GTX 680 4Gb SLI or AMD 7970 GHz Crossfire

[metalent]

So I made a thread earlier this year about getting a GTX 680 or GTX 670, but kind of been contemplating the 680 or 7970 since waiting for a bit. I thought about the GTX Titan, but can't convince myself to spend $1,000 on a single GPU. I would much rather get 2 cards and get better performance.

I'm looking at this GTX 680 because I heard/read that it is one of the better cards that runs cooler and better performance

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121705

I thought about getting the 690, but I'm kinda on the fence with it.

For AMD, I don't know much about the brands on that side. I have heard that this one is pretty good

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125439

Has the ASUS ROG 7970 GHz performed well? Because that is the one that I would like to get if I got AMD

http://www.amazon.com/DirectCU-1000...&qid=1362627304&sr=8-1&keywords=asus+7970+ghz

Now I know there isn't much difference with high end cards, but I really just would like some opinions. I know some games have Nvidia favored setting like PhysX and some others. All I've ever had is Nvidia, so I don't really know if the difference with PhysX on and off is noticeable if I had AMD. Any suggestions are welcome.

 

[CaptainTom]

So I made a thread earlier this year about getting a GTX 680 or GTX 670, but kind of been contemplating the 680 or 7970 since waiting for a bit. I thought about the GTX Titan, but can't convince myself to spend $1,000 on a single GPU. I would much rather get 2 cards and get better performance.

I'm looking at this GTX 680 because I heard/read that it is one of the better cards that runs cooler and better performance

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121705

I thought about getting the 690, but I'm kinda on the fence with it.

For AMD, I don't know much about the brands on that side. I have heard that this one is pretty good

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125439

Has the ASUS ROG 7970 GHz performed well? Because that is the one that I would like to get if I got AMD

http://www.amazon.com/DirectCU-1000...&qid=1362627304&sr=8-1&keywords=asus+7970+ghz

Now I know there isn't much difference with high end cards, but I really just would like some opinions. I know some games have Nvidia favored setting like PhysX and some others. All I've ever had is Nvidia, so I don't really know if the difference with PhysX on and off is noticeable if I had AMD. Any suggestions are welcome.

The 7970 GHz is a stronger card and scales better in crossfire. Get that!

 

[metalent]

The 7970 GHz is a stronger card and scales better in crossfire. Get that!

What about brands? and I would like get a card that runs pretty cool. I currently have a GTX 470 that runs about 80-85 Celsius with fan speed at about 80%

 

[17seconds]

The GTX 680 is going to be much more efficient in SLI, which generally means less power, cooler and quieter, while giving you better performance. Not to mention you won't have to worry about "if the difference with PhysX on and off is noticeable", which it is. It's also common knowledge that AMD has a ways to go in providing Crossfire driver support that is anywhere near as good as Nvidia SLI driver support.

Quote:
"Looking at other contenders for a moment, you'll find that you simply don't need a GTX 680 2-way SLI when you can just buy a GTX 690 that runs quieter and saves an expansion slot because the price-performance ratio of a 3-way GTX 680 configuration is bad. AMD's HD 7970 GHz Edition CrossFire setup has its moments, but flunks far too many tests due to poor multi-GPU driver optimizations by AMD."
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_Titan_SLI/24.html

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_Titan_SLI/22.html

 

[CaptainTom]

The GTX 680 is going to be much more efficient in SLI, which generally means less power, cooler and quieter, while giving you better performance. Not to mention you won't have to worry about "if the difference with PhysX on and off is noticeable", which it is. It's also common knowledge that AMD has a ways to go in providing Crossfire driver support that is anywhere near as good as Nvidia SLI driver support.

Quote:
"Looking at other contenders for a moment, you'll find that you simply don't need a GTX 680 2-way SLI when you can just buy a GTX 690 that runs quieter and saves an expansion slot because the price-performance ratio of a 3-way GTX 680 configuration is bad. AMD's HD 7970 GHz Edition CrossFire setup has its moments, but flunks far too many tests due to poor multi-GPU driver optimizations by AMD."
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_Titan_SLI/24.html

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_Titan_SLI/22.html
http://tpucdn.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_Titan_SLI/images/perfrel_1920.gif
http://tpucdn.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_Titan_SLI/images/perfdollar_1920.gif

I don't know where you found that, but it is far from the norm lol. They had to have been doing something wrong.

 

[metalent]

Which brand would you recommend for the 7970 Ghz cards?

 

[CaptainTom]

Which brand would you recommend for the 7970 Ghz cards?

