GTX690 or GTX 680 SLI?

[JukeBox360]

Title says it all. Which is the better buy? 690 or 6680 SLI? What would you do and why? Thank you!

 

[ahnilated]

Neither right now with the issues they are having with the fabrication process. Wait until Nvidia gets that fixed and then order. 2 X 680 in SLI would be faster but would take up more space in your case.

 

[JukeBox360]

I'd be getting the 690 for about $900. Price isn't really a concern for me. I'm wondering if you can OC a 690 to run as well as stock 680 SLI? I know the 670 is a great card. Best bang for buck. But unfortunately for me. That isn't an option

I'm limited to 680 in SLI or just a 690.

Also, why would the 690 be a better buy?

Thank you for all your input thus far.

 

[game junky]

In all sincerity, a 690 is a pair of 680s SLI'd in a single card. The 4 GB of video memory will be more beneficial if you're trying to run a game on multiple monitors (a la Battlefield 3 on 3 screens) but there seem to be more 680s with high clock speeds so it's a +/- scenario.

I personally would be more than happy with a single 680 because there isn't a single game out that it can't handle and add an additional card down the road when that changes. If you had to choose between a 690 and a pair of 680s, I would rather have a single 690 for double the RAM

 

[JukeBox360]

Neither right now with the issues they are having with the fabrication process. Wait until Nvidia gets that fixed and then order. 2 X 680 in SLI would be faster but would take up more space in your case.

How much faster are we talking here? Anything noticeable? I wouldn't be over clocking the 680 SLI but I would try to OC the 690 to the 680 stock OC if possible.

 

[JukeBox360]

In all sincerity, a 690 is a pair of 680s SLI'd in a single card. The 4 GB of video memory will be more beneficial if you're trying to run a game on multiple monitors (a la Battlefield 3 on 3 screens) but there seem to be more 680s with high clock speeds so it's a +/- scenario.

I personally would be more than happy with a single 680 because there isn't a single game out that it can't handle and add an additional card down the road when that changes. If you had to choose between a 690 and a pair of 680s, I would rather have a single 690 for double the RAM

I see. I know either set up is overkill. But I'm doing it now because I can afford it now lol. Plus I can get a decent deal and I do plan to play on 3 monitors. I personally feel as if the 690 is the better buy. But I'm not positive. As long as you can OC the 690 to run as well as stock 680 SLI. I'd actually be pretty happy with it.

 

[Guest]

look at the 670! NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 SLI

edited to change resolution

 

[ahnilated]

How much faster are we talking here? Anything noticeable? I wouldn't be over clocking the 680 SLI but I would try to OC the 690 to the 680 stock OC if possible.

There are reviews out there for the 680's and 690's. I would say you would be lucky to see a 5% difference. Overclocking the 680's would be far less dangerous then the 690's as far as burning out the card.

 

[JukeBox360]

lol, I know the 670 is a great card. But I can't pick that card due to it not being in stock from where I am getting it. That's why I have to pick between these two cards.

 

[Guest]

oh, sorry . . if you look at the review i posted you will see it flip flops as to what gets better performance between 690/680sli. see if the benches help.

 

[JukeBox360]

There are reviews out there for the 680's and 690's. I would say you would be lucky to see a 5% difference. Overclocking the 680's would be far less dangerous then the 690's as far as burning out the card.

I risk burning the GPU!? I thought one card would give less heat? I also was under the impression the 690 ran cooler then the 680? Should I not get a 690? I don't want anything breaking on me.

 

[roadkill922]

In all sincerity, a 690 is a pair of 680s SLI'd in a single card. The 4 GB of video memory will be more beneficial if you're trying to run a game on multiple monitors (a la Battlefield 3 on 3 screens) but there seem to be more 680s with high clock speeds so it's a +/- scenario.

I personally would be more than happy with a single 680 because there isn't a single game out that it can't handle and add an additional card down the road when that changes. If you had to choose between a 690 and a pair of 680s, I would rather have a single 690 for double the RAM

690 is not double the VRAM. The 4GB of VRAM is no different than having 680s SLI 2GB, as the vram is split and the gpus mirror each other. So higher resolutions won't matter between the 690 or 680sli in terms of VRAM. I would probably go with a 690 over 680 sli too, however, because it is much more power efficient than two cards.

