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Which 680 Brand?

I got a EVGA GTX 680 Superclocked Signature, it was on deal last week, not sure if it still is.. I'm very happy with it! It looks stunning and the performance in bf3 etc @ 2560x1440 is (very) good :) The fan still does make some noise though but under load it's a world of difference compared to my GTX480 SLI :p I think I'll SLI in december though.
 
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Rusty0611 said:
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18444958

I don't have your resolution so I can't be entirely accurate but my resolution is more pixels.

To be honest as you play Skyrim so much then it is clearly worth it for you I would go with the 4GB. As you say, you don't want to be VRAM limited and you can even be VRAM limited depending on the mods at 1920*1080 so it would be worthwhile for you personally.

I was just getting the point across that unless you play Skyrim 'a lot' then it probably isn't worth it although to you I would say it is worth it. The problem with being VRAM limited is it's a wall: there's no slight slowdown or mild FPS drops; it's single digit slideshow time and what's worse is it's not even consistently slow. It will hit max FPS and then all of a sudden just freeze. It's not good! :)
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Thank you for that. Interesting to note the 4GB cards have worse performance than the 2GB cards... by how much?

Interesting results you have here. I'd honestly probably grab a 2GB for skyrim based on your results but It's not just the environment I re texture. It's literally everything. :p
 
Vir said:
I got a EVGA GTX 680 Superclocked Signature, it was on deal last week, not sure if it still is.. I'm very happy with it! It looks stunning and the performance in bf3 etc @ 2560x1440 is (very) good :)
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BF3 was one of the games I was not happy with. Yeh its OK (looks awsome) but not as sliky smooth as it could be, hence SLi'ing my cards! ;)
 
HaloUK said:
BF3 was one of the games I was not happy with. Yeh its OK (looks awsome) but not as sliky smooth as it could be, hence SLi'ing my cards! ;)
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Yes to have the best experience @ 2560x1440 you need to SLI, there is simply no single-gpu graphics card that does this at ultra with very good framerate.

I have mine on custom settings, all the same as high preset but MSAA off which gives me great gameplay.

I'll be SLI'ing in a few months I think but I'm not sure I wanna do it on this motherboard as the pci-e slot spacing is horrible.
 
Thanks, now for some more thinking.

The reason I'm even looking at cards other than EVGA is because it looks like you could crank out a lot of OC even on the Twin Frozr just because the cooler looks really good.

Not sure it's worth the premium over a 680 4GB FTW though.

It's just a pity I haven't found anyone in my same situation (Skyrim mods everywhere) that has tried a 2GB card and commented on it. Most get scared like me and go with 4GB off the bat haha.
 
My only experience with a 'double memory' card was my 3 gb 580.

It may have been because it was a.. 'non-overclocking' one (gainward phantom), but the memory wouldn't even overclock by 5mhz lol.

Is that typical for these things or just a combo of card not designed for it/bad luck? IDK.
 
OptimaLnrg said:
My only experience with a 'double memory' card was my 3 gb 580.

It may have been because it was a.. 'non-overclocking' one (gainward phantom), but the memory wouldn't even overclock by 5mhz lol.

Is that typical for these things or just a combo of card not designed for it/bad luck? IDK.
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When it comes to hitting a given speed vram is the same as everything else - the denser the chips (larger memory) the harder it is.

Having said that all the reviews I have ever seen show the difference it makes to the speed of the card to be marginal.

If yours would not oc by 5mhz I think you were seriously unlucky.
 
You know what - bugger it. I think I'll grab a 2GB Lightning now, then later on if the 7xx series has more VRAM as a standard, I can sell the lightning and switch, or just grab another and SLI.

Sound good?

Let's just hope I don't hit VRAM walls in Skyrim.
 
Tephnos said:
You know what - bugger it. I think I'll grab a 2GB Lightning now, then later on if the 7xx series has more VRAM as a standard, I can sell the lightning and switch, or just grab another and SLI.

Sound good?

Let's just hope I don't hit VRAM walls in Skyrim.
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I have just ordered my second LTG for 2 in SLI and pre ordered 2 waterblocks for them.

I think you have chosen wisely :)
 
From what I've read on skyrim, it just caches your cells that you've loaded if it can. When it approaches a limit it will just clear memory more aggressively, who knows if that will hurt you or not.

Either way, I just want a bloody GPU already! :D
 
Well not to throw you off or anything but the 670's can be had for a lot cheaper and are within about 5% of 680's :D.

I was thinking the other day though and if I had the money there and I wanted to spend it, I would have still got 680's.

Just stating this in case you weren't already aware about the 670's being so close. If not, enjoy! You've just got yourself the best 680 on the market (IMO). :)
 
I know about the 670s, but If I import I could get a great 680 for roughly the same price as a 670... so why not. :p As far as I know, the warranty should still check out.

And of course, a Lightning will probably have a far higher resale value when the 7xx rolls around.
 
^ That was really silly.

Anyway, I'm back. 680 is doing great and everything. Happy with it, apart from one teeny tiny thing...

Because it has a full displayport, I need a Male displayport to female mini DP cable. Does anyone know of any quality ones that won't affect the signal any? Kinda surprised apple don't do official ones.

If I can't do that I may end up getting a 7970 after all. And if so... MSI lightning or Sapphire Vapor X? (And if I do end up doing this as a last resort then bugger everything hahahaha) I heard the MSI lightning is a pretty terrible clocker on the 7970 though due to using old chips. They've updated it and announced it just today but... yeah I can't be bothered waiting for them to hit the UK.

I don't see myself getting a second ACD for another year or so (even with that nice student discount) so by then I presume the 7xx series will have at least two displayports or mini displayports... kinda ridiculous they don't have at least two by now.


Looking at the latest drivers with graphs of games I like, it really looks like the 7970 can smoke the 680 now. It's pretty surprising just what drivers can do. For example:

skyrim%201920.png
 
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Can you tell the difference between 107 and 90 FPS with Vsync on? :p

When both cards are overclocked they're about equal. Trading blows depending on the game.

Yes you can buy a cable that you need. Google is your friend if they don't sell them here :).
 
Rusty0611 said:
Can you tell the difference between 107 and 90 FPS with Vsync on? :p

When both cards are overclocked they're about equal. Trading blows depending on the game.

Yes you can buy a cable that you need. Google is your friend if they don't sell them here :).
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Perhaps not, bu the extra VRAM and the power to actually use it is handy. ;)

Yeah, I did some googling for cables but I have no idea about their quality, since it's pretty much the only cable Apple don't do their own version of.
 
Well I did more reading and it turns out the Lightning may have 4 mini-DP slots, but single link DVI (There goes one of my 1440p DVI monitors) and the Vapor X has a regular DP slot meaning it'd be just the same as my 680.

Haha :D
 
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