ASUS GTX 670 DirectCU II TOP VS GTX 680? Best Brand?

[aleksanderness]

Hi.
Im gonna buy a new gpu soon but not sure what to get yet.
It stands between the ASUS GeForce GTX 670 DirectCU II TOP(which i heard is by far the best) or a GTX 680 Card.

This are the once i prefer. But which one is the best im not sure

Gainward GeForce GTX 680 4GB "Phantom" Dont think it will ever be able to reach its full potential of 4gig, so a waist of money?
Gainward GeForce GTX 680 2GB "Phantom", I love the looks of it, but has 24 month guarantee the others have 36
ASUS GeForce GTX 680 2GB "DirectCU II TOP" Seems to have a very good rep. Its the most expensive 2GB GTX680 in my list. Suits my case the best in colors
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 680 2GB "Windforce 3X" The best clock speed 1137 MHz
EVGA GeForce GTX 680 2GB "SC Signature" Its the cheapest.

 

[17seconds]

I would go with the Asus TOP model myself. After reading the reviews, it's clear that the custom PCB and power phases with higher binned chips and a custom cooler really help the card to push higher overclocks and higher turbo boosts. On top of that, it does it with some of the quietest fans available. In every review I have seen, the TOP delivers the highest overclocks compared to the others in that class.

Now the only question is whether to get the GTX 670 or 680 version of the Asus TOP. I'd have to say it just a matter of budget. If you can afford the extra $100 for the 680 version, then go for it. If not, the 670 is almost as fast. I also think there's no reason to go for a 4GB model on a single monitor. The only exception would be if you are playing a fully modded Skyrim.

 

[aleksanderness]

Ah damit xD
I do play skyrim with big time modding xD Will the near future bring a Asus top with 4 gb?

 

[photonboy]

Skyrim:
Graphics cards can buffer currently unneeded texture memory in the System RAM.

As for Skyrim specifically, while you can apply all sorts of insane texture packs, keep in mind that the GPU also has to process those which drops down your frame rate.

From what I've seen, if you "require" 4GB of Video RAM for Skyrim, the frame rates would be lower than 60FPS with a GTX670 or 680.

*So feel free to MOD, but watch the frame rates. If you start dropping below the 60FPS target, adjust your modding accordingly.

**What I'm saying is 2GB is plenty and get the Asus DirectCU II 670 or 680.

(I've had the 680 DirectCU TOP on pre-order at NCIX for over three weeks).

Asus DirectCU II 670 performance:
- 92% as good as the 680 DirectCU II version
- roughly 100% as good as a reference GTX680 (with a small amount of overclocking still)

 

[Lizardwithhat]

But question asus also has a gtx 680 without the extra cooling for sli how much more noise does it make? and is 2GB a big problem for a 3 monitors? not for gaming but for video editing?