Advice for upgrade of GTX 670

[impingu1984]

I own a EVGA GTX 670 FTW Signature 2, It's been a great card.

My overclock on it is great (Max Boost 1293mhz, mem clock @7000mhz, max temps ever in furmark or anything 69C)

I game @ 1080p 60fps and for most games I've no issues at all achieving this.

I can only think of a handful of games I've played where it occasionally dips below 60fps.

Tomb Raider on ultra with amd's fancy hair turned on, Bioshock infinite, Batman Arkham City in Phys x heavy stuff.

I know Crysis 3, metro 2033 etc will really punish it but I've not played those.

However I've got the itch, I've had the card nearly 2 years and I usually upgrade the gpu every 2 years, however at the moment I have no real reason to do so, except for the itch.

So my two thoughts are:

1. Buy a EVGA 780 ti SC or Classified and keep that until NV release the full fat Maxwell 980 ti in 2-3 years, knowing that 780 ti is total overkill and should allow to me stay @ ultra settings for 1080p 60fps and sli a possibility if needed.

2. Wait it out for Maxwell GTX 880 knowing it's likely a mid range Maxwell for a high end price (like the 680).

What do people think? I'm not keen on SLI'ing my 670, and will more than likely buy EVGA.

Not likely to consider AMD either, I'm not a NV fanboi but at the moment I'm team green.

Will not upgrade to 1440p from 1080p. Will wait for 2160p. The main reason for this is my Gaming PC is used on TV in the living room so I'm going to be on 1080p 60hz until 2160p (I hate the term 4k) tvs offer 60 hz input and are not silly prices for 46inch.

My Rig specs are:

MoBo: Asrock Z77 Extreme 4
Ram: 16gb Ram @ 1600.
CPU: i5 3570k @ 4.7 ghz
PSU: Corsair HX1050 Gold (Total overkill but I got a deal on it and means i can SLI if I want to and fully intend to keep it for the 7 years on warranty)
SSD Samsung 840

Any input is appreciated.

 

[Zardnok]

You are not keen on my recommendation of a second 670, but for 1080p, GTX670 SLI would handle everything you can throw at it easily. You could buy another GTX670 for $2-250ish which would allow you to wait until Maxwell.

We have similar systems and the only reason I upgraded my 670 was my massive increase in resolution. I had always planned on buying a second 670 for SLI when the prices got where they are now, but ultimately decided to go super wide and needed the horsepower.

 

[lehtv]

You have the board and PSU to handle SLI 670, so that would be my forst recommendation too. However, selling the 670 and going 780 or r9 290 wouldn't be a bad idea either

 

[impingu1984]

My only reason for not SLI'ing my 670 was because of the extra complication of SLI, I view it as only if necessary option and would prefer a single GPU option. I can then sell on the 670 to offset the cost of the new card.

What's SLI like these days, the general view I get is mixed, some say it's fine others say it's not, other say it depends on the game.

If SLI is reliable these days I could be tempted if I can find another 670.

 

[Tequila]

I've been extremely happy with my 760 SLI and a 670 is very similar so I'd imagine the speed boosts would be the same. As you can see from these tests the 760 SLI keeps up with the 780 ti and even beats it in a 3-4 games. http://www.ocaholic.ch/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=1172&page=17

I'm still on a 4 year old cpu too. Once I get off my lazy arse and replace my rig with the i7-4700K and Asus Maximums Hero that have been sitting on the ground staring at me for the past week it will really be interesting to see the difference.

Right now I'm playing TESO on ultra detail + high water effects and it's so damn smooth. However I did buy the 2gb versions but at 1080p that's fine just won't scale as well at 1440p.

 

[guskline]

impingu1984: In addition to my rig below in the spec, I have two other rigs. One of them has an Asus P67 Pro mb with a 3770k @ 4.5Ghz; 16 gigs of DDR3 1866 and 2 EVGA GTX670 FTWs in SLI. My monitor is an Acer 27" 1920 x 1080p and the dual 670s are incredibly fast.

I used to have them in the rig in my sig ( that rhymes!) but since the monitor for my rig in the sig is a 2560 x1440, like you I "got the itch" and with some serious gift cards bought a single EVGA GTX780 Classified, which I later water cooled. It's a beast of a card. HOWEVER, the dual 670s are a bit faster in fps AND at 1080p the VRM issue is not significant.

Since you are not increasing the monitor resolution your best bet with your rig is to pick up another EVGA GTX670 FTW and run them in SLI.

 

[Tequila]

My only reason for not SLI'ing my 670 was because of the extra complication of SLI, I view it as only if necessary option and would prefer a single GPU option. I can then sell on the 670 to offset the cost of the new card.

What's SLI like these days, the general view I get is mixed, some say it's fine others say it's not, other say it depends on the game.

If SLI is reliable these days I could be tempted if I can find another 670.

So far for me I've tested TESO, Wot, EQ2, BF4, Metro2033, Civ5 and have had 0 problems with my 760 SLI.

When I was running 560ti SLI I did have a few issues with RIFT and one other game that escapes me that forced me to run single card mode.

 

[impingu1984]

So SLI the 670 is the general consensus.

I'm in the UK so I'm not sure if the availability of 670's is in US but here there are none I can buy new.

However there is a EVGA GTX 670 FTW Sig 2 on ebay for currently £150, so I'll watch that and see, if I can get it for under £200 I may go with that. If I can't get hold of one I might consider buying a 780 ti.

