GTX680 And overclocking

[Paladone]

I am still tossing up between the Asus platinum HD7970 Matrix and the Nvidia Geforce GTX680 directcu II @1201Mhz. It's troubling me an aweful lot as both cards are better in different ways. The three main questions that i have are:
1. Which card can be overclocked more?
2. Is it true that AMD cards run cooler?
3. is 3gb of dedicated graphics memory over 2gb going to give an advantage in any situation? Is there any case in which you would use more than 2gb?

Thanks again

[Jack1n]

What ress will you be using?,im cannot recommend the 7970 matrix,it might give anuther 100mhz more OC margin than a standard 7970 but its not worth the price,for the same price you can go with 2x7950's,thats what i would do.

[Paladone]

Originally Posted by Jack1n

What ress will you be using?,im cannot recommend the 7970 matrix,it might give anuther 100mhz more OC margin than a standard 7970 but its not worth the price,for the same price you can go with 2x7950's,thats what i would do.

Thats a good point, however, i was planning on crossfiring two of which ever i buy when i am able to afford it.

[TheMailMan78]

Originally Posted by Paladone

I am still tossing up between the Asus platinum HD7970 Matrix and the Nvidia Geforce GTX680 directcu II @1201Mhz. It's troubling me an aweful lot as both cards are better in different ways. The three main questions that i have are:
1. Which card can be overclocked more?
2. Is it true that AMD cards run cooler?
3. is 3gb of dedicated graphics memory over 2gb going to give an advantage in any situation? Is there any case in which you would use more than 2gb?

Thanks again

More VRAM means you can run better at higher resolutions. Like well above 1920 x 1080. If you are running at 1920 x 1080 or below the extra VRAM is useless. Also what kind of games are you playing? You might save some cash and go with a 670 or a regular 7970/7950 if you are not running multi-monitor.

[RCoon]

Originally Posted by Paladone

Thats a good point, however, i was planning on crossfiring two of which ever i buy when i am able to afford it.

At high resolutions and/or multiple monitors, i recommend the 7970, but not the asus platinum blah blah blah blah edition. The DirectuCUII is a great cooler, and i believe you can get the 7970 with that cooler. You can pull insane clocks with that cooler, and it is fairly silent. 2GB might well do now, but if you're futureproofing, i will always recommend using 3gb. I'm running two 7950's and i chose the 3gb versions, for the MSAA, AA, Supersampling and high res textures. They all eat up vram when enabled together, and providing games in the future arent still designed for 360 console hardware, games are going to ask for more vram with those options.

[Paladone]

Originally Posted by RCoon

At high resolutions and/or multiple monitors, i recommend the 7970, but not the asus platinum blah blah blah blah edition. The DirectuCUII is a great cooler, and i believe you can get the 7970 with that cooler. You can pull insane clocks with that cooler, and it is fairly silent. 2GB might well do now, but if you're futureproofing, i will always recommend using 3gb. I'm running two 7950's and i chose the 3gb versions, for the MSAA, AA, Supersampling and high res textures. They all eat up vram when enabled together, and providing games in the future arent still designed for 360 console hardware, games are going to ask for more vram with those options.

Aah right, great response thanks What do you mean by "asus platinum blah blah blah blah edition"?

[RCoon]

Originally Posted by Paladone

Aah right, great response thanks What do you mean by "asus platinum blah blah blah blah edition"?

asus platinum matrix, many words that make me LULz to myself. Companies and their choice of words to get people to buy their stuff
Is it made of a rare earth metal, and likely to ask me to take a blue or red pill?

[the54thvoid]

Originally Posted by Paladone

I am still tossing up between the Asus platinum HD7970 Matrix and the Nvidia Geforce GTX680 directcu II @1201Mhz. It's troubling me an aweful lot as both cards are better in different ways. The three main questions that i have are:
1. Which card can be overclocked more? Potentially neither, the Matrix may be volt locked.
2. Is it true that AMD cards run cooler? Not a lot in it but they run louder.
3. is 3gb of dedicated graphics memory over 2gb going to give an advantage in any situation? Is there any case in which you would use more than 2gb? Yes, higher resolutions (1440p and above or multi monitor. The more effects you switch on the more the memory matters at higher resolutions)

Thanks again

People say 2GB is fine but my GTX 580 was maxing out at 1200 resolution on certain games last year so next year will 2GB be enough?. If you plan on keeping card for a while, go with the 3GB (especially if you have 1200p or more).

The GTX680's are quieter across the board but the reviews for the Matrix are very good.

