2560x1440 gaming

[carlazai]

I game at 1440p with a 6950. I gave up on BF3 a long time ago because of the mechanics so i cant vouch for that since changing monitor. But 95% of games i play are fine with that gfx card.

Only problems i have are with shogun 2 and stalker (determined to finish it). Shogun is in the low 20s average which is ok but not great. I am not a fan of the gfx anyway so i can pick faults. I love empire TW as well and that plays fine with AA and AF. Only thing that slows it down is the post effects options, then it does come to a grinding halt in the battles.

When i do have a few quid spare (moving house soon) i will upgrade to a 680 but until then i have no great issues.

 

[Mayfair]

Check some reviews out as well of how 670 SLI performs. More often than not they'll bench at 1440 or 1600 so this will give you a good indication across the board.



It's much better £/performance to go 670 SLI than 680 SLI although when both are overclocked the 680 SLI is the best performing combination on the market at the moment. The difference between 670 SLI and 680 SLI isn't all that much though and if I was buying today I would buy a 670. I bought my 680 on release day and definitely don't regret it in the slightest but it's a different kettle of fish if you're buying now.



There's always going to be some issues lurking around multi-GPU set up's unfortunately. It's much better than it used to be 2-4 years ago but there's still issues which to be fair get ironed out relatively quickly.

There's a generally held belief that SLI is slightly more robust than Crossfire although there are of course people with issues on the former and without issues on the latter as well. It's down to who you trust more with their drivers IMO. And others would disagree with this anyway.

Would you consider purchasing the 7970? And going Crossfire with that? It's at least a consideration you should make as the 7970 is an excellent card and priced fairly decently these days.

I checked some of the benchmarks out and it seems to me the 670 SLI is only slightly behind the 680 SLI in most cases its only within 5 frames behind, So I don't think the 680 SLI is worth the extra £200 give or take.

It's good to hear SLI is getting better at-least, it's also good too hear that when an issue is found it gets fixed relatively quickly.

I did ponder on the 7970 but every system apart from one I've built has been NVIDIA and so far I haven't had any problems, The one system that was ATI I was experiencing several compatibility issues on a certain game but this was like 7 years or so ago so things have probably definitely changed but I would still like to stick with NVIDIA.

You might also be interested to know there may be a stutter problem with the 6x0 series concerning the boost clock pollrate, especially affects some games if you have vsync on:

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/GeForce-GTX690-GTX680-GTX670-V-Sync-Stuttering-Fix,15670.html

Here's a list of some games, although IMO take it with a pinch of salt = since some games listed do not do seem to stutter on my setup and others listed as do not do not have stutter: point being that there are perhaps many factors which determine it

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18406411&highlight=stutter

The reason why I am highlighting these issues because I think you should be aware of them since these problems do unfortunately make the GTX670 SLI not simply *the best option* which otherwise would be solid cards. However, the games I play I personally do not find the GTX670 SLI to be infringing on my game experience therefore have chosen to keep them...plus with future driver releases hopefully it can be resolved...

Also for reference the Gigabyte 3x is the ones I have, lovely cards (nice and quiet - even on air).

This is the first I have heard about this, Thanks for putting that out there.

I will get reading about that issue definitely.

I did exactly the same move fairly recently (you'll love the monitor by the way). I went for 2 x 3Gb 7970s and everything runs beautifully.

Same here, love SLI, get epic performance from my 480's .

I play BF3 and TERA @ 1440p with a single GTX 680 2GB at stock, both games pretty much maxed, and its nice and smooth for me with good frame rates. Of course with SLI you'll get epic frame rates, just as long as you're aware of the potential downsides to it.

Thanks Athanor,Boomstick777 and Wucked for your feedback, It's good to hear your thoughts, Also good to know your getting decent frames with the single 680 on the two games I play, So if I did take the leap on the 670 SLI It should handle them fine.

I manage fine at 2560x1440 with a single 7970. I run everything at max and have no slowdown or stuttering. I have said before a 7970 @ 1440p performs like a 6970 @ 1080p in my opinion...

out of interest, what games do you play?

