Hands-On: 3072 core Dual NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 SLI Setup
Today, just a week after the launch of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 GPU NVIDIA launched another awesome GPU: the GeForce GTX 770. I was fortunate enough to get early access to a couple of reference cards, and in this post I’ll give you an overview of this new GPU and also share my first-hand experiences gaming with a dual GTX 770 SLI setup.
NVIDIA GTX 770 reference graphics card – a very serious looking piece of gear (click to enlarge)
The GTX 770 offers performance that’s relatively close to what the new top-of-the-line GTX 780 offers, but at a more affordable price-point:
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 MSRP: (3GB) $649.00
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 MSRP: (2GB) $399.00
The introduction of the GTX 770 offers a compelling option for PC gamers that want outstanding DirectX 11 gaming experiences and maximum value for their hardware spend. The GTX 770 shares much of the same technology and features with the GTX 780 including:
- Enhanced internal water cooling design
- Super-quiet operation with new adaptive temperature controller technology
- SLI support
- GPU Boost 2. 0
The GTX 770 does offer faster memory (7Gbps) compared to the GTX 780 (6Gbps). This is the first graphics card in production to offer blazing fast 7Gbps memory speed!
The GTX 770 liquid/air cooling system helps keep temperatures down and runs very quiet (click to enlarge)
Here are some specs for the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770: (full list HERE)
- CUDA Cores: 1,536
- Base Clock: 1,046 MHz
- Boost Clock: 1,085 MHz
- Single Precision: 3.2 Teraflops
- Memory Configuration: 2GB or 4GB 256-bit GDDR5
- Memory Speed: 7.0 Gbps
- Power Connectors: 6-pin + 8-pin
- TDP: 230W
- Outputs: 2x DL-DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort 1.2
- Bus Interface: PCI Express 3.0
When I read through these specs, I was really looking forward to using the GTX 770 to run some DirectX 11 games on Windows 8. But for this test I would have double the capabilities listed above because I had two cards on-hand. Two GTX 770’s in SLI mode are definitely better than one!
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 cards used for testing just prior to installation in my gaming PC (click to enlarge)
As expected, installation was easy. I had plenty of PCIe power connectors available, and it took just a couple minutes to insert the two GTX 770 cards and connect the SLI cable. Following boot I installed the 320.18 drivers and was off and running.
Dual NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 setup – 3072 cores of GPU processing capability (click to enlarge)
Before firing up any games I enabled SLI mode via the NVIDIA Control Panel so that I could use both cards for maximum performance.
SLI-mode configuration in the NVIDIA Control Panel
The games I decided to test with this setup were BF3 and Crysis 3. I ran 1920×1080 display resolution on a single display so that I could see how the most popular PC gaming display configuration would perform with the dual GTX 770 setup.
I tested each of these games with the settings that I had configured previously for my old video card, and gameplay looked good. I was curious to see what the GeForce Experience app would recommend for optimized graphics settings, so I ran it to compare “current” versus “optimized” graphics settings for these games.
GeForce Experience display for Crysis 3 graphics settings
After clicking “Optimize” in the GeForce experience app, I launched Crysis 3 to see what gameplay would be like with optimized settings.
Crysis 3 advanced graphics settings set by the GeForce Experience app
Crysis 3 looked awesome, and I was averaging about 85fps with this setup, peaking at over 100fps. It was obvious that increasing the display resolution would be possible with this setup without sacrificing the gameplay experience.
Crysis 3 screenshot with FRAPS indicating 95 fps (click to enlarge)
For my second test, I ran BF3 with optimized settings via the GeForce Experience app, again at 1920×1080 resolution.
BF3 optimized graphics settings
Just like with Crysis 3, BF3 gameplay was awesome and FRAPS indicated fps values averaging about 120 fps and peaking at close to 200 fps.
BF3 running with Ultra graphics settings and showing PhysX in action
During the testing of these games, I didn’t even hear the fans on the GTX 770 cards, and the overall experience was great. The performance was awesome, and I’m looking forward to more “testing” with the new NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770. Want to know more about the GTX 770? Check out the official NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 product page. Starting today you can purchase graphics cards based on the GTX 770 GPU, so check with your favorite local or online retailer for more specifics.
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can i use sli bridge 3 way for only 2 card video GTX 770
Husen Kadhim
Reputable
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#1
Hello,
Can I connect 3 Way’s sli bridge for 2 card’s only ?
Is this cause loss of performance’s ?
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werberman
Honorable
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#2
Theoretically shouldn’t matter — the only difference is that there’s an extra bit of ribbon cable
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werberman
Honorable
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#2
Theoretically shouldn’t matter — the only difference is that there’s an extra bit of ribbon cable
0
Husen Kadhim
Reputable
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#3
werberman :
Theoretically shouldn’t matter — the only difference is that there’s an extra bit of ribbon cable
So it’s good ?
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werberman
Honorable
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#4
0
Husen Kadhim
Reputable
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#5
Thanks
NVIDIA SLI Why is it needed?
Contents
- 1 How to make SLI?
- 2 Why?
- 2. 1 Performance of Geforce GTX 770 video system in Sli mode
- 3 What do we have?
NVIDIA Scalable Link Interface (SLI) translates as Scalable Link Interface is a technology that allows you to use the power of several graphics cards to process three-dimensional images.
