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GTX 690 Cards

Gandeh

Gandeh

Gandeh

Associate
Joined
21 Jul 2011
Posts
545
Hey folks,

So I was looking at the new GTX 690 and saw that they only have Dual-Link DVI-I ports no HDMI. And I was wondering, can you use the current DVI cables which most cards including my GTX 580 use? Or do these cards require a special lead and only certain monitors that can utilize them?

The reason I'm asking is that my monitors have a DVI port but not one that looks like a Dual-Link DVI-I port.
 
You'll be able to use your existing cables with it no problem.

The real issue here is t hat the GTX690 is extremely expensive for the performance you get. You can get the same performance for significantly less with alternatives.
 
7950 CF, which if you are planning on using triple screens/2560 resolution (which I assume, as you are looking at a 690) will be faster than a 690- or even 680 SLI for that matter, whilst costing under £500, as opposed to around £800. You could even go for tri 7950's for less money than a 690.
 
Gandeh said:
I was looking at this as an alternative, dont know how it measures up compared to your option - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-194-EA&tool=3
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Overpriced imo, at £480 it is the same price as 7950 CF (as they are around £240 each) which would give far better performance at all resolutions, especially when both are overclocked to the max (as the 7950 has huge headroom for overclocking). Since Nvidia stopped voltage tweaking on cards now, the advantage of getting a classified (the ability to voltage adjust) has been lost, making it not worth it any more.
 
As Nuclear Fusion posted, you could get 2x 7950s and crossfire them for the same price as that GTX680 while getting SIGNIFICANTLY more performance.
 
Gandeh said:
Currently I am a using a Gainward GTX 580 Phantom 3gb. And it's a fantastic card. I use two screens so only ever have one full res but use the other for browsing or playing videos while gaming.
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If you only use a single screen for gaming (assuming it is 1080p) a 580 3Gb should be fine for most games, it isn't really worth upgrading tbh as that should be plenty performance at the moment.
 
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Yes I do only use one screen but often have a lot going on in the second screen. The phantom 3gb has caused me no problems. But it is the time of year and I quite liked the idea of upgrading.

My only issues regarding a 7950 CF is that I've not done a lot of overclocking on Gfx cards before so I'm a little worried I wouldn't be able to get the most out of them. I also wondered how CF 7950s would compare to 2 x GTX580 Gainward Phantom 3gbs if I did find another to buy
 
Gandeh said:
Yes I do only use one screen but often have a lot going on in the second screen. The phantom 3gb has caused me no problems. But it is the time of year and I quite liked the idea of upgrading.

My only issues regarding a 7950 CF is that I've not done a lot of overclocking on Gfx cards before so I'm a little worried I wouldn't be able to get the most out of them. I also wondered how CF 7950s would compare to 2 x GTX580 Gainward Phantom 3gbs if I did find another to buy
Click to expand...

Overclocking is super easy, it is just a case of moving some sliders and clicking apply. That is it. So as long as you're willing to spend a few seconds doing that, you will get some huge performance from 7950 CF for about £500.
 
I'd say your 580 would last till next christmas, but if you are intent on upgrading, I agree the 7950 CF is the best upgrade at the moment.

If you are intent on a 680, a 2GB 680 will provide exactly the same performance as the one you looked at for substantially cheaper. The 4GB card provides an advantage only in some very narrow cases (e.g. triple screen + triple GPU) that for most users it's just a waste of money.

If you are intent on nVidia, your best option is going for a 670 SLI setup. Way cheaper than a 690, and only slightly weaker, and close enough to the 7950 CF for your use (single monitor gaming + second screen doing other stuff).
 
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