GTX 670 VS 680

Get the msi 670 pe, better value, minimal gain in performance in going with the 680 gtx, the power edition overclocks well it reaches a stock 680 gtx.
Save ~75£

I'm also with DJ on this I feel for the performance you lose from the 670 to the 680 that the pricing does not make any sense for someone to pay the extra for it. You get the best value and keep the top tier performance within the 670. I would get the msi 670 between the two cards you have there however I personally would prefer the ASUS DirectCUII cards over it. I have the Gigabyte Windforce3 GTX670OC.

MSI PE is the best build 670 on the market

Highly debatable sir. Very highly debatable the 670 TOP card from ASUS is the best 670 in my opinion achieving overclocks that the PE edition more then likely won't touch.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GeForce_GTX_670...

The top card has problems, with its high oc from factory, like freezes, crashes, it's not stable in i would say most cards.

MSI PE

Better cooling
TwinFrozr IV dust removal (fan spin backwards for 30 secs)
TRIPLE OVERVOLTAGE <-- This is what every other Kepler based card fail to do
Looks better -2 slot

Debatable cards have different effects on every system. And also, they are cherry picked chips so I would expect them to be just fine. And with the power edition cards I swore I remember someone saying that the bios of the current cards doesn't take advantage of the triple over volting anymore.

Don't get me wrong I do like the MSI card. I also like the tech that goes into the dusting of the card within the first 30 seconds. However, I just don't buy its the best.

Based on the overclocking alone the MSI PE takes it easy


http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-r...

It's because of the high oc from factory, which is way too high in some cases, with boost clock at 1137 mhz.

http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1657...
http://www.overclock.net/t/1259425/asus-670-directcu-ii...
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1696624

It's rare to see them in the market(the asus top), and they cost a lot.
MSI 670 PE is a good card, for it's price, one of the best, and since he's in the uk and with scan co uk, the 670 gtx PE is the best choice.

Asus Top 670 has too many complaints

http://www.overclock.net/t/1309024/asus-gtx-670-directc...

Link sounds very on the edge on either. I can see someone going with the MSI card as it would be a better value overall and you could always test your limits overclocking it certainly. Not all chips have the same overclock ability but where talking about a 670 nothing really needs this much power honestly.

Then I guess everything sounds on the edge lol so why even bother debating?? Simply put the MSI is better built, overclocks higher, and is cheaper. So if all chips do not have the same overclock ability, why bother researching, reading reviews, csonsumer reviews?? I mean I could pick up a cheap EVGA 670 card and it could PWN both the PE an TOP variants correct??

Well what I'm saying is this and that every chip has different thresholds with power and heat. Obviously with a better cooler it is more likely then not to get a higher overclock then if you had a reference blower design card. I guess really to understand this is to know that most card makers will not bin there chips they won't specifically test them for thermal thresholds will just put in the chip they are sent/bought for your card and ship it so you may strike gold or you may strike nothing. Individual results may vary you are a smart guy you post on here a lot you should know this stuff already.

Most are very well aware of the chip lottery its the same for CPU's so thats nothing new there. However feedback from forums and owners point to the MSI PE as the better card, most review sites are using cherry picked cards wheather they know it or not. So I find actual owner reviews to be many times more reliable, than those of review websites.

Well to assume is already being ignorant that they are being shipped cherry picked cards. I find general opinions of a persons experience with the card helpful but I kind of throw that away when looking at what a card can overclock to because chances are I won't reach those numbers you may get in the ballpark but the likelihood varies. I just refuse to believe that these review sites are getting shipped binned cards.

Top issues were fixed I believe in a recent bios update. It was the reason why they were discontinued for a couple of months. They recently came back, and should be fixed now. The reason it wasn't stable was because it was boosting past the clocks that were stated when someone purchased the card.

Ah, I see well that is good that they went back and fixed that. ASUS is a company that is all about quality so that's good that there reputation upholds itself.

 , normally I would agree but they still haven't fixed the 7950 DCII issue, where the cooler was badly made and doesn't make proper contact with the GPU, causing overheating and artifacts. Came out early 2012, and still happens today. Asus haven't done anything about that unfortunately. And lots of people have it. Just type in Asus 7950 faulty in google and you'll see what I mean.

Hmm, I guess not everything gets fixed. And that sucks. I would of expected a revision to the card or a bios or something hmm that sucks for them..... However normally with AMD cards I would swing more towards Sapphire's Vapor-X coolers.

I agree with everyone here 670 even though I have a 680 oc at 1230 I had extra money but if you wanna save a little go with 670. I have msi Gtx 680 pe. Highly highly and again highly suggest MSI the twin Forster is amazing! Stays under 60 degress most of the time tops in mid 60s fans at %60 seriously great card. And oc is easy with after burner.

Asus has been lacking for a while now, terrible customer service among other things.

