We already know that Nvidia's GeForce GTX 690 sports two GK104s and is priced at $1000. But hardware like this is fun to read about. Oh, you actually want to buy one? Expect performance just shy of two GTX 680s in SLI, and good luck tracking one down!
G.Skill 16 GB (4 x 4 GB) DDR3-1600, F3-12800CL9Q2-32GBZL @ 9-9-9-24 and 1.5 V
Hard Drive
Intel SSDSC2MH250A2 250 GB SATA 6Gb/s
Graphics
Nvidia GeForce GTX 690 4 GB
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2 x Nvidia GeForce GTX 680 2 GB
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2 x AMD Radeon HD 7970 3 GB
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AMD Radeon HD 7950 3 GB
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AMD Radeon HD 6990 4 GB
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Nvidia GeForce GTX 590 3 GB
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Nvidia GeForce GTX 580 1.5 GB
Power Supply
Cooler Master UCP-1000 W
System Software And Drivers
Operating System
Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
DirectX
DirectX 11
Graphics Driver
Nvidia GeForce Release 301.33 (For GTX 690)
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Nvidia GeForce Release 300.99 and 301.10 (For GTX 680)
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Nvidia GeForce Release 296.10 (For GTX 580 and 590)
Row 18 - Cell 0
AMD Catalyst 12.2 (For HD 7950 and HD 6990)
Row 19 - Cell 0
AMD Catalyst 12.4 (For HD 7970)
As a rule, we do our testing with the latest drivers each time we start a new story. This ensures that any fixes or performance improvements introduced by a software update get reflected in our coverage.
This time around, however, we don't have that luxury. So, the GeForce GTX 690 is tested using Nvidia's new 301.33 build. From there, we spot-checked the GeForce GTX 680 on its own and in SLI using the public 301.10 release. Then, we did the same thing with AMD's Radeon HD 7970 in one- and two-card configurations using Catalyst 12.4.
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Games
Battlefield 3
Ultra Quality Settings, No AA / 16x AF, 4x MSAA / 16x AF, v-sync off, 1920x1080 / 2560x1600 / 5760x1080, DirectX 11, Going Hunting, 90-second playback, Fraps
Crysis 2
DirectX 9 / DirectX 11, Ultra System Spec, v-sync off, 1920x1080 / 2560x1600 / 5760x1080, No AA / No AF, Central Park, High-Resolution Textures: On
Metro 2033
High Quality Settings, AAA / 4x AF, 4x MSAA / 16x AF, 1920x1080 / 2560x1600 / 5760x1080, Built-in Benchmark, Depth of Field filter Disabled, Steam version
DiRT 3
Ultra High Settings, No AA / No AF, 8x AA / No AF, 1920x1080 / 2560x1600 / 5760x1080, Steam version, Built-In Benchmark Sequence, DX 11
Ultra Quality Settings, No AA / 16x AF, 8x AA / 16x AF, From Crushblow to The Krazzworks, 1920x1080 / 2560x1600 / 5760x1080, Fraps, DirectX 11 Rendering, x64 Client
SiSoftware Sandra 2012
Sandra Tech Support (Engineer) 2012.SP4, GP Processing and GP Bandwidth Modules
LuxMark 2.0
64-bit Binary, Version 1.0, Room Scene
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I wonder, given the price of the 690, just how limited the quanitities will be. Which brings up another question, one that Nvidia (and AMD as well) would probably be reluctant to answer: are they making and shipping fewer of the top-shelf Halo cards today than they did 5 or six years ago?
....... Lamborghini’s Reventón ...... +infinity for mentioning that work of art T_T didn't even read the article until after I got my fix for the Lamborghini’s Reventón on the net haha. That car may be the only proof left to us of the old gods, in particular Mercury (god of transport) lol
LaHawzel680s are already nearly nonexistent, so I expect these 690s to be just as mythical and hard-to-find as the Radeon 6990.
6990 aren't that hard to find. Back in January before the 7000 series came out, you could easily pick one or two up. I am pretty sure in 6 month, the 690 will be easy to grab.
