Nvidia GTX 680 Launch

[Goku]

Well the 680 is going to be launched tomorrow. Current leaks are putting at least on par with the 7970 and likely faster in certain areas (1080P, tessellation). The confirmed price is $500, so I am hoping this is going to fuel some new competition. Love to see $300ish cut down of the 680 in the coming months. I'll update this thread with reviews once they start coming out. Anyone planning on buying one of these?

Reviews:
http://m.hardocp.com/article/2012/03/22/nvidia_kepler_gpu_geforce_gtx_680_video_card_revie w/14
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5699/nvidia-geforce-gtx-680-review/15

[Vancha]

Wait, do you mean you'd like to see the 680 comes down to $300ish? I wish.

I fully expect it to beat the 7970, but I doubt I'll buy it unless it's particularly amazing.

[Really]

I'm waiting to see how it performs compared to 7950/70's (both price and performance), and probably how it performs in PS2 as well. Definitely need to get something though, stuck on CF 4870's atm and they're SO LOUD.

[Goku]

@vancha I mean if Nvidia brings out the 670 in the coming weeks. Should be a good card. Should be as fast as a 580 but cheaper more ram cooler and so on.

[Vancha]

@vancha I mean if Nvidia brings out the 670 in the coming weeks. Should be a good card. Should be as fast as a 580 but cheaper more ram cooler and so on.

Oh, right. Isn't there supposed to be a significant delay between this and the rest of Kepler? I thought the rest of the 600s were months away. Otherwise yes, I'd very much like a poor-friendly version of this.

[Goku]

Mobile Kepler already is selling in china actually. I dont we the rest of the line up being that far off. I haven't heard anything on a 670 yet though.

[Really]

So the benchmarks look pretty awesome, GTX680 seems to be the top card right now. Thinking of getting one (or maybe two, if I can justify it down the line) for PS2.

Quick question for anyone that might know: I know we don't know how PS2 will perform yet, but what are the chances of me getting 120fps with SLI'd 680s? Cause I just got a 120hz monitor and want to run vsync, but obviously need to be able to sustain 120fps for that!

[Geist]

I would get one, but my 3GB 580 hasn't had any problems yet and besides, I never buy Video Cards when they first come out as a general rule.

[Vancha]

Trying to form an accurate opinion of the 680 through a personal haze of "ooh shiny!".

I've read four review sites and it's different for every one. When it matters (one or both cards dipping below 60FPS), some sites have the 680 ahead by a significant margin, while others have it within 5FPS of the 7970.

It looks like it's all down to AMD and their pricing of the 7970. The 680's certainly worth a little more, but not that much more.

Quick question for anyone that might know: I know we don't know how PS2 will perform yet, but what are the chances of me getting 120fps with SLI'd 680s? Cause I just got a 120hz monitor and want to run vsync, but obviously need to be able to sustain 120fps for that!
Pretty damn high, I'd say. Hell, what do you have now? A pair of 580s could well do the job considering the performance targets of PS2.

[Goku]

If I am dumping $500 on a VGA. I'd rather wait for the gk110 and keep it for several years. Especially of tsmc get stuck on 28nm like they did with 40nm for two years. I just see that cars win legendary like the 8800 gtx was whe it launched. AMD is going to be hurting of they do not have any bigger chip coming out. A 1250mhz 7980 isnt going to save them either.

[Really]

Pretty damn high, I'd say. Hell, what do you have now? A pair of 580s could well do the job considering the performance targets of PS2.

I'm running 2 CF'd 4870s. They're old, loud, hot and just generally a bit crap :p

Thinking of doing a full upgrade when Ivy Bridge comes out, I've got a first gen i7 (920) so I can pretend it's justified (by skipping a generation :P) as long as the performance is worthwhile. Plus my mobo doesn't support SATA 6Gb/s atm!

[Goku]

That will be quite the upgrade!

I wonder if the PS2 team go a hold of any of these for development purposes.

[Really]

They were using SLI'd 580s in the GDC demo apparently and it ran smoothly (in alpha no less!) so I can always hope it'll run well :) Yeah it would be nice to know if they've tested the 680 out, but I guess there's not much point if alpha performance isn't representative of the final product!

I wonder if tech reviewers will use PS2 in any of their benchmarks...

[Goku]

If it gets wicked popular with millions of active players it may at a few places. Especially if it has DX11 usage.

[Bags]

It'd be kind of hard to use PS2 as a benchmark though.

[Chaff]

.
The AnanfTech article that came out today draws a clear cut conclusion.

I guess the upside to a delayed Beta or full-on PS2 release is the likelyhood
that price of the GTX 680 might come down a bit and availability of a few nice boutique versions being out by then may go up.

The cloudly implications of PhysX remains my "final straw" that would tip my choice toward Nvidia - if all else was relatively equal.

The review on Overclock3D.net seemed to infer that PhysX may prove a non-factor, so I may be dumb for thinkng PhysX is relative (even though it's tied in with SOE and PS2). Dunno.

http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/gpu_displays/nvidia_gtx680_review/19333

Depending on prices falling on other cards, I suspect the 680 will be my new card.
I hope to see more information posted here to help us choose wisely.

Appreciaton to Goku and others here who are commited to helping us make informed choices.

[Goku]

Chaff you still haven't made your rig. Whats up with the delay??! :doh:

It'd be kind of hard to use PS2 as a benchmark though.

