GTX 660 Ti SLI vs GTX 680

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DrexelDragon

Limp Gawd
Joined
Aug 16, 2012
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Hey Guys,

I have to exchange my GTX 680 on account of a coil whine and an overclocking issue. I am now debating on whether or not I want to swap it for a new GTX 680 or a pair of 660 Ti's. They'd be roughly the same price since I bought close to a $600 680. From what I could tell/hear, 660 Ti's in SLI perform up to 50% better than a single 680. Do any of you have any experience with this? And which 660 Ti would you recommend? Thanks!
 
This sort of depends on the resolution you plan to run.

Anyways, if the drivers are up to snuff, indeed two 660's in SLI can be quite a bit faster than a single 680, depending on the game. :D
660 Ti SLI obviously has a higher bang for buck than a single 680 (at $600)

1) 660's in SLI use more power, and "can" run hotter.
2) Perhaps you can get an OC'd 670 for $400 and pocket the $200.
3)SLI'd 660's perform fine @ high res, even with the low mem bandwidth (compared to 240GB/s for a 785/70 for instance). SLI'd 660's tested here @ the [H]. :cool:
4)SLI'd 660's would probably keep you from "having to" upgrade quite as soon as a single 670 or 680. ;)

$300 - MSI GTX 660 Ti
$400 - Gigabyte GTX 670

p.s. It's humorous how a single 660 TI beats not only the prev gen 570 but also the 580. :) Even more so with some OC'ing.
This 660 Ti really reminds me of the old 4200 Ti from years back.

Cheers.
 
Slyr7.62 said:
This sort of depends on the resolution you plan to run.

Anyways, if the drivers are up to snuff, indeed two 660's in SLI can be quite a bit faster than a single 680, depending on the game. :D
660 Ti SLI obviously has a higher bang for buck than a single 680 (at $600)

1) 660's in SLI use more power, and "can" run hotter.
2) Perhaps you can get an OC'd 670 for $400 and pocket the $200.
3)SLI'd 660's perform fine @ high res, even with the low mem bandwidth (compared to 240GB/s for a 785/70 for instance). SLI'd 660's tested here @ the [H]. :cool:
4)SLI'd 660's would probably keep you from "having to" upgrade quite as soon as a single 670 or 680. ;)

$300 - MSI GTX 660 Ti
$400 - Gigabyte GTX 670

p.s. It's humorous how a single 660 TI beats not only the prev gen 570 but also the 580. :) Even more so with some OC'ing.
This 660 Ti really reminds me of the old 4200 Ti from years back.

Cheers.
Click to expand...
um how is that humorous? its actually pretty sad that a 660ti cant even beat a nearly 2 year old gtx580 across the board. if it could not beat the 570 then it would be a total failure IMO. I think some of you have just set the bar way too low for this generation of cards.
 
Well certain high-end cards from previous generations used to be faster than "lower-end" cards from later generations, now it's basically the reverse. An example is a GTX 260, 275, 280 beating a GTS 450. Heck, the GTX 280 beats a 460.

IMO though the price of the 660 is too high. $220 or lower would do much better
 
Slyr7.62 said:
Well certain high-end cards from previous generations used to be faster than "lower-end" cards from later generations, now it's basically the reverse. An example is a GTX 260, 275, 280 beating a GTS 450. Heck, the GTX 280 beats a 460.
Click to expand...
yeah we are now taking 3 years or more to double performance at the same price points.
 
Well, it is about making money. You don't see me spending $500 on a 480 or 580 when now we have a $300 card beating them? You can understand that part though I hope.

This is why I skip some generations. Patience is the key to getting a good deal.

Ahh, I see you have a 560 SE. May I ask what your previous GPU was?
 
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rocketr2 said:
its humorous that it costs $300.00 to get previous gen performance.
Click to expand...
Only if someone might want to upgrade for little to no performance gain, in some cases. 275/280 > 460.....9800 GTX aka GTS 250 > GTS 450.....450 > 550

It costs money to have the bleeding edge. Some want to pay other peoples pay checks. :eek:

However, sometimes a person just needs to buy a good GPU. Perhaps someone is building new PC. $300 for a 660 Ti would be a fine deal.

