Intro

This evaluation pitting GTX 1070 SLI performance against TITAN X performance is the fifth in our Pascal TITAN X series. We have compared it with the GTX 1080 and found that the TITAN X was generally 20-30+% faster, depending on the resolution. We also compared the last generation 28nm Maxwell TITAN X with the new 16nm Pascal version and found the TITAN XP is at least 60% faster. We also found the TITAN X to be a good overclocker.

To attempt to determine the current overall value of the approximately $850 one would need to spend on GTX 1070 SLI vs. spending $1200 for TITAN X, we will include all 26 games of our benchmark suite which feature our newest games, Mirror’s Edge Catalyst and DOOM. We also include Ashes of the Singularity, Hitman, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Total War Warhammer and Deux Ex Mankind Divided using both the DX11 and the DX12 pathways.

Last month, BTR received a TITAN X together with a WQHD ACER Predator X34 (21:9) G-SYNC display for evaluation from Nvidia. The Predator X34 is an excellent display to pair with the TITAN X so we have added a new 3440×1440 WQHD resolution to our standard 3840×2160 and 2560×1440 benching resolutions. Popularly called “2K”, super-widescreen WQHD displays are rightly becoming popular, and we are going to bench top gaming video cards regularly at this resolution instead of at 1920×1080.

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Our testing platform is Windows 10 Home 64-bit, using an Intel Core i7-6700K at 4.00GHz which turbos to 4.4GHz for all cores as set in the ASRock Z7170 motherboard’s BIOS, and 16GB of G.SKILL DDR4 at 3000MHz. The settings and hardware are identical except for the cards being tested.

The $1200 TITAN X vs. $850 GTX 1070 SLI

The TITAN X is Nvidia’s fourth GeForce GPU based on 16nm Pascal architecture. It is much faster than the GTX 1080 – formerly the world’s fastest video card. Besides being the world’s fastest video card, the Pascal TITAN X is also a hybrid card that is well-suited for Single Precision (SP) and Deep Learning compute programs. It commands a premium price of $1200 which is $350 more expensive than spending approximately $850 for GTX 1070 SLI which require two GTX 1070s at around $400 each plus a High Bandwidth (HB) SLI bridge ($40).

The TITAN X is approximately 25-40% faster than a single GTX 1070, so it should make for an interesting performance comparison with GTX 1070 SLI being the “value” solution. When SLI scales well, GTX 1070 SLI should be slightly faster than the TITAN X. When it does not scale at all, then the TITAN X will be 25-40% or so faster than what is essentially one GTX 1070.

Using one powerful GPU generally has advantages beyond scaling when compared with using SLI solutions. The single GPU is often perceived as “smoother”, and the user never has to wait for SLI profiles to increase performance. However, the price difference between one TITAN X is about $350 more than buying two GTX 1070s in SLI.

The EVGA HB SLI Bridge

No longer do the flexible ribbon SLI bridges bundled free with SLI mother boards carry enough bandwidth for Pascal SLI. Now High Bandwidth (HB) SLI bridges are necessary to support the bandwidth for high display resolutions. We received a HB SLI bridge from EVGA which enabled us to run these benchmarks. They are becoming more widely available to enthusiasts now. Here are the features from EVGA’s site:

FEATURES

Separate models to support various card spacing configurations

Optimized for NVIDIA Surround, 4K+ and 120Hz+ gaming

EVGA logo illuminates and can be configured to display in Red, Green, Blue or White color

Compatible with GeForce GTX 1080/1070

Our HB bridge is “single spacing” and it also features a RGBW switcher to feature Green, Blue, White or (even) Red. Here’s a closer look.

Here is the other side:

Let’s check out the test configuration.