Buy second GTX 680 or upgrade? Tight budget.

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mccoolaustinm

mccoolaustinm

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Jun 13, 2013
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Hey guys! I received a slightly used 2560x1440 Overlord Tempest overclocked at 120hz from a family member today as a gift, and the picture is incredible. Quite a step up from 60hz 1920x1200 on a TN panel. But I lost a lot of performance in the trade-off, and now I'm looking to upgrade. However, I'm on a tight budget! My current build:

Processor: Intel Gen4 i7 4770K
Motherboard: MSI z87-GD65 Gaming
Graphics: ASUS DirectCU II Nvidia GTX 680
Memory: 2x8GB G.Skill DDR3-2133 RAM
SSD: 128GB Samsung 840 Pro 530R/390W
HDD: Western Digital 750GB Passport
Optical: ASUS Black BW-12 Blu-Ray Burner
Power: XFX Pro Series 750W 80PLUS GOLD
Case: Rosewill Blackhawk Mid-Tower


I'm thinking that I might try to pick up a second GTX 680 and run in SLI, even though they're a little outdated and hard to find. Still, Newegg has a refurbished card for just $250, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133567&cm_re=geforce_gtx_680-_-14-133-567-_-Product
but I'm not sure if I can properly combine these two cards in SLI! My Asus DCU2 has 2GB of vram while the PNY Newegg is offering has 4GB. Think these two cards could run side-by-side?

If not, then I'm not really sure what to do because even the 970 is out of my current budget.
 
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jay2tall
Like I said I got $225 for my oem cooler ASUS GTX680. However, it's funny because the ASUS CU cards were going for less than that. I think the issue there is you can't really SLI a 3 slot card very well and most of the people picking up these 680s on eBay are looking to SLI. You should see at least $180 for it if you put free shipping. If you have the box and take GOOD pictures I'd put it at $225 and see what happens. Lower it over time if you have watchers or doesn't seem to sell. Most auctions are coming in at lower prices, so you need to snag the guy you wants to buy it now.

You definitely want to unload it before a GTX960 card is released, whenever that is. If that performance of that card is in the 680 territory and the price...
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jay2tall

jay2tall

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Apr 9, 2007
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If this was a 4GB 680 I would say go for the SLI. However, at the higher resolution and with some newer games coming out that demand more than 2GB for the higher texture settings, you will want the 4GB. I just unloaded my ASUS gtx680 (OEM cooler) on eBay for $225. Take home after shipping and fees was $180. That is half the cost of a good GTX970 card. Overclock that single card or get a second. I have 2 MSI 970's and I was able to OC the base clock to 1300MHz and RAM up 500MHz (1000MHz effective). I'm sure a single 970 will run quite well and they OC amazingly if you get the right one.
 
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Miyconst

Miyconst

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Nov 30, 2013
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www.miyconst.com
I have a gtx 770 2gb, and its VRAM capacity is not enough for modern games especially when I play on 3x1080p monitors.
That is why I would suggest to sell your gtx 680 and buy a new gtx 970.
If you can't do that right now, then just wait a couple more months, and don't waste your money for another gtx 680.
 
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mccoolaustinm

mccoolaustinm

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Jun 13, 2013
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What do you guys think the going price for a 1 year old Asus DirectCU II GTX 680 would be then, and where would I sell it? Ebay? The card is in fantastic condition, no physical damage, no visible difference in performance from when I got it, no noticeable coil whine, and it has always ran at very cool temperatures between the Asus cooling solution and the superb cooling provided by my case (as have all of my parts.)

You all have me leaning away from SLI now... Mostly because of the vram bottleneck at 1440... If I could get at least $150 for the Asus card then I could budget another 200 (barely, lol) towards an upgrade to a 970. My uncle just purchased a Zotac Amp! 970 for his all-new build, as well as a 1080 surround setup (which is why he handed me down his superb Overlord Tempest 120hz 1440p) and his card is fantastic, overclocking beautifully. I might try to fork out the extra $50 for that model if I can get a little more for the 680.
 
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jay2tall

jay2tall

Splendid
Apr 9, 2007
6,123
0
26,460
Like I said I got $225 for my oem cooler ASUS GTX680. However, it's funny because the ASUS CU cards were going for less than that. I think the issue there is you can't really SLI a 3 slot card very well and most of the people picking up these 680s on eBay are looking to SLI. You should see at least $180 for it if you put free shipping. If you have the box and take GOOD pictures I'd put it at $225 and see what happens. Lower it over time if you have watchers or doesn't seem to sell. Most auctions are coming in at lower prices, so you need to snag the guy you wants to buy it now.

You definitely want to unload it before a GTX960 card is released, whenever that is. If that performance of that card is in the 680 territory and the price is $250 or less you'll get even less for your card. Craigslist might be a good option if you put it up for $180 or so, then you aren't paying for shipping or list fees. Depending on where you live you could get some hits on that.
 
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