I think it would be doable. Just have to do the demo or whatever in one of the larger type of fights that prove to be most demanding. HardOCP used to bench WoW, AoC, and I think a few other MMOs.

[BorisBlade]

Chaff you still haven't made your rig. Whats up with the delay??! :doh:



I think it would be doable. Just have to do the demo or whatever in one of the larger type of fights that prove to be most demanding. HardOCP used to bench WoW, AoC, and I think a few other MMOs.

but those can be done using predictable and repeatable ai guided flight paths etc. PS2 varies way too much in player density and whats goin on and doesnt have any auto flight paths. The stresses must be the same every run or the benchmark is useless, and you cant do that in somethin like this sadly.

And i have a single OC'd 580 atm so im not in need of an upgrade, but if i was I personally think i would wait for the GK110 since im partial to getting the strongest single gpu card if the difference is substantial enough. My guess is $650 ish on that beast. Curious to what their dual gpu solution would be now, im assuming they would do dual gk104 (gtx680) since dual gk110 would cost a fortune. And now their numbering is gonna be all kinds of goofy. they will prob have atleast two more cards and so they will start havin to use the 5's which can get confusing. Although they dont really make a ton of sense in the first place so i guess its no biggie. I get the marketing reason for 680 but if not for that it shoulda been the 670, but in their shoes from a marketing standpoint its better to be the 680.

[Rbstr]

It would surprise me if the engine couldn't do some kind of in-engine recording/playback.
Just record one battle and play it back. AI isn't needed.

[Chaff]

Chaff you still haven't made your rig. Whats up with the delay??! :doh:



I think it would be doable. Just have to do the demo or whatever in one of the larger type of fights that prove to be most demanding. HardOCP used to bench WoW, AoC, and I think a few other MMOs.


:eek:

I have $2,500 cash to spend today - but I know you'd crack the side of my head if I spent more than 1/2 that.

I'm still trying to infer what will run PS2 at (or near) optimal levels. I've talked myself off the ledge many times (as far as $y$tem overkill).

Right or wrong, I expect to go with one 680, 2600K, Z68MB, SRT w/SSD, and then reuse my PSU, my old CM Stacker, and drives....keep everything around (or ideally under) $1,200. Air-cooled with plenty of efficient fan placement....in a room with a small dedicated A/C to keep the room chilly......since I plan on OC'ng everything I can.

I'm hedging my bet regarding when PS2 will be released. If I knew Beta was exactly two weeks away, I'd put my PS2 rig together today. I could use a bigger HD....and that market is still recovering from the floods. The longer I wait - the more sytem I get for my money. I'm ready to pounce, but I have no reason to rush my build. It's PS2 driven.

I have developed an itchy trigger finger.

:groovy:

[Goku]

Ivy Bridge is right around the corner (Available in April) so you might as well go with the 3770K and the Z77. All that should be doable for around ~$1,500 depending on the final build.

About the HDDs I've seen 2TB drives on sale for $100. How much space you need?

[Skitrel]

There's absolutely no need to go above an i5 for gaming, waste of power unless you're planning on doing media type tasks like heavy video editing as a job. You won't use any of the extra power.

Not to mention there's way more over locking potential anyway.

Tapatalk.

[Chaff]

We'll see. I want the most bang for the buck, but I'm always hesitant to buy anything "new"....wanna have some sense of confidence I won't get stuck with something buggy and/or little tech support because it's new...plus gotta see what support/interface it has with the rest of my components.

[Goku]

The launch will be pretty good. Especially since this is only a refresh not a new arch.

[SgtMAD]

crazy benchmark

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/hardware/nvidia-geforce-gtx-680-in-quad-sli-configuration-benchmarked/19274

[Goku]

For those interested in SLI here is a review from HardOCP (http://hardocp.com/article/2012/03/28/nvidia_kepler_geforce_gtx_680_sli_video_card_revie w/1).

[Luperza]

Heya, I thought I might stop by since I had some relevant information for this thread.

My boyfriend just recently purchased the Nvidia GeForce GTX680 and I have the AMD Radeon HD 7970 (I just replaced my two 6970s – going to be using those for a streaming PC).

From what we've tested so far, both of the cards are really good, but it depends on the application, the resolution you run at, etc. For the most part, we've been getting the exact same performance. In my opinion, the GTX680 is a better buy for the average gamer due to its lower price. And honestly, I don't think most gamers would be able to tell the difference between the two cards, especially when they are both OC'd properly.

Anyway, just thought I'd drop in and say my two cents for anyone debating which graphics card they were wanting to purchase.

Also, the Hard Forums (http://hardforum.com/)are awesome for techy discussions like this. Love that site. I'm much more of a lurker over there though.

[AstroFool]

Has SOE done any hardware PhysX tests with Planetside 2 yet?

If so, is there any performance gain for Nvidia owners?

[Vancha]

Has SOE done any hardware PhysX tests with Planetside 2 yet?

If so, is there any performance gain for Nvidia owners?

I would wait 'til beta. A company that's friendly with Nvidia is never going to say "well to be honest, an AMD card will run the game just as well".

[Luperza]

And of course, I do not have the authority to answer that question anyways. =P

[Quovatis]

Well, I can say there was always some issues with AMD cards in the original planetside that did not exist with Nvidia. They were texture issues. Yes it's probably the game code and not the card manufacturer, but I've always had less trouble with Nvidia, so will stick with them. Hopefully there will be no issues like that in PS2.