 

[xtreme5]

2 gtx 680s perform a bit better than gtx 690 which means in some games they are neck to neck, some games sli is better and in few games 690 has taken the lead, so getting 690 keeps you good because it would not eat too much space where as 2 680s block everything and will produce a heat also noise when you put max load on it. Take a look into the link.
www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/586?vs=585

 

[JukeBox360]

From what I have heard before. It was always better to get one GPU vs two. Is this no longer the case? I know lower power and lower heat is always a good thing. Can't imagine that ever being bad.

I just don't want to end up making the dumb choice.

 

[xtreme5]

mate, 690 is ultimate solution.

 

[JukeBox360]

You can OC a 690 to get to 680 SLI or better performance. If you can get one for $900, definitely do it.

And yeah ignore all the misinformed folks who say that the 690 has more vram... it doesn't (it has the same 2GB per GPU that 680 SLI has).

It would cost me exactly $900 for the 690. Really stink s about the whole VRAM thing. But I'd imagine it's powerful enough that it isn't needed? I will be playing on 3 monitors. But I will mainly be playing on a 3d 1080P monitor. As 3 monitors on BF3 can cause me to get a little dizzy.

 

[JukeBox360]

mate, 690 is ultimate solution.

So I'm guessing by that this means that's what you'd do? May I ask why?

Also will doing a slight OC to make the card run as well as 680 SLI be that bad on it? I had imagine it wouldn't be a very high bump at all.

 

[ahnilated]

So I'm guessing by that this means that's what you'd do? May I ask why?

Also will doing a slight OC to make the card run as well as 680 SLI be that bad on it? I had imagine it wouldn't be a very high bump at all.

it shouldn't be that much of a bump to get it there.

 

[ahnilated]

I risk burning the GPU!? I thought one card would give less heat? I also was under the impression the 690 ran cooler then the 680? Should I not get a 690? I don't want anything breaking on me.

You can at any time risk burning out the GPU with normal use. If you overclock the risk increases.

 

[xtreme5]

if you overclock the 690 it would cross the performance of 2 680s, or if you overclock the 2 680s it may become risky and need alot power so think about it.

 

[roadkill922]

I see. I know either set up is overkill. But I'm doing it now because I can afford it now lol. Plus I can get a decent deal and I do plan to play on 3 monitors. I personally feel as if the 690 is the better buy. But I'm not positive. As long as you can OC the 690 to run as well as stock 680 SLI. I'd actually be pretty happy with it.

I would agree with game junky that the 690 would be a better deal, but for different reasoning. First of all, the 4GB that the 690 has isn't actually 4GB. It is split between the gpus which mirror each other. You are really getting 2 680s with 2GB. Not one card with 4gb of VRAM. So essentially 680s sli 2GB vs 690 4GB is the same thing with 680s having a slight advantage with clock speed.

Even though the 680s have a higher frequency, and in turn, slightly better performance, I would not buy them. The reason for this is that a single 690 is much more power efficient than duel 680s.

If you really want the best performance on multi monitors and have the money, wait until new 680s are released with increased VRAM.

 

[Guest]

You can at any time risk burning out the GPU with normal use. If you overclock the risk increases.

thats why you watch the temps and increase the fan speed. you obviously haven't overclocked.

 

[JukeBox360]

I've always used custom fan speeds. It's always been set to 10 higher then the temp. So If the card is at 50C the fan would be at 60%. 60c/70% and so on. I thought that would be a decent fan control. My case has a tons of ventilation.

3 monitor gaming isn't to important. As long as I can play everything and anything on a single 1080P 120Hz monitor I will be happy. As that is my main focus and use when gaming. It's rare for me to play on all 3. But I have done it. I like the idea of being able to play 3D. Although again. That's something I've rarely done.

A huge reason why I have considered the 690 was it's power load. As i'm only running a 750 PSU. That's the minimum needed for 680SLI. So I figured the 690 would run better on my system.

 

[mmilner1]

So I'm guessing by that this means that's what you'd do? May I ask why?

Also will doing a slight OC to make the card run as well as 680 SLI be that bad on it? I had imagine it wouldn't be a very high bump at all.

Your basically asking which is better a lamborghini or a ferrari, both are amazing cars and you really can't go wrong with either. Between the two choices are almost no differences, you can nit pick back and forth but I doubt you can pick wrong between a 690 and two 680's.

 

[ahnilated]

thats why you watch the temps and increase the fan speed. you obviously haven't overclocked.

You obviously haven't read my signature. Do some research before you spout off.