The one thing I don't want to do is buy a 780 ti and then NV troll me by releasing Maxwell 880s a few months after (like the Titan / 780) and at this time Maxwell 880s seem at least 9 months away.

Thanks guys, I'll update on what happens.

 

[n0x1ous]

I can vouch for 670 sli - been flawless for me. I play BF4 on max settings @ 1080p @ 120hz and it holds me there most of the time - more cpu limited up there anyway.

 

[Subyman]

I wouldn't waste money on a 780TI especially for 1080p. Like others have said, try to pick up a used 670 and wait it out. IMO the TI is not worth the money even now. A better option would be to pick up a 780 and give it a slight over clock. Again, dropping only ~150-200 on another card is the more economic option.

 

[Termie]

OP - this thread that I started should give you some insights into the upgrade: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2368928&highlight=780

My 670 FTW didn't overclock quite as high as yours, but you'll get an idea of the boost you can expect from a 780 or 780 Ti, stock and overclocked.

 

[escrow4]

I wouldn't waste money on a 780TI especially for 1080p. Like others have said, try to pick up a used 670 and wait it out. IMO the TI is not worth the money even now. A better option would be to pick up a 780 and give it a slight over clock. Again, dropping only ~150-200 on another card is the more economic option.

Why? I have a 780 Ti GHz and a 1200p 24" Ultrasharp. Still can't max AC4, still can't max Crysis 3 with high AA, still can't max Metro: Last Light, still can't max Borderlands 2 with PhysX maxed out, certainly not any of these at a rock solid 1080p 60FPS. In all of those AA needs to be turned down or off at least, and maybe another setting or two turned a notch down. Now we have all these upcoming next gen ports, so tell me, why not?

 

[Insomniator]

Why? I have a 780 Ti GHz and a 1200p 24" Ultrasharp. Still can't max AC4, still can't max Crysis 3 with high AA, still can't max Metro: Last Light, still can't max Borderlands 2 with PhysX maxed out, certainly not any of these at a rock solid 1080p 60FPS. In all of those AA needs to be turned down or off at least, and maybe another setting or two turned a notch down. Now we have all these upcoming next gen ports, so tell me, why not?

Probably because 780ti's are ~$200 more than 780's. Not worth the jump to the flagship model.

I don't get all the love for dual 670's here though... would rather sell one and pick up a 780. Single card, less heat, less power, less noise... not THAT much slower. + more ram for future.

 

[bleucharm28]

SLi

 

[MongGrel]

I like single GPU these days myself.

Used to SLI a lot, but personal preference I guess.

 

[PinchedNerve]

I've got 2 EVGA 670 FTW's I'm selling right now. They were both in my rig, gave them to my boys and bought 2 MSI 770 Lightnings. I'm not gaming all the much so I pulled their 670's and gave them the Lightnings and bought myself a Gigabyte 780 GHz. SLI works great in my experience, I just don't need it anymore.

Edit: Hey MongGrel! Noticed your location, I'm in the Brandon area.

 

[tweakboy]

Either stick with the 670 and wait for 880 series, you can get a current cards a lower price.

 

[impingu1984]

Well I got a matching evga gtx670 ftw sig2 on eBay. If I ain't happy with it I can always sell them on. At least its scratched the itch to buy a new GPU. Thanks again.

 

[lehtv]

How much did you end up paying? Just curious

 

[impingu1984]

How much did you end up paying? Just curious

£160 Inc shipping. Just a bit over half what I paid for other one 2 years ago.

There were plenty of Gtx670s but only the one that was the same as mine.

 

[guskline]

£160 Inc shipping. Just a bit over half what I paid for other one 2 years ago.

There were plenty of Gtx670s but only the one that was the same as mine.

I think you will be pleasantly surprised. My 2 670s in my 3770k rig is a really sweet setup especially with a 1080 monitor.

 

[impingu1984]

I think you will be pleasantly surprised. My 2 670s in my 3770k rig is a really sweet setup especially with a 1080 monitor.

I'm looking forward to benchmarking it and seeing how much better is it.

 

[impingu1984]

Well my 2nd 670 arrived yesterday and thanks to Royal Mail looked like this....

Thankfully no damage and all is well.

My first card ran happily @1293mhz on its own, and the new card runs @1280mhz on its own, however when paired up in SLI they only are stable @ 1267mhz. Is that normal?

Mem Clock is still @3500mhz (7000 effective).

Pre SLI in Heaven 4.0 (1080 ultra settings) I was getting a score of about 995 (can't remember the FPS about 40 average I think), I'm now hitting 1900 average 75.5fps.

So overall I'm impressed so far.

 

[moonbogg]

Well my 2nd 670 arrived yesterday and thanks to Royal Mail looked like this....

Thankfully no damage and all is well.

My first card ran happily @1293mhz on its own, and the new card runs @1280mhz on its own, however when paired up in SLI they only are stable @ 1267mhz. Is that normal?

Mem Clock is still @3500mhz (7000 effective).

Pre SLI in Heaven 4.0 (1080 ultra settings) I was getting a score of about 995 (can't remember the FPS about 40 average I think), I'm now hitting 1900 average 75.5fps.

So overall I'm impressed so far.

Nice. Check out some games and report back with either "awesome" or "not awesome".

 

[Mondozei]

OP, you don't need to upgrade. You yourself seem to understand this very well, based on what you write.
Wait for Maxwell or possibly the R9-390X since it could be out sooner(AMD has a history of nodejumping ahead of Nvidia).