Skyrim+enb+SLI=true?

[Run4life]

Hello

 

Im sorry if this has been asked and answered thousands of times before.

Does Skyrim, ENB and SLI work now with DoF-effects and such? Ran AMD Crossfire back in the days with two 7970s and all worked nicely besides the DoF effects. Now I have a 980TI and got an offer for a second one but seeing as Skyrim is the only game I play I thought I must ask. Currently my game is quite modded and don't get near 60fps.

 

Thanks in advance!

[Deleted3082751User]

first and foremost, what resolution are you attempting to play at, the higher the resolution, the considerably more vram will be required and a much stronger card.

 

If 1080p:

 

its very likely that you will achieve a consistent 60fps with 2x 980ti(s), since sli simply splits the task in half, so each card shares the same task, thus allowing potential double performance (but in most cases this does not mean double fps, and can even perform worse then single card solutions is some games, especially games that are not optimized for dual gpu setups). however skyrim is in fact heavily cpu dependent as well. in other words its quite demanding on the cpu, primarily because of shadows, it uses the cpu to draw shadows, hence the reason that shadows tend to be the biggest hit on performance. since a cpu is not as strong as a high end gpu.

 

a single gtx 980ti is still a strong card. so having 2 in games that support sli, will benefit greatly, people have indeed sli 980ti(s) in skyrim and managed to run the most demanding of skyrim setups, including very demanding enb(s)

 

i will note that my gtx 1070 at 1080p resolution can handle anything thrown at it, we are talking the maximum presets for ENB, complete 4k texture overhauls and many high resolution textures for everything else. if the gtx 980ti sli is anything like a single 1070 (should be more in line with a 1080) then you will be able to achieve your desired fps with everything maxed out, i heavily mod my games, attempting to push the limits of what my card can handle, i have not reached that limit yet. and believe me, my games are extremely modded. however your cpu has a big impact on potential performance as well, my 1070 is paired with an i7 7700k clocked at 4.5ghz and they run perfect together (completely eliminating any potential bottleneck). if your sli setup is much more then your cpu can handle, this will result in throttling and you could lose a lot of potential performance, in extreme cases you could lose severe performance, as a sli setup will require a much stronger cpu then a powerful single card setup. simply because both graphics cards will be sending information to the cpu consistently, at least thats the way i believe it, i will note that i am no expert on multi gpu setups, but i do know that it can require trial and error to get it to work properly, especially in this day in age, where multi gpu setups are becoming a myth, simply because single card setups now offer equal to or most likely more then higher performance compared to a previous gen multi gpu high end card setup.

 

however always go for the most powerful single card solution, 2 980ti(s) would cost equivalent to a single gtx 1080, and the 1080 is more powerful then 2 980ti(s) not to mention it has massive vram as well, far better optimized, will be much cooler, and less power draw, in comparison to dual gtx 980ti(s). in other words a single gtx 1080 beats dual 980ti(s) in every single way.

 

GTX 980TI = 6 GB Vram - (ideal for 1080p)

 

GTX 1080 = 8 GB Vram - (ideal for 2k or 4k screen resolutions)

 

GTX 1080ti = 11 GB Vram - (ideal for 4k screen resolutions)

 

sli/crossfire does not double vram, it only splits the task in half between all gpu(s)

 

also SLI or Crossfire = Higher tempertures, More Power Draw, and is just inferior to a more powerful single gpu ala Gtx 1080

 

you must also consider other games as well, sli support is very hit and miss now a days, and if said game does not support it you will be stuck with the performance of a single gtx 980ti (or if still attempting to run sli, can in fact result in even less performance, where the single card performs far better)

 

a gtx 1080 will run any game at max settings without sweating, it is designed for 4k gaming, although does not perform that well at 4k, it would be ideal for 2k

 

if you are attempting to run 2k, then the 980ti sli will not cut it, due to limited vram, a 1070 or 1080 is ideal here, if you want 4k resolution (as in actual resolution, not textures), then a 1080ti or titan x pascal is the only option currently.