I just got to mention something. If anyone else remembers the days of Nvidia's GPU's such as the FX 5900/5950 Ultra and 6 series, that's when upgrading cost much more for a small performance gain. $400 for a 6800 GT, $450 or $500 for a 6800 Ultra. $600-something for 7800 GTX and the rare 8800 Ultra. (launch prices, approximate)


DrexelDragon, I hope you got some help information from all this, lol. :)
 
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Slyr7.62 said:
This sort of depends on the resolution you plan to run.

Anyways, if the drivers are up to snuff, indeed two 660's in SLI can be quite a bit faster than a single 680, depending on the game. :D
660 Ti SLI obviously has a higher bang for buck than a single 680 (at $600)

1) 660's in SLI use more power, and "can" run hotter.
2) Perhaps you can get an OC'd 670 for $400 and pocket the $200.
3)SLI'd 660's perform fine @ high res, even with the low mem bandwidth (compared to 240GB/s for a 785/70 for instance). SLI'd 660's tested here @ the [H]. :cool:
4)SLI'd 660's would probably keep you from "having to" upgrade quite as soon as a single 670 or 680. ;)

$300 - MSI GTX 660 Ti
$400 - Gigabyte GTX 670

p.s. It's humorous how a single 660 TI beats not only the prev gen 570 but also the 580. :) Even more so with some OC'ing.
This 660 Ti really reminds me of the old 4200 Ti from years back.

Cheers.
Click to expand...

I'll only be running at 1920*1080. If that makes any difference!
PHP:
 
WALL OF TEXT! below, lol :rolleyes:

I apologize about the late reply. Yes, the resolution makes some difference, but that's not the end all be all of understanding possible performance.

You might want to checkout the Galaxy 660 review to see whether you even need or want a 670, let alone a 680 given how well a 660 does.
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/08/16/galaxy_geforce_gtx_660_ti_gc_3gb_video_card_review/1

I'm not sure how much you need $600 worth of GPU(s) when a $400 670 might do so well without ever worrying about any SLI issues.

Here is an important statement: Going as "big" as possible for an upgrade at any moment in time within reason can simply delay certain future upgrades for a while.
This is why I don't recommend a 680 unless someone can't or won't SLI 660's. I'm about bang for buck foremost, and then however much actual performance is "needed".

660Ti gives 80-85% the perf of the 670 and can actually match when OC'd (memory, specifically) because the primary difference between the 660 and 670 is the memory (bandwidth).
670 has approx 80-85% of the 680's performance.
Depends on the game. All 3 GPU's can of course be OC'd themselves. Mileage may vary.
Prices are basically $300, 400, 500 for "normal" cards, excluding the $600 ones.
Bang for buck order I think is 660, 660 SLI, 670, then 680 given current prices and those specific GPU's.

At 1080P I wouldn't go above a single $400 670 because I prefer single cards and not have to deal with any SLI (driver) or power/heat issues.
However, if you're interested in the highest performance for $600, I'd recommend 660 Ti's in SLI if that works for you.
Nvidia usually strives to have good drivers put out so hopefully SLI will work good with the majority of "new" games.

Checkout the picture below from the Galaxy 3GB 660 Ti review review. I got a chuckle seeing the 660 compared to the 560, not to mention the older 460. :eek:
Below is Max Payne 3 @ 1080P with FXAA and 16X AF. That's a stock 660, OC'd would be even faster of course.

Note: I do not work for Galaxy and I am not advertising for them. I simply think this is a great card even considering the extra cost compared to other 660's with "only" 2GB Ram.
It's going for ~$340, the 2GB ones are ~$300. When settings are jacked up, or for future games, the 1GB extra RAM may or may not provide a performance increase.

1345069090fDAdGjwncw_4_3.gif
 
"670 has approx 80-85% of the 680's performance"

that is a bit off because a stock gtx680 is just under 10% faster than a stock gtx670. clock for clock a gtx680 is only about 3-5% faster than a gtx670.
 
cannondale06 said:
"670 has approx 80-85% of the 680's performance"

that is a bit off because a stock gtx680 is just under 10% faster than a stock gtx670. clock for clock a gtx680 is only about 3-5% faster than a gtx670.
Click to expand...

