MSI N680GTX Lightning GeForce GTX 680 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16

bluethunder

New member
Looking for some comments and user experiences with this card before I buy it. Currently its at $499. A few of my questions are:
1. Does it have any coil whine?
2. How loud does it get?(try to use comparisons)
3. Anything weird about the card that you don't like?(sharp edges, weird wiring, cheap screws)
I'll add onto this later if anything else comes to mind, look forward to hearing everyone's thoughts!!!
 
One of the best...
Why a 680 though? there's next to no performance gains between the 670 and 680 so you're probably better off with a 670 and saving some money.
 
even better off getting a 7970 if you have the money. Just as good, cheaper and overclocks really well aswell
 
I haven't been able to find a GTX 670 that I like. I'm looking to just spend more money now to get a better product then buy the 2nd or 3rd best and want to upgrade later on. As for the 7970 I heard it was louder and hotter, and I have never messed with a AMD card before so I don't really feel like taking the time and fumbling with the drivers, id rather just spend a little more for a 680.
 
What resolution are you running at?

670 is the only nvidia card I'd buy this generation.

AMD wins with the 680 vs 7970, and at every lower end card as well.

I find my 670 fantastic and incredibly quiet, and don't experience any coil whine at all from it.
There isn't really anything new to learn with AMD cards.

Same old stick it in, install the latest drivers and play with afterburner.

If you're just looking to spend money, go with the 7970. If you want great performance whilst saving a bit of money, get a 670.
 
1920x1080, How does AMD win? On what grounds? I thought the 680 was slightly quicker. I also thought the 680 was quieter and cooler then the 7970. For the driver side of things, I haft to have FXAA and i love adaptive vsync. Those 2 features alone have let me get more time on current graphics cards.

Even if the difference between the 680 and 670 is minimal, won't the bells and whistles and price point of the lightning version make it a better buy if you were to look at bang for your buck?
 
Well I don't know about the price point where you are, but here there's over £100 difference between a non-reference 670 and 680 (KFA2)

No extra perks are worth that I don't think.

AMD wins just because they have the best cards at a price point of £150, £200, £250 - nvidia wins at around £300 (assuming non-reference) - and AMD again has the best performing card available with the 7970. Backed up even more so by the new driver updates, boasting 15% increase in gaming performance.

Adaptive vsync doesn't really mean much when all the cards we're talking about here will happily go over 60FPS at 1080p.

Quieter and cooler obviously depends on the specific card you're using. I have heard the MSI Lightning can get quite loud under load, whereas my overclocked KFA2 670 will happily keep the fans at 30% and not go above 70 degrees under load
 
KFA2?? The lightning is $499 dollars, and the 670's are running about $370-$399. What is the full name of the 670 you are referring to so I can go look it up?
 
both of mine have very faint coil whine (not audible over the fans). It's also not audible with the case door on should you put a waterblock on the card.

construction is good, all alloy no plastic (except the iron man BS thing, but i took the plastic off and leave the circuitboard exposed)

card is roughly the same length as a gtx690 so quite long.

newer ones have overvolting disabled so you need to flash the bios and use AB 2.2.3 (or 2.2.4 with config edit, not sure about 2.2.5).

If not overvolting there's no point choosing it over any other 680 (no idea which warranties are good where you are).

kfa2 = galaxy for you I imagine
 
What made them disable the overvolting with the newer cards? I thought that was the whole point of the card was overclocking?
 
Don't double/triple post on here...

I'm using the KFA2 GTX 670: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-018-KF

In the US though - KFA2 is called Galaxy so your variant is:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814162109

The Galaxy 670 and 680 both use the same custom PCB and cooler - the only difference is the GPU itself. I don't get any coil whine whatsoever, and the cooler is one of the quietest out there, and one of the best performing - so if I don't on my 670, I'd guess you wouldn't on the 680 version...
 
Was that a known issue guys ,
quote below!

"1. Does it have any coil whine?"

No problems here.......
i always install it.. Fold , done ! LOL.......
 
Whats the issue with multiple posts? It wasn't spam. How is Galaxy with RMA's, I have never purchased anything from them or spoken to them.
 
Does anyone have any info or insight on when the 700 series might be coming out? Also, is the GTX 685 just a rumor? Does anyone know anything about it? I haven't been able to dig up anything other then the 685 is supposed to use a GK110.
 
even better off getting a 7970 if you have the money. Just as good, cheaper and overclocks really well aswell

Wants teh physx!!!11oneleven
avatar39662_1.gif
 
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