 

so yea, do not get 2 of these cards for skyrim alone, think of the plethora of other games as well. also remember that sli gtx 980ti, will result in higher electricity bills, and will require a stronger PSU. however with that said, 2 gtx 980ti in sli where it matters, should give very good performance in titles that support sli however sli needs to be played with in order to get it to work in quite a few titles, basically meaning sli or crossfire are not hassle free.

 

if a gtx 1080 is an option i strongly suggest getting this instead (especially considering the considerable price drop since launch, they are considerably much cheaper now then they were), or if you want luxury gaming and is willing to pay more, then the 1080ti is on a whole other level of performance, ideal and recommended for ultra hd gaming.

 

lastly the main issue with multi gpu setups is support for them.

 

to answer your question in simple terms, yes 2x gtx 980ti in sli, should give you a consistent 60fps with all enb effects enabled, also depth of field is actually not that demanding of an effect.

 

the most demanding effects are:

 

Ambient occlusion = (the most demanding enb effect and is immediately noticeable, this effect also causes higher gpu tempertures)

 

SSAO = (i don't believe screen space ambient occlusion is an effect in skyrim, but if it is then this will also be demanding, not as much as the main ambient occlusion but still demanding nontheless)

 

Sky Ambient Lighting (i forget what the actual enb effect is callled) = (the effect that mimics real life lighting, ie clouds going over the sun causes the ground to become darker)

 

DOF = (this is effect is not that demanding at all really, extreme Depth of Field would probably cost like 5 - 10 fps at most.)

 

basically lighting effects, shadow effects, and fog and smoke will be the most demanding, everything else should have minimal impact on performance.

Edited December 10, 2017 by Guest

[Run4life]

Wow, thanks for the reply :)

The reason I asked was because back in the days on my crossfire setup, it worked nice but without DoF. Im so used to it today that it looks weird not having the effect. Thought Id check if it works with SLI, and it does as it seems. Thanks for that!

 

I have been using HP LP3065 since mid 2008, which uses a 2560x1600 resolution, so I guess its 1600p?

Still very happy with the monitor so have no reason to upgrade to a 4K monitor yet.

 

Just like yours, my game is also heavily modded. Currently running 741 different mods and requires 25GB of RAM and uses well over 20GB of swap file in and around Whiterun and Solitude. Always using a minimum of two Enbhosts, sometimes up to four. Looks grand though!

 

To be honest, I forgot about the Nvidia 1080 card - was either 980Ti SLI or 1080Ti. Yea you are right, Im gonna look into that card! Thanks for the tip!

[Deleted3082751User]

Wow, thanks for the reply :smile:

The reason I asked was because back in the days on my crossfire setup, it worked nice but without DoF. Im so used to it today that it looks weird not having the effect. Thought Id check if it works with SLI, and it does as it seems. Thanks for that!

 

I have been using HP LP3065 since mid 2008, which uses a 2560x1600 resolution, so I guess its 1600p?

Still very happy with the monitor so have no reason to upgrade to a 4K monitor yet.

 

Just like yours, my game is also heavily modded. Currently running 741 different mods and requires 25GB of RAM and uses well over 20GB of swap file in and around Whiterun and Solitude. Always using a minimum of two Enbhosts, sometimes up to four. Looks grand though!

 

To be honest, I forgot about the Nvidia 1080 card - was either 980Ti SLI or 1080Ti. Yea you are right, Im gonna look into that card! Thanks for the tip!

if i was you i would definitely go for the 1080ti (if budget allows it) over dual 980ti, a single 1080ti will be considerably more powerful then the dual card setup, not too mention the many issues that come with sli would not be applicable to a single card setup. the 1080ti is 1 of the most powerful cards out their, second only to the titan x pascal, however with regards to gaming the 1080ti is the very best card currently (better then the titan x pascal in this regard, as per all nvidia cards, the 80 ti series is always better at gaming then its titan equivalent). 11gb of vram would be very nice to have :wink: especially for ultra hd textures and resolution. it should last at least 3 years for 2k resolution. should bare in mind that the 80ti series of cards that nvidia uses, are basically slightly stripped down versions of their titan cards. so the 80ti will be considerably more powerful then the none 80ti cards with the price to match but still a very solid option as an gaming version of the titan series of cards.

 

with regards to your monitor, it looks like your resolution is slightly higher then 2k (but not anywhere near 4k), so its most probably widescreen.

