Gtx 690 or Gtx Titan for surround

[Tgrove2012]

So my friend bought my gtx 670 4gb and i need something new. I know there a cheaper/sufficient solutions to a setup like this. Best would probably be to crossfire 7970, sli 680, then sli/cf 670/7950. It's nice to have different options at different price levels. But since I'm already aware of these options I would like to only discuss the 690/titan.

Will be used on an x79 system with resolution 5900(ish)x1080p. Both cost around the same, but the 690 is faster for obvious reasons. Have the option of getting the titan (being not too far off behind the 690 speed wise), but would sli later this year which is the end goal. Titan would prove to be less of a potential hassle as a single card, with the stuttering and what not that happens in some games. The titan is all around better for me to game with surround. Only reason I'm even asking this is basically because I'm not a big fan at all of the 2gb per card on the gtx 690, I would go ahead and get it if it weren't for that. I know it's uncommon to go over 2gb VRAM usage, but its more of a future proofing thing with newer games coming out.

Will the titan give good enough performance to use over the 690 for the lesser part of a year until I can sli? Would I be better off still getting sli 670/680 4gb? I know amd is the way to go for multi monitors really but I have my own personal reasons for wanting nvidia.

 

[stickmansam]

Get the 690 unless you want 2 x titans as 1 titan should do pretty good (9% slower than 690) until you can save up for another
2 x 670's would likely perform about the 690 level if you do some slight OC on them

 

[Tgrove2012]

Thanks for the response. I actually have no issue doing that at all, and just sli the titan later. The problem is will the titan sli be that much better then 690 to warrant an extra thousand dollars? I would just hate to get a 690 then some game comes out next year that uses 2.5gb of VRAM (and of course I would be in love with said game)

 

[17seconds]

One big difference is going to be frame latency, where the Titan will do a much better job.
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/59785-nvidia-geforce-gtx-titan-6gb-performance-review-16.html

Quote:
"When it comes to a consistent gameplay experience, the TITAN is head, shoulders and knees above its compatriots. The low standard deviation shown between frame times is a fraction of what other solutions offer, which in turn leads to significantly smoother onscreen performance. For example, the GTX 690 exhibits many of the issues normally associated with dual GPU cards like minor stuttering and outright frame hesitation, a situation the TITAN deftly avoids by virtue of being a single core solution. Gamers won’t have to wait for the latest SLI profile for optimal new game support either. So while the GTX 690 may outclass the TITAN in terms of raw framerate production, the GK110 clearly holds the edge this key area."
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/59785-nvidia-geforce-gtx-titan-6gb-performance-review-19.html

 

[Tgrove2012]

Hmm this is a toughie. I really got excited because at first it sounded like the single card solution for surround and other large resolutions. That price is just throwing me off because I would have to sli it for maximum performance. I don't mind going sli titan but I wouldn't get the other till the end of the year. Just seems like ill be limiting myself when it comes to the future and the 690. Also with new cards coming out within the next year or so I feel like ill regret it soon enough if I invest in 6xx/7xxxx series' again. I really wanted to get this card but I'm not sure if its worth all the hassle. CF 7970 or gtx 670/680 sli 4gb seems to be the way to go. I was planning on spending about $1500 on a laptop later this year maybe ill save that for another titan.....this is a tough one.

 

[redeemer]

Crysis 3 can eat more than 2GB Vram so I siggest GTX Titan!

 

[stickmansam]

Depending on when Maxwell come out it may be better to grab an 690 and then sell it go grab maxwell

but if maxwell isn't too much of a difference 2 x titans would be better (though 2 x780 if the 780 are maxwell are likely cheaper and similar perf to 3 x 680's

all just my speculation though

 

[Rockdpm]

Depending on when Maxwell come out it may be better to grab an 690 and then sell it go grab maxwell

but if maxwell isn't too much of a difference 2 x titans would be better (though 2 x780 if the 780 are maxwell are likely cheaper and similar perf to 3 x 680's

all just my speculation though

780 isn't maxwell.. 780 will still be kepler. Maxwell will be mid-late 2014

 

[CaptainTom]

So my friend bought my gtx 670 4gb and i need something new. I know there a cheaper/sufficient solutions to a setup like this. Best would probably be to crossfire 7970, sli 680, then sli/cf 670/7950. It's nice to have different options at different price levels. But since I'm already aware of these options I would like to only discuss the 690/titan.

Will be used on an x79 system with resolution 5900(ish)x1080p. Both cost around the same, but the 690 is faster for obvious reasons. Have the option of getting the titan (being not too far off behind the 690 speed wise), but would sli later this year which is the end goal. Titan would prove to be less of a potential hassle as a single card, with the stuttering and what not that happens in some games. The titan is all around better for me to game with surround. Only reason I'm even asking this is basically because I'm not a big fan at all of the 2gb per card on the gtx 690, I would go ahead and get it if it weren't for that. I know it's uncommon to go over 2gb VRAM usage, but its more of a future proofing thing with newer games coming out.

Will the titan give good enough performance to use over the 690 for the lesser part of a year until I can sli? Would I be better off still getting sli 670/680 4gb? I know amd is the way to go for multi monitors really but I have my own personal reasons for wanting nvidia.

I'm sorry, if you want triple monitor gaming why are you not thinking about the 7970 GHz? It was practically built for this, and AMD's Eyefinity is great!

