GTX680 is the best way to go?

[ARCADDER]

Hi everyone, I am about to build a PC but I just don't know what Graphics Card I will buy! I saw a lot of people recommend ATI's HD 7970 over GTX680 because they say it is the best bang for the buck, but I don't know...

I won't be using multiple displays, I'll be using my SAMSUNG 1080p TV as a display, and maybe upgrade it later to a higher res monitor.
PhysX looks pretty good for me.
I won't buy a second card.

I read some benchmark results using the latest drivers for both HD7970 & GTX680 and they were almost the same NVIDIA had better results in some games and ATI in others, but they were using 3 displays at very high resolutions in surround-something :B

Both cards are arround $450 - $500, and the key thing for me is how much a card can defend against time. I really want to play recent games in ULTRA settings and I don't want to change my Graphics card at least in other 2 years... I feel like I would go for a GTX680, but what do you think? Is it really THAT bad against 7970? Is there a better card out there that stays in a similar price? Should I wait for a better graphics card to be released in the next months? By the way, I'll be buying Intel's 3770k!

 

[siddharthmukul007]

the gtx 680 is the way to go...waiting for few months is also a good option always(but that wait never ends)

for a gaming pc....the 3770K is just overkill unless you plan to do much more with it.

 

[ARCADDER]

Overkill in what sense? Does this processor is very power consuming? I use Photoshop Lightroom a lot to edit photos in .RAW format & every one of them is over 18MB, also in April I will start college and as far as I know I will need to use Almost every ADOBE CS6 program and other design programs, my current laptop with a 1.3Ghz Intel Mobile Processor, Adobe Vegas renders a 4 minute 480p video in 2 days... I am building this PC firstly for gaming and secondly but not less important for my everyday work. :B

 

[fudoka711]

well, if you're doing anything that can take advantage of the extra cores that the 3770k offers (as opposed to the 3570k), then its definitely worth it.

Honestly, between the 7970 and the 680, the 7970 wins in most things now due to huge driver improvements from AMD. If you want to save power and produce less heat, then go with the 680. I'm sure nVidia will catch up with driver improvements anyways.

 

[darth pravus]

the i7 is the best for editing.

To be honest the GTX 670 is pretty much the same as the 680 when both oced and is much cheaper.

The difference is single digit frames most of the time

 

[xPhantomx]

Overkill in what sense? Does this processor is very power consuming? I use Photoshop Lightroom a lot to edit photos in .RAW format & every one of them is over 18MB, also in April I will start college and as far as I know I will need to use Almost every ADOBE CS6 program and other design programs, my current laptop with a 1.3Ghz Intel Mobile Processor, Adobe Vegas renders a 4 minute 480p video in 2 days... I am building this PC firstly for gaming and secondly but not less important for my everyday work. :B

For gaming its overkill because most games, if any at all don't use the threads on the i7, and the extra cache doesn't benefit either in gaming. But thats for gaming, for other things like video editing the i7 threads will be utilized. Since you do use Vegas and other programs you would benefit from the I7. Also consider the GTX 670 since its almost as powerful but much cheaper.

 

[siddharthmukul007]

Overkill in what sense? Does this processor is very power consuming? I use Photoshop Lightroom a lot to edit photos in .RAW format & every one of them is over 18MB, also in April I will start college and as far as I know I will need to use Almost every ADOBE CS6 program and other design programs, my current laptop with a 1.3Ghz Intel Mobile Processor, Adobe Vegas renders a 4 minute 480p video in 2 days... I am building this PC firstly for gaming and secondly but not less important for my everyday work. :B

that is what i was telling....just for gaming the 3770K is over kill....but since you are into editing and stuff,the 3770K is perfect for you.

no the processor is in fact very energy efficient compared to the other i7s

 

[4745454b]

They test like that because both cards handle 1080 with ease. Its only until you get to those big resolutions where you can notice the difference between the cards.

You said it yourself, they each win some. Three things. First, get the one that performs best in your favorite game. That way you'll have the best performance. Or second, buy the cheapest. If they perform around the same why spend an extra $50 if you don't have to? Finally third, buy the GTX680. Reason being its a 200W card as opposed to the 250W of the 7970. This saves you money over time. Second, you might not go 3 screen, but you might go 3D. And Nvidia is better with 3D then AMD.