Oh, I guess I wasn't optimistic enough.

In this case I suppose a 670 is the best choice. Decent bang for buck. Eventually it'll drop in price for possible SLI.
 
Saw this thread and thought I'd add some personal experience input here. I was running 560tis in SLI and while the performance was very good in BF3 I wanted more. I recently bought 2 GTX670 FTW 4GB cards and started off with testing just one. As I expected, the single 670 was only slightly out performing my old setup in benches. However, in-game experience felt much different. The 670 seemed to be a lot smoother and up to the task in handling BF3 compared to the 560tis. So, my point is, although the benchmark scores were very similar, the newer card made a noticeable difference while gaming.

Also as a side note for those wondering, I'm scoring about a P15600 score on a small overclock with 670 SLI setup.
 
TechSoldier said:
.....As I expected, the single 670 was only slightly out performing my old setup in benches. However, in-game experience felt much different. The 670 seemed to be a lot smoother and up to the task in handling BF3 compared to the 560tis. So, my point is, although the benchmark scores were very similar, the newer card made a noticeable difference while gaming.

Also as a side note for those wondering, I'm scoring about a P15600 score on a small overclock with 670 SLI setup.
Click to expand...
First of all, that is some good helpful input TS

Although the 670 is expected to outperform the 560, I'd say beating the 560 in SLI is pretty good.
Ahh yes. Not only is the average FPS increased with an "upgrade", but so is the minimum FPS. The primary issue that "may" creep in with SLI is the microstuttering. Some people notice it, some don't.
 
Slyr7.62 said:
WALL OF TEXT! below, lol :rolleyes:

I apologize about the late reply. Yes, the resolution makes some difference, but that's not the end all be all of understanding possible performance.

You might want to checkout the Galaxy 660 review to see whether you even need or want a 670, let alone a 680 given how well a 660 does.
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/08/16/galaxy_geforce_gtx_660_ti_gc_3gb_video_card_review/1

I'm not sure how much you need $600 worth of GPU(s) when a $400 670 might do so well without ever worrying about any SLI issues.

Here is an important statement: Going as "big" as possible for an upgrade at any moment in time within reason can simply delay certain future upgrades for a while.
This is why I don't recommend a 680 unless someone can't or won't SLI 660's. I'm about bang for buck foremost, and then however much actual performance is "needed".

660Ti gives 80-85% the perf of the 670 and can actually match when OC'd (memory, specifically) because the primary difference between the 660 and 670 is the memory (bandwidth).
670 has approx 80-85% of the 680's performance.
Depends on the game. All 3 GPU's can of course be OC'd themselves. Mileage may vary.
Prices are basically $300, 400, 500 for "normal" cards, excluding the $600 ones.
Bang for buck order I think is 660, 660 SLI, 670, then 680 given current prices and those specific GPU's.

At 1080P I wouldn't go above a single $400 670 because I prefer single cards and not have to deal with any SLI (driver) or power/heat issues.
However, if you're interested in the highest performance for $600, I'd recommend 660 Ti's in SLI if that works for you.
Nvidia usually strives to have good drivers put out so hopefully SLI will work good with the majority of "new" games.

Checkout the picture below from the Galaxy 3GB 660 Ti review review. I got a chuckle seeing the 660 compared to the 560, not to mention the older 460. :eek:
Below is Max Payne 3 @ 1080P with FXAA and 16X AF. That's a stock 660, OC'd would be even faster of course.

Note: I do not work for Galaxy and I am not advertising for them. I simply think this is a great card even considering the extra cost compared to other 660's with "only" 2GB Ram.
It's going for ~$340, the 2GB ones are ~$300. When settings are jacked up, or for future games, the 1GB extra RAM may or may not provide a performance increase.

1345069090fDAdGjwncw_4_3.gif
Click to expand...

