How identical do graphics cards need to be for a dual setup?

[PP Mguire]

If you're playing competitively turn down some settings. I average 80fps maxed with a 680 so you should be doing way better than me.

Also, if you're playing competitively then you shouldn't have vsync on, meaning you don't need 144fps.

Edit: I should clarify, I use resolution scaling instead of post AA @ 1080p to achieve my 80fps. No overclocks.

Edit2: Do you have the Killer Z97 or Killer Z97X? The Z97X has 3 red slots and does SLI.

 

[SilverfoxAlpha]

I think I average about 110-120 when playing TDM with settings on Ultra.

I don't have vsync on, and no I don't *need* 144, I'd just like to get as much as I can. The smoother it runs, the quicker I can turn without getting any blur and the faster I can spot people when comming around corners.

I also play a bit of Titanfall though, and there it's actually more important to have high framerate, something about the level design that just makes it much more jarring to look at when played at lower framerates. So much chaotic detail that unless its perfectly smooth, I have trouble spotting things and people fast enough.

But do you mean I should not overclock at all, or that I should just not try to push it too far? The GPU seems pretty stable at the current level, and I've been using "autotuning" of the CPU, which seems to turn it up to about 4.3ghz from 4ghz. Should I be staying away from this too?

 

[PP Mguire]

There becomes a level of diminishing returns when it comes to FPS. If you were using Vsync there would be a need for the higher FPS to reduce input lag, but you're still getting the full benefit of the 144Hz screen while Vsync is off even if you don't have a framerate that high. Like I said, if you actually feel you need this small increase, turn settings down. I used to play BF3 on all low just to get the highest FPS possible but there wasn't much difference once I got past 100. The biggest deal for having a high FPS is reduce your minimum. If your dip is above 60fps you shouldn't see or feel any lag or game deterrent issues. Of course, people could argue this out much like mouse DPI so I'll just leave it there.

If you want to SLI, check to see if you have those 3 slots or the Z97X board, or you'll need a new board.

As to the OC, with a single card there's no benefit to a CPU OC. You can always get higher FPS with a higher GPU core clock but each chip clocks differently so I can't really say how far you can push it. I'd leave VRAM alone. I get no FPS differences going from 6 to 7GHz VRAM clocks or higher (680 to stock 770 level) so a 780ti with a much higher memory bandwidth isn't going to reap any benefits from that. So if you like, you can see how high you can push your 780ti core clock to achieve the level of FPS you want but you'll want to watch your temps. Either that, or as I said before just turn some settings down.

 

[SilverfoxAlpha]

What 3 slots are you talking about? I'll open the comp and take a look tomorrow, what will be the "giveaway" I should look for to see if I have SLI or not?

 

[PP Mguire]

Like I said, 3 red slots. So look at your graphics card dead on. If you see 2 long red slots under it you have the Z97X mode. Looks like this.

ASRock Fatal1ty Z97X Killer LGA 1150 Intel Z97 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - Newegg.com

 

[SilverfoxAlpha]

Well. I opened it up and checked, and I had red slots, but I only have 2, not 3. Does this mean I don't have SLI, or just that my limit is 2 cards instead of 3?

I snapped a pic of how it looks in there.

 

[-RockMan-]

Well. I opened it up and checked, and I had red slots, but I only have 2, not 3. Does this mean I don't have SLI, or just that my limit is 2 cards instead of 3?

I snapped a pic of how it looks in there.

No it isn't its only crossfire capable only not nvidia.
ASRock Fatal1ty H97 Killer Motherboard | Hardware Secrets
Read this carefully first then go to my second link to show your mobo specs.
ASRock Fatal1ty H97 Performance LGA 1150 Intel H97 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s Intel Motherboard - Newegg.com

With that said I really don't think you need to run nvidia sli or crossfire just to game mighty hard online.
The card you have will be plenty enough for fps pvp battles or competitions.
If I were you save up 300 bucks wait till the middle of janurary 2015 to see whats new for GTX900 series.

 

[PP Mguire]

Well. I opened it up and checked, and I had red slots, but I only have 2, not 3. Does this mean I don't have SLI, or just that my limit is 2 cards instead of 3?

I snapped a pic of how it looks in there.

Then you can't run SLI. You have the non X version.

 

[SilverfoxAlpha]

Ok, so I've now managed to fry my 780 Ti in an attempt at overclocking....

On the brightside, I'm probably getting a new one for free as my overclocking was well within "normal use" so it should be counted as a defect of the card. Another thing is that when I turned it in, the guy who was there is the same guy who designed the system and I brought up the whole z97 v z97x thing, and he agreed that we'd said it should be able to run SLI and that I should have had the z97x from the get go, so they're probably going to replace the motherboard so I can do SLI

 

[the1truegamer]

Ok, so I've now managed to fry my 780 Ti in an attempt at overclocking....

On the brightside, I'm probably getting a new one for free as my overclocking was well within "normal use" so it should be counted as a defect of the card. Another thing is that when I turned it in, the guy who was there is the same guy who designed the system and I brought up the whole z97 v z97x thing, and he agreed that we'd said it should be able to run SLI and that I should have had the z97x from the get go, so they're probably going to replace the motherboard so I can do SLI

Sweet, sounds like your bad luck turned into a win in the end. Gratz.