NVidia GeForce 680 vs. Radeon HD 7970, and Crossfire

[ThatMinja]

Which should I get? Honestly, I could get either one of these cards, or the AMD Radeon HD 7970 Crossfire on my desktop for only $1571. With the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 2GB (OC'd) it would cost $1260. With the Radeon HD 7970 (Single Card), I would have to spend $1099. I'm thinking that I should go with the Crossfire, but I don't know much about graphics cards. Thanks

 

[HurleyBird]

Where do you live that video cards cost so much money? Maybe try Ebay? Those are US dollars, right?

 

[blastingcap]

I would avoid multi GPU unless absolutely necessary, and if I had to go multi-GPU I would get a pair of GTX 670s if your resolution is 2560x1600 or less. If more, then get the 4GB versions of the GTX 680s.

Driver issues, more power/heat/noise, possibly needing to upgrade mobo and/or PSU, microstutter... many reasons to avoid multi-GPU.

 

[ThatMinja]

Also, I noticed that the GeForce GTX 590 is very close in terms of FPS on games like Crysis 2, Civ 5, and in Dirt 3 (1080p) it even runs a bit faster.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/HD_7970_CrossFire/11.html

 

[ThatMinja]

No its not the graphics cards themselves. That's with a 6-Core processor, RAM, and all the other things included in a Desktop.

 

[ThatMinja]

Where do you live that video cards cost so much money? Maybe try Ebay? Those are US dollars, right?

No its not the graphics cards themselves. That's with a 6-Core processor, RAM, and all the other things included in a Desktop.

 

[ThatMinja]

Umm, can I delete the first reply?

 

[HurleyBird]

For 160 less? I'd probably get the 7970. Both cards are basically the same speed at max OC, but Nvidia is more efficient.

If you care about PhsyX, then Nvidia might be the way to go.

But if you don't intend to upgrade very often, the extra VRAM and compute functionality will probably make the 7970 more future proof. You could also look at an EVGA GTX 670 SC 4GB for about the same price as a 680 2GB.

 

[ThatMinja]

But if I got the 7970 would I be able to play games like Skyrim at max settings with around 60 FPS? That's what I really want. I want to play good games, with the settings all the way up, 1080p, and a solid 60 FPS average.

 

[HurleyBird]

Either card will let you max anything on the market at 1080p with ease. The Nvidia cards are a going to be a bit stronger at lower resolutions like 1080p though, while the AMD cards are more suited for extremely high resolutions like 1600p and triple monitor.

 

[ThatMinja]

So would I be better off paying the extra cash for the NVidia? Because I'm only going to get a 1080p monitor.

 

[3DVagabond]

Also, I noticed that the GeForce GTX 590 is very close in terms of FPS on games like Crysis 2, Civ 5, and in Dirt 3 (1080p) it even runs a bit faster.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/HD_7970_CrossFire/11.html

For 1080p I'd get a single card. I certainly wouldn't pay more for a 680 over a 7970. Unless it was for a game that I played a lot that the 7970 has issues with.

On the page you linked to the 7970x2 is being bottle necked. 1050, 1200, 1600 are all about the same speed. The same with Civ5 and Crysis2 where all the resolutions are equal. These are old drivers too.

 

[HurleyBird]

So would I be better off paying the extra cash for the NVidia? Because I'm only going to get a 1080p monitor.

Honestly they're both overkill for that res. I wouldn't pay the extra for the 680 either. You might be able to get the 670 for even less than the 7970 and it would suit your needs just fine.

 

[Don Karnage]

Grab an Asus 670 for 419. Best gaming card for the money

 

[ThatMinja]

Honestly they're both overkill for that res. I wouldn't pay the extra for the 680 either. You might be able to get the 670 for even less than the 7970 and it would suit your needs just fine.

I might try that. But for the desktop I'm configuring on CyberPowerPC, a 4GB 670 ends up being $95 more than the 7970. I could get a 2 gig but I don't know if that's not good enough or anything

 

[3DVagabond]

Grab an Asus 670 for 419. Best gaming card for the money

I would guess by his pricing he's not in the US. So, his pricing will vary. Or, he's considering paying butt hurt pricing for the 680 because it's so hard to get.

Depending on price (ie; if they are cheaper than a comparable 7970 model), one of the 670's with the 680 PCB is also a good option for gaming at your resolution. Personally, I wouldn't touch one of the reference 670's on the small PCB. YMMV.

 

[Don Karnage]

I would guess by his pricing he's not in the US. So, his pricing will vary. Or, he's considering paying butt hurt pricing for the 680 because it's so hard to get.

Depending on price (ie; if they are cheaper than a comparable 7970 model), one of the 670's with the 680 PCB is also a good option for gaming at your resolution. Personally, I wouldn't touch one of the reference 670's on the small PCB. YMMV.

