GTX 680 vs. GTX 670

[Remur]

Which should I choose for 4-Way SLI?


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130785

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130794


Is the extra $400 worth it?

 

[killerhurtalot]

I assume that you're going to be gaming on triple monitors and/or playing heavily modded games cause otherwise they don't need 4 gigs of vram. (most don't even come close to 2 gigs of vram usage...)

and nope. the extra $400 isn't worth it. the performance doesn't scale in a linear fashion and the the difference in performance between the GTX 670 and 680 is roughly 5-10% at best. (well, the GTX 680 you linked has significantly higher clock than the GTX 670 you listed so more like 10% improvement) but this would go down in quad SLI I imagine.

 

[prototype18]

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/598?vs=555

680 is slighlty above the 670.

IMO, if budget its not a prob get the 680

 

[bystander]

If 4GB isn't necessary and you are set on 4way SLI, 690's may be the way to go. Getting 4 air cooled 670's or 680's on a single board would be a nightmare with airflow, noise and heat issues.

 

[Remur]

If 4GB isn't necessary and you are set on 4way SLI, 690's may be the way to go. Getting 4 air cooled 670's or 680's on a single board would be a nightmare with airflow, noise and heat issues.

You don't think the Blackhawk-Ultra would handle that?

 

[bystander]

You don't think the Blackhawk-Ultra would handle that?

The problem wouldn't be the enclosure. The problem is finding a motherboard that handles at least 4 PCIe x16 slots working at x8, and being able to fit all 4 cards side by side with only about 1/8" between them, assuming every one stays perfectly spaced. Very little air could get in the gap to cool the cards down, forcing the fans to hit high speeds, causing a ton of noise and heat.

 

[Remur]

The problem wouldn't be the enclosure. The problem is finding a motherboard that handles at least 4 PCIe x16 slots working at x8, and being able to fit all 4 cards side by side with only about 1/8" between them, assuming every one stays perfectly spaced. Very little air could get in the gap to cool the cards down, forcing the fans to hit high speeds, causing a ton of noise and heat.

I need at lest 3GBs of VRAM and I was considering going with Quad 7970 GHz but I really want to stick with nVidia. What do you suggest?

 

[bystander]

I need at lest 3GBs of VRAM and I was considering going with Quad 7970 GHz but I really want to stick with nVidia. What do you suggest?

Water cooling or two HIS 7970x2 with a motherboard that has the ability to take two 3-slot cards and have a space between them.

 

[prototype18]

IMO

U can get 2 of these http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=76981&vpn=04G-P4-2699-KR&manufacture=eVGA

And water cool them since u have that case

 

[bystander]

Also, and this might change our recommendations, but what do you need 4 cards for? What sort of setup are you trying to power?

 

[bystander]

IMO

U can get 2 of these http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=76981&vpn=04G-P4-2699-KR&manufacture=eVGA

And water cool them since u have that case

I agree about water cooling, but that card does not meet his asked for requirements. That only has 4GB for two GPU's, that means 2GB's each.

 

[Remur]

Water cooling or two HIS 7970x2 with a motherboard that has the ability to take two 3-slot cards and have a space between them.

I can't find that card anywhere. Do you have a link?

Also, and this might change our recommendations, but what do you need 4 cards for? What sort of setup are you trying to power?

I'm going to be running a triple monitor 5760 * 1080 120Hz setup.

 

[prototype18]

I agree about water cooling, but that card does not meet his asked for requirements. That only has 4GB for two GPU's, that means 2GB's each.

Than he must wait for Gtx 680 Hydro copper

 

[Remur]

Than he must wait for Gtx 680 Hydro copper

That already exists.

 

[prototype18]

That already exists.

And it's out of stock everywhere

 

[bystander]

I can't find that card anywhere. Do you have a link?



I'm going to be running a triple monitor 5760 * 1080 120Hz setup.

Ok, well that explains the horsepower you are after. You still may not need the 4gb per core, as you are likely to keep the AA levels lower than most at 5670x1080, because you will be wanting over 60 FPS.

