GTX 670 reference (short PCB) decision

[wand3r3r]

I've been reading a few comments/posts about the reference GTX 670 with the short PCB and basically it sounds pretty questionable in quality. (On a side note) A few people have been reporting degradation as well with overclocked 670's (likely non-reference) so now I'm interested if that's a phenomena that will develop or if it will be just a handful of cases.

I am debating a second hand reference 670 and don't really know whether to buy it even if the price is right. Basically it sounds like nvidia just cheaped out and I don't know if it pays to consider it. I like to overclock a bit and if the build is that bad I don't know if it pays and the sound likely deters it anyway. I'm debating if I get it cheap enough to try it out and then just buy a decent fan if necessary, but the circuitry may not handle oc'ing regardless.

Now that they've been out for a while do any of you have reference cards (what are the experiences, have you oc'ed)? Would you buy one (used/cheap)?

 

[Grooveriding]

Wouldn't touch one, find a non-reference version. It certainly looks cheaply built, but that doesn't mean it won't function as advertised.

What I have heard repeatedly is that the fan/cooler design is crap and makes a lot of noise.

 

[skipsneeky2]

The cheapest thing about the gtx670 is the heatsink they used,i took one apart to apply some better TIM,even made a thread about my thoughts,i would expect a card going for $400 msrp to have a heatpipe cooler of some kind,but nope,not at all with a 5 year old 8800gts just having twice the better build quality,no joke as i took one of those apart as well.

A slight small overclock with 2 in sli,which i have and its basically impossible to keep the top one under 72 cel period and i have a windtunnel of a case.

 

[jacktesterson]

I owned a EVGA 670 FTW for 3 days before the fan died on it.

Pretty sure thats a rare case though.

Would definitly still look for a 680 PCB or Custom PCB Version. (Asus is my fav)

Ended up returning it to Newegg, and buying a Used 7970 off ebay. Works great

 

[wand3r3r]

The cheapest thing about the gtx670 is the heatsink they used,i took one apart to apply some better TIM,even made a thread about my thoughts,i would expect a card going for $400 msrp to have a heatpipe cooler of some kind,but nope,not at all with a 5 year old 8800gts just having twice the better build quality,no joke as i took one of those apart as well.

A slight small overclock with 2 in sli,which i have and its basically impossible to keep the top one under 72 cel period and i have a windtunnel of a case.

Yeah this really annoys me. They take a 550/560 replacement and double the price but still just cheap out like crazy. I realize the card isn't terribly demanding as it's a mid-range rebranded but they could have used a tiny bit of the massive price hike to make it better.

Would you buy another reference if it were say $60 cheaper then the next cheapest?

3/3 avoid reference, not looking good.

Argh although cheap (used) it's a tough choice.

 

[skipsneeky2]

Would you buy another reference if it were say $60 cheaper then the next cheapest?

3/3 avoid reference, not looking good.

Argh although cheap (used) it's a tough choice.

Yeah i would buy another one if it was $60 cheaper.

Always have bought reference and there is more noise coming from my case then the cards,so my only beef would be oced temps from the top card,but for the most part i am happy with the end results.

Next generation i def would be buying a third party card,not reference.

 

[WiseUp216]

People hate on the reference 670 but I have had no issues with mine. I've been playing a lot more games than usual, too.

I do agree that the non-reference models are a better choice and that is what I would buy today.

I had cash in hand at Microcenter right after the release and all they had was the vanilla EVGA 670. I don't regret the purchase at all.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Yeah this really annoys me. They take a 550/560 replacement and double the price but still just cheap out like crazy. I realize the card isn't terribly demanding as it's a mid-range rebranded but they could have used a tiny bit of the massive price hike to make it better.

Would you buy another reference if it were say $60 cheaper then the next cheapest?

3/3 avoid reference, not looking good.

Argh although cheap (used) it's a tough choice.

Midrange is GTX 660ti. GTX 670 was probably due to having GPUs that didn't pass muster for GTX680 status. So nerf it a bit and drop the price $100. Slap it on some random PCB with some random heatsink and fan. That's what I think happened anyway, but I'm probably wrong lol.

 

[lopri]

Midrange is GTX 660ti. GTX 670 was probably due to having GPUs that didn't pass muster for GTX680 status.

Which apparently uses the same (but savaged) GK104 that powers GTX 670/680.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Which apparently uses the same (but savaged) GK104 that powers GTX 670/680.

Yeah but that's not the point. The capabilities of the card offered at retail is where the pricing comes from. It's marketing really.

Nvidia doesn't care if it's a GK104 or not, if the performance offered fits into their lineup then marketing goes to work getting them to sell.

 

[imported_someonesomewhere]

The 670 and 680 are midrange. Big Kepler hasn't come out yet.

 

[Zap]

reference GTX 670 with the short PCB and basically it sounds pretty questionable in quality.

Why would being physically smaller mean questionable quality? With that logic, a mini ITX motherboard such as the $200 Asus Z77 with the VRM daughterboard is "questionable in quality" compared to a Biostar or ECS $100 ATX motherboard.

 

[cmdrdredd]

The 670 and 680 are midrange. Big Kepler hasn't come out yet.

The performance says otherwise. It is the fastest card from nvidia despite whatever reasoning you may have for not calling it their high end card.

 

[WiseUp216]

The performance says otherwise. It is the fastest card from nvidia despite whatever reasoning you may have for not calling it their high end card.

^ This.

I understand why people make that accusation but we have to judge these cards by the landscape in which they exist. Not by what we think should have been released.

 

[guskline]

I've been reading a few comments/posts about the reference GTX 670 with the short PCB and basically it sounds pretty questionable in quality. (On a side note) A few people have been reporting degradation as well with overclocked 670's (likely non-reference) so now I'm interested if that's a phenomena that will develop or if it will be just a handful of cases.

I am debating a second hand reference 670 and don't really know whether to buy it even if the price is right. Basically it sounds like nvidia just cheaped out and I don't know if it pays to consider it. I like to overclock a bit and if the build is that bad I don't know if it pays and the sound likely deters it anyway. I'm debating if I get it cheap enough to try it out and then just buy a decent fan if necessary, but the circuitry may not handle oc'ing regardless.

Now that they've been out for a while do any of you have reference cards (what are the experiences, have you oc'ed)? Would you buy one (used/cheap)?

I bought the EVGA GTX 670 FTW which is built on the GTX 680 PCB and am extremely happy, 2 in SLI are very powerful and didn't cost much more than the reference 670.

 

[cmdrdredd]

There is also the Gigabyte card that has been selling for $399 and uses a completely custom PCB and cooling system.