Awesome info!!! Sorry I took so long to respond, I was down the shore and I didn't have a laptop to type back, too much on a phone! I think I may go with the 660 Ti, although I am still considering either a 670 or 680 and SLI'ing further down the road. Decisons, decisions...I need to make a choice! haha
 
DrexelDragon said:
Awesome info!!! Sorry I took so long to respond, I was down the shore and I didn't have a laptop to type back, too much on a phone! I think I may go with the 660 Ti, although I am still considering either a 670 or 680 and SLI'ing further down the road. Decisons, decisions...I need to make a choice! haha
Click to expand...
No problem. I just got home. The 2 pictures below show the power and temp of the Galaxy 660 Ti compared to a "normal" 670 and HD 7950.
When it comes to power use, I wouldn't hesitate to run a 670 over the 660.
With regards to temperatures for the 670, I would recommend a card with 2 or 3 big fans on it rather than the standard "blower" fan.
If you get a 670, of course you can always SLI that later also. Overkill isn't necessarily bad, it means someone might not need to upgrade just to run a new game.
660 = $300-340
670 = $400-425
680 = $500+
660 SLI = $600-680

1345069090fDAdGjwncw_13_1.gif

1345069090fDAdGjwncw_13_2.gif
 
Slyr7.62 said:
No problem. I just got home. The 2 pictures below show the power and temp of the Galaxy 660 Ti compared to a "normal" 670 and HD 7950.
When it comes to power use, I wouldn't hesitate to run a 670 over the 660.
With regards to temperatures for the 670, I would recommend a card with 2 or 3 big fans on it rather than the standard "blower" fan.
If you get a 670, of course you can always SLI that later also. Overkill isn't necessarily bad, it means someone might not need to upgrade just to run a new game.
660 = $300-340
670 = $400-425
680 = $500+
660 SLI = $600-680

1345069090fDAdGjwncw_13_1.gif

1345069090fDAdGjwncw_13_2.gif
Click to expand...

Thanks for that. I think I am going to go with the 670 SLI as soon as my money gets refunded from the returned 680. Speaking of, has anyone dealt with TigerDirect's return process at all? Is it fast/secure?. Any recommendations on what card to buy?
 
Which PSU do you have? I recommend a 650W as the minimum, for SLI.

I've only bought maybe 1 thing from TD so I can't comment. I can give a link to the page talking about returns: http://www.tigerdirect.com/sectors/help/return.asp

I'm not sure which place you favor buying from so I'll link a couple cards from newegg and amazon if I find a good deal....
I'm linking only cards with 2 or 3 fan coolers because they're usually superior to standard blower fans, mainly with lack of noise. Note: I don't like to use rebates but a couple cards have them.

Amazon: Gigabyte 670 OC so you dont have to pax tax, I think. Not sure who has the better return policy or warranty.

4GB doesn't usually give any extra performance vs 2GB unless using a super high res where a GPU may slow down too much anyways. Really depends on the game.
First is a 4GB 670 from Galaxy for $430, out of stock at the moment. This one I recommend for the 4GB of RAM. Happens to have a $20 rebate
2) Best Price: $400 - 3 fan - 980 core Gigabyte 670 OC
3)A different Gigabyte card with 2 fans - 940 core: Gigabyte 670 - $20 rebate: Not sure how long that is good for. Only 1 NE review, must be a new card.
4)$410+shipping MSI 670-OC - $25 rebate
5)Most "expensive" one I'll recommened (besides the out of stock Galaxy with 4GB) - Asus Direct Cu 2

Galaxy 4GB review @ PcPerspective with 5760x1080 testing. Extra ram shows basically no benefit. Ya never know.

The [H] actually reviewed the "TOP" version of the Asus card, which is OC'd to 1000 Mhz. http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/06/26/asus_geforce_gtx_670_directcu_ii_top_video_card_review/
I'm only recommending "aftermarket" coolers, you should be able to OC to a "safe" level easily. 1000 Mhz core is easy to hit. Mileage will vary! Edit: Don't forget about "boost". That'll increase the core speed in-game.
With that as a starting point, any 670 will almost TIE a 680 w/ core @ 1000 also. When clocked equally the only thing the 680 has over the 670 is 192 more "cuda cores". Perhaps 4 or 5% more performance.

