Getting new GPU..$400+ to spend...670 Direct CUII?

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NathanP2007

[H]ard|Gawd
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Dec 17, 2007
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So the title basically says it all. I sold my two 2Gb 6950's (unlocked shaders) and got $435. So my budget it basically that all the way to $500. From what i have read, the 670 is a STEAL, performing basically at the 680 level for $100 less. But is it THE GPU to buy? Is there still a arguement for the 7970 or 680 or anything? Or is it 670 all the way no question?

I am currently looking at the Asus DirectCUII 670, i read its review and it sure seemed to be a amazing card in every category. Is there a argument for one of the other 670's? (I assume its worth the extra $10 for the "Top" factory OC'ed version?)

(Some info if needed, i game 1080P on a single screen, and also i am not looking to get a blower fan type GPU)
 
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NathanP2007

30 seconds lol ? such a pedant :))) i really loled :))) how much i have to pay for your 30 seconds ? :))
 
NathanP2007

if you are overclocker then just buy fu kin reference model and overclock it to the hell !!! don't waste your money then ~!
 
Overall, the 670 is probably the high end value buy right now. Get a reference model or if you don't mind it sending exhaust heat into your case and have no plan to water cool then go for just about any card where the board has extra VRMs, where the bios allows for extra range in the power control, and has a dual or triple side fan arrangement.

Remember and unlike with AMD where powertune is capped at +20% for all cards, the AIBs for NVidia are setting 670s and 680s with variable levels of power throttling. The higher you can go without have to physically mod the card, the more likely you are to be able to overclock higher.
 
brandon888 said:
NathanP2007

if you are overclocker then just buy fu kin reference model and overclock it to the hell !!! don't waste your money then ~!
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Yet again...who said anything about overclocking?

Teenyman45 said:
Overall, the 670 is probably the high end value buy right now. Get a reference model or if you don't mind it sending exhaust heat into your case and have no plan to water cool then go for just about any card where the board has extra VRMs, where the bios allows for extra range in the power control, and has a dual or triple side fan arrangement.

Remember and unlike with AMD where powertune is capped at +20% for all cards, the AIBs for NVidia are setting 670s and 680s with variable levels of power throttling. The higher you can go without have to physically mod the card, the more likely you are to be able to overclock higher.
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Thanks! Finally a real answer. I have a tech bench hence my wanting the dual/triple side fan setup, no need at all for a blower. So does anyone have any knowledge on how much more the 670 DirectCUII Top can be overclocked?
Is that AMD cap vs Nvidia a good thing for Nvidia or a bad? (If you cant tell lol, i havent OC'ed a GPU before).
 
I had a 680 and was very happy with it but felt it was a lot of money to spend for a video card so I resold it and lost zero money on it. I would say the 680 might hold its value better than the 670 but other than that I wouldn't worry about buying a 670. You will be happy with it.
 
DJ Big T said:
I had a 680 and was very happy with it but felt it was a lot of money to spend for a video card so I resold it and lost zero money on it. I would say the 680 might hold its value better than the 670 but other than that I wouldn't worry about buying a 670. You will be happy with it.
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Dont you think its the opposite? The 680 being so over priced (performs minimally better than the 670) for $100+ more than a 670? Wouldnt that mean no one would want to buy them even used for $480 or $500 when you can buy a new 670 for $400?

Wont the 670 hold up its pricing the best like the 2Gb 6950 Reference did because it was fairly priced and was the best bang for buck? Therefore its demand was always high even 1-2 years after release?
 
The Gigabyte Windforce 670 OC is another good choice. It will work just as well as the ASUS card and people have shown they overclock really well and stay cool at the same time. You can also get them for $399.
 
fwrigley said:
The Gigabyte Windforce 670 OC is another good choice. It will work just as well as the ASUS card and people have shown they overclock really well and stay cool at the same time. You can also get them for $399.
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Yeah that seems to really be the only other competitor. There arent any reviews up on newegg but there are for the Windforce and for some it seems to have issues. :/
 
NathanP2007 said:
Yeah that seems to really be the only other competitor. There arent any reviews up on newegg but there are for the Windforce and for some it seems to have issues. :/
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I always take Newegg reviews with a grain of salt. There are a lot of idiots out there. Of all the posts in the GTX670 OC thread there was only one real dud of a Windforce that wouldn't boost over 1200 MHz. I am sure Asus will be in the same territory, just cost a little bit more and be harder to get right now.
 
