Gaming On the SLI: The Dual Duel
Is two always better than one?
I’VE BEEN CHATTING with the team a lot about high-end builds. The current debate is whether or not such systems should opt for a single GTX Titan X or a pair of GTX 1080s. I’ve always assumed that the dual-card setup would perform better, and at a lower price, but after finally having the chance to try both options out, I’m beginning to lean toward a single Titan as the way to go.
Why? Because SLI is a nightmare to work with. Not only does it lead to more system instability, it’s also a complete crapshoot in terms of performance output. Depending on the game and resolution, not only did a second GPU often not give me the performance increase over a single card you might expect, I sometimes found that the dual-card setup performed worse than if it were a single GPU pulling all the weight. To make matters worse, SLI does not play nice with DirectX 12, and is useless for games using Unity or Unreal Engine. Meanwhile, the dearer Titan X performs admirably in almost every situation, despite technically not being a “gaming” GPU.
The only situation we’ve found where dual 1080s are better is when gaming at 4K. For all its power, the Titan X doesn’t have enough juice to consistently hold 60fps at 4K at max settings in the most demanding games. Dual 1080s seem to be able to pull that off much better (provided the game supports SLI). But is it worth the lack of support and sense of uncertainty that comes with SLI? I think no. The solution? Get a single Titan X and game at 1440p. Instead of fooling with SLI or 4K, opt for a G-Sync enabled high-refresh monitor and thank us later.