7970 or gtx 680

[Ironhand]

I know but lately it seems like SLI works better than Crossfire the majority of the time when games launch and AMD only addresses issues after the fact.

You may be correct since I've never had an SLI setup.

On the other hand I will be going xfire this week so I will know how it works for me and that is the ultimate test.


And no matter what someone is going to have an issue with either and it becomes more of a lottery then anything. I've read and seen people with very similar setups and one runs like a champ and the other has nothing but issues.

 

[XANADV]

You may be correct since I've never had an SLI setup.

On the other hand I will be going xfire this week so I will know how it works for me and that is the ultimate test.


And no matter what someone is going to have an issue with either and it becomes more of a lottery then anything. I've read and seen people with very similar setups and one runs like a champ and the other has nothing but issues.

I guess I am one of the lucky ones as I have never had issues with my current SLI rig so far. Good luck with your CrossfireX setup!

 

[Glassjaw003]

I've heard the same thing. But always from other people with Brands I don't use and they always seem to be a reference based card.

Yeah, I'm sure this is one of the many times when reviews come in handy.

 

[Ironhand]

I guess I am one of the lucky ones as I have never had issues with my current SLI rig so far. Good luck with your CrossfireX setup!

Thank you and I can't wait myself.

Yeah, I'm sure this is one of the many times when reviews come in handy.

Yeah that is part of it. But I like to read end user reviews and not just advertising before I bought what I did. So far it's working out great with no regrets.


Given the choice I say the 7970 but I am biased towards AMD.

 

[Glassjaw003]

Thank you and I can't wait myself.



Yeah that is part of it. But I like to read end user reviews and not just advertising before I bought what I did. So far it's working out great with no regrets.


Given the choice I say the 7970 but I am biased towards AMD.

I'd say I am maybe a bit biased towards Nvidia, depsite there lack of surround support on Windows 8 (needs a bit of work), just because I've had good products from them. That being said, with the price on that 7970 and its performance, it is an amazing buy.

When I upgrade later this year, I will probably be going 780, but that does depend on how amazing the 8970 is.

 

[iiBetrayforAR]

Doing a dual GPU set up with a 7970 or 680? come guys, you all are insane!

 

[Glassjaw003]

Enthusiasts man, it is fun to be insane.

 

[Xayer]

Is it 670 in general or from a special brand(EVGA, ASUS, etc)?
Also would it make any difference to get the FTW edition of EVGA 670 instead of the regular one?

 

[Glassjaw003]

Is it 670 in general or from a special brand(EVGA, ASUS, etc)?
Also would it make any difference to get the FTW edition of EVGA 670 instead of the regular one?

Well 670 in general, but different brands have done different things. Most brands take the card and put their own stock cooler onto it. I prefer EVGA because I like that their cooler blows air right out the case instead of just in the case (like an MSI or Asus heatsink would), plus they have good warranties and support, not that the others don't though.

EVGA sells many different types of each (660 ti, 670, 680, etc). Their base one is 2gb like the reference card and clocked at 915MHz. They also have a FTW, SC+, FTW+, FTW LE, FTW Signature 2 and whatever else.

The reference has 4 PWM phases, with a bit of a higher clock. This is the same on the Superclocked version with the exception of a higher clock on the SC version.

The Signature as 1 more PWM phases and a high airflow bracket. The FTW Signature 2 has a different cooler on it.

All the FTW's look a bit different. They all have 8 PWM phases and different and better heatsink on board. Anything with a + next to it means it comes standard with a backplate (which looks great imo and helps with cooling)

They also sell a Classified version, although I don't think they have one for a 670. It has a different PCB design and 14 PWM phases.

I hope that helps.

 

[PingPangBV]

Is it 670 in general or from a special brand(EVGA, ASUS, etc)?
Also would it make any difference to get the FTW edition of EVGA 670 instead of the regular one?