One thing to note is that these Direct CU II cards appear to be hardware voltage locked. If this is a non-issue for you, then the card will be a great buy. Otherwise, if you are an aggressive OCer, expect to have to do hardware mods to unlock this (and likely void your warranty).
 
hyperion0101 said:
One thing to note is that these Direct CU II cards appear to be hardware voltage locked. If this is a non-issue for you, then the card will be a great buy. Otherwise, if you are an aggressive OCer, expect to have to do hardware mods to unlock this (and likely void your warranty).
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Interesting. Yeah im not sure...i have never OC'ed a GPU, however in my head i was kinda preparing for this next GPU to be the first i actually tried it on. Funny if i end up going with a DirectCU II considering as you are saying, you cant OC it.

I guess the question is what clocks does a OC'ed 670 Gigabyte Windforce get compared to the Top Asus card.

Asus DirectCU II Top: Core Clock: 1058Mhz, Boost Clock: 1157Mhz
Gigabyte Windforce: Core Clock: 980Mhz, Boost Clock: 1058Mhz

So whats a typical Gigabyte overclock? And then i have to decide if thats worth the $30.
 
My Gigabyte Windforce 670 is overclocked to 1270/7516MHz completely stable and runs 64c in almost every game with the auto fan profile. I think I've seen it hit 67c once or twice, but not for long.
 
Blkout said:
My Gigabyte Windforce 670 is overclocked to 1270/7516MHz completely stable and runs 64c in almost every game with the auto fan profile. I think I've seen it hit 67c once or twice, but not for long.
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That 7516MHz the memory clock? Is that normal for it to be a whole 1000MHz higher than the stock effective memory clock? Nice tho! 64C is no problem, my 6950 currently gets 62c when gaming. How many more FPS you think that translates to compared to the DirectCU II Top? only a few or like 10?
 
NathanP2007 said:
Interesting. Yeah im not sure...i have never OC'ed a GPU, however in my head i was kinda preparing for this next GPU to be the first i actually tried it on. Funny if i end up going with a DirectCU II considering as you are saying, you cant OC it.
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You can OC it - but just not to the card's true potential. It will oc to whatever speed you can get at the voltage lock point.

Edit:
If it means anything to you though, I personally will be skipping this card. I'm interested in the MSI Lightning 680 and the 670 counterpart.
 
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Blkout said:
My Gigabyte Windforce 670 is overclocked to 1270/7516MHz completely stable and runs 64c in almost every game with the auto fan profile. I think I've seen it hit 67c once or twice, but not for long.
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We won't be able to tell how well this chip OCs until we get more people with samples. However, the cooler performance should be pretty comparable to the other DC IIs.
 
hyperion0101 said:
We won't be able to tell how well this chip OCs until we get more people with samples. However, the cooler performance should be pretty comparable to the other DC IIs.
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Yeah i was kinda assuming that they would be neck and neck in terms of cooling. That obviously makes sense, but personally i will have to really think about if i want to wait to hear those results, i cant use my 6950 on my new Z77 UD5H because its shaders unlocked and apparently that glitches out the system, and my backup GPU is a GTS-250 which isnt up to snuff to play BF3 or Skyrim. At the same time i have to realistically contemplate if i want to OC a GPU..having never done it before..maybe i just want a factory OC and be ignorant to the performance increase i could have gotten OC'ing it more/getting the Windforce and OC'ing it. Then again from what i have gathered..OC'ing a GPU is as easy as sliding the little slidey things in Afterburner...Damn decisions.
 
Thanks for this thread NathanP2007. I recently got a GTX480 for $250... While it runs everything butter smooth that thing is a friggin space heater getting temps up to 90C!!! Not to mention it gets loud as a small hair drier.

I think I'll take it back as soon as I can get a gigabyte GTX670 windforce. That seems to be the best one out from the bit of reading I've done on them. I ***THINK*** that the gigabyte 670 windforce is built on a GTX680 reference board?
 
pwrusr said:
Thanks for this thread NathanP2007. I recently got a GTX480 for $250... While it runs everything butter smooth that thing is a friggin space heater getting temps up to 90C!!! Not to mention it gets loud as a small hair drier.

