GTX 690, is it worth it

[Ramensnoodle]

I am finally working on sort of an overkill machine atm and will be ordering a card as soon as I get the first set of parts i'm waiting on.
Should I get a single 690 or a couple lower models in sli?
It's mainly for gaming, thanks in advance for any thoughts and opnions

 

[SnW]

Depends a bit on what mobo is going to house it...

 

[Ramensnoodle]

Mb is gonna be Rampage iv extreme

 

[PingPangBV]

What screen configuration and resoulition will you be using? A single 60Hz 1080p monitor, three 1080p monitors, a 120Hz/144Hz 1080p monitor, 1440p/1600p monitor?

 

[Ironhand]

Your needs will determine the card.. Although you did say overkill..

 

[Ramensnoodle]

Yea I did say overkill lol
@Ping I haven't really settled on display setup was gonna settle on the best choice for the card/cards to be honest. I was leaning towards a single display though since I prefer that for gaming.

 

[Ironhand]

Yea I did say overkill lol
@Ping I haven't really settled on display setup was gonna settle on the best choice for the card/cards to be honest. I was leaning towards a single display though since I prefer that for gaming.

Honestly I find a 690 extreme overkill for 1 monitor gaming. Even on a 2500 screen it will be more then enough card. If you plan on doing just a single 1920x1080 monitor then you will be fine with something like a 7950/7970 or equivalent.

If you turn towards multi monitor gaming then I would tell you to get the 690 and rockon.

 

[Ramensnoodle]

Ah I not really a fan of Radeons for my personal machines, I will look into an nvidia equivalent. Thanks for the tips.

If I was doing multiple displays with the 690 what would be the monitors of choice that you would recommend? just wondering

 

[PingPangBV]

Yea I did say overkill lol
@Ping I haven't really settled on display setup was gonna settle on the best choice for the card/cards to be honest. I was leaning towards a single display though since I prefer that for gaming.

As Ironhand said, the choice of GPU sould be decided by your needs.

If you're going for GPU-overkill anyway like a GTX 690 or two 680/670's with a single monitor then I suggest that you atleast get a high-res monitor or a 120Hz monitor. If you were to go for a single 60Hz 1080p monitor then you would have NO benefit of going for two 670's as that would be massive overkill for pretty much any game there is out there now. To be able to put that horsepower to some use you should get a 120Hz monitor or a high resoulution monitor (2560X1600).

 

[Ironhand]

Ah I not really a fan of Radeons for my personal machines, I will look into an nvidia equivalent. Thanks for the tips.

If I was doing multiple displays with the 690 what would be the monitors of choice that you would recommend? just wondering

I have some decent Acer monitors and they work for me. They aren't the best gaming monitors(based on what others call gaming monitors, etc) by anymeans but I blew the budget and had to adjust it somewhere.

I'm sorta the wrong person to ask because unless I see them side by side I cant really tell the difference between a 200 dollar and a 400 dollar monitor.

My monitors are Acer 24s.

LED Backlight
Widescreen
Resolution: 1920 x 1080
Refresh rate: 60hz
Dsiplay Colors: 16.7 Million
Contrast ratio: ACM 100,000,000:1(600:1)
Response time: 5ms
Panel:TN

Not 100% what would need to be different to make it a better gaming monitor but I actually like it. I haven't gotten a single headache since I got them.

 

[PingPangBV]

Ah I not really a fan of Radeons for my personal machines, I will look into an nvidia equivalent. Thanks for the tips.

If I was doing multiple displays with the 690 what would be the monitors of choice that you would recommend? just wondering

I've heard many people say good things about the Samsung SyncMaster S24B350H. I also know that many people are using the 24" Benq-monitors for their multi monitor setups due to their relativley low price.

But really, I'm no master when it comes to monitors. All I know is that I'm happy with my 120Hz Benq XL2420T =)

 

[Scoob]

As someone who likes SLI and Water Cooling, the 690 is looking like a bit of a bargain lately! Consider, two 670's at £320 each plus a pair of water blocks at £100 each and you're looking at a £840 spend. Turn those 670's into 680's and you could be the wrong side of £1,000!

Now, if you shop around, you can pick up an ASUS 690 for £700, add to that a SINGLE block at £100 and you have an £800 cost, and arguably a neater and easier build.

Ok, two discrete 680's would generally beat a single 690, moreso when you start overclocking. However, how much over 60fps do you really need? lol.

So, I say a 690 today, if you can get one for the £700 mark - an ASUS one was UNDER £700 a few weeks ago at a certain etailer, it went up to a staggering £710 pounds recenty! lol - can be a bit of a bargain, especially if you plan to water cool.

If you're staying on Air it's less competitve, but can still make your life a lot easier when it comes to the build. Also remember that a 690 has a PCI-E 3.0 bridge built-in, so if you're on an older PCI-E 2.0 board there are potential (slight) benefits running a 690 vs. say a pair of 670's. Also note the less power consumption vs. two cards, making a PSU upgrade less likely.

For me, if I had to buy now, I'd get a 690 and a waterblock rather than two individual cards. Thankfully, it being post the expensive, erm... festive season, I'm happy with my pair of GTX 570's for the moment.

Oh, to those who say "overkill" you're not wrong, however my old Q6600 @ 2.4 with 8800GT plays EVERY GAME I WANT just fine, provided I turn some settings down. I don't wanna turn stuff down! Lol

Scoob.