GTX680 2GB is out!

[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....

[Timman_24]

Played some TDU2 today. It is nice having the game completely maxed with FXAA and 8xAA on while the GPU load is only 70% while it is underclocking itself lol.

This thing is total overkill at 1080p, but I'm thinking of either going 3x1080p surround or just getting one of those 2560x1440 korean monitors, OR maybe going all out and getting a 30" dell. Then Ivy Bridge is coming out in a few weeks, better start saving

Dirt 3 with Ultra settings, FXAA, and 4XAA with Vsync locked a 60fps only had a GPU load of 55% which meant very low temps while playing. Smooth as butter.

I've never seen Crysis on all Ultra settings. I literally turned everything up to max with AA and it runs fine. Crazy. Looks awesome. Can't believe this is a 4 year old game.

[dimmy32]

nice ! how much of an improvement over your old 470 ?
%-wise ?

[Timman_24]

nice ! how much of an improvement over your old 470 ?
%-wise ?

Double the stock vs stock performance easily. My stock 470 did ~5000 in 3dMark11. The stock 680 hits 9800. My watercooled and majorly OCed 470 number were ~6300 in 3DMark11. I haven't tried OCing the 680 yet. I don't have any reason to try since it is so crazy fast right now.

Realistically, the 470 struggled with Crysis on medium settings without any AA. The 680 does everything on ultra with AA and FXAA without any problem. It never dips below 50fps. I want to fire up Crysis 2 as I was never able to properly run that with the 470.

The card is sipping only 180W at max load, which is crazy low. I haven't messed with the power settings, but you can get it to go up to 225W through the control panel to get a decent overclock.

[dimmy32]

thats crazy better ! thanks ! I'll consider getting this card , most likely sometime this year.

[flutie98]

That sounds great, If I hadn't just dropped a bunch on a new rifle I would have been all over one of these. My 6870 still doesnt churn out enough fps to play BF3 optimally.

[Timman_24]

Spent some more time with it last night. This card is a pretty large departure from traditional video cards. There is a lot of tech going on in the back ground, and people don't quite know what to make of it yet. The overclocking can only be done via offsets, but they give strange results. You actually change what the "potential" of the card is, not the actual clocks.

The card uses an algorithm to determine the best load, voltage, and clocks depending on the heat, demand, fan setting, and numerous other mysterious factors right now. For stock performance, this is fantastic since the card only has to run as fast as needed, which saves power and prevents unneeded heat. For overclocking though, there are a lot of parameters that people are trying to figure out such as setting the fan to 65% gives a much better overclock. Not because of temperature, but because of a value in the algorithm.

Also, it has been shown that more voltage at a slightly higher temp will bring clocks down quite a bit. Too low of a temp and clocks seems to lock in. Right now it is all over the place. I can't wait for someone to crack the best way to overclock, because it will surely involve huge flow charts lol.

I don't mind right now because this thing smokes everything I throw at it with stock performance.

BTW, here is a pic of it in my comp:

[James]

Digging the LED lit pump lid. That's pretty sweet looking.

[Timman_24]

Digging the LED lit pump lid. That's pretty sweet looking.

Thanks, radioshack LEDs wired to a Molex adapter The blue ones are expensive haha.

[mikeysg]

Ooooooh, VERY NICE!!!

Damn, I don't have the talent to do such nice work....

[Timman_24]

Ooooooh, VERY NICE!!!

Damn, I don't have the talent to do such nice work....

Eh, anyone that can solder two wires together can create arrays of LEDs. The hardest part is making it look decent. I still fumble my way around sleeving wires.

[taggart6]

running a 4870 that is starting to show its age. Thinking of grabbing this for my birthday. looks hot!

[Un4given]

Congrats. My Q6600 is starting to show its age, so I'm in the process of rebuilding my system, so I will have to stick with my 6970 (BIOS modded 6950) for now.