On price alone I'd get the 3 fan "OC'd" Gigabyte for an even $400 + free shipping.
 
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Slyr7.62 said:
Which PSU do you have? I recommend a 650W as the minimum, for SLI.

I've only bought maybe 1 thing from TD so I can't comment. I can give a link to the page talking about returns: http://www.tigerdirect.com/sectors/help/return.asp

I'm not sure which place you favor buying from so I'll link a couple cards from newegg and amazon if I find a good deal....
I'm linking only cards with 2 or 3 fan coolers because they're usually superior to standard blower fans, mainly with lack of noise. Note: I don't like to use rebates but a couple cards have them.

Amazon: Gigabyte 670 OC so you dont have to pax tax, I think. Not sure who has the better return policy or warranty.

4GB doesn't usually give any extra performance vs 2GB unless using a super high res where a GPU may slow down too much anyways. Really depends on the game.
First is a 4GB 670 from Galaxy for $430, out of stock at the moment. This one I recommend for the 4GB of RAM. Happens to have a $20 rebate
2) Best Price: $400 - 3 fan - 980 core Gigabyte 670 OC
3)A different Gigabyte card with 2 fans - 940 core: Gigabyte 670 - $20 rebate: Not sure how long that is good for. Only 1 NE review, must be a new card.
4)$410+shipping MSI 670-OC - $25 rebate
5)Most "expensive" one I'll recommened (besides the out of stock Galaxy with 4GB) - Asus Direct Cu 2

Galaxy 4GB review @ PcPerspective with 5760x1080 testing. Extra ram shows basically no benefit. Ya never know.

The [H] actually reviewed the "TOP" version of the Asus card, which is OC'd to 1000 Mhz. http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/06/26/asus_geforce_gtx_670_directcu_ii_top_video_card_review/
I'm only recommending "aftermarket" coolers, you should be able to OC to a "safe" level easily. 1000 Mhz core is easy to hit. Mileage will vary! Edit: Don't forget about "boost". That'll increase the core speed in-game.
With that as a starting point, any 670 will almost TIE a 680 w/ core @ 1000 also. When clocked equally the only thing the 680 has over the 670 is 192 more "cuda cores". Perhaps 4 or 5% more performance.

On price alone I'd get the 3 fan "OC'd" Gigabyte for an even $400 + free shipping.
Click to expand...

How reliable is Gigabyte? Never had one of their cards. I had Galaxy for the 680 and it had some issues so now I'm weary of other brands other than EVGA because that's all I've ever had. I was looking at the 670 FTW version of that card.

And I don't shop at Newegg anymore because they charge for tax in my state and Tigerdirect and other places don't..
 
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The gigabyte seems to have pretty decent reviews. Warranty seems adequate. It's about the customer service though I figure. It depends.

Warranty Terms Graphics Card: 3 years
Service Center Graphics Card:
GIGABYTE USA Branch
Address: 17358 Railroad Street City of Industry, CA 91748
TEL: 1-626-8549338 Option 4

There was this one on Amazon: Gigabyte 670

Evga 670 stock

Evga 670 FTW

Oh yeah, the one I might not recommend is the Asus actually. I've read about some having issues getting to 1000 Mhz on the core. Asus didn't verify them.

When it comes to the fan, as long as it's at a decent speed, the GPU won't run too hot or be noisy.
It's just that the standard blower fan needs alot of airflow to cool the good better. Some people run their PC with the side cover off, lol.
 
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Slyr7.62 said:
The gigabyte seems to have pretty decent reviews. Warranty seems adequate. It's about the customer service though I figure. It depends.

Warranty Terms Graphics Card: 3 years
Service Center Graphics Card:
GIGABYTE USA Branch
Address: 17358 Railroad Street City of Industry, CA 91748
TEL: 1-626-8549338 Option 4

There was this one on Amazon: Gigabyte 670

Evga 670 stock

Evga 670 FTW

Oh yeah, the one I might not recommend is the Asus actually. I've read about some having issues getting to 1000 Mhz on the core. Asus didn't verify them.

