System requirements for 5 man multibox @ 4K

[DasButo]

Hey All,

I've been multiboxing on and off for 15 + years and I'm interested in starting to run a 5 man in WoW, but would also like to upgrade to 4K graphics. This is my current setup:



CPU: i7-6700K @ 4.00GHz
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming 7
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM 2133
GPU: EVGA GTX 970 SC ACX 2.0
PS: Coolermaster V750 PS


I know I need a new GPU and PS, as well as possibly bumping memory up. Would a single GTX 1080 Ti be sufficient, or would I need x2? 2 cards would require a new mobo as well, as my mobo can’t do 2x x16. At that point, I may as well upgrade the CPU as well.

Any and all suggestions and/or comments are appreciated.

[MiRai]

I'm interested in starting to run a 5 man in WoW, but would also like to upgrade to 4K graphics.
I multibox at 4K on a 6950X and a 1080Ti, and it comes down to this: Upgrade your GPU and see how performance is. If it's good, then you don't do anything else, but if it's bad, then you can upgrade the motherboard and CPU too.


2 cards would require a new mobo as well, as my mobo can’t do 2x x16.
There is little to be gained from SLI in windowed mode these days. However, has there been some new evidence that shows x16 PCIe is better than x8 PCIe in terms of modern GPUs? Every time I see the question asked about x16 vs x8 there is no evidence to show that modern GPUs can completely saturate even just 8 PCIe lanes.

[mbox_bob]

Re; PCIe 3.0 x8 vs x16.

All his tests tend to show a very minor trend of a slight downward variance, which is mostly within the margin of error. Seeing as it is quite consistent though, I've been inclined to think it is probably something in the signalling, or in the case of 4K, maybe just touching at the edges of the bandwidth limits for data transfers.
https://www.gamersnexus.net/guides/2488-pci-e-3-x8-vs-x16-performance-impact-on-gpus

There are some other reviews I've found when searching before that showed that there was pretty much the same performance when using PCIe 3.0 x4 slots too, which are about equivalent to PCIe 2.0 x8 slots, which are about equivalent to PCIe 1.0 x16 slots, but they may not have been testing at 4K. Can't recall if it was a thing then.

[DasButo]

MiRai and Bob, thanks for the replies. I'm currently running @ 1440 (w/ settings turned down) and it is playable. The GPU is pretty much maxed, but I have plenty of CPU and mem, even in hi-pop areas (Stormwind, for example).

Thanks again :)