I think I'll take it back as soon as I can get a gigabyte GTX670 windforce. That seems to be the best one out from the bit of reading I've done on them. I ***THINK*** that the gigabyte 670 windforce is built on a GTX680 reference board?
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Lol after all the help you've given me on my PSU threads and other assorted threads? No problem! Yeah i read that its built on the 680's PCB as well, though i wasnt sure if the same was true for the DirectCU II or not. Yeah i am kinda leaning with you now, it has the perfect fan setup (as does the DirectCU II) yet its $20-30 cheaper...OC's like a beast...seems to be full of win.
 
NathanP2007 said:
Yeah i was kinda assuming that they would be neck and neck in terms of cooling. That obviously makes sense, but personally i will have to really think about if i want to wait to hear those results, i cant use my 6950 on my new Z77 UD5H because its shaders unlocked and apparently that glitches out the system, and my backup GPU is a GTS-250 which isnt up to snuff to play BF3 or Skyrim. At the same time i have to realistically contemplate if i want to OC a GPU..having never done it before..maybe i just want a factory OC and be ignorant to the performance increase i could have gotten OC'ing it more/getting the Windforce and OC'ing it. Then again from what i have gathered..OC'ing a GPU is as easy as sliding the little slidey things in Afterburner...Damn decisions.
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The factory OC and even high end OC's don't result in a huge difference in performance. It's not as big as CPUs. But it's not insignificant either; really it's up to you. If you don't feel comfortable OCing, well this might be the perfect card for you. Good price:performance, good cooling with that big triple cooler, and a custom PCB with higher than reference quality performance.
 
NathanP2007 said:
Thanks! Finally a real answer. I have a tech bench hence my wanting the dual/triple side fan setup, no need at all for a blower. So does anyone have any knowledge on how much more the 670 DirectCUII Top can be overclocked?
Is that AMD cap vs Nvidia a good thing for Nvidia or a bad? (If you cant tell lol, i havent OC'ed a GPU before).
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Asus has been a bit of a let down with this generation's chips when it comes to cherry picking choice chips for custom cards. Neither the 7970 DCUII nor the 680 DCUII have had any special edge in overclocking. The other card makers are not much better (probably because yields are so low) It really does seem to be pure random luck with the K104 chips as they are already so stripped down and specialized for game FPS dominance.

As far as the power cap, I was just using AMD as a reference where all 69xx and 79xx cards have +20% in powertune. On NVidia boards I have seen reviews where the power increase was anywhere from a 12% cap to at least a 32% cap before nanny routines throttle the card. Some of the sponsored extreme overclockers have physically modified the card boards and coded custom BIOSs to boost well over 100%. For a given chip, the higher that maximum the more likely you are to be able to overclock further... with the attendant risk of burning out your card.
 
NathanP2007 said:
That 7516MHz the memory clock? Is that normal for it to be a whole 1000MHz higher than the stock effective memory clock? Nice tho! 64C is no problem, my 6950 currently gets 62c when gaming. How many more FPS you think that translates to compared to the DirectCU II Top? only a few or like 10?
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I don't know why this generation of DDR5 chips are overclocking so well. The AMD and Nvidia cards are getting 1GHz over their rated speed, but mine seems to be a bit better for sure. Just luck of the draw.
 
Looks like your on the right track, regardless of your cooler preference make sure to get the higher quality GTX 670 that are built on the 680 PCB. We could probably use a list somewhere in this thread. I know there are pictures showing that the eVGA FTW GTX 670 edition is on the 680 PCB, but that one doesn't meet your cooling requirements. Oh and based on pictures of that Asus card you mention it looks to also be on the 680 PCB, if you can find it I'd get it.
 
Relativist said:
Looks like your on the right track, regardless of your cooler preference make sure to get the higher quality GTX 670 that are built on the 680 PCB. We could probably use a list somewhere in this thread. I know there are pictures showing that the eVGA FTW GTX 670 edition is on the 680 PCB, but that one doesn't meet your cooling requirements. Oh and based on pictures of that Asus card you mention it looks to also be on the 680 PCB, if you can find it I'd get it.
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I think the choice for me is going to boil down to the Gigabyte or the EVGA FTW. both seem to be the best 670's on the market for a few bucks more then the other cards on market.
 