Get the Vapor-X by SAPPHIRE. It can readily overclock to 1250/1800+ and it comes with a cooler that will always keep it below 70 degrees no matter what. It's a beast!

 

[aramisathei]

Personally I've had really good experiences with the Gigabyte cards, although I've heard great things about the Vapor-X as well.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125439 are the ones I use in my rig.

 

[metalent]

What about the HIS IceQX2? I've always heard HIS were pretty good

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161431

 

[bystander]

Having used two SLI setups and two CF setups, I find far less hassle with SLI. (5870's, 470's, 6950's and 680's). It also appears, at least without v-sync, CF has issues with runt frames, which basically means a lot of frames pretty much don't get shown due to not spacing out the frames. With new testing methods coming to fruition, you can expect AMD to address these issues, but until then, SLI is performing better.

http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graphics-Cards/Frame-Rating-Part-3-First-Results-New-GPU-Performance-Tools
http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graphics-Cards/Frame-Rating-New-Graphics-Performance-Metric
http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graphics-Cards/Frame-Rating-Part-2-Finding-and-Defining-Stutter

For the most part, they scale about the same, and the 7970 Ghz edition does get slightly higher FPS, but if it has more hitching and runt frames, it does not look as smooth, which ultimately is the goal.

That said, if I were to buy today, I'd get 670's (I got my 680's last year before there was a 670, and 7970's were really expensive).

 

[CaptainTom]

What about the HIS IceQX2? I've always heard HIS were pretty good

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161431

Honestly all brands are good. But if you want the best, get a Vapor-x. There overclocking software is great, and the custom unlock their PCB's so you can always overclock as high as it will go! I have seen some with 1400 core and 1875 memory!

 

[metalent]

Honestly all brands are good. But if you want the best, get a Vapor-x. There overclocking software is great, and the custom unlock their PCB's so you can always overclock as high as it will go! I have seen some with 1400 core and 1875 memory!

I really don't do a whole lot of OC'ing just for the fact that I haven't needed or wanted to. I have always heard the Sapphire were really good. Do you know anything about the Asus ROG edition that I linked? If it may run hotter or a decent card

Having used two SLI setups and two CF setups, I find far less hassle with SLI. (5870's, 470's, 6950's and 680's). It also appears, at least without v-sync, CF has issues with runt frames, which basically means a lot of frames pretty much don't get shown due to not spacing out the frames. With new testing methods coming to fruition, you can expect AMD to address these issues, but until then, SLI is performing better.

http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graph [...] ance-Tools
http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graph [...] nce-Metric
http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graph [...] ng-Stutter

For the most part, they scale about the same, and the 7970 Ghz edition does get slightly higher FPS, but if it has more hitching and runt frames, it does not look as smooth, which ultimately is the goal.

That said, if I were to buy today, I'd get 670's (I got my 680's last year before there was a 670, and 7970's were really expensive).

I have looked into the 670 4Gb editions. Isn't the 670 supposed to be almost as fast as the 680?

 

[CaptainTom]

I really don't do a whole lot of OC'ing just for the fact that I haven't needed or wanted to. I have always heard the Sapphire were really good. Do you know anything about the Asus ROG edition that I linked? If it may run hotter or a decent card



I have looked into the 670 4Gb editions. Isn't the 670 supposed to be almost as fast as the 680?

7970 GHz > 680=7970 > 7950=670.

Also NO CARD is colder than the Vapor-x, that is the point of it. You really should overclock. It is as easy as pressing a button.

 

[bystander]

I have looked into the 670 4Gb editions. Isn't the 670 supposed to be almost as fast as the 680?

Yes, they are. They are about 5%-8% slower than a 680.

They also do a good job at metering the frames in SLI. As some have mentioned, they use FPS limiters in order to get crossfire to work well, without stutter. If you have to reduce the frame rate in order for a good experience, their FPS advantage is lost, and probably at a disadvantage.

 

[metalent]

Yes, they are. They are about 5%-8% slower than a 680.

They also do a good job at metering the frames in SLI. As some have mentioned, they use FPS limiters in order to get crossfire to work well, without stutter. If you have to reduce the frame rate in order for a good experience, their FPS advantage is lost, and probably at a disadvantage.

Just out of curiosity, what would've made you choose the 670 over your 680s?

 

[bystander]

Just out of curiosity, what would've made you choose the 670 over your 680s?

Price to performance ratio. When I got the 680's, they were a good deal compared to others in its performance range, they aren't so great of a deal now, not that I'm complaining.

If its all about performance, I'd go with 680's even now.

