GTX 670 isn't an option.

[iB CoMpL3XiTy]

I wish people would stop comparing diagonal and start going like for like.

7970 - 680
7950 - 670
7870 - 660TI
7850 - 660

These new drivers 'seem' to have improved AMDs standings and time will tell more but short memories seem to be in full force here. I am glad that AMD have got drivers the owners deserve but how long did it take? While the drivers were not up to scratch, people were buying 670s and getting better results than the 7950s and this was the case across the board.

If these drivers turn out to be stable, then AMD have got it spot on

Some people are comparing diagonally because there buying decision is atleast partly based on price, so yes in the line up of AMD and nVidia GPU's the GTX670 is in competition with the HD7950 but the price does not reflect this (Cheapest GTX670 is £300 on OCUK, cheapest HD7950 is £230....).

 

[psychodil]

I wish people would stop comparing diagonal and start going like for like.

7970 - 680
7950 - 670
7870 - 660TI
7850 - 660

These new drivers 'seem' to have improved AMDs standings and time will tell more but short memories seem to be in full force here. I am glad that AMD have got drivers the owners deserve but how long did it take? While the drivers were not up to scratch, people were buying 670s and getting better results than the 7950s and this was the case across the board.

If these drivers turn out to be stable, then AMD have got it spot on

The reason people dont compare like that is because of the pricing. If you look at pricing its closer to this:

7970Ghz - 680
7970 - 670
7950 -660TI
etc etc

I also dont get the point of how long it has taken for these improvements. Nvidia took the same time for these sort of improvements when fermi was released, which was their last major new architecture. There is also nothing to suggest that GCN is running at its full potential now. Both kepler and GCN may have more left in the tank.

 

[Gregster]

Nvidia need to pull something out of the bag or massively lower prices. They will not compete this round with potential new customers if the don't do either.

 

[Addicted]

I currently have 2x 5850's, but am looking to upgrade (with a budget of around £450) - and boy it's a difficult decision as to where to go next.

Price-wise my head is saying get a 7970 and watercool it, overclock the **** off it and it'll be worthwhile, I also get 3-5 free games and I have 2 Samsung 3d monitors so that also helps.

However, I do kinda miss Physx and a lot of the games now-a-days seem to be optimized better for nVidia cards, so it kind of makes me want to go to a 670 watercooled even though it would be slightly slower it seems like a more sensisible decision.

Anyone got any thoughts? I'm struggling to decide.

And before anyone says it, I'd rather go a Single card than say for example 2x 7950's or whatever, at least down the line I can add another card for SLI/Xfire instead of having to sell up.

 

[Gregster]

Go for the 7970 and get a cheap 8800GTX for Physx. Tommybhoy will advise better on this

 

[Addicted]

Go for the 7970 and get a cheap 8800GTX for Physx. Tommybhoy will advise better on this

I thought you could no longer run it like this as Nvidia had in place a system where you if had a separate Physx card you needed to also have the Primary card as an Nvidia one?

 

[psychodil]

I thought you could no longer run it like this as Nvidia had in place a system where you if had a separate Physx card you needed to also have the Primary card as an Nvidia one?

Nope, theres a workaround. Tommybhoy is your man, but there is a thread somewhere on how to do it.

 

[Gregster]

Nvidia had 2 completely different GPUs working together, for example a 580 and a 470 but they canned support for this quite a while ago. The hybrid thing is what Tommy knows. I will look for the thread.

Edit:

I think this is it?

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18449554

 

[Rusty0611]

The reason people dont compare like that is because of the pricing. If you look at pricing its closer to this:

7970Ghz - 680
7970 - 670
7950 -660TI
etc etc

It's still counter intuitive to compare like that unless of course for the purposes of recommendation to purchase.

I also dont get the point of how long it has taken for these improvements.

Because a lot of people had their 7970's for a long time and they could rightly expect cards to be running at 90-95% maximum potential from release and then build from this. It wasn't but it doesn't matter now. All signs point to AMDs new driver approach providing massive improvements in the process

 

[Nadleeh]

I feel the GTX670 needs to be £270 ish to be competitive, at £300 its pretty much up against the HD7970 which is a faster card in most games and much better value with the free games.
I cannot see a good case for a GTX670 especially considering that it was originally intended as a medium range card but is now priced as a high end card.

GTX 670 is high-end ?!

I.... and dont talk about physx like 10 games in the world that use it.

That's not true and you know that. Don't go bash people saying PhysX isn't a valid argument it is ! it's just a matter of personal preference. I very much enjoy the PhysX based games.

 

[psychodil]

It's still counter intuitive to compare like that unless of course for the purposes of recommendation to purchase.