When it comes to the fan, as long as it's at a decent speed, the GPU won't run too hot or be noisy.
It's just that the standard blower fan needs alot of airflow to cool the good better. Some people run their PC with the side cover off, lol.
Click to expand...

Haha yeah I've seen that! I have a Thor V2 and airflow is excellent in my opinion. I have four 120MM fans mounted on the side panel that blow air directly over the GPU's. And I'm on liquid cooling so the heat from the CPU is exhausted out the top panel as well.
 
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DrexelDragon said:
How reliable is Gigabyte? Never had one of their cards. I had Galaxy for the 680 and it had some issues so now I'm weary of other brands other than EVGA because that's all I've ever had. I was looking at the 670 FTW version of that card.

And I don't shop at Newegg anymore because they charge for tax in my state and Tigerdirect and other places don't..
Click to expand...

Can't comment on Gigabyte support, but the build quality and cooler on the 670 OC Windforce is freaking awesome, especially for the price. It's a 680 size PCB so it has better power delivery (good for OC) an the big 3 fan cooler keeps it cool and quiet even at load. Highly recommend this card for performance/$.
 
grambo said:
Can't comment on Gigabyte support, but the build quality and cooler on the 670 OC Windforce is freaking awesome, especially for the price. It's a 680 size PCB so it has better power delivery (good for OC) an the big 3 fan cooler keeps it cool and quiet even at load. Highly recommend this card for performance/$.
Click to expand...

Ahh, thank you for the input grambo. Whether the actual GPU temp is going to be much lower (at idle anyways), it's the lack of noise that will be predominately decreased at load.
 
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Slyr7.62 said:
Ahh, thank you for the input grambo. Whether the actual GPU temp is going to be much lower (at idle anyways), it's the lack of noise that will be predominately decreased at load.
Click to expand...

I am currently considering this card pretty heavily: A great deal at 399.99 for the FTW edition (about $10 cheaper than Newegg and Amazon) and I get two free copies of Borderlands 2; one which I can sell and get like $50 back for!

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...etails.asp?EdpNo=3734550&Sku=E145-0673 BORDER

I can't really find any reviews of this card though..
 
Slyr7.62 said:
Pretty sure that only comes with 1 copy worth of Borderlands 2. "Game Coupon: Borderlands 2 - Qty: 1" - Note sure how those coupons work. Don't know if someone can just sell one.

Anyways, here's a link to the Gigabyte on TigerDirect. Then you can OC it to match the FTW.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3734599&CatId=3669
Click to expand...

And hmmm that's very tempting. I heard the Gigabyte's overclock very well. I also know that EVGA picks good cards for their FTW versions as well; plus I like the look of the EVGA's card somewhat better.
 
DrexelDragon said:
I mean 2 because I'm buying two cards for SLI lol
Click to expand...
Oh right, duh!

DrexelDragon said:
And hmmm that's very tempting. I heard the Gigabyte's overclock very well. I also know that EVGA picks good cards for their FTW versions as well; plus I like the look of the EVGA's card somewhat better.
Click to expand...
Supposedly Evga has good customer service/warranty. It's possible they test and verify the FTW edition. Ya never know when a card might be OC'd too far, even from the factory. Stuff happens, obviously

I agree with you on the looks of cards with blower fans. Below is a stock GTX 570. I just like this design. :cool:. I guess this fan design doesn't actually get too loud in my opinion.

1291619255RTHaVhWU2a_1_2_l.jpg
 
I'm kind of curious about this as well. The mid range Kepler cards are very fast!
 
Slyr7.62 said:
Oh right, duh!


Supposedly Evga has good customer service/warranty. It's possible they test and verify the FTW edition. Ya never know when a card might be OC'd too far, even from the factory. Stuff happens, obviously

I agree with you on the looks of cards with blower fans. Below is a stock GTX 570. I just like this design. :cool:. I guess this fan design doesn't actually get too loud in my opinion.
Click to expand...