But as far as the HIS 7970x2 and Powercooler 7990 goes:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131483

I can't find either in stock, and I don't even see the 7970x2 listed for sale. I just know they exist from this article: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-7990-devil13-7970-x2,3329.html

Edit: You still may want to look into water cooled 670 4gb if you really want to stick with Nvidia

 

[Remur]

Ok, well that explains the horsepower you are after. You still may not need the 4gb per core, as you are likely to keep the AA levels lower than most at 5670x1080, because you will be wanting over 60 FPS.

But as far as the HIS 7970x2 and Powercooler 7990 goes:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131483

I can't find either in stock, and I don't even see the 7970x2 listed for sale. I just know they exist from this article: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-7990-devil13-7970-x2,3329.html

Edit: You still may want to look into water cooled 670 4gb if you really want to stick with Nvidia

Oh yes, the 7990. I really want it but from what I heard, it was only available for a limited time and nobody knows when it will be again.

 

[bystander]

Oh yes, the 7990. I really want it but from what I heard, it was only available for a limited time and nobody knows when it will be again.

That leaves either extreme noise of 4 cards in sli or cf, water cooling (I don't know of any sold with a block, so this requires some no how), or going with two 690's.

The 690's may not have 4GB (per GPU), but as it is, 2GB does not run short on vram unless settings are pushed to a point that only 3-way SLI can get enough FPS for playability, or you mod a game to death (like Skyrim). You are going 4-way SLI, so that may be a concern, but you are doing so for 90+ FPS, so you aren't likely going to be after 8x MSAA levels, or the settings capable of running you out of vram. However, that does not mean that in the near future, it doesn't become a problem.

 

[Remur]

That leaves either extreme noise of 4 cards in sli or cf, water cooling (I don't know of any sold with a block, so this requires some no how), or going with two 690's.

The 690's may not have 4GB (per GPU), but as it is, 2GB does not run short on vram unless settings are pushed to a point that only 3-way SLI can get enough FPS for playability, or you mod a game to death (like Skyrim). You are going 4-way SLI, so that may be a concern, but you are doing so for 90+ FPS, so you aren't likely going to be after 8x MSAA levels, or the settings capable of running you out of vram. However, that does not mean that in the near future, it doesn't become a problem.

Well, noise isn't really an issue to me. Are you saying that if I run four 670s in SLI with the Blackhawk Ultra, they'll be cooled fine, just noisy?

 

[ipwn3r456]

Well, noise isn't really an issue to me. Are you saying that if I run four 670s in SLI with the Blackhawk Ultra, they'll be cooled fine, just noisy?

You can't run 4 GTX 670's in SLI. Nvidia only allows up to 3 GTX 670's in SLI. The only good cards you can probably go with 4 way SLI/CrossfireX is the GTX 680, HD 7950, 7970, or 7970 Ghz edition.

 

[bystander]

Well, noise isn't really an issue to me. Are you saying that if I run four 670s in SLI with the Blackhawk Ultra, they'll be cooled fine, just noisy?

I'm not so sure they'd be cooled fine or not. You used to see people having troubles in the past when motherboards weren't designed to get an extra space between cards in crossfire, but that has been addressed with most newer motherboards. However, your situation will be rare today. They should run and you might need to put some sort of bracket or shims to make sure the gaps between the cards don't close, but they will be noisy.

 

[Remur]

You can't run 4 GTX 670's in SLI. Nvidia only allows up to 3 GTX 670's in SLI. The only good cards you can probably go with 4 way SLI/CrossfireX is the GTX 680, HD 7950, 7970, or 7970 Ghz edition.

Why does the 670 I linked to claim to support 4-Way SLI then?

 

[bigshootr8]

Well let me ask you why are you wanting to go with a 4 way sli setup anything pased 3 way will create serious issues in most games where games will actually start to perform worse. Now if you are someone that is trying to get super high benchmarks then go for it. Running 2 680's with 4 gigabytes of ram will do just fine with 3 monitors and you will get the same or around the same frames as you would with a single 680 on a single screen.

 

[bystander]

He mentioned his setup earlier.

I'm going to be running a triple monitor 5760 * 1080 120Hz setup.

 

[bigshootr8]

I read it however even so! You don't need more then 2 680's in sli for a multi monitor setup. Hell even two 670's in sli would be more then enough for a triple monitor setup.

However that being said unless you are needing your setup for 3d or for physx you may be better off going with the amd solution they do a superior job with multi monitor either get 2 7970's or a 7990.
7990
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131479

7970 x 2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202005