gtx 780 vs gtx 670 sli?

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pyr0_m4n

pyr0_m4n

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Feb 4, 2013
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So here's my setup for a reference point:
i5-3570k
8gb ddr3 1600 ram
gtx 670 (OC +80 core and +500 mem)
z77 chipset mobo

So now that the new 700 series is out, ive been watching the benchmarks. The 780 has impressive scores. What i'm trying to decide, is it worth it to buy it? MY second plan is to wait for the prices to shuffle a little, (i hope) then buy another 670 and SLI it (running 8x 8x on my board due to chipset) So what I want to know, which setup would give me max performance at ultra quality (using far cry3 or metro last light as a benchmark)
Setup 1: single gtx 780
Setup 2: SLI gtx 670 (both will be OC to what my current is (+80 core and +500 mem)
Since the 780 is 650 currently, and my 670 can be found for 380, the prices arent too different. I just want whichever will have best quality. If it's the 780, ill just sell my 670 to hep offset the cost.
 
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andy4theherd

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May 24, 2013
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I currently have SLi 670's (a reference EVGA and an EVGA FTW both 2gb). I have been running benchmarks to compare against the 780 and so far my SLi 670's are hands down the best choice. I have the reference card OC'd to match the FTW's clocks (1020 core 3104 memory). In order to get the boost clocks exact (1202MHz) I had to OC the FTW GPU +13MHz. I have an i7 920 OC'd to 4.01ghz, 12gb DDR3 in triple channel at 1600, Win 7 Pro x64 on a 128gb Crucial M4 SSD, and a 27" 2560x1440 monitor. I have $700 in both cards, however, looking at pricing today you should be able to grab two 670's for $600 or less.

The first benchmark I used was Guru 3d's EVGA GTX 780 SC ACX Far Cry 3 results (http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/evga_geforce_gtx_780_sc_acx_review,11.html).
Since Far Cry 3 has no in game or standalone benchmark I played the game for 20 minutes noting my Max, Min, and best guess Avg FPS. I used EVGA Precision X. They only noted the avg FPS in their test.
EVGA GTX 780 SC ACX 780 - 52
Titan - 53
my SLi 670's - Min 66 Max 107 Avg 78

Tomb Raider (http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/evga_geforce_gtx_780_sc_acx_review,14.html)
EVGA GTX 780 SC ACX 780 - 79
Titan - 80
my SLi 670's - Min 92 Max 126.5 Avg 108.2

BF3 (http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/evga_geforce_gtx_780_sc_acx_review,19.html)
EVGA GTX 780 SC ACX 780 - 57
Titan - 59
my SLi 670's - Min 70 Max 130 Avg 100

I used the same exact game settings Guru noted for each benchmark and ran all at 2560x1440
 
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17seconds

17seconds

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It's certainly not going to be only about Frames Per Second. In FPS, the GTX 670's in SLI will be right around GTX 690 levels. If you overclock the GTX780, it will be right around GTX Titan levels in terms of FPS, significantly less performance than the 670's in SLI.

This is a question of pure performance versus smooth gameplay and consistency. The decision needs to be based on convenience of SLI versus a single card, heat, power, and noise, and the level of frame latency involved with a dual card setup. To me, it seems like the GTX 670's in SLI will not be too much of an overload on the negatives to be outweighed by the convenience and smoother gameplay of a single GTX 780. The GTX 670's in SLI will be faster, but might have a problem here and there, in my opinion, not enough to avoid them though.

It's a decision you need to make based on personal preference, and the hassle involved with selling your old card and purchasing a new one.
 
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andy4theherd

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May 24, 2013
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great points to consider.

would also add $$$. you already have a 670 so you would need to spend ~$350 to go SLi or $650 (less whatever you could recover from your current 670) for the 780. i have an ebay alert setup for 670 FTW's and it has been flooded with new cards this week. you should have no problem finding a 670 for less than $300 in the next month. and if you get a used EVGA card the 3 year warranty transfers to you.
 
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Christopher Wood

Christopher Wood

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May 7, 2013
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The problem will be...Later on at least...your 670's are SLI vs a single card. two 670's will be on par or beat the 780...but when it comes down to it,,,later on when you sli a 780 it will crush the living shyte out of the 670's and 3way SLI scaling blows for any card, therefore single 780 for TDP, thermals, Power consumption, performance all go to the 780 + SLI later down the road.

The EVGA ACX stomps 670 SLI BTW for 10 dollars more than the reference 780. 419+419= 838 vs 649? Don't get me wrong its cheaper atm if you already have a 670 but you can resell a 670 for 300+ so your price would be at time of purchase 349. That's significantly cheaper than SLI.

If it was me i would sell the 670 and go for a 780, then you don't have to worry about power draw being over 800 from the wall + you can SLI down the road and atm you don't have to worry about Micro-stuttering (Latency between cards making the frames seem jittery).
 
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andy4theherd

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not sure what you mean by SLi 670's being "on par" with a single 780. SLi 670's absolutely destroy a single 780. take a look at the benchmarks i posted above. those numbers were against an EVGA SC ACX 780 to boot. there is nothing out there that would put SLi 670's on par with a single 780.

as far as SLi 780's vs SLi 670's, take a look at the benchmarks. the slight gain is nowhere near worth the cost ($600 to 650 for SLi 670's vs $1,300 for SLi 780's).

