Can't chose my next GPU.

[Zaraky]

Ok, I've got a problem. I started a new build consisting of;

Case: Silverstone FT02
CPU: I7-3770k
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14
PSU: Seasonic Platinum 860w. or Seasonic 750w gold.
Memory: Gskill 4x4gb 1600 sniper 1.5
Mobo: SUS P8Z77-V PRO/THUNDERBOLT
SSD: Samsung 830 256gb.

Monitor Setup right now:
Dell 3007wfp 30"@1600p and Toshiba 32" at 1080p.

I'm planning if it'sa worth it to get 2 20" in a while or wait for the new korean screen for 120hz in 1440p if possible.

So right now, the problem is what GPU to use. I've been suggested the 4GB version some say 2GB will do as well and that I should get 670 since 680 premium isn't worth it.

I don't know what to do... there's isnt much choice in the 4gb 670 lot. It's either Gigabyte and Evga and Zotac. Zotac seem to have problem, so it's left to gigabyte and EVGA. Some people say EVGA are "reference card" and that the cooling and ect isn't so great. and Gigabyte 670 4gb is back order...

I also got told to get 7970 3gb instead but I'm a little scared of ATI and their past with driver problem...

So there, I'm totally confuse on what to do and what to get. Pay the premium and go with 680? Buy a 2GB Asus DCII 670, or 2 maybe. Wait for gigabyte or maybe get a evga ftw 4gb * if they exist) otherwise superclocked.

I'll be gaming at 2560x1600p right now, until I either get 20" or new screen setup for surround. I guess if I just stay at my 30" reso and don't go multiple scren just one asus 670 2gb will be enough if I overclock it... But this would just ruin my futur possible of multiple screen setup no?

Really, I'm at lost of idea lol. Hope you guys on Video card forum can help me, thank in advance!

 

[CthulhuDreams]

I'm running 3 screen on 5760x1080. With a single GTX 680 Lightning 2GB I can easily get 70 to 100+ fps in BF3(max settings). Of cos, with SLI its even better.

while my other PC(single 1080p screen) using 7970 3GB ref card. I feel that 680 got more juice over 7970.

 

[Forceman]

If you want to run multiple monitors, you really need to consider SLI. You can do it with a single card, but it isn't really going to be optimal (although it depends how highly you value MSAA and higher graphics settings). I'd say get a 2GB 670 now, and then if you decide to go multi-monitor you can add another one at that time. The 2GB isn't going to hold you back substantially.

CrossFire 7970s is another good option (or really even 7950s now that they have the new BIOS and price) if you don't mind going with AMD.

 

[Phishy714]

CrossFire 7970s is another good option (or really even 7950s now that they have the new BIOS and price) if you don't mind going with AMD.

This is a hit or miss AT BEST. Sooooooo many people are having problems with drivers when it comes to eyefinity + Crossfire.

I would stick with Nvidia if you wanted to try dual cards + multi monitor.

Ask Dan, the head of the motherboard dept. here @ Hardocp

 

[Final8ty]

This is a hit or miss AT BEST. Sooooooo many people are having problems with drivers when it comes to eyefinity + Crossfire.

I would stick with Nvidia if you wanted to try dual cards + multi monitor.

Ask Dan, the head of the motherboard dept. here @ Hardocp

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18434505

And 3 times has NV had drivers that have out right killed cards and yet people are scared of AMD drivers.

 

[Phishy714]

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18434505

And 3 times has NV had drivers that have out right killed cards and yet people are scared of AMD drivers.

While I am not saying that either is perfect...

At least Nvidia (this time around) has working drivers. Those drivers were from early releases that went wrong. Definitely bad, but fixed.

AMD has had like 3-4 months over Nvidia to fix theirs, and.... still no fix.

Honestly, this is my first generation of cards that I have gone with Nvidia over AMD. I have heard and dreaded all of the old Nvidia Driver nightmares of the past - they have been downright awful. Unfortunately, this go around, they have AMD beat in the driver department - as far as Multi Card/ Multi Monitor goes.

 

[Dan_D]

Both companies have had some terrible drivers over the years and good drivers. I've had positive experiences with both AMD and NVIDIA cards. I can enumerate all the ways both comapnies suck, but I don't think it's necessary.

It is true that trying to make Radeon HD 7970's work in my system with Eyefinity was a nightmare and a half. Switching to NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 4GB cards was the eventual solution. But not everyone's experience will be the same. There are too many variables to consider.

 

[Final8ty]

While I am not saying that either is perfect...

At least Nvidia (this time around) has working drivers. Those drivers were from early releases that went wrong. Definitely bad, but fixed.

AMD has had like 3-4 months over Nvidia to fix theirs, and.... still no fix.

Honestly, this is my first generation of cards that I have gone with Nvidia over AMD. I have heard and dreaded all of the old Nvidia Driver nightmares of the past - they have been downright awful. Unfortunately, this go around, they have AMD beat in the driver department - as far as Multi Card/ Multi Monitor goes.