 

[boju]

With either choice you make between 670 or 680 get the Asus DCII Top and don't look back.

 

[darth pravus]

+1 for the DCUII. not the top but that cooling is amazing. So quiet and cool.

 

[siddharthmukul007]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121634

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121635

 

[game junky]

In all sincerity, they're both great GPUs. I personally will always lean toward Nvidia because of driver issues I have had with AMD/ATI cards in the past but I can appreciate the quality of their product even if I wouldn't buy it. My buddy is rocking a Evga GTX 680 in his rig and it chews up BF3 on 1080p with everything turned up. You won't regret the investment

 

[ubercake]

^+1

 

[Ceee9]

Gtx 670 is the way to go~ the money gap on 670 to 680 can be used for ur family,wife,childern, or neighbour house 40 to ur right xDD

U wont lost any performane compare to 680

 

[stuffsearcher]

Buy a nvidia graphics card, since you are going to use adobe you may benefit from Cuda wich supposely grants vast improvements and speed on rendering time.

 

[ARCADDER]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121634

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121635

Is there any difference between those 2, other than the price and DC2O / DC2T? Haaa sorry for my noobiness :B

 

[siddharthmukul007]

the DC2T is the top edition...the overclocked version.

 

[darksparten]

PhysX is used in maybe 4 triple AAA titles and exactly 27 games in total, it's hyped as some sort of Nvidia super technology but in reality all it means is that in 27 or so games you will get lower FPS with higher physics settings without an Nvidia GPU., the truth is, pretty much any decent CPU(your i7 included) will easily run PhysX better or similar to Nvidia GPU PhysX.

At lower resolutions like 1080p 7970 is slightly behind the GTX680 however the 7970 overclocks much better than the GTX680, and the 7970 also has a 384-bit bus to allow for better AA/AF.

 

[siddharthmukul007]

Buy a nvidia graphics card, since you are going to use adobe you may benefit from Cuda wich supposely grants vast improvements and speed on rendering time.

nothing vast can be expected from a consumer video card in this matter unless he has a quadro or firepro card

 

[ARCADDER]

nothing vast can be expected from a consumer video card in this matter unless he has a quadro or firepro card

Yeah, and I exactly expect that, anything is better than a week wasted with my pathetic laptop rendering a video. But it is decided, I'll wait till March/April when "supposedly" the new GTX700's series will be announced. So that way I'll know If it is better to buy a 700's or a *hopefully* cheaper GTX680.

 

[darth pravus]

Is there any difference between those 2, other than the price and DC2O / DC2T? Haaa sorry for my noobiness :B

Don't get the top version, Just the standard DCUII as the top versions have been known top have stability issues.

 

[bigshootr8]

Yea I agree I would not repeat not get the TOP version. The big selling point with the TOP version is that you get a cherry picked GPU which in turn means that there is a higher likelihood of you being able to overclock your card higher. Stick to a normal ASUS DIRECTCUII card if you go with ASUS.

Also, in terms of PHYSX. I love it however I am objective so I'm going to play devils advocate here. I play games that use it if you don't then it won't be useful for you I play BATMAN AA, AC, METRO 2033, Borderlands 2 which all use it. If you don't intend on using it the 7970 GHZ edition will be more powerful then the 680 without a doubt.

 

[darth pravus]

+1. Physx is awesome.

Playing 3 player co-op is all the more fun on borderlands 2 wowing over all the fire and particles when one of us is on a 6970.

 

[bigshootr8]

ARCADDER just be sure you make an informed decision based on what you are after. With the new cards around the horizon one option you could do is buy a EVGA card and take advantage of there step up program in the even the newer cards come out after you build your computer so you can pay the difference and possibly get one of the newer cards. Just a thought.

What you would have to do:
Purchase the extended warranty 15 dollars.
You would have to advance in a card a 660Ti could not be upgraded to a 760ti it would have to be a 770 or a 780 if you follow.

 

[darth pravus]

I can see a 780 entering my system in the near future.

Good advice on the warranties. EVGA's ones are always worth the cost.