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    980m SLI vs 1070 SLI & 1080

    Discussion in 'Gaming (Software and Graphics Cards)' started by spurst, Dec 10, 2016.

  1. spurst

    spurst Notebook Consultant

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    I'm debating on upgrading from my MSI GT80 which has a 980m SLI. The upgrade paths I am considering are SLI GTX 1070's, or a single GTX 1080.

    I am trying to weigh the benefits of upgrading to pascal, or possibly waiting for the next generation, but I'm having some difficulties finding benchmarks for the 980m SLI compared to anything newer.
     
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  2. Kevin

    Kevin Egregious

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    I'm against SLI, so of the 3 I'd take the single 1080.
     
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  3. Raidriar

    Raidriar ლ(ಠ益ಠლ)

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    Single 1080 for sure. Very few games today make use of SLI...mainly for benchmark purposes today. A single 1080 will serve you better much more consistently.
     
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  4. Galm

    Galm "Stand By, We're Analyzing The Situation!"

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    If you play mostly sli supporting games sli is better by a lot. If your not sure, the 1080 is better.
     
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  5. J.Dre

    J.Dre Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    I vote for the 1080, too.
     
  6. spurst

    spurst Notebook Consultant

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    okay thanks for all the feedback. I guess I'll spend the $700 to move into a 1080 GTX GT73VR.
     
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  7. TomJGX

    TomJGX I HATE BGA!

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    Yup go for a single 1080...

    Sent from my LG-H850 using Tapatalk
     
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  8. ryzeki

    ryzeki Super Moderator Super Moderator

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    A single 1070 will work nearly on the same performance of 980m SLI. If a game has good scaling, you will see almost no improvement. If a game does not have good scaling or does not use SLI, the single 1070 will be better by a decent margin.

    A 1080 increases that further, offering out of the box performance similar to overclocked 980m SLI at their best, for gaming.

    If possible, go for 1080. If not, even a 1070 is an improvement. Specially if you are ever interested in VR.

    I am really happy going with 1080 myself.

    EDIT: oh, yeah, SLI 1070 will definitely be stronger in the games that are supported, but I am not sure I would recommend SLI now.
     
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  9. thegreatsquare

    thegreatsquare Notebook Deity

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    Is upgrading now something you really need? Wouldn't it be more cost effective to skip a generation and just aim towards when HBM2 arrives to provide some tangible tech upgrade?
     
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  10. jaug1337

    jaug1337 de_dust2

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    valid point, I agree.
     
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  11. mab05

    mab05 Newbie

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    1070 is twice as fast n 1080 is 2.5 times as fast as 980M

    1080 is having heating issues from what i have heard.
     
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  12. TomJGX

    TomJGX I HATE BGA!

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    You need to recheck your numbers,

    The 1080 is 2.2-2.4 times faster than a stock 980M..

    The 1070 is around 1.5 times faster then a stock 980M...

    The 1080 produces more heat then a 1070 obviously, you cant just put it in a super thin laptop, it needs a proper cooling system!

    Sent from my LG-H850 using Tapatalk
     
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  13. Dr. AMK

    Dr. AMK Living with Hope

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  14. ryzeki

    ryzeki Super Moderator Super Moderator

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    A GTX1070 is 1.8 to 1.9 times faster than a 980m, going both by stock, comparing firestrike graphics score normal only (9.8k vs 18.5k aprox)
    a GTX1080 is about 2.3 times faster than 980m, same deal (9.8k vs 22.5k)

    A single GTX1070 (18.5K) is near 980m SLI (19.5k with latest drivers).
    GTX1080 does not have heating issues. Laptops with improper cooling solutions have heating issues. OR they can be power limited, like the razer blade pro, ending up with GTX1070 like performance on stock, despite using a GTX1080.
     
  15. HartStrong

    HartStrong Newbie

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    Hi I also have a msi gt980m sli and I'm not happy something is rong or disable because it's slow and the games is not smooth do I keep the slides enabled or disable it. I didn't really think it through when I bought MSI GT gaming laptop. Is there somebody that knows the kind of laptop I'm talking about and can help me to set it up I think you
     
  16. spurst

    spurst Notebook Consultant

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    Thanks for all the suggestions - I am going to hold out for a single 1080 or the volta series in hopes that MSI puts a mechanical keyboard into a mid-height mechanical. I would like to avoid SLI.
     
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  17. HaloGod2012

    HaloGod2012 Notebook Virtuoso

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    Sli has actually been great this year so far believe it or not. All the major games support it and have pretty good scaling. Mass Effect Andromeda, Ghost Recon Wildlands, TitanFall 2, Dirt 4(upcoming), project cars 2(upcoming), resident evil 7, Battlefield 1, and a new announcement for Vulkan Multi -GPU support. Its been much better than last year so far!
     
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  18. spurst

    spurst Notebook Consultant

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    SLI 980m's are currently doing fine for me and run most of the titles out there completely maxed out at the laptop's 1080p native resolution.

    1070 SLI for $1400 seems like overkill for a 1080p display (GT83) and a lot of cash that will be wasted.

    And while moving to GTX 1080's seems like a nice move, I am not prepared to give up the mechanical keyboard and go back to chick-let style - even if it is steelseries (GT73).
     
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  19. HartStrong

    HartStrong Newbie

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    My GT80 980 froze on me and I did a system reset and now it doesn't want to reboot
     
  20. spurst

    spurst Notebook Consultant

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    Wrong thread for that, unless you were letting me know you wanted to sell it, in which case, pm me.