What's better for long-term gaming? G-Sync + GTX 980M or No G-Sync + SLi GTX 980M?

I can either go for ASUS ROG G751 with a single GTX 980M and a G-Sync screen OR I can go for Sager NP9377 with 2x SLi GTX 980M. SLi GTX 980M is ultimately faster, but can cause micro-stuttering in games, doesn't work too well in windowed mode (needs Fullscreen), has driver issues, game compatibility issues. The G-Sync + single GTX 980M provides very smooth feel, but at framerate below 25fps, the screen begins to flicker and if framerate is low enough, the screen can shut off. Let's assume that 30fps+ framerate can be sustained without screen flicker.

I am torn between the 2 decisions as both laptops will cost me about the same. Which one is better for long-term smooth gameplay. GTX 980M SLi is going to hold 60fps in most games ran in FullScreen mode for now, which will be smooth and when games become too demanding, making framerate dip into 40s and 30s, then I may experience micro-stuttering. The single GTX 980M + G-Sync screen will not hold 60fps, but about 40-50fps with a dip here and there, but G-Sync will make it smooth. Later, when games become more demanding, I will have to lower graphics to sustain the same framerate and prevent the screen from flickering.

Also, SLi micro-stuttering should be less of a problem with DirectX 12.

If you had to purchase a laptop for long-term gaming, which one would you get??

 

This sounds like a job for the "Batman" (Clevo P750zm).

 

Or you could go for a 17 with the graphics amplifier

 

Yeah, but it appears I need to sell my GTX 980 just to get the amplifier, which defeats the point...

 

good lord, go for the 980m sli , thats a no brainer! gysync can be hacked to work on laptops anyways. You can always buy a gsync screen later for the sager, you cant buy another mxm slot

 

I agree with halogod2012 go for sli. I just got my np9377 with 980m sli a weak ago and has been playing everything I've thrown at it just fine so far. I was torn between single and dual gpu laptop just like you bit once you go sli you never want to go back.

 

I tried running SLi on my desktop PC - 3770K @ 4800Mhz with MSI GTX 980 Gaming 4G. I often use Borderless Window or Windowed FullScreen mode so I can force ICC calibration profiles into games and when I used that mode to play games, I got mini-stutters galore in ME: Shadow of Mordor. This is why I am so concerned...

What games did you play and at what settings? Did you get any micro-stutters? Did you use V-Sync?

 

At which resolution? Did you have the ultra textures DLC and SSAA/higher resolution scaling enabled? Maybe you were saturating your 4GB VRAM buffer.

 

For me I'm normally hooked up to an external 144hz monitor. If games can hit 144fps I use vsync since input latency is so low anyway it doesn't bother me. If I can't manage those frames vsync comes off.

 

I only have 1920 x 1080 60hz but everything maxed with vsync and game plays perfect without a glitch.
Shadow of mordor is one of my favorite games. I don't really have much problems with 980m sli so far and the few I do a simple google search will usually bring up a simple fix. But I'm using my laptops monitor and not an external .

 

Oh my good gravyful lord. This is like the third or fourth thread you've created asking this stuff.
mobile i7 CPU guide in my signature.
SLI information guide in my signature.
vRAM information guide in my signature.

Educate yourself. You sound like you asked 10 people who use Crossfire about SLI 8 years ago.

 

No SSAA, but I did use Ultra textures, which worked perfectly with a single card. Anyway, I just researched and now know why it stuttered - Borderless Window mode. I use Borderless Window mode in many games to enforce calibration profiles because even tools like CPKeeper won't always enforce those profiles in FullScreen modes in many games. SLi does not work properly in Borderless Window mode... Some say it doesn't work at all and just causes 100% GPU usage on all cards, while others report a stutter-town, which is what happened to me. Luckily more and more games support calibration profiles in normal FullScreen mode (BF4, Dragon Age: Inquisition,..), but many others do not and need Borderless Mode (Sleeping Dogs, Dying Light,..). I guess I will have to make sacrifices because I cannot stand playing games on non-calibrated screens with tints here and there, green/red/blue nights in games instead of neutral grays and blacks, with lack of depth due to low gamma, or with crushed blacks due to overly high gamma. When in doubt - calibrate, don't you dare to hesitate!

 

I don't like LinusTechTips after I saw a video that had such heavy misinformation on calibrated that I felt sick. It wasn't bad, it was awful and wrong wrong wrong. Since then I haven't bothered because if they got one giant thing wrong, then how do I know the rest is OK?

I know how SLi works, but I can't justify its use if it causes micro-stutters in games! That's my big issue with it. Forget the Borderless Mode, which in itself is ALMOST a deal-breaker, but even in FullScreen mode there are compatibility issues, micro-stutters, breaks, etc. Having a gazillion videocards that make games run at very high framerate is meaningless if the actual motion is not smooth. 30fps without micro-stutter beats 120fps with micro-stutter. I only experience SLi WITH micro-stutter, but I tried it in Borderless Mode, which is quite important to me. I'll have to suck it up and play games with a ton of stutters if they do not allow calibration profile enforcement in normal FullScreen mode. I can't stand inaccurate image, its sickening.