GURU 3d's SLI 780 benchmarks (http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/geforce_gtx_780_sli_review,12.html):
Far Cry 3 - 81 fps
SLi 670's - 78 fos

Tomb Raider - 133
SLi 670's - 108

Battlefield 3 - 91
SLi 670's - 100
 
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andy4theherd

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May 24, 2013
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interesting graph

p-d_graph.jpg
 
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bystander

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This argument gets a bit circular. If choose to go with the single more powerful card anytime you upgrade, rather than taking the SLI option, in an attempt to allow you to upgrade the more powerful single card later with SLI, you will never actually take advantage of that upgrade path.

When starting from scratch, I agree, go for the more powerful card, but it doesn't make sense to pass up the more economical upgrade path when you already have a card.

That said, reading reviews is important. Benchmarks only tell you about FPS, reviews may be able to shed light on things not shown in FPS, like varying frame times, microstutter, noise and the like.

I'd probably just get a 2nd 670, as they both have advantages, and the 670 upgrade will be much cheaper.
 
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Naxirian

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See in my personal case, I'm torn, as I have an EVGA GTX 670 FTW and it's still within the step-up program period, so I could trade it back in to EVGA and upgrade to a GTX 780 for less than the cost of another 670 lol. It's slower as a single card, by quite a significant amount, but I have enough money to add a second GTX 780 later this year ^_^
 
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Lord_Kronox

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Yup, 780 if you are building a brand new setup AND can afford it. My sys is an i7-3770k 16 gig 1600 mhz ram I put togethor almost a year ago in July of '12. I did not even hesitate with the 670 as I knew as soon as I saw its price and stats that my time for an upgrade had come. The system I had been using was an Intel qx6850 quad extreme. I had purchased and plugged the 670 in to replace my pair of aging gtx 470's. After realizing that my board didn't support AGP 3.0 I decided it was time to also replace the mainboard, processor, and ram. Then I just said heck with it and bought a new blue ray player and a new case and a couple of new HDD as well... turned into a full sys upgrade.
I knew that the 670 at it's BRAND NEW price of 400'ish dollars would make an EXCELLENT bang for buck SLI setup one year later when Nvidia were likely to come out with something new and ridiculously expensive and boy was I right...
Two 670's TRUMP a single TITAN much less a 780 and cost less. Significantly less for me as my upgrade is only going to cost me .... $349.00 this year.

It's a no brainer if you have a 670, get less performance than a TITAN by buying a GTX 780 for $780.00 or get MORE performance than a TITAN for $349.00 or less by buying a second GTX 670. There is a reason I bought that SLI Mainboard right?

The 670 is the quintessential example of the benefits of buying an SLI board.

Keep in mind also that 1 year from now, I seriously doubt the GTX 780 will be selling for $350.00 or less like the GTX 670 is now. Even going SLI with it NEXT year will still be way more expensive than going SLI with a GTX 670 this year. And for a negligable gain in performance as the benchmarks proved.
 
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hizodge

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Nov 22, 2012
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Saw a lot of unnecessary bitching on this thread and decided to throw in my 2 cents.

GTX 670 SLI is obviously faster, but draws more power (slightly), takes more space, has a little bit higher heat output but is not as sweet as a 780 and you know it. Dwarf PCBs, what's with that crap? I got the GTX 780 a week ago and I must say; this thing is one sexy beast. Overclocked it 150 MHz on the core and 350 on mem (which was ridiculously easy with GPU boost 2.0) and it is just destroying games at 1440p. Can't wait to throw a water block on it and watch as it basically overclocks itself.

Sure, it's not as powerful or cost efficient as 2x 670 SLI, but you know you want it. Be a man, don't do the sensible thing. Go for the sexiest option available.
 
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Naxirian

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Sorry, but I feel the need to make a correction xD I don't believe you're familiar with the high end GTX 670 models. The GTX 670 FTW's are NOT on GTX 670 PCB's. They're on full size GTX 680 PCB's and have GTX 680 coolers for overclocking purposes. The 780 is a great card, and will be fantastic if you can afford 2, however 2 x GTX 670's in SLI hands the 780's ass to it, the FTW models even moreso, and the GTX 880 will crush the 780 as it's on new architecture, which is what turned me off of the 780. The 700 series of cards are likely to be relatively short lived as a generation because AMD have yet to reveal their new gen and it'll likely beat the 700's as they've had time to prepare.

Just thought you should know about the "dwarf PCB" thing ^_^ That only applies to normal 670's, not the special edition FTW models.
 
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Ryan Klug

Ryan Klug

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Jul 6, 2013
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I made this choice right now to go with a new build. I already had an EVGA GTX 670 FTW 2.0 GB in my old computer and was deciding whether to sell it and get a GTX 780 or just to buy another FTW for SLI. I found another FTW for $270 on ebay and it's going to destroy a single 780. A strong upgrade for a good price.
 
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