Both cards are excellent choices but in the end I (personally) would go for the one with the higher bandwidth (Matrix). It's also generally cheaper ((£50-60) where I live compared to the 680 you've listed.

[Paladone]

Originally Posted by RCoon

asus platinum matrix, many words that make me LULz to myself. Companies and their choice of words to get people to buy their stuff
Is it made of a rare earth metal, and likely to ask me to take a blue or red pill?

Oh right yeah haha. As you already know, i am scheming for a good, solid and 'future-proof' build. Heres the link if you're wondering - https://www.ple.com.au/ViewWishlist....1-a6c09089166d. In terms of crossfiring, do AMD cards crossfire more effectively than nvidia cards or the other way around?

[Paladone]

Originally Posted by the54thvoid

People say 2GB is fine but my GTX 580 was maxing out at 1200 resolution on certain games last year so next year will 2GB be enough?. If you plan on keeping card for a while, go with the 3GB (especially if you have 1200p or more).

The GTX680's are quieter across the board but the reviews for the Matrix are very good.

Both cards are excellent choices but in the end I (personally) would go for the one with the higher bandwidth (Matrix). It's also generally cheaper ((£50-60) where I live compared to the 680 you've listed.

Yeah, thats a good point. Thanks.

[RCoon]

Originally Posted by Paladone

Oh right yeah haha. As you already know, i am scheming for a good, solid and 'future-proof' build. Heres the link if you're wondering - https://www.ple.com.au/ViewWishlist....1-a6c09089166d. In terms of crossfiring, do AMD cards crossfire more effectively than nvidia cards or the other way around?

AMD crossfires with others cards in its family and series (for example, 7870 LE xfire with 7970), but as far as I'm aware, SLI and crossfire are almost identical in scaling performance when paired, though as i said, 7970 scales better with more monitors.

[Paladone]

Originally Posted by RCoon

AMD crossfires with others cards in its family and series (for example, 7870 LE xfire with 7970), but as far as I'm aware, SLI and crossfire are almost identical in scaling performance when paired, though as i said, 7970 scales better with more monitors.

That'll probably be the decider as i plan on eventually running dual monitor and crossfiring two 7970's

[Paladone]

Originally Posted by RCoon

AMD crossfires with others cards in its family and series (for example, 7870 LE xfire with 7970), but as far as I'm aware, SLI and crossfire are almost identical in scaling performance when paired, though as i said, 7970 scales better with more monitors.

I don't know an aweful lot about the guts of a computer and it'll be my first time building a PC when. Is the motherboard and case in this link https://www.ple.com.au/ViewWishlist....1-a6c09089166d compatible with crossfiring? and will the Mobo fit in the case?

[brandonwh64]

I would def change out that PSU to something more like this cause you are never going to use 1000W unless you add another 7970 and a butt load of fans, hdds and such

https://www.ple.com.au/ViewItem.aspx...CategoryID=318

[Paladone]

Originally Posted by brandonwh64

I would def change out that PSU to something more like this cause you are never going to use 1000W unless you add another 7970 and a butt load of fans, hdds and such

https://www.ple.com.au/ViewItem.aspx...CategoryID=318

I am planning on adding another 7970 and possibly Lights on the case. I also plan on running the maximum number of case fans. Do you think the 750w will suffice for that?

[EarthDog]

Originally Posted by Paladone

I am still tossing up between the Asus platinum HD7970 Matrix and the Nvidia Geforce GTX680 directcu II @1201Mhz. It's troubling me an aweful lot as both cards are better in different ways. The three main questions that i have are:
1. Which card can be overclocked more?
2. Is it true that AMD cards run cooler?
3. is 3gb of dedicated graphics memory over 2gb going to give an advantage in any situation? Is there any case in which you would use more than 2gb?

Thanks again

1. The AMD
2. Maybe, but who cares. I say that as does it really matter if one runs 55C and the other 65C both being WELL within their limits?
3. It will over 1920x1080 (but some at 1920x1080). Modern games can use more than 2GB.. BF3 will with Ultra settings.

That said, 7970, and unless you are going 'extreme' cooling, dont pay the premium for the Matrix.

[Darkleoco]

Originally Posted by Paladone

I am planning on adding another 7970 and possibly Lights on the case. I also plan on running the maximum number of case fans. Do you think the 750w will suffice for that?

I would keep the 1000w if you are planning on crossfire as well as overclocking, adding a number of case fans and lights just reinforces the need for a larger psu especially a few years down the road when it starts to age.