as high at 1440 to get smooth edges so that's not going to be a problem. And I'm not asking this card to last 5 years. I don't see games asking for 4gb VRAM in the recommended specs (except CoD) that are looming on the horizon. Anyways, it's too late since I already bought the card, and you aren't really being helpful at this point.

I was also thinkin of gettin a second 770 and goin 4k but they warned me about the vram. So i decided to wait for dual 970 8gb... In the meanwhile i jus orderd a cheap $340 27" overclockable qnix monitor from korea. I should be able to game jus fine on most games around 30fps or more without aa and some unnoticedable settings turn down