AMDs scaling is better and it seems that things have turned the corner with 12.8 and is in regards to the 7xxx series.

And NV has had at least 3 card killer drivers, when will the next one be.

 

[Tsumi]

In my experience and from what I've seen, just using Crossfire/SLI (two GPUs only) is relatively trouble-free. It's when you get to tri/quad GPUs that things start getting out of hand.

 

[Dan_D]

In my experience and from what I've seen, just using Crossfire/SLI (two GPUs only) is relatively trouble-free. It's when you get to tri/quad GPUs that things start getting out of hand.

Funny thing is, I had no trouble with 8800GTX's and GTX 280's in 3-Way SLI. I can't say the same thing for 9800GX2 Quad-SLI though.

 

[J Macker]

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18434505

And 3 times has NV had drivers that have out right killed cards and yet people are scared of AMD drivers.

QFT. nVidia fans seem to forget...

Not only did they release drivers that actually KILLED hardware, but they released hardware that was prone to failure due to the use of lead-free solder & craptastic manufacturing.

Geforce 7xxx mobile series anybody? Laptop manufacturers had to recall tens of thousands of laptops.

 

[Dan_D]

QFT. nVidia fans seem to forget...

Not only did they release drivers that actually KILLED hardware, but they released hardware that was prone to failure due to the use of lead-free solder & craptastic manufacturing.

Geforce 7xxx mobile series anybody? Laptop manufacturers had to recall tens of thousands of laptops.

I don't forget most of the really bad driver issues. I still remember people getting boned on 7900GZ2 / 7950GX2 cards with Windows Vista. Basically they only got to use one GPU on the card. Not two. So their $500+ cards were turned into $200 8800GT 512MB cards for a time there. Forget Quad-SLI in Windows Vista either.

A list of offenses (partial)

NVIDIA

• Poor driver support for Windows Vista at launch and for some time afterwards.
• 9800GX2 Quad-SLI scaling problems
• 9800GX2 microstutters from hell.
• Drivers that actually fried GTX 590 cards.
• EDID issues abound.
• Delayed 3-Way SLI compatibility with Intel D5400XS / Skulltrail platform
• Non-functioning PCIe gen 3.0 compatibility for GTX 680 / 690
• NVSurround doesn't work in Mass Effect 3 without Widescreenfixer, yet Eyefinity is fine without it.
• Hardware acceleration issues with Flash / videos

AMD

• Cursor corruption with multiple monitors. (Issue still exists today)
• Consistent Crossfire / CrossfireX scaling issues across multiple generations. (Often results in negative scaling.)
• Displayport madness with dropping monitors, signal loss, etc. (Worse when using active dual-link DVI to mini-DP adapters.)
• EDID issues abound,
• Hardware acceleration issues with Flash / videos
• Stuttering HDMI audio (drivers after 12.4)
• ULPS issue with CrossfireX configurations resulting in second card not showing clock readings, temps, etc. Also must be disabled for CrossfireX to work in some cases at all.

Let's not forget that both of them have terrible uninstallers. Both have lousy fan control setups and other issues. So if you want to get technical both AMD and NVIDIA suck ass. They both have shitty drivers and if your having problems with one vendor, switch to the other and everything will be fine until the next generation comes out and you get to play the guessing game again.

 

[Final8ty]

In my experience and from what I've seen, just using Crossfire/SLI (two GPUs only) is relatively trouble-free. It's when you get to tri/quad GPUs that things start getting out of hand.

All on 30" 2650x1600
1900xt CF.
3870 CF, TRI and Quad.
5970 Quad.

Really none of them gave me much trouble and i will be going Quad next time too.

I have never disabled ULPS.
Flash issue i would not know as i have HW cceleration issues with Flash / videos on web browsers disabled as i don't want my clocks to run at UVD while gaming.
Negative scaling is also an issue for NV.

 

[Dan_D]

All on 30" 2650x1600
1900xt CF.
3870 CF, TRI and Quad.
5970 Quad.

Really none of them gave me much trouble and i will be going Quad next time too.

I've had pretty good luck with SLI and Crossfire for the most part. Though the 4870x2 was a nightmare for me and I couldn't get a single card or CrossfireX working all that well. The 7970's gave me a ton of problems and I never bothered with the 5970 in Quad-SLI. They had piss poor scaling for way too long. I did enjoy the experience with the one card though.

On the SLI side I've had the 9800GX2's in Quad-SLI and that wasn't so great. I have had a couple 3-Way SLI setups and those worked well for me. I'll probably get a third GTX 680 4GB card in the near future.

 

[rmfa]

I would love to have a 27'' 120Hz panel! It would be hard to give up my Alienware but for a 27'' 120 it would be easy! These 680s are amazing. You can't go wrong with them.