Gigabyte's 680 is my current card and it's wonderful. I can imagine the 670 is almost as good. And for the same price as reference, it's crazy not to go for it!
 
Why are you guys suggesting reference GTX670's ok not reference, just a bit overclocked, instead of the amazing DCII, which has amazing power delivery - for oc, build quallity, and cooling for the same price? :rolleyes:

Also Gigabyte? lol! you compare the cheap shitty plastic based - Windforce model with DCII or maybe the reference model? this thread made my day :D
 
I am waiting on my Asus GTX 670 DirectCU II TOP from the egg, I had previously been waiting to find a Gigabyte Windforce in stock without luck. I feel lucky I didn't because this asus card is awesome. At 429 you pay a premium over the Gigabyte but you get what you pay for on this thing. The backplate is like a 25$ option from most brands and the cooler you get makes this model worth every penny. It is just a sick card I will do a complete review when I get my hands on it sometime Tuesday or Wednesday. It seems the stock OC is pretty baller and I hear kicking it up another notch is no problem.
 
Just remember every card will overclock differently, I hope you get what you're expecting, and good luck! :)
 
Like my windforce 460's before it I am really liking my gigabyte WF OC. Biggest plus I found was that since the 3 fan cooler is so efficient it is realllly quiet on the auto fan curve. Mine gets to 1215 core with +500mhz on the mem so far. Not the best but still pretty good.

Got a 680 ek block and backplate incoming so we'll see if that makes a difference even though they are voltage locked :mad:

At least it will look awesome :p

Edit:

psyside said:
Why are you guys suggesting reference GTX670's ok not reference, just a bit overclocked, instead of the amazing DCII, which has amazing power delivery - for oc, build quallity, and cooling for the same price? :rolleyes:

Also Gigabyte? lol! you compare the cheap shitty plastic based - Windforce model with DCII or maybe the reference model? this thread made my day :D
Click to expand...

Case| CM HAF 932

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Aight, back to mature discussion
 
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psyside said:
Why are you guys suggesting reference GTX670's ok not reference, just a bit overclocked, instead of the amazing DCII, which has amazing power delivery - for oc, build quallity, and cooling for the same price? :rolleyes:

Also Gigabyte? lol! you compare the cheap shitty plastic based - Windforce model with DCII or maybe the reference model? this thread made my day :D
Click to expand...
It isn't the same price as a Gigabyte card and I don't have a window on my case so I could care less about a useless backing plate. Either card is a good choice.
 
Maybe my other post was vague, from what I can figure based on what the OP has told us, the ASUS CUII TOP model is a good selection for his requirements.
 
Thanks guys. Yeah im still battling which way to go in my head. You guys know all the reasons, If the CU II Top gets back in stock first i think i might just buy it and not think of which i wanted more...but if both come in stock i will have to pretty quickly decided which i want. First world problems.
 
Personally I don't mind a blower cooler, because I have a mATX case I'm in the camp of wanting the hot air to leave. Also I like the fact that the EVGA card comes with the memory factory OCed, whereas the other comparable cards do not.
 
Relativist said:
Personally I don't mind a blower cooler, because I have a mATX case I'm in the camp of wanting the hot air to leave. Also I like the fact that the EVGA card comes with the memory factory OCed, whereas the other comparable cards do not.
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Blower is perfect for certain cases, im not saying anything to the contrary. Your talking about the OC of 200MHz? (comparing it to CU II Top). That card would be in the running except its a blower style, which for isnt right for me right now.
 
NathanP2007 said:
Blower is perfect for certain cases, im not saying anything to the contrary. Your talking about the OC of 200MHz? (comparing it to CU II Top). That card would be in the running except its a blower style, which for isnt right for me right now.
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Correct, for your case I'd go with the ASUS since it meets your cooling config requirements. Also, just because the Memory isn't factory OCed, doesn't mean you won't be able to OC it! Just looking at reviews gives an indication that you may have good luck in that regard.
 
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