Not with there monitors if you follow there customer service with there monitors. ARR service is setup so they pay for the shipment back to them for a RMA and they also at the same time send you a monitor back when you RMA yours.

Thanks for the replies guys, i think that i will get the gtx 670 PE because i wanna save some bucks to probably get a i7 3770k instead of a i7 3570k and probably get the GA-Z77X-UP7, you guys think its worth getting that board?

If you're not into editing, it's not worth it dropping the extra for an i7, for gaming both will have the same performance.
A motherboard within 150$ offers all you need, including sli/crossfire support with two pcie 3.0 slots.
Only if you're planning to do a three way or four way setup of 670 gtx, that board is valid, if not it's just a waste.

i am into editing and i seriously dont know what board to pick, i have been thinking about the sabertooth z77 but im not sure could you help me decide please?

There's plenty out there, with a lot of features :

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/asus-p8z77-v-intel-z77-s...(x16)-displayport-dvi-d-hdmi-atx

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/asrock-z77-extreme-6-int...(x16)-d-sub-dp-dvi-d-hdmi-atx

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/gigabyte-ga-z77x-ud3h-in...

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/msi-z77-mpower-intel-z77...

Those offers SLI support, and they're not overpriced, pretty good ones.

I wouldn't purchase a sabertooth board. If you want a bored that has been stress tested for stability of operation then yes I would recommend a sabertooth board. The only difference really between the cheaper boards and the more expensive boards is typically ports of expansion and overclocking with things like the ROG boards, your UP7/Sniper boards with gigabyte. Get the more expensive boards if you want ports, or overclocking really but otherwise save money IMHO.

ASROCK EXTREME4: This should suffice for all your needs within the 1155 platform.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

I also agree that a i5 3570k will fit the bill however if you are willing to shell out the extra cash for a i7 because you do some rendering then I can see it being worth your time otherwise you'd be fine with the i5.

I think that i will do 3-way sli in the future when i get extra money do you think that i should get the GA-Z77X-UP7 board?

In my opinion it's not worth it, three way sli, two way sli has the best scaling/value.
Also there's a possibility of nvidia releasing new gpus this year.
For a 3-way sli you need a psu with at least 850w.
The gigabyte z77 sniper 3 is the best value of those mobos for 3-way...

Agreed beyond 2 GPU's whether in SLi or CF will typically hurt a game more then it will help a game. Unless you are a overclocker or someone who wants to show off his expensive 300 dollar motherboard I wouldn't get the up7. If anything since you may be into editing a thunderbolt port may be useful for you in the future you never know so maybe quite possibly you could look into the UP4 or UP5 depending on your fancy.

ok then i will get a 2-way sli mobo then, but can u tell me which one to get,
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/asus-p8z77-v-intel-z77-s...(x16)-displayport-dvi-d-hdmi-atx

or

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/msi-z77-mpower-intel-z77...

or

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/asrock-z77-extreme-6-int...(x16)-d-sub-dp-dvi-d-hdmi-atx

If you need wifi get the asus, if you want the best motherboard for oc the msi mpower has more power phases of all those.

okey ill go with msi  

It's a good addition with the MSI 670 PE.

MSI does make nice boards and they aren't very expensive. Also, I agree the PE card would go nicely with that board black and blue with a black PCB.

I agree, the only reason why I wanted the sabertooth was because of the fans I'm gonna get watercooling system and there might not be enough airflow for the motherboard and I'm afraid it might overheat do you guys think that It will overheat?

No I wouldn't think so. even with water cooler radiators you have fans you would still have a rear exhaust fan.

Okay thanks can u reccommend me what ram to get for the msi board please? Sorry for asking so many questions  

No its okay I would get with the 670 the power edition cards. Because that is the best cooler they offer at that level with the 680 things change a little with the lightning card.
http://event.msi.com/vga/2012/series-comparison/

Any ram will do, as long it's from a decent brand with the right specs.
Like this : http://www.scan.co.uk/products/8gb-(2x4gb)-corsair-ddr3-vengeance-jet-black-lp-pc3-12800-(1600)-non-ecc-cas-9-9-9-24-xmp-15v
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/8gb-(2x4gb)-corsair-ddr3-vengeance-jet-black-pc3-12800-(1600)-non-ecc-cas-9-9-9-24-xmp-150v

I agree. I would get the low profile if you intend on getting a larger heatsink and a larger profile if you aren't something like a h100 for example.

I might aswell just get the high profile ones since I'd be getting http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=WC.... Does the high profile ones offers more cooling?

With that kit either the one with tall heatsink or the lp will do.
The cooling is about the same, you'll not see gains with the tall ones.

Your link brought me to there home page are you doing a custom water loop?

it's this one : http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=WC...

Yea with any water cooling system the size of your ram means nothing really not unless your ram heatsink touches the top of your case would I be worried with a water cooler (mentally picturing it ><)