AT members choice: GTX 680 or 7970 (ghz) ?

[lavaheadache]

Since we are nearing the end of this generation and drivers for both are quite mature and each have distinct advantages... Which card do we think is Anandtech's Video forums members choice?

If you were given both cards but could only keep 1. Which would do you think you would choose? Why?

Saying neither isn't an answer nor is sell it and get a cheaper card or any other :ninja: way of not answering the question.

Lets please keep this civil because I think it could be a very useful thread.

 

[lavaheadache]

I vote 7970. I've had them both, well a more than a handful actually. The 680 performed well but I was bored with the overclocking and I thought the card felt very cheap in comparison to the 7970.

The 680 definately was a bit less power hungry than a 7970 esp. when overclocked but I could give a crap about that. I live in MA and I don't care if my power bill is a couple pennies more every month due to a graphics card.

I have a 3d monitor and a 30 incher. 3d vision was cool for about a week but I got over that about a week after I got it a year ago.

Playing with the 30 incher was definately better on the 7970's which was definately a deciding factor.

 

[AtenRa]

HD7970(GHz) as of today November 27 2012.

 

[Silverforce11]

Which would you have ... or which would you buy?

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

I purchased skyrim. The gtx 460 I was using wasn't cutting the cheese. I purchased a gtx 670 specifically to play skyrim on ultra. That's the only game I care to play for the next year. Yes im serious. I bought a 670 so I could play it in 3d.Well in skyrim the shadows are borked in 3d so the whole advantage of 3d really isn't an advantage. So having said that I'd probably go with the 7970. Its faster once overclocked and has a robust 3GB ram and memory bus.

 

[aaksheytalwar]

I would even buy a stock 7970 and oc it instead if a 680 oc.

 

[SickBeast]

I like the 7970 because it has more vram and it edges out the 680 most of the time with the newest drivers.

 

[jacktesterson]

I would take a 7970 mostly due to Voltage control and my love of tweaking.

 

[biostud]

If the price was the same it would be a coin toss, but since it's not then the 7970.

 

[cmdrdredd]

680 then get a 2nd one cause SLI > Xfire and neither single card is enough.

 

[lavaheadache]

Some of you really do fail at reading. I clearly stated that this was based on being *given* the card and no purchase was being made.

 

[Rvenger]

This is a real hard choice for me because I would normally pick both. They are both great cards but I am about raw performance so I would go with the 7970 GE being that I can adjust voltage and overclock a bit higher than a 680. I like the fact of having 3gb of RAM and a 384bit bus with compute power as well. Power consumption is not a factor for me either... more power = more performance (in some cases)

 

[Termie]

Some of you really do fail at reading. I clearly stated that this was based on being *given* the card and no purchase was being made.

I'd choose the 680 for lower power use and noise. Performance is close enough.

But if paying with my own money, I'd get neither. I'd buy the standard 7970, not the GHz edition.

 

[Lepton87]

Hard to say, normally I don't use single cards and don't care how they compare in those circumstances. MULITI GPU all the way, any benchmarks 4x7970(GHz) against QUAD-SLI.
If I had to make a choice then it would be 7970 because 680 feels so mid-range. Where is that Geforce GK110?? They already have working silicon and are holding those cards away from us. I want GK110 benchmarks!

If I were to buy cards today I would seriously consider 2x690. I have 3 card in my case and it's already very cramped. I have to distance the cards with some plastic cups otherwise they overheat. Having cards with open coolers next to each other was a very bad idea. And I had two reference 6950 unlocked to 6970 but sold them and stayed with 6950 lighting and sapphire 6950. Those coolers are better then reference when they have a lot of breathing room, but next to each other? A very bad idea.

 

[BrightCandle]

The 680, smoother delivery of frames trumps the minor average FPS advantage the 7970 has.

 

[Lepton87]

The 680, smoother delivery of frames trumps the minor average FPS advantage the 7970 has.

Are you talking about single cards? Since when MS became a problem for single cards?

 

[Majcric]

Since the OP'er says if given the card I would take the GTX 680 for the resale value and the price performance equation has been eliminated. If I had to buy today the 7970 would be my choice.

edit: nah the 680 all the way, I almost forgot about sli in my case.

 

[exar333]

The 680 back when it was cheaper (launch). Now, the 7970 is a better buy.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Okay I've changed my mind and went back to the 680. Its crazy I'd want one as the 7970 is faster and drivers these days are pretty much equal. Its just what I've used for years now. Like your favorite pair of tennis shoes. Its strange but its like an old friend you just feel comfortable with.

 

[Grooveriding]

Six months ago, would say the 680. Today it's the 7970ghz, even the plain 7970 is a better card currently.

Also with current drivers and the 7970ghz's advantage over the 680, there are games where the 7970ghz is appreciably faster that it will deliver a better experience than a 680, particularly at my resolution.

It's also fun to have a card where you can overclock it and have hardware voltage control. Unlike the 680 which has no hardware voltage control and you can only adjust the voltage down from the maximum 1.17v it runs the card at with maximum clocks. Pretty sad on what is supposed to be a flagship card.

 

[DooKey]

I'd take the 680 because I'd then buy another for SLI. Xfire 7970s sucked for me and 680 SLI has been a pleasant experience.

 

[Elfear]

7970Ghz because of the faster performance at 1600p, 3GB of vram for modded Skyrim/Fallout 3, and because I love to tweak hardware and Tahiti has more options that way.

 

[Will Robinson]

I'm waiting on Keys,Lonbjerg and tviceman's choice....
I'd choose the 7970 GHz edition myself.
Wow...81%-15% in favor of AMD so far....that's a pretty damning conclusion for NVDA's flagship.

Call-outs are not permitted. -Admin DrPizza

 

[Ferzerp]

Single GPU only, or potentially multi-gpu? The answer is different depending.

Single GPU, the AMD card.
If going multi, the nvidia.

 

[lavaheadache]

Single GPU only, or potentially multi-gpu? The answer is different depending.

Single GPU, the AMD card.
If going multi, the nvidia.

I said if you are given the card... third time now