Because a lot of people had their 7970's for a long time and they could rightly expect cards to be running at 90-95% maximum potential from release and then build from this. It wasn't but it doesn't matter now. All signs point to AMDs new driver approach providing massive improvements in the process

Most people do compare on a price basis though

It takes time to get the most out of a brand new architecture, as it did with fermi.

If the 7970/7950 cards were launched with these drivers the launch prices probably would have been more insane than they already were.

 

[Rusty0611]

Most people do compare on a price basis though

Doesn't make sense to unless recommending a card. Price means nothing to people who have already bought in. You should really compare them hierarchically.

It takes time to get the most out of a brand new architecture, as it did with fermi.

I never mentioned nVidia. A poor show is a poor show. As I said above, it doesn't matter now though

 

[psychodil]

Doesn't make sense to unless recommending a card.



I never mentioned nVidia. A poor show is a poor show. As I said above, it doesn't matter now though

Well price is a key factor for everything, we could easily say aston martins best production car is miles better than fords best production car

I disagree about it being a poor show. People were happy with the price/performance of the cards previously, and now they can be even happier. If the cards were released at launch with this performance, they would have been more expensive.

My point about fermi taking time to realise its potential wasnt a counter dig at Nvidia, I'm just making the point that it takes time to reach the full potential of any brand new architecture, Fermi was just the most recent which is why I mentioned it. It has made it more clear that 7970 was ruched to the market though, but we all know why AMD did this ($$$)

 

[iB CoMpL3XiTy]

GTX 670 is high-end ?!

Well according to its price and its place in the market, its certainly not ultra high end like a GTX690 and its not mid range like a GTX660.

It makes absolute sense to compare cards on price, you atleast have to consider it a factor just like performance.

Whats the point in comparing graphics cards if you have no intention in buying one

 

[LambChop]

Its purely price/performance that gets onto that list. And at the moment, nvidia are getting owned in price/performance by AMD. Nothing really to discuss

Couldnt care less, I still wouldnt buy AMD if they were the last manufacturer on earth.

 

[andybird123]

Nvidia need to pull something out of the bag or massively lower prices. They will not compete this round with potential new customers if the don't do either.

I'm not sure it's nvidia that have to, just certain retailers

 

[Rusty0611]

Well price is a key factor for everything, we could easily say aston martins best production car is miles better than fords best production car

You're still missing the point regarding price a little. It makes no difference to people who've already bought the cards which is why diagonal comparisons are only useful for recommendations only with graphics cards.

Not sure how to be any clearer - price matters if I was buying or recommending now but it doesn't matter when LtMatt and I are comparing our cards in the MoHW bench which we're going to do.

 

[weehamish]

Well most rigs that are prebuilt come with a 670 and in the benchmarks on all them pcs one was a 680 and one was a 7970 and who won?

7970 all the way. Every rig was the same price £1000 which rig got the best score and 670 one as it had a larger SSD lol :\

But in performance the single 7970 rig killed them all.

So even if they were the same price id pick ATI, but there not so what you got to lose? You can get an ATI and an SSD for the price of some 670s, maybe not a 7970 but you know what i mean.

I think everyone agrees Nvidia need to drop the prices, i woul dbe happy to pay £200 for 660Ti but not £240+ when the 7950 kills it :\

And i know you got your card a while back but this is still a valid point^^

 

[Gregster]

Well most rigs that are prebuilt come with a 670 and in the benchmarks on all them pcs one was a 680 and one was a 7970 and who won?

7970 all the way. Every rig was the same price £1000 which rig got the best score and 670 one as it had a larger SSD lol :\

But in performance the single 7970 rig killed them all.

So even if they were the same price id pick ATI, but there not so what you got to lose? You can get an ATI and an SSD for the price of some 670s, maybe not a 7970 but you know what i mean.

I think everyone agrees Nvidia need to drop the prices, i woul dbe happy to pay £200 for 660Ti but not £240+ when the 7950 kills it :\

And i know you got your card a while back but this is still a valid point^^

Can you show me where these 7970 rigs kill 680 rigs? You seriously make no sense and need to have some kind of proof. Yesterday you was asking what should I buy and today, you are an expert with all the facts

 

[Rusty0611]

snip

And i know you got your card a while back but this is still a valid point^^

It's not.

To be clear, the 7970's had around the same minimum FPS as a 680 before the 12.11 driver and around 10 FPS lower on the average while overclocked. Our benchmark thread showed this.

With these drivers I would imagine the 7970's would be a small margin faster overall. So if you've read something prior to 12.11 drivers which shows the 7970 "killing" a 680 then it's nonsense.

The cards were effectively even all things considered before. Now it looks like the 7970 is a cheaper and faster option. (on paper)