[Man from Atlantis]

Originally Posted by psolord

Hey guys.

Did anyone catch any GTX 680 SLI reviews? I only had time to read 4 of them and none had SLI results.

Is Kepler's SLI supposed to be any better than Fermi's SLI?

Also did you find any 3dvision benchmarks on the GTX 680? Does 3D vision always bring such a huge performance hit due to having to render everything twice or is Kepler able to alleviate this hit to something less, thanks to more clever architecture?

There is a Dutch 4-way review for SLi, it seems there is not much improvements over Fermi, didnt dig enough though..

I've seen Linus's 3dvision benchies he says GTX680 is basically 2xfaster than GTX580 there, not sure how reliable this guy's testings so take it with salt

[Vardant]

http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforc...80-sli-review/

[psolord]

Thanks a bunch guys.

The 7970s do seem to have a bit better scaling in dual gpu mode, thus making the 10% advantage the 680 has in single gpu mode, less significant. Still great performance from both sides.

As for 3Dvision, the video was quite informative. I don't see anything that implies that Kepler receives any less of a performance hit across the board, except in the case of Batman, which was quite less on Kepler. In Skyrim though the Kepler card receive a much higher performance hit. So it's a tie I guess.

What matters to me, is that I will probably need something like a 670 SLI in order to play games at 3dvision 1080P, vsynced at 60fps per eye.

Just out of curiosity though, the guy in the video says that Crysis 2 was designed with stereoscopic 3D in mind, so it does not bring so much performance hit in 3dvision mode. What exactly is that, which makes Crysis 2 not bring so much performance hit? I mean it still renders everything twice, doesn't it?

[bigtabs]

No it doesn't - it uses the z-buffer for reprojection. Aside from it's great performance, the 3D in Crysis 2 is aesthetically very poor compared to the regular driver hack 3D we're used to. There is a thread on the tech here.

Stereo gaming is the main reason I'm seriously considering one of these cards. Was especially nice to see the massive Skyrim performance compared to what I get with my 470GTX, so thanks for the link to the Linus video.

[psolord]

Originally Posted by bigtabs

No it doesn't - it uses the z-buffer for reprojection. Aside from it's great performance, the 3D in Crysis 2 is aesthetically very poor compared to the regular driver hack 3D we're used to. There is a thread on the tech here.

Stereo gaming is the main reason I'm seriously considering one of these cards. Was especially nice to see the massive Skyrim performance compared to what I get with my 470GTX, so thanks for the link to the Linus video.

Great. Thanks for the explanation.

[I.S.T.]

The tech report review has updated some. Scott added some info on GPU Boost: http://techreport.com/articles.x/22653/3

[Grall]

Nvidia-exclusive partner Galaxy is readying a single-slot GTX 680 card, equipped with a thin blower cooler that might be based on a vapor chamber, considering how lean it is.

No details are available right now on things like clock speeds (in case they had to nerf the GPU to not overcook it), noise levels, video output configuration, release date or price. It looks very intriguing though with a single-slot design. It would be a real boon for a micro-ATX system like mine to get access to all 4 cardslots. I'm a bit wary of the potential noise such a thin blower could make though, I can imagine that fan would have to spin hellishly fast to pump enough air...

Also, I'm curious how video outputs would co-exist with hot air exhaust in just one cardslot's worth of space. Maybe the cooler simply dumps all hot air into the case in order to make room for ports on the rear bracket.

[Alexko]

Originally Posted by Grall

Nvidia-exclusive partner Galaxy is readying a single-slot GTX 680 card, equipped with a thin blower cooler that might be based on a vapor chamber, considering how lean it is.

No details are available right now on things like clock speeds (in case they had to nerf the GPU to not overcook it), noise levels, video output configuration, release date or price. It looks very intriguing though with a single-slot design. It would be a real boon for a micro-ATX system like mine to get access to all 4 cardslots. I'm a bit wary of the potential noise such a thin blower could make though, I can imagine that fan would have to spin hellishly fast to pump enough air...

Also, I'm curious how video outputs would co-exist with hot air exhaust in just one cardslot's worth of space. Maybe the cooler simply dumps all hot air into the case in order to make room for ports on the rear bracket.

