GTX 560 Ti vs 680

llguitargr8 · Mar 23, 2012

For this build I am currently slowly piecing together, and a budget of about $1800, I was originally going to with two 560 Ti's in SLI, but that would actually be $50 MORE expensive than getting a single 680. Should I just put a GTX 680 instead? I was thinking of doing that anyway, but the price definitely surprised me.

My other components I'm thinking of getting:

Case - Cooler Master HAF 932
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119213
CPU - Intel Core i5-2500K (or the 3570K Ivy Bridge)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072
CPU Cooler - Noctua NH-D14
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608018
Mobo - Asus P8Z68-V Pro (or an Ivy Bridge board when they come out)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131790
Memory - G. Skill Ripjaws 8GB (2 x 4GB)
Boot Drive - Crucial M4 128GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148442
Storage Drive - 2 Seagate Barracuda 500GB RAID 0 (I don't really know if raid is worth it yet, I've been told it is)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148701
Disk Drive - Asus 24x DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204
Monitor - 23" Asus VH238H LCD Monitor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236117
PSU - Corsair Professional AX750 80+ Gold
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139016

The resolution would be with a single 23" 1920x1080 monitor

echod · Mar 23, 2012

I know this is about the gtx 680 and I'm sure that's in heavy debate right now but I just wanted to comment and say that I think the Noctua is a bit overpriced personally. I think the hyper 212 or even the prolimatech are just as good. I believe there are quite of few reviews about them on here at Tom's.

Guest · Mar 23, 2012

I would go for the fastest single card over any sli option.

echod :

The d14 is expensive but it's the best air cooler out there right now, whether it's worth the premium is debatable.

omega21xx · Mar 23, 2012

To answer your question specifically, get the 680. You'll avoid the issues of SLI/CF this way and save a few bucks. The 680 has shown that it performs almost as well as the 590 (two slower 580's in SLI) so it's really a good buy over the 560ti SLI.

omega21xx · Mar 23, 2012

I think 570 SLI overtake a GTX 590 so SLI GTX 580 is still a beastly option IMO.

Yes however that's besides the point as this is about the 560ti. Two 580's at best would cost you 700. And that's the 1.5GB model.

Also I don't see SLI/CF as a buying option off the bat. It's better to do as a value option for in the future over having to buy a whole brand new card as a decent upgrade.

P.S. Fix your quote under your avatar. "Your" should be "You're" simple grammar like that kind of bothers me as to how people get wrong.

wolfram23 · Mar 23, 2012

680 is a beast at that res so yeah that's a better option.

However, you could also go with, say, a 7870 like this Gigabyte model for $360 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125418
It's faster than a 580 and overclocks like mad.

omega21xx · Mar 23, 2012

wolfram23 :

^+1 can't agree more. So far this is one of the most impressive cards this year IMO.

omega21xx · Mar 23, 2012

Is 7870 really all that much faster than say this - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127567 we are talking within margin of error here.

7870 has more vram, cheaper by a small amount, and power efficient with plenty of OC room. Overall the 7870 is a better choice unless you need CUDA or something related.

Sorry just exploring/considering better value options for OP is all ;-(

That's fine. Just explaining my view on the situation and about price.

omega21xx · Mar 23, 2012

That's fine to but please don't slam me for stating my valid opinion ;-)

Please re-read my post. It's apparent that I was in no way slamming you or your opinion.

llguitargr8 · Mar 23, 2012

omega21xx :

So I should get the 680 now and then when I need to upgrade again, could SLI'ing it be a valid option? Just wondering since you say SLI has issues.

llguitargr8 · Mar 23, 2012

I am also not entirely educated on what makes GPUs more powerful performance wise. What is more important when it comes to getting higher framerates? Cores, core clock, or VRAM? (VRAM is the "2GB" part right?)

echod · Mar 23, 2012

llguitargr8 :

Well neither one justify more performance. I wish it was that simple but it's not. We have to settle for benchmarks and reviews to determine performance in a given situation.

llguitargr8 · Mar 23, 2012

echod :

Well how important is the vram? Knowing nvidia, they will release a card with more memory later this year, and I probably wont be building until mid to late summer.

omega21xx · Mar 23, 2012

llguitargr8 :

At a single 1080p monitor, 2GB is more than enough. If using a triple monitor setup, 3GB is better as you won't have any worries about running out of Vram. However 2GB still works well on triple monitor resolutions, just might not be enough vram in a texture/AA heavy setting.

marshal11 · Mar 25, 2012

llguitargr8 :

go for the GTX680. in the long run and now it will save you some money. when your due for an upgrade, you can just throw in another 680. if you go with your dual 560 Tis, when your due for an upgrade you will be throwing away your 560s (aka throwing away alotta cash).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118097 you should get this fan instead. most noctuas have a really ugly beige colour on them, like the one you chose XD this fan still has the high performance but has blue LEDs on the fan to suite your case, it will look awesome in that case. i really dont understand why you need a fan that expensive for a 2500k. (or a 3570k) a hyper 212+ would be more then enough. your max would be under 60C. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118097 read the second review! enjoy your build.

marshal11 · Mar 25, 2012

oops i mean here : www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

llguitargr8 · Mar 26, 2012

Best answer selected by llguitargr8.

kobron23 · May 14, 2012

marshal11 :

The 680 would be the better choice over a 560 TI SLI due to microstutter on the SLI, 2 gb of vram for the 680 vs. 1 gb of vram on the 560 TI SLI, much less power usage, TXAA, and you could add a second 680 later on.

I would go with the CPU Cooler mentioned by marshal11 (the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus) and the Corsair AX850 power supply instead of the 750 due to the fan on the AX850 not even spinning until 170 watt usage resulting in a quieter pc. Going with the AX850 will also give you more wattage for upgrades in the future and will be less likely to have power issues later on down the road.

Corsair AX850 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139015&Tpk=ax850

kobron23 · May 14, 2012

Never mind bro, just noticed I was a month and a half late. Happy gaming!

llguitargr8 · May 14, 2012

kobron23 :

Not late at all! I'm still getting the money together, so it probably won't be until June. And that's another thing I've gotten mixed advice on. 750 vs 850 watts?

kobron23 · May 14, 2012

The 750 watt would be enough but the 850 can be had $175 on Amazon and I would rather have the extra wattage if needed for the future. Also, power supplies slowly degrade over time and deliver less power so having the extra amps would help out in the long run. 1 TB hard drives can be bought for not much more than 500 GB also.

llguitargr8 · May 15, 2012

Well, here is the latest build I'm thinking of http://pcpartpicker.com/p/81Rf

GTX 560 Ti vs 680

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