I only ask as I had been assuming I would need to go to SLI when I buy my 1440/1600 monitor based on all the reviews of 670/680/7970, to keep playing the same games at the same settings as I do now

ah, see, in 6 months I've gone from a single 560ti, through 560ti SLI, 570, 580, 580 3GB and now 670 to avoid dips/stutters/texture caching at 1080p and to get my FPS locked at 60FPS... so for me, dips and stutters would not be acceptable, having spent the best part of 6-800 quid on a new monitor to be let down for the sake of a another couple of hundred

now, I haven't got so much disposable income that I can just order £1500 worth of kit all in one go and not worry about it, so I will be ordering the monitor first and graphics card later so maybe I will get away with one for a bit, but my expectation is that I'll be wanting to go SLI once the new monitor arrives

I do agree with you, after spending out a good portion of money and to then experience slow-downs or stutters wouldn't be acceptable. Although it would be nice to spend as little as possible at the same time, So far it seems the 670 SLI is the best option for price/performance for my needs.

Although I can't seem to find EK 680 Full Cover Water-block in Nickel available anywhere even abroad.. So I'm going to have to wait for EK to start shipping to vendors anyway which may even be 2-4 weeks yet, but at-least it gives me some time to think about all my options I guess and not go straight in and bit the bullet straight away.

 

[Skynet5]

I really want to try out a 1440p monitor. I game at 1080p at 120hz, but really want to see what the bigger res brings to the experience.

I do love running games fast, but I mainly play BF3 and my CPU limits me to 70-80fps anyway. Although it is still better than 60!

 

[Rusty0611]

I really want to try out a 1440p monitor. I game at 1080p at 120hz, but really want to see what the bigger res brings to the experience.

I do love running games fast, but I mainly play BF3 and my CPU limits me to 70-80fps anyway. Although it is still better than 60!

I couldn't go back to 60hz after 120hz. I'll have to wait for 1440p 120hz monitors

 

[Besty]

One 680 will not cut it in 1440p, you will need 2.

For BF3 in Ultra you need two 7970's over-clocked at 1125/1525 to hit 60fps minimum in multi-player.

For Arkham there is currently no dual card combination that will give you a locked 60fps frame-rate, it will dip.

For Crysis 2 with a 1.3GHZ OC on single 680 you will get in the region of 60fps average with dips into 40's and 50s.

Plenty of threads about this one already in the past 6 weeks - you need two overclocked cards in many games to max them out.

 

[MOOGLEYS]

I'm happy with a single 7970. As I said I get no noticeable slowdown or stutter. If I did then I would consider another card but in my opinion there is no need for two.

 

[Besty]

I'm happy with a single 7970. As I said I get no noticeable slowdown or stutter. If I did then I would consider another card but in my opinion there is no need for two.

If you are happy with 30fps it means you are not sensitive to frame-rate, does not make it run quicker than that though

 

[Wucked]

Wouldn't be so sure on maxing out BF3 & running like a dream with one 680. 2 680s in sli still have slow down in certain scenarios online. FPS dips to 30s if you're tank gets blown up...

There is a compromise, in BF3 i run FXAA and forgo most of the standard AA options. But the visual quality is pretty much the same and I get no perceptible slow down. Perhaps the frame rate drops a bit when its busy, but not enough to impact the smoothness of gameplay, and that's all I really care about. Typically it runs 60fps +, with drops to the 40's in very busy areas, but I'm not sensitive to it like some are and I honestly cant tell the difference.

 

[whitestar85]

I game at 1440 but can only comment on bf3 performance which with one 7950 drops into the thirtys which to me is not good enough so brought another even with crossfire at 1100/1500 MHz it drops below 60 on gulf of Oman now and again, I'm hoping to pick up metro and max Payne 3 soon so il give some feedback on that

 

[Mozzila]

If I were going to dish out money on that monitor I would at least get 1600p

 

[Mayfair]

One 680 will not cut it in 1440p, you will need 2.

For BF3 in Ultra you need two 7970's over-clocked at 1125/1525 to hit 60fps minimum in multi-player.

For Arkham there is currently no dual card combination that will give you a locked 60fps frame-rate, it will dip.

For Crysis 2 with a 1.3GHZ OC on single 680 you will get in the region of 60fps average with dips into 40's and 50s.

Plenty of threads about this one already in the past 6 weeks - you need two overclocked cards in many games to max them out.

Thanks for that feedback, so do you think 2x 670's SLI'd over-clocked under water will do the job?

So far every benchmark I've seen seems to suggest yes, but it's nice to get other opinions.

