OTOY Forums

Hi Guys !

I'm thinking about expanding my machine in near future, and I was wondering what's better:

- to buy for example 2x slower GPUS like: GTX 780's (probably then I would need some GPU case in addition or something)
- or to buy 1x GTX Titan

Which option has better price to performance ratio? Or maybe You could suggest some better options? I am a motion designer,
so for most of the time I do not need as "heavy" hardware as other 3D artists.

Currently I have only one GPU which is GeForce 570 GTX, which I would probably use for interface and screen usage purposes.

Please be warned that my hardware knowledge is almost nonexistant

Thanks in advance!
Luke

drop some more details about Your rig & we'll try to give You an advice based on specific hardware..

however if You just comparing Titan vs 780, I'd go for later one - 780 with 6GB of vRam.. those stand around 600$ & that a good price/performance ration if You take a look into any new cards, pluss available vRam will give You a benefit on the long run once Your needs will increase as You start rendering on higher resolutions with more complexity. Performance wise some of those custom 780 can run up to the speeds of Titan..

The "problem" if You can say so with 780 6gb that they all (as far as I know) have non reference coolers. This is not bad as they are more capable (efficient & effective), but..because of the way they function, all the hot air stays inside the case. You need to provide enough fresh (cool air) & exhaust used (hot) out of Your case with the help of case fans =) to keep card & probably Your CPU without throtling down & loosing performance.

Things, like how much GPU's You can fit..compatibility is fully dependent on Your hardware.. so if You need more advise list You're rig parst in detail =)

hope that helps, if You need any more info simply drop a line below =)

cheers

Ok, so here are the details:

Processor: Intel Core i7 3930K 3.2 GHZ
Motherboard: Asus P9X79 Intel
System Drive: SSD 128 Samsung 840 PRO
Power Supply: Chieftec 650 W Nitro 85+ Modular
Cooling: Thermalright Silver Arrow SB-E
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce 570 GTX Twin Frozer
RAM: 24 GB (i don't remember anything more about RAM )

All of it in this: http://louwrentius.com/static/images/chieftech-midi.jpg Chieftec Case
(Sorry I really don't remember it's name - it's quite old now)

So, what can You tell me now?

Cheers,
Luke

buy 2 780 6gb
they are better than Titan.

I bought it some days ago.....works well!

Thanks NVN I will take Your words into consideration. But I've got another question:

Let's say that I am buying those 2x 780 6gb. Can You tell me in aproximation about what kind of performance boost (in percentage) we can talk about here,
in comparison to my present GPU?

Cheers,
Luke

it depends on the model (speed You're running), but with 2x780s I believe Your times could be cut to 25-33% - at best 4x faster to render than what You get now with 570, pluss as a bonus You get 'bit' more of available vRam to play with more complex stuff.

As for You parts, actually You have a very nice set: case is big enough, mobo is very capable - ideally I'd run it with two GPU's - You can space them so they would have a a gap in between.. - that helps too keep cards cool & silent. Small OC & You can get even more performance (with something like STRIX 780 6gb some users in this forum touch Titans). But.. Your PSU might be a bit too weak if You're OC'ing parts..- that might cause stability issues on the long run..so I would think of changing it or at least keep it in mind if any problems are going to come in a way.

3930k is also a wonderful part, a bit of tweaking & You can get it up between 4-5Ghz - that's like 10-15% more of performance (as You see diminishing returns on performance running higher speeds..) - overall: Grab 6Gigers if You're in hurry, or wait a bit for Maxwel.. these are going to be way more efficient (what we can see from 750 that in terms of performance touching 460, but with way lower power usage) - in this case You power supply should be more than enough.. =)

ok, that's enough =) hope You got some thoughts to process now =)

NVN wrote:buy 2 780 6gb
they are better than Titan.

How are they better please? Looking at the specs the 780 6gb has over 500 less cuda cores than the titan black and 400 less than the original titan.

ten

yeah, it has less cores..but it cost less too =).. these aftermarket coolers are very capable, depending on a card You can make You're 780 run as fast as Titan - as mentioned some user on this forum provided benchmark numbers on that. So basically You can get almost similar performance for lower $ - that gives You better value =)

ten wrote:

NVN wrote:buy 2 780 6gb
they are better than Titan.

How are they better please? Looking at the specs the 780 6gb has over 500 less cuda cores than the titan black and 400 less than the original titan.

ten

I think NVN was perhaps responding to Lukas' first query - i.e. TWO 780's are better than ONE Titan. Very simply because of many more cores in total.

Best,
Seeker

glimpse wrote:yeah, it has less cores..but it cost less too =).. these aftermarket coolers are very capable, depending on a card You can make You're 780 run as fast as Titan - as mentioned some user on this forum provided benchmark numbers on that. So basically You can get almost similar performance for lower $ - that gives You better value =)

ok better value, not performance...got it.

ten