Very cool design! And do you know anything about how this game will perform with Skyrim and a bunch of graphical mods if I get 2 GB versions of the 670? B/c I had a 4 GB 680 and I got between 60-70 fps with a bunch of texture/graphics mods and tweaks. Obviously the amount of VRAM is less with the 670's in SLI than my single 4 GB 680 but will I see a performance hit because of that? Even in SLI? I'm curious. I hope you understand what I'm asking its kind of a confusing question lol :D
 
DrexelDragon said:
Very cool design! And do you know anything about how this game will perform with Skyrim and a bunch of graphical mods if I get 2 GB versions of the 670? B/c I had a 4 GB 680 and I got between 60-70 fps with a bunch of texture/graphics mods and tweaks. Obviously the amount of VRAM is less with the 670's in SLI than my single 4 GB 680 but will I see a performance hit because of that? Even in SLI? I'm curious. I hope you understand what I'm asking its kind of a confusing question lol :D
Click to expand...

I understand what you're asking. [H] did a review or two about this but I'll tell you anyways.
No game out right now uses more than 2 GB of VRam without having some kind of high res mod like GTA 5 or something. At 1080P, 2GB on the card(s) really won't hurt anything.
This only sometimes comes into play with multiple monitors and/or super high AA.
Oh yeah, checkout this review even though it's not about SLI. 670 tested VS 680.
http://hardocp.com/article/2012/05/14/geforce_680_670_vs_radeon_7970_7950_gaming_perf/2

AHA, techpowerup did 670's in SLI in May. - http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_670_SLI/6.html - In BF3 the 670 SLI got 52 FPS @ 5760 x 1080, 680 SLI got 54 FPS. ----- 670 SLI got 78 FPS @ 2560 x 1600 and 126 FPS @ 1920 x 1200. NICE! 680 SLI is only about 5% faster. The Evga FTW will match that. You're basically saving a few hundred $ over 680's for 99% of the performance if your card(s) at the same speed.

About the picture below: High AA and AF obviously increases RAM usage just like using a higher res does. So with "only" 1080P AND SLI, you should be good few quite a while. Until you get an upgrade itch Lol.

1336900308CAz2bNKppI_2_3.gif

crysis_1920_1200.gif
skyrim_2560_1600.gif
 
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Slyr7.62 said:
I understand what you're asking. [H] did a review or two about this but I'll tell you anyways.
No game out right now uses more than 2 GB of VRam without having some kind of high res mod like GTA 5 or something. At 1080P, 2GB on the card(s) really won't hurt anything.
This only sometimes comes into play with multiple monitors and/or super high AA.
Oh yeah, checkout this review even though it's not about SLI. 670 tested VS 680.
http://hardocp.com/article/2012/05/14/geforce_680_670_vs_radeon_7970_7950_gaming_perf/2

AHA, techpowerup did 670's in SLI. - http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_670_SLI/6.html - In BF3 the 670 SLI got 52 FPS @ 5760 x 1080, 680 SLI got 54 FPS. ----- 670 SLI got 78 FPS @ 2560 x 1600 and 126 FPS @ 1920 x 1200. NICE! 680 SLI is only about 5% faster. The Evga FTW will match that. You're basically saving a few hundred $ over 680's for 99% of the performance if your card(s) at the same speed.

About the picture below: High AA and AF obviously increases RAM usage just like using a higher res does. So with "only" 1080P AND SLI, you should be good few quite a while. Until you get an upgrade itch Lol.

1336900308CAz2bNKppI_2_3.gif

crysis_1920_1200.gif
skyrim_2560_1600.gif
Click to expand...

Right, I get all that. But when I was playing Skyrim I monitored to see how much VRAM was being used and over 3 GB's were being utilized so that's what makes me worry about how much of a performance hit I'm going to take..
 
