Is my GTX 670 under-performing or am I just not setting it right?

[Luke Hector]

I was hoping to have some really big improvements with my new GTX 670 Power Edition in terms of FPS to justify the 120hz monitor I now have.

However playing Tomb Raider and having FRAPS on, the FPS seems to fluctuate between 50 and 70 all the time not a huge increase from before. MSI is set as follows:

Core Voltage +100
Power Limit +114
Core Clock +200
Memory Clock +800

GPU temperature is fairly low though - it's a very well ventilated case and it's MSI so even in a detailed area it was only around the 40 degree mark.

In the game, I was running the graphics on ULTRA setting which doesn't even put TressFx on. If I put the game into Ultimate mode with TressFx - the FPS hangs around 45-50.

Should I be perhaps overclocking the card some more or is there a specific setting on the graphics that should be turned off as it makes no noticeable difference but slows the game down? Or am I simply over-reaching myself here and mistaking high 75-100 FPS rates for older games?

I want to get the full potential from this card and not feel like I gimped myself by not buying the 680 GTX or forgoing the chance to play in 3D (yet to test out) and getting the 7970's.

I'm no expert on graphics as this is the first time I've gone into overclocking cards beyond the stock figures or caring this much about FPS rates!

 

[cookybiscuit]

Do a run of Unigine Valley with 8x AA at 1080p, you should get something like 45-50FPS, depending on your overclock and CPU. Also its meaningless to say you've got +200 on the core, because all 670's (even ones of the same brand) clock their-selves differently. Use the Afterburner OSD to see what you're actually at. I'm at 1254/3506 and get 48FPS in Valley, see what you get.

I wouldn't expect massive performance increases from a 670, 20% if that, the stupid voltage lock stops you from getting too far. Also TressFX isn't supported on Nvidia cards, so don't use it.

 

[bystander]

Tomb Raider, The Witchter 2, Crysis 3, Far Cry 3 (to a lesser extent) and a few other high end games are just very demanding games. You will not be able to get super high FPS in those specific games, while other games will be a lot easier. You can lower settings, and you should never use more than 4x MSAA if your goal is fluidity, even if it isn't, anything more is hard to distinguish. Your CPU also plays a part in your FPS. Some games will bottleneck, even with the fastest CPU's available, they just won't let you go much higher than 60 FPS, such as in Crysis 3 and Crysis 1.

In games which are highly CPU demanding, that stop you from taking full advantage of your GPU, I find 3D is not affected, as 3D caps out at 60 FPS, and even though you are making 2 images per frame, those two images share CPU info, so are not bottlenecked as long as you can get to 60 FPS normally.

 

[Luke Hector]

I'll have to download Unigine Valley overnight.

Looking at the OSD over my Tomb Raider Ultra setting game just played, the max I got was 1385/3802. Max temperature was 64 degrees - no issues seen in game. Maybe would be best to turn auto fan off and set a minimum level?

 

[bystander]

I'll have to download Unigine Valley overnight.

Looking at the OSD over my Tomb Raider Ultra setting game just played, the max I got was 1385/3802. Max temperature was 64 degrees - no issues seen in game. Maybe would be best to turn auto fan off and set a minimum level?

Those are great temps, and as long as it isn't too noisy, I wouldn't change the fan profile.

 

[cookybiscuit]

I'll have to download Unigine Valley overnight.

Looking at the OSD over my Tomb Raider Ultra setting game just played, the max I got was 1385/3802.

If thats accurate, lucky you, thats an ungodly overclock, people struggle to get that with a flashed BIOS and huge overvolt.

 

[Luke Hector]

I promise I'll get a conclusive answer soon - been a bit busy lately but I have downloaded Unigine Valley and will give it the beans at some stage maybe over Easter.

For a quick query now though I'm trying to sell the old gear - the E2773HD 27inch monitor and the Radeon MSI Power Edition 6950 2GB GPU. Currently on Ebay for about £175-£200 for the monitor and £75-£125 for the GPU. Someone has out of the blue offered me £100 for the GPU (not inc postage) - would you say that was a fair price for a second hand 6950 that's been in use for about 18 months?

Effectively that will mean it cost me approx £230 to get the GTX MSI PE 670 inclusive of VAT, but I can get VAT/tax back so we're talking a net cost of £120.