 

x1440 = 2k

 

x2160 = 4k

Edited December 11, 2017 by Guest

[Run4life]

Mmmm I think the 1080Ti is out of my "allowed-to-sleep-next-to-the-missy"- fund but if I sell my 980Ti I can squeeze in a normal 1080.

 

Actually its 16:10, a bit higher than the 1440 resolution with its 16:9 ratio. Have flanked it with two 1600x1200 monitors in pivot but not exactly gaming friendly :)

 

4K seems to be around 8,3Mpixels

1600p is 4Mpixels exactly

1440 seem to be 3,686Mpixels so slightly lower.

[Deleted3082751User]

the standard 1080 will definitely be a solid choice :smile:, even the 1070 is a beastly card. 1 thing though, ensure that your cpu is strong enough. as the last thing you want is a potential bottleneck with such a powerful card. ideally you will want a cpu equivalent to or better then the i7 6700k or x99 equivalent. the i7 4970k would be bare minimum. (CPU(s) can last several generations of graphics cards, but like everything they will need to be replaced eventually (upgraded), as graphics cards are becoming considerably more powerful with each generation, much quicker then CPU(s) and much more powerful compared, so for example the cpu could last 10 years before it needs to be upgraded, but since graphics cards are becoming very powerful each generation, due to 4k, virtual reality etc etc, this would then require processors to be upgraded more frequently. so basically getting the i7 6700k or 7700k now would potentially last another 10 years., so what i mean is if your current cpu is 10+ years old, now will be time to replace and upgrade it.)

 

their may be a possibility that your cpu could be bottlenecking the 980ti, so if thats the case, getting a 1080 is only going to make matters worse as it would be equivalent to (2) 980ti(s) but more powerful.

 

so yea as mentioned above, the ideal processors to paired with pascal series of cards (1070, 1080+) would be the 6700k or better, however if the cpu is indeed a bottleneck, their is no need to upgrade it immediately, but just be prepared for less then expected performance from the 1080.

Edited December 12, 2017 by Guest

[Run4life]

Hmm good point and if Im not mistaken Skyrim is quite cpu- intensive compared to many other games as well. I am running an Intel i7 4771 which I bought on release three years ago and hope it will last, upgrading to a DDR4 system is quite expensive right now for me. Thanks for all the input!

[jones177]

Hi

 

I used 2 GTX 980 tis in SLI. In games that support SLI they were faster than my current GTX 1080 ti.

 

Skyrim & Skyrim SE do not support SLI. You can mod it but the gains are not worth it. That is the reason I bought a GTX 1080 ti.

 

I started playing Skyrim like most at 1080 resolution & with my ENB setup(no DoF) it took a GTX 980 to maintain 60fps. At 1440 it took a GTX 980 ti. At 3440 X 1440 (widescreen) my GTX 1080 struggles to maintain 60fps. At 4k resolution my GTX 1080 ti runs in the mid 50s.

 

Skyrim does not care if you use DDR 3 or DDR 4 ram. There are next to zero gains between my DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) in my 2011 i7 2600k rig & the DDR4 3200 (PC4 25600) in my 2016 i7 7600k rig even with XMP enabled. With this game all the gains between the 2 rigs are CPU & that is only around 8%.

 

A GTX 1080 is not a good upgrade from GTX 980 ti. The gains were not impressive for this game. It was like when I went from a GTX 680 4gb to a GTX 970. It felt like I should have bought the 980 & eventually I did. The only thing good I can say about the 1080 is that it is worth the price it is now but not what I paid for it.

 

If you decide to go SLI with the 980 ti you will need a 1000 watts PSU. A 980 ti can draw over 380 watts under load. This is with the GPU overclocking itself. If you have an overclocked factory card in a case with good airflow it can draw more.

Visit the Geforce SLI forums before you decide.

 

Your game sounds fascinating. You should keep it intact when you upgrade your computer. All I did was Copy the Skyrim folder to a portable HD along with the My Games files & the Appdata local files. I reinstall them after Steam finishes. I wish I had known this back in the days of Oblivion. I would love to revisit it like I do with Skyrim.

 

Later