GTX GTX 670 FTW 2GB or 4GB

[zero koopa]

I can obviously see the price difference of 369-449 but is there performance difference noticeable? If I am paying 449 should I just go for the gtx 680? I am an NVIDIA fan boy as I have had terrible experiences with ATI and I like EVGA a lot. I play BF3 on low with about 25 FPS @ 1920x1080. (Yeah its pretty awesome.) I want to max out the graphics on this game so I just want to make the right decision.

 

[96Firebird]

I'm willing to bet most of your low FPS is cause by your CPU. I had almost the exact same setup as you, and stepped up to an i5 with 8GB ram and saw a major improvement in BF3.

 

[tviceman]

4gigs will do nothing for you at 1080p.

 

[brandon888]

Yep ... get better cpu .... at least 2500K or some ivy bridge I5 ..... 670 with dual core cpu is useless.... and you need at least 6 GB of ram to max BF3...

 

[zero koopa]

Yep ... get better cpu .... at least 2500K or some ivy bridge I5 ..... 670 with dual core cpu is useless.... and you need at least 6 GB of ram to max BF3...

I forgot that I am doing a brand new build

i7 3770K (as soon as microcenter gets them in stock)
Asus Pro or Deluxe 1155 Z77
16 gb ddr3 1600
Samsung SSD 840 pro

I am going to toss one 670 in and then most likely when they break the 250 price point SLI.

 

[96Firebird]

Ah, if that is the case, the 670 2GB will do just fine. You'll be happy with your new build.

 

[brandon888]

if you plan sli .. then get 4GB for sure ....

 

[moonbogg]

I forgot that I am doing a brand new build

i7 3770K (as soon as microcenter gets them in stock)
Asus Pro or Deluxe 1155 Z77
16 gb ddr3 1600
Samsung SSD 840 pro

I am going to toss one 670 in and then most likely when they break the 250 price point SLI.

LOL. That changes everything. 1080p is good to go with 2gb 670. I want to hear from you after you play BF3 on your new rig. You will be struck stupid with joy and happiness. PM me when it happens. I want to hear all about it. I can't get enough BF3. Best game for me in years.

I'd like to add that i had an E8400 and was pissed because Bad Company 2 was lagging and I thought it was my video card's driver. I underestimated the need of a quad core. I shat myself when I upgraded to a 2600k. I went from 15fps to 120fps = poopy pants.

 

[brandon888]

LOL. That changes everything. 1080p is good to go with 2gb 670. I want to hear from you after you play BF3 on your new rig. You will be struck stupid with joy and happiness. PM me when it happens. I want to hear all about it. I can't get enough BF3. Best game for me in years.

I'd like to add that i had an E8400 and was pissed because Bad Company 2 was lagging and I thought it was my video card's driver. I underestimated the need of a quad core. I shat myself when I upgraded to a 2600k. I went from 15fps to 120fps = poopy pants.

what a gpu usage do you have on you CPU while playing BF3 online ? both cards are on 99% usage ?

 

[cmdrdredd]

what a gpu usage do you have on you CPU while playing BF3 online ? both cards are on 99% usage ?

Depends on what's going on but I see high 90s on both cards.

 

[brandon888]

Depends on what's going on but I see high 90s on both cards.

even on your 3570k ? lol that's awesome



back to topic .... i think 2 GB vram is on the edge now ... 3 GB is good and 4 GB is for future ! ... so if you go for 2 cards with 2 GB vram then you will get
bottleneck and your cards will not use full power cause of vram .... 4 Gb cards in sli are more balanced ... but sadly 670/680 does not have enough bandwidth to use full potential of 4GB... anyway .... it's still better then 2 GB cards in sli ....


so for single card go for 2 GB version .... for sli 4Gb .... i guess this is the best strategy

 

[moonbogg]

what a gpu usage do you have on you CPU while playing BF3 online ? both cards are on 99% usage ?

It varies wildly, but when in a large map with 64 players it is something like 75% (haven't checked in a while). It is nowhere near 90% though. My setup is CPU limited big time at my res of 1080p. It is still quite a bit faster than a single card and when things get really crazy (lots of smoke, explosions in your face), the usage of the cards shoots up high to around 90% or more, and this avoids the slow downs that a single card would suffer. I tested it with a single card vs 2 cards.

 

[cmdrdredd]

even on your 3570k ? lol that's awesome



back to topic .... i think 2 GB vram is on the edge now ... 3 GB is good and 4 GB is for future ! ... so if you go for 2 cards with 2 GB vram then you will get
bottleneck and your cards will not use full power cause of vram .... 4 Gb cards in sli are more balanced ... but sadly 670/680 does not have enough bandwidth to use full potential of 4GB... anyway .... it's still better then 2 GB cards in sli ....


so for single card go for 2 GB version .... for sli 4Gb .... i guess this is the best strategy

Remember I am at 2560x1440 and have everything maxed at all times. Also a 4.5ghz 3570k is not slow and does not really contribute to GPU usage.