Nvidia 680 GTX Inbound

[Lallan]

Can someone please tell me why the 680 only has 256 bit interface. Compared to the 7990 which has 384 and the 580 which has 384. Why have Nvidia not increased there bit interface or left it at 384? :S

[EtherealN]

Lallan, not sure if it explains the "why", but do note that GK104 memory interface is 50% faster than in the one in, for example, the 580. So while it is narrower, it still shunts data through at roughly the same speed. (Total bandwidth is 192GB/s on both 580 and 680 - though 7970 is still the faster one as far as memory goes.)

 

EDIT: Actually, looking at it, I think I can see the why - this chip is actually quite small, physically. Like GTX560Ti small. So most likely there was an mm² budget that mandated this change. But the performance numbers look more than acceptable anyway:

 

 

The pattern is slightly reversed in a few titles, so on the performance quarter it looks to me like the choice between 680 and 7970 will be a simple "red team or green team" type thing again, as usual. :) The 680 consumes 40 watts less under load, which is something though.

 

 

An interesting comparison here though:

Looks like the 680 wins. BUT:

 

...only if you accept that it is more likely to give a couple choppy frames.

 

For myself, I'm torn. Tempted to get one or two of these, but the pricetag is above what I normally consider acceptable for a graphics card. I think I'll wait and see... The size and nature of this silicon makes me suspect there's something else en route as well - something beefier.

Edited March 22, 2012 by EtherealN

[PeterP]

[...]

, so on the performance quarter it looks to me like the choice between 680 and 7970 will be a simple "red team or green team" type thing again, as usual. :)

[...]

 

second that.

Nice that there is still a competition.... so: let the fight begin!

[Pilotasso]

I will wait for non reference designs with backplate, and an extra GB of VRAM, so I can dream with a 3 monitor setup. :)

[sobek]

Hmm, interesting, didn't see it coming that nVidia would finally put out something that is actually more power efficient than the competing AMD design.

 

Edit: btw. "green team", since i'm on the fence for a new gc to complete my new setup, what is the ETA for the mid range Kepler based cards?

Edited March 22, 2012 by sobek

[Pilotasso]

The 670 is suposed to be launched with the 680

[Ragtag]

My gtx680 shipped today and is being delivered tomorrow. Can't wait to get my hands on it :)

[Pilotasso]

A card that does SLI perfomance levels with a single GPU without compatibility problems with less power and less heat... EPIC.

[blackbelter]

Which is better for lo/Dcs series? 7970 or 680? Usually there is a clear winner for a particular game. But I can't find the corresponding info... Can any of you who can have hands on both help? A simple test will answer the question. Thank you!

[EtherealN]

Usually there is a clear winner for a particular game.

 

I disagree on that. There are such "clear winners" a few times, but in my experience it's rare - and in those cases where it does happen there are often some pretty fishy things going on in the background (see for example the maneuver nVidia did with HAWX on tesselation, getting the developer to implement tesselation such that it would specifically work well with nVidia but poorly on AMD cards due to non-standard implementation). In other cases it's caused by the game having other specialized implementations that don't jive well with one driver or another (see for example the releases of DA2, Rage, Skyrim etcetera). This is unlikely to be the case with FC or DCS products.

 

I'd say that unless you have a very specialized setup, you won't see a difference between the two.

[Cali]

I disagree on that. There are such "clear winners" a few times, but in my experience it's rare - and in those cases where it does happen there are often some pretty fishy things going on in the background (see for example the maneuver nVidia did with HAWX on tesselation, getting the developer to implement tesselation such that it would specifically work well with nVidia but poorly on AMD cards due to non-standard implementation). In other cases it's caused by the game having other specialized implementations that don't jive well with one driver or another (see for example the releases of DA2, Rage, Skyrim etcetera). This is unlikely to be the case with FC or DCS products.

 

I'd say that unless you have a very specialized setup, you won't see a difference between the two.

 

I agree there are no clear winners, lots of things come into play here. Other computer specs, how people have certain things set up. My old busted computer runs better then some newer ones with me only using 1 or 2 lower settings. Computers are a strange beast with many different things effecting them.

[Slayer]

Well they are out as of today.. 8 days earlier than the OP predicted! Instantly sold out on NewEgg..... I guess it's not "who you know but who you blow" to get one as they weren't even preorders for them....I think friends of people who work there got them with insider information so they can relist them on Ebay for $100.00 markup. I'll wait for the second batch anyways as I don't want to get burnt with the first revision as I did with the 8800 GTX/bad resistors /fail after a year BS.