If I were going to dish out money on that monitor I would at least get 1600p

Seeing as the Dell UltraSharp U3011 (1600p) is a good £390+ more expensive, I think I have settled on the Dell UltraSharp U2711 and as I'm upgrading from a Dell U2311H running at 1920x1080 I think it will be a very nice upgrade.

 

[Kaapstad]

Seeing as the Dell UltraSharp U3011 (1600p) is a good £390+ more expensive, I think I have settled on the Dell UltraSharp U2711 and as I'm upgrading from a Dell U2311H running at 1920x1080 I think it will be a very nice upgrade.

When I upgraded from a Dell U2407 I did think about a U2711 but was put off by the dot pitch which would have made the text for example on this forum smaller and for an oldie like me more difficult to read so I went for a Dell U3011

 

[Overslop]

If I were going to dish out money on that monitor I would at least get 1600p

16:9 ratio is ideal for using games consoles and watching videos on your screen however.

 

[ObixConstant]

When I upgraded from a Dell U2407 I did think about a U2711 but was put off by the dot pitch which would have made the text for example on this forum smaller and for an oldie like me more difficult to read so I went for a Dell U3011

All I do is zoom in chrome from 100% to 110% problem solved.

16:9 ratio is why 1440P is preferred by some as above.

 

[WesleyBurns]

I got a GTX 690 with 2GB of usable RAM and my new Crossover 27" 2560 x 1440 came two days ago.

Crysis 2 i usually run maxed out everything but i have to drop settings to extreme to get it fluid like i like it. Most other games are fine maxed out.

I can be honest, a GTX 580 wont push a 1440p screen, unless you playing half life. Even 2 x 580's wont be that great. As for Ram, it won't have much effect without muscle.

You want at least 2x 670's?

 

[Boomstick777]

Even 2 x 580's wont be that great. As for Ram, it won't have much effect without muscle.

You want at least 2x 670's?

Im running a pair of 480's in 2560 x 1440 totally fine. Can max out every game, BF3 everything on ultra with 2 x MSAA (Can't tell any difference between 2 and 4 at 2560 x 1440) I get over 60fps..

Another cheap GTX 580 would give you a massive performance boost, If your going to upgrade to a new gen card though, a pair of GTX 670's would offer best bang for buck. The ASUS DCUII TOP would be very nice in SLI. Is it worth the money though?

 

[Quicken]

What are people on about, My second 580 came 2 days ago. Been running BF3 at full only thing i had off was 4x, everything else ultra. NEVER dropped under 60 (A smooth line!) Not even overclocked them yet, Best £200 i've spent in a while. Well happy.

 

[Boomstick777]

What are people on about, My second 580 came 2 days ago. Been running BF3 at full only thing i had off was 4x, everything else ultra. NEVER dropped under 60 (A smooth line!) Not even overclocked them yet, Best £200 i've spent in a while. Well happy.

Exactly, my 2 480's cope with everything fine. GTX 580 SLI will be good for any game that's out at 2560 x 1440. GK110 is due early next year, so a cheap pair of older cards make sense until the real 'BIG' kepler cards arrive imho.

 

[andybird123]

What are people on about, My second 580 came 2 days ago. Been running BF3 at full only thing i had off was 4x, everything else ultra. NEVER dropped under 60 (A smooth line!) Not even overclocked them yet, Best £200 i've spent in a while. Well happy.

You're running SLI... there were a couple of posts mid thread that you could run 1440p on a single 470 or single 580

the OP has also stated that he wants to run everything at maximum settings and what you are talking about is turning something down... granted it is AA from 4x to 2x which might not be all that noticeable at a high resolution, but that needs to be quantified when people post (which you have, which is good)

what is acceptable to some might not be acceptable to others

Exactly, my 2 480's cope with everything fine. GTX 580 SLI will be good for any game that's out at 2560 x 1440. GK110 is due early next year, so a cheap pair of older cards make sense until the real 'BIG' kepler cards arrive imho.

"big kepler" will probably be £600 when it arrives (going by 680 4GB prices), so a pair of 670's will still represent good value even by then imho
big kepler has also gone from August to end of year 2012 to early 2013 already, so who knows when it will actually arrive, could be a year away
I guess it depends if AMD release another card in the intervening time

 

[Arcane]

I ran 580 SLI on a 27" Hazro, BF3 played no problem at all, no dips under 60.