[Phusius]

Originally Posted by mog22wai

Thanks for the input all. To answer some of the previous statements. I'm not a continual "upgrader" my 5970 is shot and out of warranty. I do read reviews before I make purchases. I have been shopping for a new GPU since mid-May. I didn't buy the first thing I saw either. I've put up with terrible artifacting and striations on the screen for months, and couldnt even do something as simple as watch a movie, no games, and often couldn't even write simple code without a constant reboot to refresh the image. Unfortunately, there wasn't a comprehensive review of the 680 Classified until after I'd already purchased the card, even though it was released weeks ago. I scoured the forums/net for reviews on the 680 Classy, and most of the feedback seemed positive yet anecdotal, not a formal review. That is, until it's become more widely available. Now others are complaining its overclocking potential not living up to expectations...for the cost.

I loved my 5970, and I think it was great value for the money. 2 1/2 years later the 5970 is still competitive with newer cards. It's a Shane the warranty wasn't as great. I'm trying to get the same type of power/value. I think the 690 is too expensive, and not enough VRAM for later games. I want to be able to overclock as well, and was worries me is, apparently the cards (680's in general) are already maxed out, there may not be as much headroom as I previously thought. I don't mind spending money on a quality card.

The 680 Classified is a darn good card, but I'm not so sure it's worth $800+ once you add the EKbot and liquid cooling. Only to find out later the card won't OC past 1250 MHz.

All of you have given me much to ponder....I appreciate the input.

PS - That's wise to save for a car rather than buying computer parts just to stay on the bleeding edge.

I say grab a 7970 3GB for 429.99 the xfx vlack edition one like mine, free ship still, then grab the arctic 7970 cooler (I plan to in the future). so around $500 and your talking an easy 1250 core... 1125/1575 is standard for 99% of 7970's with no voltage increase and the 3gb vram makes it a little future proof imo.