Vanilla 670s aren't that bad

 

[Don Karnage]

I might try that. But for the desktop I'm configuring on CyberPowerPC, a 4GB 670 ends up being $95 more than the 7970. I could get a 2 gig but I don't know if that's not good enough or anything

Youre buying a prebuilt? :whiste:

 

[blastingcap]

Youre buying a prebuilt? :whiste:

So what if he is? I bet Bill Gates doesn't assemble his own computer, either.

 

[ThatMinja]

I configured it using a bunch of options. I decided on the 7970 by the way. Can I post specs and get tips on if it's good or not?

 

[blastingcap]

I configured it using a bunch of options. I decided on the 7970 by the way. Can I post specs and get tips on if it's good or not?

Go for it. And ignore anyone hassling you over the build; not all of us have time to piece stuff together, and at least you aren't getting a console.

 

[ThatMinja]

Haha I actually already have a PS3 and it's fun, but I just like PC soooo much more. So before I post them, should I get liquid cooled or fan cooled? I mean, the liquid can be a bit unsafe, if there's a leak or something right?

 

[ThatMinja]

Case: Cooler Master Elite 431 Mid-Tower Gaming Case w/ Side-Panel Window

Internal USB Extension Module: None

Extra Case Fan Upgrade: Maximum 120MM Case Cooling Fans for your selected case

Noise Reduction Technology: Anti-Vibration Fan Mounts

CPU: AMD FX-6100 3.30 GHz Six-Core AM3+ CPU 6MB L2 Cache & Turbo Core Technology

Cooling Fan: Corsair Hydro Series H60 High Performance Liquid Cooling System 120MM Radiator & Fan (Single Standard 120MM Fan)

Coolant for Cyberpower Xtreme Hydro Water Cooling Kits: Standard Coolant

Motherboard: [CrossFireX] MSI 970A-G45 AMD 970 Socket AM3+ ATX Mainboard w/ OC Genie II, Winki 3, 7.1 Audio, GbLAN, USB3.0, SATA-III RAID, 2 Gen2 PCIe X16, 2 PCIe X1 & 2 PCI

Memory: 8GB (4GBx2) DDR3/1600MHz Dual Channel Memory (Corsair or Major Brand)

Video Card: AMD Radeon HD 7970 3GB 16X PCIe 3.0 Video Card (Major Brand Powered by AMD)

Power Supply Upgrade: 800 Watts - Standard Power Supply - SLI/CrossFireX Ready

Hard Drive: 1TB SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 32MB Cache 7200RPM HDD (Single Drive)
Hard Drive Cooling Fan: Vigor iSURF II Hard Disk Drive Cooling System (1 x System)

Optical Drive: 24X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive

Sound: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO

LCD Monitor: 24" Widescreen 1920x1080 Sceptre E246W-1080P (23.6"
Viewable) LED Backlight, Built-in Speaker, DVI, HDMI Input

Speakers: 120 Watt Stereo Speakers

Network: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network

Keyboard: (Keyboard & Mouse Combo) Razer Cyclosa Gaming Keyboard & Abyssus Gaming Mouse

Wireless 802.11B/G Network Card: 802.11b/g/n 300Mbps PCI Wireless Adapter Network Card

Flash Media Reader/Writer: INTERNAL 12in1 Flash Media Reader/Write

Internal USB Port: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports

Operating System: Microsoft® Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit Edition)

 

[Don Karnage]

Bulldozer will bottleneck a 7970.

500 dollar video card but a cheap board and processor?

 

[ThatMinja]

The only better processor they had was an 8-Core, the AMD FX-8120 3.10 GHz Eight-Core AM3+ CPU 8MB L2 Cache. Also, I don't know much about the boards, so out of these:
ASRock Fatal1ty 990FX Professional AMD 990FX Chipset DDR3 Socket AM3+ ATX w/ F-stream, UEFI, & 7.1 THX TruStudio Audio, eSATA, Dual GbLAN, USB 3.0, SATA-III, RAID, 3 Gen2 PCIe X16, 2 PCIe X1 & 2 PCI,
ASUS Sabertooth AMD 990FX Socket AM3+ ATX Mainboard w/ UEFI Bios, TUF Thermal Radar & 7.1 HD Audio, GbLAN, USB 3.0, SATA-III RAID, 4 Gen2 PCIe X16, 1 PCIe X1 & 1 PCI,
ASUS Crosshair V Formula AMD 990FX Socket AM3+ ATX Mainboard w/ UEFI Bios, ROG Connect & 7.1 SupremeFX X-FI 2 Audio, GbLAN, USB 3.0, SATA-III RAID, 4 Gen2 PCIe X16, 1 PCIe X1 & 1 PCI,
and GigaByte GA-990FXA-UD7 AMD 990FX Socket AM3+ ATX Mainboard w/ Ultra Durable™ 3, Dual Bios, On/Off USB Charge & 7.1 HD Audio, GbLAN, USB 3.0, SATA-III RAID, 6 Gen2 PCIe X16 & 1 PCI... Which would you suggest I get? Also, I went with the good graphic card but I don't really want to pay more than $1600 for this. Plus, what's wrong with a 6-Core AMD processor??