GTX680 2GB is out!

[mikeysg]

I'm kinda disappointed that Opstar did not start such a thread......who's the nV fanboy here anywayz?!

Reviews
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/462...iew/index.html
http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/g...tx680_review/1


Feel free to add more reviews as you come across them....

[drdoom]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...mark,3161.html

Not being in the market for a video card I didn't spend much time looking at this review.

[Timman_24]

It looks fantastic. Kills the 7970 easily, costs less, and uses less power while gaming. Nvidia finally supports more than 2 displays as well. Looks like a total win in my book. I would buy one right now if I could find some in stock. This will definitely be my next card.

Tom's says the 7970 needs to drop at least 100 dollars to remain competitive.

[drdoom]

AMD's pricing was suspect when the 7xxx series came out. There will be a big shake up in the price structure over the next few months. I am going to need a whole new computer before I can take advantage of any of these new cards and that is not going to be the near future.

[Timman_24]

AMD's pricing was suspect when the 7xxx series came out. There will be a big shake up in the price structure over the next few months. I am going to need a whole new computer before I can take advantage of any of these new cards and that is not going to be the near future.

I've had my 470 for two years and it has served me well. I enjoyed jumping in quickly when it released and was able to maximize the life of the card. I want to get in early with the 680 because I plan to keep it around 2 years or so again. I'll probably add a waterblock once they hit the market as well. I love that both companies are getting away from super high power cards for the gaming crowd. The 470 has been a fantastic card, especially on water, but I'm ready for something that puts out less heat.

You are absolutely right on the price of the 7970. That card left a sour taste in my mouth and killed AMD's usual aggressive pricing practice. They priced the card relative to last gen performance to soak up money from enthusiasts. Now they look bad in the eyes of their fans because after only 2-3 months, they will need a massive price drop. A slap in the face to people who jumped in. After seeing the 680 results, a 7970 only looks attractive at 399-449 IMO. The 7950 is now a 299-349 dollar card. The 7870 and 7850 were overpriced to begin with too and deserve at 50 dollar price drop. Hopefully nvidia can get the 660 and 670 out to provide downward pressure on the lower end of the market.

[Timman_24]

Was able to grab an MSI 680GTX on newegg. Should be here by the weekend

Just noticed EVGA came in stock, so I voided the MSI and got rush overnight shipping on the EVGA 680

[Learux]

Good for you, enjoy! I am waiting for some pricedrops just because I can.

[OpStar]

I have an eVGA GTX 680 incoming as well. Best GPU launch I can remember from either side in a long time.

[Timman_24]

I have an eVGA GTX 680 incoming as well. Best GPU launch I can remember from either side in a long time.

AMD launched a clean line up in a timely manner, although the price wasn't the best. The 680GTX is really a neat card, so I totally agree with you. Some are complaining because the 480 was 60-80% faster than the 280 it replaced, but they forget about how botched Fermi was initially. Very hot, very loud, and very power hungry. I'll sacrifice a few % for a quiet, cool, and efficient card packed with features any day.

I'm most excited about nvidia now supporting over 2 monitors on a single card. I'm also very curious to try out the adaptive V-Sync, which turns off at low FPS to allow for higher minimum frames. They also have FXAA available from the control panel now, so I can have FXAA in all my games. Add in the dynamic GPU clocks and it looks to be a real step forward.

DisplayPort on a reference nvidia as well!

[James]

I'm most excited about nvidia now supporting over 2 monitors on a single card.

Can you provide a few links to this? I saw a brief note about 3-display support, but I haven't been able to really find more details. Most of the reviews only touch on the fact that nVidia has some how solved driving more than 2 TMDS type displays at a time.


*Edit: What I've been able to find.


http://www.geforce.com/optimize/guid...80-surround/#1

In 2D Surround, any combination of monitors that share common timings is perfectly acceptable, though each must have, at minimum, one DVI, HDMI, or DisplayPort connector. Aesthetically, identical monitors are preferable, but not a requirement.
In 3D Vision Surround, each monitor must be an identical make and model, and you must use three matching digital connectors. We will go into detail below, but you may need additional adapters for this.
The Accessory Display, the forth monitor, does not have to be identical to the three Surround displays, but does require one of the three possible connectors.

In 3D Vision Surround, any monitor connected to the DisplayPort output must use a DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI adapter so that all three monitors are using Dual-Link DVI.

[Timman_24]

Got her installed. One of my biggest complaints with the 470 is alleviated. The 470 did not downclock out of 3D mode when two displays were hooked up. This meant it idled at 600-700mhz with full vcore. I had to use a 3rd party program to force it into a lower state, but I had to remember to shut that off when watching video or playing games. So it was a big PITA. The 680GTX adjusts clocks down even with multiple displays, so that is fantastic.

Wow I ran 3DMark11 and the max temperature was only in the 70's on the stock cooler. May not even need WC for this card.

[mikeysg]

Wow I ran 3DMark11 and the max temperature was only in the 70's on the stock cooler. May not even need WC for this card.

Yep, these newer cards load temp is about mid 70's or so. Welcome to the realm of maxed out gaming! Awesome card btw....

[OpStar]

Yup yup, pretty excited and can't wait to see what GK110 brings this fall with the bigger memory bus and higher TDP.

[flutie98]

Yup yup, pretty excited and can't wait to see what GK110 brings this fall with the bigger memory bus and higher TDP.

Hopefully a corresponding price drop on the 680

[Timman_24]

Some are saying the GK110 may be a compute oriented card. Nvidia has been wanting to target the scientific computing crowd for a long time. Right now researchers are reaping the benefits of very low priced cards subsidized by gamers. Nvidia may want to create a different product line/architecture to differentiate the markets and be able to charge 1000+ for compute oriented GPUs.

I just reorganized my loop in preparation. I already sold my 470 on ebay too, so if the 680 comes tomorrow (I paid for next day air) then it will be gone. I reinstalled the factory cooler and all went well. You never know when digging around in a GPU haha.