Well to answer your question the EVGA XGT 670 FTW edition uses the reference GTX 680 PCB so that means that you can fit GTX 680 waterblocks on it, but that's pretty much it. I also read that it's supposed to help overclocking but I think it really depends more on the silicon lottery than anything else. I've got two of those and haven't gotten them further than 1245MHz on the core.

 

[kuddlesworth9419]

Both really good cards, I went for the EVGA 680 because of the software with adaptive vsync and other stuff which i wanted so you really have to make that decisio yourself. If you already have an NVIDIA card then you should stick with NVIDIA if you are comftable with it but if you want what AMD offers than go for AMD

 

[Glassjaw003]

Also, it is getting mighty close to the next iteration of Keplar, I've decided to hold out for the 700 series (or AMD equivalent).

 

[kuddlesworth9419]

Also, it is getting mighty close to the next iteration of Keplar, I've decided to hold out for the 700 series (or AMD equivalent).

I dont think there is anypoint in waiting for the 700 series because there most lickely wont be that much difference between the 600 and 700 series it was like the 400 and 500 series they where very close

 

[Glassjaw003]

I dont think there is anypoint in waiting for the 700 series because there most lickely wont be that much difference between the 600 and 700 series it was like the 400 and 500 series they where very close

Anything around a 10-15% increase should be worth waiting a couple months for.

 

[YbrFinX]

I dont think there is anypoint in waiting for the 700 series because there most lickely wont be that much difference between the 600 and 700 series it was like the 400 and 500 series they where very close

Correct if you're only looking for performance, nothing else. As you might remember, the 400 series used tremendously power and they produced lots of heat. I guess back then nVidia wanted to fix that and so they did.
If the 700 series lacks in performance, it will most likely be at least more energy efficient and produce less heat. I'm not gonna argue about it more than that because we can't really know what's coming

 

[kuddlesworth9419]

Correct if you're only looking for performance, nothing else. As you might remember, the 400 series used tremendously power and they produced lots of heat. I guess back then nVidia wanted to fix that and so they did.
If the 700 series lacks in performance, it will most likely be at least more energy efficient and produce less heat. I'm not gonna argue about it more than that because we can't really know what's coming

yes true we cannot know for sure, i just hope that the 700 series is like the 600 series was to the 500 series

 

[Glassjaw003]

I actually think I read somewhere that there won't be much less heat generated and power needed for the 700 series and rather an increase in performance, but again that is just speculation.

Also the 400 series wasn't nearly as good as the 500 series. The point is that sense it is coming so soon, I've decided to wait. Yes technology changes all the time, but it isn't like it is a year away, it is very close.

 

[J-a-c-o-b]

I personally would buy a 7970 over a 680, personally because I've not really followed nvidia as much as I have AMD. nvidia seem to do better generally, but AMD seem to do better with higher resolutions, due to the memory of AMD cards

I don't quite know how far away the 700 series or the 8000 series is, but the 600 series was better than the 500 series by a margin. The 7000 series was also better than the 6000 series by a margin. From that alone, I'd wait for those if I were to get any of them.

 

[Glassjaw003]

I personally would buy a 7970 over a 680, personally because I've not really followed nvidia as much as I have AMD. nvidia seem to do better generally, but AMD seem to do better with higher resolutions, due to the memory of AMD cards

I don't quite know how far away the 700 series or the 8000 series is, but the 600 series was better than the 500 series by a margin. The 7000 series was also better than the 6000 series by a margin. From that alone, I'd wait for those if I were to get any of them.

7970 has some serious punch for the price. Nvidia does better because it has been known, for a while, to have the most powerful cards. That is up for debate. As with resolutions, both Nvidia and AMD have pushed the RAM on their cards, but AMD has better software for it right now, especially since Nvidia can't get there heads out of their asses and actually fix Surround for Windows 8.

 

[NRG!]

2 7950s is a good shout for uk buyers. You can get them both for the price of a single 680 roughly and they outperform 680 sli at 5760x1080 when both are overclocked.

Only problem is the amd frame latency issues are exacerbated in xfire which will cause a degree of microstutter. AMD have acknowledged the issue and are working on new drivers to fix it though.