I don't recall ever seeing a single-slot card with any kind of external exhaust.

[Kaotik]

To put the card in some perspective, Galaxy released GTX 460 with single slot too, at Guru3D's review it was as loud as GTX 480, rated at 45dBA (for some reference, 6970 & GTX 570 SLI was rated at 42dBA) - and 460 is notably less power hungry than 680 is.
They failed to deliver the planned single slot GTX 470 apparently.

[Man from Atlantis]

some crazy non ref cards

Palit GTX680 +50% Power boost
http://www.hardwareheaven.com/review...overclock.html
http://www.techpowerup.com/163230/Pa...-Pictured.html
http://www.techpowerup.com/163236/Pa...-Official.html

Zotac GTX680 the early called 2GHz card? lol
http://www.techpowerup.com/163231/ZO...-Pictured.html

Gainward Phantom GTX680
http://www.techpowerup.com/163241/Ga...-Launched.html

[Kaotik]

The "2GHz card" is likely lost in translation, meaning they're planning to reach 2GHz on LN2 or liquid helium cooling, opposed to current record of 1.9GHz on reference (with beefed pwm)

[Grall]

Very strange shroud design on that Palit card. It caps way too tightly around the sides IMO and does not seem to allow adequate ventilation for the large center fan in particular.

[Bludd]

Wow this is hard to get in Norway. Only one e-tailer has some in stock.

[Grall]

TSMC seems to be significantly supply-constrained on their 28nm process, that's probably why.

Also, Nvidia published a somewhat alarming report, where they project that the $/transistor will hardly move downwards at all for 20nm and 14nm compared to 28nm, meaning the future development of GPUs could basically plateau unless prices increase massively for graphics cards.

[Man from Atlantis]

Metro 2033 such a memory bandwidth monster


http://www.pcgameshardware.de/aid,87...fikkarte/Test/


GTX 680 is actually reacts clock speed very nicely oppose to one might think, from 1006MHz to 1300Mhz it should be +30%.. but boost clock is 1100MHz and it actually is just +18% oc over the default..

________

3-Way SLi Review
http://www.4gamer.net/games/120/G012093/20120330042/

[I.S.T.]

http://techreport.com/articles.x/22735/5 Info on the shortages.

[CarstenS]

Originally Posted by Man from Atlantis

Gainward Phantom GTX680
http://www.techpowerup.com/163241/Ga...-Launched.html

Short Review (in german):
http://www.pcgameshardware.de/aid,87...fikkarte/Test/

[Man from Atlantis]

Originally Posted by CarstenS

Short Review (in german):
http://www.pcgameshardware.de/aid,87...fikkarte/Test/

interesting it consumes less juice than referance board while it's clocked higher..

[Albuquerque]

Originally Posted by Man from Atlantis

interesting it consumes less juice than referance board while it's clocked higher..

I'm pretty convinced that NV 680 has some under-volting headroom somewhat akin to AMD's 7900 series. The Sapphire 7970 that I bought uses a 1000Mhz core speed at slightly less than stock volts to provide a similar result -- more clock, less power draw than reference.

[Man from Atlantis]

Zotac GTX680 Supreme Edition review.. the card is pure awesomeness, it allows 1.5V and hit 1.40+ GHz on air, also there is an OTP switch if there will be any fullcover water block in futere it may reach 1.5GHz
http://en.expreview.com/2012/04/08/z...iew/22203.html

[Alexko]

1.5V on 28nm sounds like a great way to kill a chip.

[Grall]

Yeah, sounds really high volts. If it is not killed outright, then over time through electro-migration...

[Bludd]

I ordered the plain EVGA version. Stop talking about these crazy clocked versions!

[silent_guy]

Originally Posted by Grall

Yeah, sounds really high volts. If it is not killed outright, then over time through electro-migration...

Like a week or 2... (Probably a month or 2 but still...)

[Man from Atlantis]

Palit JetStream reviews
http://www.guru3d.com/article/palit-...ream-review/25
http://www.4gamer.net/games/120/G012093/20120411073/