 

[metalent]

Price to performance ratio. When I got the 680's, they were a good deal compared to others in its performance range, they aren't so great of a deal now, not that I'm complaining.

If its all about performance, I'd go with 680's even now.

Is EVGA still the go-to for nvidia? I know they are pretty reliable, I've had my 470 since it came out, and its been fine. I've read Asus does pretty well, along with the Gigabyte cards. Like I said in my first post, I'd really like to go with the "coolest card" because i'm tired of having to run my fan so high. lol

 

[CaptainTom]

Price to performance ratio. When I got the 680's, they were a good deal compared to others in its performance range, they aren't so great of a deal now, not that I'm complaining.

If its all about performance, I'd go with 680's even now.

Odd considering the 7970 GHz is clearly stronger, but you are right that they weren't always overpriced.

 

[bystander]

Odd considering the 7970 GHz is clearly stronger, but you are right that they weren't always overpriced.

As many who use Crossfire will tell you, you either use v-sync or a fps-limiter in order to avoid stuttering. If you are limiting your FPS, does crossfire actually have higher performance?

Perhaps it'll improve soon, but I'm going on the current information.

 

[CaptainTom]

That

As many who use Crossfire will tell you, you either use v-sync or a fps-limiter in order to avoid stuttering. If you are limiting your FPS, does crossfire actually have higher performance?

Perhaps it'll improve soon, but I'm going on the current information.

That isn't true. One of the biggeat benifits of crossfire is the increase in minimum framerate. For instance my 7970 GHz is overall around 10-20% stronger than my old 6950 cf, but my minimum framerates in metro 2033 went down from a (high for that game) 40 FPS to about 25 fps. Also in borderlands 2 I used one 6950 with vsync but it sometimes dropped to 40 fps in intense fights. When I enabled crossfire that didn't happen anymore. Sorry but crossfire was great in my experience even though I had one in a x1 slot!

 

[bystander]

Crossfire rarely helps minimum FPS, as those are usually CPU bound issues, but that isn't what I'm talking about anyways.

 

[CaptainTom]

Crossfire rarely helps minimum FPS, as those are usually CPU bound issues.

Lol it wasnt cpu bount. When I switched to my 7970 I overclocked my cpu as well so no. Say what you want, but I have experienced these things first hand. There is no reason crossfire would not increase minimums by a lot.

 

[bystander]

Minimum FPS wasn't even what I was talking about anyways. Microstutter, hitching, jitterying, that is what I was talking about. Many people use FPS limiters to fix it on Crossfire setups, even if YOU don't.

Just because you don't seem to be bothered about microstutter, doesn't mean others aren't. Even BigMack70 uses a FPS limiter to avoid stuttering. Look at the article on the crossfire issue, the comments are full of "Just use a FPS limiter".

If you aren't notice it, it may be due to v-sync or you don't care. The tests are without v-sync, though v-sync is a limiter too. How they compare with v-sync is in question as well. Luckly, the full article, when it is done, is suppose to include v-sync numbers, good or bad (7970's may do good in v-sync, we just don't know yet).

Either way, the end result matters more than FPS unless you benchmark.

 

[geneticallygenius]

I would recommend 670's in SLI.

1. They are cheaper.

2. The difference between 670 SLI and 680 SLI in most games is 4 fps.
Lol , who wants to spend an extra 50-70 dollars for that 4ps diffference.


At the moment, Gtx 670 SLI's are the way to go, especially on resolutions of 1920x 1080p

However, if you planning on gaming on 2560p or triple monitor setup , then you should crossfire a couple of 7970's : )

 

[CaptainTom]

Minimum FPS wasn't even what I was talking about anyways. Microstutter, hitching, jitterying, that is what I was talking about. Many people use FPS limiters to fix it on Crossfire setups, even if YOU don't.

Just because you don't seem to be bothered about microstutter, doesn't mean others aren't. Even BigMack70 uses a FPS limiter to avoid stuttering. Look at the article on the crossfire issue, the comments are full of "Just use a FPS limiter".

If you aren't notice it, it may be due to v-sync or you don't care. The tests are without v-sync, though v-sync is a limiter too. How they compare with v-sync is in question as well. Luckly, the full article, when it is done, is suppose to include v-sync numbers, good or bad (7970's may do good in v-sync, we just don't know yet).

Either way, the end result matters more than FPS unless you benchmark.

Maybe you don't know, but I and anyone who bothers to check does know. AMD has fixed the lattency and stuttering problems. Look up crysis 3's lattency tests abd you will see AMD beating Nvidia half the time. WAKE UP! Your 680's are great, but there are not infallible.