 

[Final8ty]

I've had pretty good luck with SLI and Crossfire for the most part. Though the 4870x2 was a nightmare for me and I couldn't get a single card or CrossfireX working all that well. The 7970's gave me a ton of problems and I never bothered with the 5970 in Quad-SLI. They had piss poor scaling for way too long. I did enjoy the experience with the one card though.

On the SLI side I've had the 9800GX2's in Quad-SLI and that wasn't so great. I have had a couple 3-Way SLI setups and those worked well for me. I'll probably get a third GTX 680 4GB card in the near future.

5970 Quad i jumped on right at the end when things got sorted.

The 3870x2 and 4870x2 i avoided.

This is on early drivers 10.3. and CPU bottleneck driver overhead in a few games even at 2560x1600
Tri Fire Tri SLI is the sweet spot for sure and at least quad 5970 does not drop below Tri Fire to often when not scaling as much as it could.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/ARES_CrossFire/2.html

Running ARES CrossFire is not done by getting two of those cards. As mentioned before you will need a motherboard with enough spacing between the slots. Next you should have a fast monster CPU, our 3.8 GHz Core i7 is CPU limited in some benchmarks with dual ARES. So better look for something in the 4.5 GHz range. We already talked about monitors in the single card review, without a 2560x1600 30" display or an EyeFinity setup there is no need for the ARES. Finally, make sure you get a good power supply with loads of connectors. Our testing shows a maximum power draw per card of 450 W which means you should plan with 800 W for your CrossFire setup, add CPU and the rest of the system on top of that and 1200 W is a reasonable minimum to go for. The requirement of 4x PCI-E 8-pin and 2x PCI-E 6 pin power connectors is something not even all 1 kW+ power supplies provide, make sure to check on that while shopping.

I have the 2x5970 Sapphire Toxic 4GB 900/1200 Quadfire equivalent.

 

[Zaraky]

Holy, got alot fo anweres lmao. But ti seem to have developped into a amd/nvidia fight haha. So it seem nvidia is better due to driver?

Will a asus gtx670 be enough for 20" 30" 20" PLP setup? If so I'll get one or maybe a gigabyte then go into sli. Won't the 2GB bottleneck if I go into max setting for game?

 

[J Macker]

I still remember people getting boned on 7900GZ2 / 7950GX2 cards with Windows Vista. Basically they only got to use one GPU on the card. Not two. So their $500+ cards were turned into $200 8800GT 512MB cards for a time there.

I forgot about that!

A list of offenses (partial)
AMD

• Cursor corruption with multiple monitors. (Issue still exists today)
• Displayport madness with dropping monitors, signal loss, etc. (Worse when using active dual-link DVI to mini-DP adapters.)

• 
  
  Agreed. I've encountered those AMD issues. All my issues are gone now with a single card and one LCD. Gee, we should all be "normal".
  
  

  So if you want to get technical both AMD and NVIDIA suck ass. They both have shitty drivers and if your having problems with one vendor, switch to the other and everything will be fine until the next generation comes out and you get to play the guessing game again.

  
  Yep. Which is why it amazes me that I see so many more people being so adamently vocal about nVidia's driver's being "better".
  
  I haven't had any game-stopping issues with either team's drivers.
  *knock on wood*
  
  ...Though the AMD cursor bug sure pissed me off!

 

[J Macker]

So it seem nvidia is better due to driver?

No. It depends on the user and how much of a fanboy you are. Driver arguments are dumb.

 

[Final8ty]

Holy, got alot fo anweres lmao. But ti seem to have developped into a amd/nvidia fight haha. So it seem nvidia is better due to driver?

Will a asus gtx670 be enough for 20" 30" 20" PLP setup? If so I'll get one or maybe a gigabyte then go into sli. Won't the 2GB bottleneck if I go into max setting for game?

I use 20" 30" 20" PLP , but neither NV or AMD support it in games.
You need SoftTH or running a game in a window at 4960x1600 if that game supports it and you wont be maxing hardly any games on a single GPU.

 

[Zaraky]

I use 20" 30" 20" PLP , but neither NV or AMD support it in games.
You need SoftTH or running a game in a window at 4960x1600 if that game supports it and you wont be maxing hardly any games on a single GPU.

That setup is for in a while, need to pay the comptuer then I'll get a sli then screen. I don't know if I'll go for PLP setup or 3 120hz monitor for 3d( always wanted to try it). So Obviously if I go for either I'd need sli, but right now for ym 30" gamign one 670 will be fine and when I want to move to PLP/3moniroe, sli will be needed. but the question remain about the 2GB bottleneck or if I really got to wait/get 4gb version. Or either go with amd.

and with SoftTH, is there alot fo game supporitng this or it's mainly breoken for most game?

 

[Final8ty]

Its a hard choice as 3 120hz monitors for 3d sounds great and the least hassle.
https://www.wsgf.org/forum