 

[CaptainTom]

Get the 690 unless you want 2 x titans as 1 titan should do pretty good (9% slower than 690) until you can save up for another
2 x 670's would likely perform about the 690 level if you do some slight OC on them

http://tpucdn.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_Titan_SLI/images/perfrel_5760.gif

Here's what I get from this:

3xTitan's are 23.5% stronger than 3x7970 GHz WHILE COSTING 227% MORE! Have you people gone mad?!

 

[Tgrove2012]

And sadly you are oh so so right. I used amd for almost all of 2012 and have nothing against them. But I really like nvidia I'm just privy to the things it offers. I wishI didn't like nvidia more so this decision would be that much easier . I've been gaming on surround for about half a year now on that 670. Had no issues really, great card. Although now I am ready to go high end dual gpu to get the most out of my setup.

 

[Rockdpm]

And sadly you are oh so so right. I used amd for almost all of 2012 and have nothing against them. But I really like nvidia I'm just privy to the things it offers. I wishI didn't like nvidia more so this decision would be that much easier . I've been gaming on surround for about half a year now on that 670. Had no issues really, great card. Although now I am ready to go high end dual gpu to get the most out of my setup.

Two 680 4GB's final answer

 

[Tgrove2012]

Is there a general idea of when the 7xx cards come out? I don't really wanna buy 680s just to have the newer cards come out in June or even by the end of the year lol.

 

[Tgrove2012]

I was also thinking....you can get a 690 on ebay for about $700. I could get a new titan now, and just scour ebay for a good deal on a used one. and since I wasn't plannig on sli until almost the end of the year they will surely be popping up for lower price on ebay.

 

[stickmansam]

780 isn't maxwell.. 780 will still be kepler. Maxwell will be mid-late 2014

Depends if we see 7xx and 8xxx this year, if not then 7xx may be maxwell

 

[redeemer]

Two 680 4GB's final answer

4GB Keplers are a overpriced disgrace with little or no benefit in high resolution gaming, many of you do not seems to understand the relationship between memory bus and vram!

7970 crossfire still holds the best value

 

[CaptainTom]

4GB Keplers are a overpriced disgrace with little or no benefit in high resolution gaming, many of you do not seems to understand the relationship between memory bus and vram!

7970 crossfire still holds the best value

Ok finally someone with some common sense. I mean the a 680 will beat a 7970 at stock if they are at lower resolutions, but above 1080p AMD's architecture dominates.

 

[redeemer]

Ok finally someone with some common sense. I mean the a 680 will beat a 7970 at stock if they are at lower resolutions, but above 1080p AMD's architecture dominates.

Stock means.....Nvidia has autoboost so comparing stock clocks puts Nvidia in favor. With the lastest drivers I believe the 7970 is leading right now overall with a few Nvidia biased games leaning towards the GTX 680. You are right however going beyond 1080p the difference between both cards become more apparent.

 

[Tgrove2012]

I have a feeling nvidia will have a better/cheaper solution within the 7xx cards. Think ill just do the titans sli. I don't wanna get into the waiting game with no confirmed release dates. I also have nothing against amd, I have tried both and prefer nvidia, that's all. Also it has a few new perks I will benefit from. I run my surround setup @ 74hz so the 80hz vsync is awesome. Also have really good airflow/low temps in my case with the corsair 500R and h100i rad in the top of the case. So overcloking with that new feature could be fun with seeing how good I can increase airflow

 

[CaptainTom]

Stock means.....Nvidia has autoboost so comparing stock clocks puts Nvidia in favor. With the lastest drivers I believe the 7970 is leading right now overall with a few Nvidia biased games leaning towards the GTX 680. You are right however going beyond 1080p the difference between both cards become more apparent.

I am aware that a stock 7970 is generally stronger than a stock 680 (I have tested this myself). I just didn't want to come of as AMD biased...

 

[konawolv]

I think that anyone wanting to pull the trigger on a Titan should wait to see what AMD is doing with its "titan killer" first... 1000 is a lot to spend on a SINLGE component...

 

[ubercake]

And sadly you are oh so so right. I used amd for almost all of 2012 and have nothing against them. But I really like nvidia I'm just privy to the things it offers. I wishI didn't like nvidia more so this decision would be that much easier . I've been gaming on surround for about half a year now on that 670. Had no issues really, great card. Although now I am ready to go high end dual gpu to get the most out of my setup.

As a general rule, I say get the best single-GPU card you have budget for and add another at a later date. If you're used to a 670 driving three screens, a Titan will give you a big improvement.

Given that general rule and contrary to my own thought process... I just started gaming with 2 680s in surround. You could spend the same amount ($1K) and get two 680s and get better performance than a single Titan or 690. These things crank. You can always pick up another for $500 if you are going to be running 3D. I went from a single 120Hz 3D display to 3 60Hz 2D displays. I found I didn't use 3D all that much. I think I'm sold on surround. It's pretty amazing. I've been running with SLI for three years now and haven't had a problem with perceivable microstutter at all (that's even at 120Hz most of that time).

The Titan is an odd sort. It competes more with the 690 than anything. I don't think they will sell a lot and I don't think the resale market will be as receptive to them. If someone buys a Titan in the resale market and later wants to find another for SLI, it might be hard due to low availability. The price will stay high due to lack of availability and limit your range of potential customers.

On the other hand, with a flagship card like the 680, you can always sell two and buy the next gen card (780?) with some change left over. I personally have made a habit of doing this each generation.