DrexelDragon said:
Right, I get all that. But when I was playing Skyrim I monitored to see how much VRAM was being used and over 3 GB's were being utilized so that's what makes me worry about how much of a performance hit I'm going to take..
Click to expand...
Part of that usage is the hardware itself. When there is more available naturally the usage goes up a fair bit also. Same as going from 2GB of ram in Windows to 4GB.
I don't think you'll have any issues.
The photo below compares the Galaxy 4GB 670 to a 2GB 680. This is not SLI. The reason the 670 keeps pace is because it is OC'd (same 1000 Mhz clockspeed).
1st pic is 3 monitors. 2nd pic is 2560 x 1600

skyrim-5760-bar.jpg
skyrim-2560-bar.jpg
 
Slyr7.62 said:
Part of that usage is the hardware itself. When there is more available naturally the usage goes up a fair bit also. Same as going from 2GB of ram in Windows to 4GB.
I don't think you'll have any issues.
The photo below compares the Galaxy 4GB 670 to a 2GB 680. This is not SLI. The reason the 670 keeps pace is because it is OC'd (same 1000 Mhz clockspeed).
1st pic is 3 monitors also. 2nd pic is 2560 x 1600
Click to expand...

True! I forgot about that simple explanation! lol
 
I just did a price check. Before rebate, the Galaxy 4GB 670 is $465 @ TD. A whole $65 more than the 2GB. Times 2 is an extra $130 for SLI, yikes!

If you're not doing triple monitors, 2GB per card should be plenty. Also considering you're doing 1080P. Right?
Not even 2560 x 1080 or 1200 so you have lots of wiggle room with texture packs.

Ok, got some stuff to do lol. I'll be back in 3 or 4 hours.

ps. Research never hurts. I don't like to regret purchases so I do plenty of reading to make sure there's no regret or second guessing. even though it can be stressing. ;)
 
Slyr7.62 said:
I just did a price check. Before rebate, the Galaxy 4GB 670 is $465 @ TD. A whole $65 more than the 2GB. Times 2 is an extra $130 for SLI, yikes!

If you're not doing triple monitors, 2GB per card should be plenty. Also considering you're doing 1080P. Right?
Not even 2560 x 1080 or 1200 so you have lots of wiggle room with texture packs.

Ok, got some stuff to do lol. I'll be back in 3 or 4 hours.

ps. Research never hurts. I don't like to regret purchases so I do plenty of reading to make sure there's no regret or second guessing. even though it can be stressing. ;)
Click to expand...

Yep, 1080p! And true that, an extra $130 is alot for maybe a few extra frames...And I have about 8 different cards on my Tigerdirect wish list that I am considering. I research for days and days before I make a purchase. It is tiring! lol
 
Hey guys I got a question for ya that seems relevant to this thread.

I have been running SLI GTX470's @ 1080p and they have served me well. I recently got a VG278H 120hz Monitor, and my little 470's although great will only pull 60-90fps in most games maxed out and for Vsync I now need to mantain a minimum 120fps.

From what I have read it seems a single 660ti will outperform my 470's in SLI is this a fair assumption?

It doesn't seem that a single 660ti will meet my needs though, would a 670 come close?

Or should I consider SLI 660ti or SLI 670 to be the only way to meet the 120fps needs?
 
Well an average of 120 would be fine

and i'm being realistic I can lose some AA if needed. Just wanna be close as possible.
 
BranNutz said:
Hey guys I got a question for ya that seems relevant to this thread.

I have been running SLI GTX470's @ 1080p and they have served me well. I recently got a VG278H 120hz Monitor, and my little 470's although great will only pull 60-90fps in most games maxed out and for Vsync I now need to mantain a minimum 120fps.

From what I have read it seems a single 660ti will outperform my 470's in SLI is this a fair assumption?

It doesn't seem that a single 660ti will meet my needs though, would a 670 come close?

Or should I consider SLI 660ti or SLI 670 to be the only way to meet the 120fps needs?
Click to expand...

What games are you playing? If you are talking about maintaining 120 fps in games like Crysis 2, BF3, Sleeping Dogs, Witcher 2 etc...You will never be able to average 120 fps with a 690, 680 SLI, 670 SLI or 660 SLI unless you disabled AA. You'll get around 100 fps average in BF3 with those cards in SLI for example.
 
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