GTX 670 vs GTX 680

[Michael19xx]

Which of these two cards are better? The GTX 680 is the much more costly of the two, but benchmarks seem to imply that the performance gains over its cheaper counterpart are minimal.

I've been reading from various sources that the 670 performs at a level of 90% that of the 680, if not better. Could anyone give me some insight on this? What do you guys think?

 

[Hameister]

You have the specs about right.

The answer is simple. If you are an avid, serious gamer, and have the money, and you want the fastest, bestest, greatest, goodest, graphics card available, get the 680.

If you are a casual gamer, and/or the money is critical, the loss of about 10% to 15% in performance over the 680 is meaningless.

See simple!

 

[Michael19xx]

I want the best graphics possible on one card, but if the performance gain is only 10%, is there much point in dropping over a hundred dollars more?

 

[Hameister]

I want the best graphics possible on one card, but if the performance gain is only 10%, is there much point in dropping over a hundred dollars more?

Again, no one can answer that question but you!

If you want the "best card possible", then you have to buy the 680, period.

Is that worth the extra money? Only you can decide that.

When ever I purchase new graphic cards, I always buy the best card available, period. I wouldn't care if it's $200 more than the next best card, and only a 10% gain in performance. But, THAT'S ME!

Others, won't spend another $50 for a 25% gain in performance. People will give you their opinions, but in the end, it's your choice, and only you can make it. There's no right or wrong answers here.

 

[Computear]

I want the best graphics possible on one card

Then buy the GTX 680.

 

[ThePcGamer]

I want the best graphics possible on one card, but if the performance gain is only 10%, is there much point in dropping over a hundred dollars more?

If you really want the absolute best, then get a GTX 690.
There's nothing out yet that beats it, but the GTX 690 comes at an extremely hefty price. If I were you I'd get a GTX 670, it does pretty much everything you want it to. However, it's not the best of the best.
GTX 690 - Nothing beats it.
If you have the right other parts to your PC, and if money isn't a problem - then get it.
Otherwise, I think getting the GTX 670, GTX 480, or GTX 580 would be best.

 

[OS-Wiz]

If you really want the absolute best, then get a GTX 690.
There's nothing out yet that beats it, but the GTX 690 comes at an extremely hefty price. If I were you I'd get a GTX 670, it does pretty much everything you want it to. However, it's not the best of the best.
GTX 690 - Nothing beats it.
If you have the right other parts to your PC, and if money isn't a problem - then get it.
Otherwise, I think getting the GTX 670, GTX 480, or GTX 580 would be best.

Well, I'll have to politely disagree. Two 680s in SLI will outperform a 690. But you're right, the 690 is the fastest single CARD solution.

 

[Computear]

Well, I'll have to politely disagree. Two 680s in SLI will outperform a 690. But you're right, the 690 is the fastest single CARD solution.

Wizzy beat me to it. The GTX 690 is basically just 2x GTX 680 GPUs built into 1 card. So, yes, it is the most powerful single card on the market, however the GTX 680 is still the most powerful GPU on the market.

Given that the GTX 680 will easily run modern games at max settings with 60+ fps, and that if (or rather, when) he would need more power, he could simply buy another GTX 680 (which would most likely be some time into the future, and the price of the GTX 680 will have dropped) and put them in SLI, which would give him better performance than a GTX 690 at less cost, I see no reason to suggest the GTX 690 at all.

Unless you are playing at resolutions beyond 1920x1080 (and even then), you won't even find a modern game that the GTX 680 doesn't chew up & spit out at max settings. And by the time we start needing that much power, NVidia will be well into their GTX 700 series or further, so the price of the additional GTX 680 would put the final cost at MUCH lower than buying a GTX 690 now and waiting so long to use it to its full potential.

 

[ThePcGamer]

Wizzy beat me to it. The GTX 690 is basically just 2x GTX 680 GPUs built into 1 card. So, yes, it is the most powerful single card on the market, however the GTX 680 is still the most powerful GPU on the market.

Given that the GTX 680 will easily run modern games at max settings with 60+ fps, and that if (or rather, when) he would need more power, he could simply buy another GTX 680 (which would most likely be some time into the future, and the price of the GTX 680 will have dropped) and put them in SLI, which would give him better performance than a GTX 690 at less cost, I see no reason to suggest the GTX 690 at all.

Unless you are playing at resolutions beyond 1920x1080 (and even then), you won't even find a modern game that the GTX 680 doesn't chew up & spit out at max settings. And by the time we start needing that much power, NVidia will be well into their GTX 700 series or further, so the price of the additional GTX 680 would put the final cost at MUCH lower than buying a GTX 690 now and waiting so long to use it to its full potential.

He said he wants the best possible. Sure, two GTX 680's would be better than a single GTX 690 overall maybe, but if money really isn't an issue at all then he could just use quad SLI GTX 690's.
The best of the best would still be using GTX 690's. But if money is an issue, then he should just go along with something like a GTX 670 or a GTX 580. A single GTX 680 probably wouldn't be a very good idea though considering the small difference in performance with a much higher price.

 

[Computear]

He said he wants the best possible. Sure, two GTX 680's would be better than a single GTX 690 overall maybe, but if money really isn't an issue at all then he could just use quad SLI GTX 690's.
The best of the best would still be using GTX 690's. But if money is an issue, then he should just go along with something like a GTX 670 or a GTX 580. A single GTX 680 probably wouldn't be a very good idea though considering the small difference in performance with a much higher price.

I'm trying to help the OP, not argue semantics. I don't think its reasonable to think he would quad-SLI GTX 690s, nor is it a good idea to recommend a GTX 580 at this time. Please provide explanations when you offer suggestions, we're here to help not argue.