Review: Nvidia GeForce GTX Titan X in SLI

by Tarinder Sandhu on 27 March 2015, 09:30

Tags: NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA)

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qacp7e

Add to My Vault: x

Conclusion

Looking inside each second shows that SLI implementation is good from a frame pacing point of view, and we experienced very smooth gameplay in all of our titles at the 4K resolution.

Using a GeForce GTX Titan X on anything other than a 4K screen isn't recommended because you are not getting the most out of the card. Other, much cheaper graphics card are able to handle 1,920x1,080 and 2,560x1,440 with relative ease, going by our benchmarks, so Titan X needs a titanic resolution for its horsepower to shine through.

That line of thinking is all the more acute if you have the will and means to build a two-card Titan X machine run in performance-maximising SLI configuration. Though each card doesn't run quite as fast as one due to a lower GPU boost because of inter-card proximity, 4K scaling ranges from reasonable to very good, depending upon game title.

Looking inside each second shows that SLI implementation is good from a frame pacing point of view, and we experienced very smooth gameplay in all of our titles at the 4K resolution.

Such performance insight is instructive for, potentailly, a dual-GPU card along the lines of Titan Z last year - Nvidia can release a scaled-frequency version without too much fuss, one would imagine. Extreme performance doesn't come cheap, with a pair of cards offering little change from £2,000, but this is the very bleeding edge of what's currently available.

The Good
 
The Bad
Smokes benchmarks
Silky smooth at 4K
Reasonable power consumption
Still overclocks well
 
How much?
Two cards can become vocal



Nvidia GeForce GTX Titan X 12GB SLI

HEXUS.where2buy*

GeForce GTX Titan X graphics cards are available to order from Scan Computers.

HEXUS.right2reply

At HEXUS, we invite the companies whose products we test to comment on our articles. If any company representatives for the products reviewed choose to respond, we'll publish their commentary here verbatim.



*UK-based HEXUS community members are eligible for free delivery and priority customer service through the SCAN.care@HEXUS forum.



HEXUS Forums :: 11 Comments

Login with Forum Account

Don't have an account? Register today!
Still no 295 x2 in the charts. Or 295 x2 x2, even though it costs substantially less.
Indeed, not even a Crossfire R9 290X setup to compare figures to.

Come on guys stick some crossfire numbers on there for comparison and some 980 SLI figures are well.

What is the merit of doing an SLI review and only comparing it to non SLI/Crossfire setups?
It's to examine scaling on the fastest GPU currently available, to see just how fast two full-fat Maxwell GPUs can be.

I'll happily add in numbers from an R9 295X2 if that's what you want.
Tarinder
It's to examine scaling on the fastest GPU currently available, to see just how fast two full-fat Maxwell GPUs can be.

True, but you do try to evaluate it in terms of a value proposition as well which is hard to do if you don't take dual GPU figures in context to competing set-up's prices.

It's easy to say £2k is waaay to expensive but if the numbers showed that it had 100% scaling and 2x980 didnt say or it smashed the R9 295X2 out of the park then really that becomes a ‘you get what you pay for’ conclusion instead.

Tarinder
I'll happily add in numbers from an R9 295X if that's what you want.

Yes please if you have them on a 15.3 driver. Got any 980 SLI on latest drivers too?

Edit: I should add that I love seeing Hexus but up these reviews of hardware that the wife would never let me own so thanks for all the hard work.
Tarinder
I'll happily add in numbers from an R9 295X if that's what you want.

It would be a useful comparison, especially as Total War: Rome II is the only benchmark still in the test suite since last April's review of the R9 295x2.