 

 

Anxiously waiting for A-10/BS2 performance review from one of the early adopters here..

[hassata]

Eurogamer likes it.

 

 

Edit: an informative vid

HxXk-iXLjiY

Edited March 23, 2012 by hassata

[galagamo]

As tempting as it is, I think I'll just stick with what I got. Good for 2 more years at least.

[EtherealN]

Yeah, I'll probably hold off as well. I don't need anything more just yet, so I can hold on to my cash and get a whole new rig whenever Haswell arrives instead. Tempting, but not tempting enough. :P

[71st_Mastiff]

yep waiting for the August release revisions of a true Kepler.

[Mugenjin]

I'm also really tempted, but I guess my GTX570 is still holding up well enough.

[EtherealN]

Looks like Tigerdirect lied. The website site said EVGA GTX 680 "in stock" 1-2 days delivery time, so I ordered it. Now today, they are saying the damn card is backordered and it could be up til the 15th of April before I get it. And, it's not even listed on their website anymore.

 

I am outraged and furious right now by the false advertising. I'm half temped to cancel it altogether and wait for the 4gb version and order somewhere else.

 

Does not have to be a lie. It might have just been a delay in the stock accounting systems - happens even to companies that I know has 100% automated accounting, warehousing and packaging... Annoying when it happens but doesn't require anything malicious to happen. These things are selling like hotcakes it seems - the delivery dates on my local e-tailer are equally wild; it appears that whenever they make an order from their supply chain and put up a number and delivery date there's just as many people placing pre-orders - and then they have to order yet more from the supply chain and the dance continues... :P

[BTTW-DratsaB]

Looks like Tigerdirect lied. The website site said EVGA GTX 680 "in stock" 1-2 days delivery time, so I ordered it. Now today, they are saying the damn card is backordered and it could be up til the 15th of April before I get it. And, it's not even listed on their website anymore.

 

I am outraged and furious right now by the false advertising. I'm half temped to cancel it altogether and wait for the 4gb version and order somewhere else.

 

You should, its the only way they learn. Tiger knows damn well that more people will pre order with them if they post over optimistic availability information, and that customers will trust them. If people don't pull out of their (now delayed) preorders, it just gives the e-tailers the green light to do it all the time.

 

Card seems nice all right. I will getting one of this 600 series in the next few months. I find you always get the best bang for buck by skipping a generation. Although I am still surprised by some of the benchmarks in the reviews on how quick my trusty GTX295 still is.

Edited March 23, 2012 by BTTW-DratsaB

[sobek]

Edit: btw. "green team", since i'm on the fence for a new gc to complete my new setup, what is the ETA for the mid range Kepler based cards?

 

Anybody got any intel on this? If they are way off, i might go for a 7850 instead, since they are slowly popping up.

[EtherealN]

The dates I see for the 670 is next month, but I don't know if that's a reliable number.

[sobek]

The dates I see for the 670 is next month, but I don't know if that's a reliable number.

 

I guess that means that lower spec cards are still way more off then?

[EtherealN]

Most likely, though it might be that they're coming as well but they're holding this under covers to tempt people into purchasing the more expensive cards first. Price quotes I've seen for 670 is in the 350 dollar range.

[Gunnergolly]

I'm back to using my old HD5870 after my HD7950 failed after less than a weeks use.

 

I found that my CPU became very much the FPS limiter when using the HD7950.

 

I've also (temporary) ditched my second monitor which i used for my Halios display and am i am now using only the 37" LED TV at a res of 1920x1080 running in full screen.

 

My old faithful HD5870 is having absolutely now problem running this sim now that its only running the one screen and also using full screen mode..

 

However i was thinking of going Nvidia for a change.

 

My question is:-

 

Would one of these new 680 cards be too much of an overkill for my current setup.

 

I was thinking that maybe for me at least a Nvida 580 would do the job just fine and money saving would also enable to buy a 850W Corsair power supply as well.

 

I know it's nice to have the fastest and best, but if my ageing HD5870 handles my setup, then surely a 580 will do just fine ???...

 

Any honest opinions would be much appreciated...

 

Regards

 

Gunner....

[galagamo]

.....

Normally I would recommend the 580 'which is still quite expensive', however in lieu of the 600 series I dont think I will.

I say stick with that 5870 a bit longer, if you can.