But in practice, «Sly» is 2 video cards, working «paired». Everything is connected quite easily and special knowledge is not required. However, there are a few notes:
- the motherboard must have 2 or more PSI Express x16 connectors
- Nvidia 6/7/8/9, GT(S/X)200/300/400/500/600/700 or Quadro FX graphics card with PCI Express bus
- video cards must be «of the same class»
- a good power supply of 550 watts or more
nine0005 need a bridge to connect video cards
NVIDIA Scalable Link Interface (SLI)
How to make SLI?
SLI system can be organized in two ways:
- SLI special bridge
- software method
But it is worth noting that in the case of the software method, there is more load on the PCIe bus, and this reduces performance.
The Quad system became popular SLI is a combination in SLI 2 two-chip video cards , for example, GeForce 7950 GX2, GeForce 9800 GX2, GEFORCE GTX295 or
GTX 5 GTX 590 GTX 5 GTX 5 GTX 5 GTX 5900 GTX 5 GTX 5900 GTX 5 Another option, 4- Way SLI — these are 4 single-chip, i.e. 4 chips work on the construction of the picture. Note: Quad SLI currently works correctly only in Windows 7 and Windows Vista operating systems; it cannot be used in Windows XP due to a limitation in the operating system. nine0003
Why is this needed?
Multi-core graphics cards are nothing new these days. But what if you are already a happy owner of one good video card, which in all respects is suitable for creating SLI. It’s cheaper to buy another one that will work with the first video card on the principle of a 2-core processor.
Also, let’s not forget about one more fact, because SLI is an excellent graphics solution, and it copes well with the tasks that fall on its shoulders, but there is also a central processor, whose weak operation limits the power of the video card bridge. Therefore, it should be noted that when installing SLI, you also need to stock up on a good processor. nine0003
Performance of the Geforce GTX 770 video system in Sli mode
Computer configuration: Rampage IV motherboard, Intel Core i7-3960x processor, 8 GB RAM at maximum settings .
Performance of Geforce GTX 770 video system in Sli mode
What do we have?
As we can see, progress does not stand still, many minds are involved in the development of the gaming industry. The video card market is divided by 2 manufacturers: NVidia and AMD, excluding integrated Intel video cards. And if there is SLI for NVidia, then of course for owners of AMD video cards it is a crossfire. nine0003
Comparison Intel HD Graphics vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 which is better?
General information | |
Price-quality ratio The sum of all the advantages of the device divided by its price. The more%, the better the quality per unit price in comparison with all analogues. |
|
69.2%
34.3% (98.3%) better than |
34.9% |
Architecture |
|
Generation 7.0 | Kepler |
Codename |
|
Ivy Bridge GT1 | GK104 |
Type |
|
Desktop | Desktop |
Exit price |
|
no data | $399 |
Number of shaders |
|
48 | 1536
1488 (3100%) better than |
Core clock |
|
0MHz | 1046 MHz
At 1046 MHz (-100%) better than |
Boost frequency |
|
1050 MHz | 1085 MHz
35 MHz (3. 3%) better than |
Number of transistors |
|
392 million | 3.540 million |
Process |
|
22 nm
-6 nm (-21.4%) better than |
28 nm |
Interface |
|
PCIe 1.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |
Power Demand (TDP) Calculated thermal power shows the average heat dissipation in load operation, |
|
35 W
-195 W (-84.8%) better than |
230 W |
Length |
|
n/a | 26.7 cm |
Additional power connectors |
|
n/a | 1x 8-pin and 1x 6-pin |
G-SYNC support NVIDIA G-SYNC technology delivers a smooth gaming experience with variable refresh rates and the elimination of visual artifacts. |
|
3D Vision |
|
n/a | + |
GPU Boost |
|
n/a | + |
Vulkan NVIDIA’s Vulkan technology allows developers to gain low-level access to the GPU to optimize graphics commands (better than OpenGL and Direct3D APIs). |
|
1.1.80 | n/a |
CUDA The CUDA architecture enables applications that are optimized for |
|
Maximum temperature |
|
n/a | 98 °C |
Multi-monitor support |
|
n/a | 4 |
Tire |
|
n/a | |
Number of CUDA cores A large number of CUDA cores improve performance in graphics computing, |
|
n/a | 1536 |
Height |
|
n/a | 11.1 cm |
HDCP |
|
n/a | + |
Maximum resolution via VGA |
|
n/a | 2048×1536 |
Audio input for HDMI |
|
n/a | internal |
HDMI |
|
OpenCL |
|
1.2 | n/a |
Blu Ray 3D |
|
n/a | + |
3D Gaming |
|
n/a | + |
3D Vision Live |
|
n/a | + |
FXAA |
|
TXAA |
|
Adaptive VSync |
|
n/a | |
Minimum power supply |
|
n/a | 600 W |
PhysX |
|
n/a | + |
Video connectors |
|
No outputs | 1x Dual Link DVI-I, 1x Dual Link DVI-D, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort |
DirectX |
|
11. 1 (11_0) | 12 (11_0) |
Floating point performance |
|
15.6 gflops | 3.333 gflops |
Shader Model |
|
5.0 | n/a |
Ethereum / ETH (DaggerHashimoto) |
|
n/a | 3.9 Mh/s |
Memory | |
Memory type |
|
System | GDDR5 |
Maximum memory Large video memory allows you to run demanding games with lots of textures, |
|
n/a | 2 GB |
Memory bus width The wider the video memory bus, the more data is transferred to the GPU per unit of time and the better performance in demanding games. |