I've been looking to purchase one, and would like to get an EVGA, but they are all sold out.
I'm trying to get a new computer built by May 15th and would like to use that card, but I'm not sure if I will be able to get one by then.
Here's what I'm thinking of doing -- let me know if you think it's a good idea:
Purchasing my new computer with a gtx 560ti card (same as my current computer has), then once I can get my hands on a gtx 680, replace the 560ti with it, and put the 560ti into SLI on my current computer. Good/bad idea? Is 560's in SLI a good idea/investment?
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Playing a Wizard. Looking for Demon Hunters to play with.
Buying the latest and greatest video cards is a terrible waste of money. The preformance you gain over a card like a 560ti is very minimal for the cost of the card.
if you're buying the computer to play diablo 3, dont waste your money on a super expensive card like a 680
if you're buying it because you like to waste money on the latest and greatest technology, then why are u asking if you should buy it or not?
Nvidia GTX 560 SLI gets around 200. What are you planing to do with your system? Why do you need SLI?
Here's my system, and I'm very pleased with it, will run D3 on max settings with no issues:
OPERATING SYSTEM: Windows 2.6.1.7601 (Service Pack 1)
CPU TYPE: Intel® Core™ i7-2600K CPU @ 3.40GHz
CPU SPEED: 3.46 GHz
SYSTEM MEMORY: 7.98 GB
VIDEO CARD MODEL: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570
VIDEO CARD MEMORY: 3.97 GB
DESKTOP RESOLUTION: 1920x1080
HARD DISK SIZE: 1000 GB
The motherboard is Asus Sabertooth, and the HDD's are 2 500 GB on raid zero(edited out the value beta profile settings gives which was wrong). Runs smoothly every game out there on max settings.
I'm quite sure it will be in stock somewhere before Diablo 3 releases, its just that the first batch sold so fast, stores here in norway have already gotten their second shipment of cards.
Unless you're planning on going 3d, multidisplay 2d, or something ridiculous, it's probably overkill. 2 560ti's in SLI will outperform the single evga 680 and save you a ton of money. Especially considering you already have the makings of a pretty good video system just sitting there. If you want to spend the money, by all means, support the economy, but don't feel like it necessary.
BIg issue I have with nvidia and any time it makes changes to architecture, it goes through growing pains. I wouldn't rush out and buy the first iteration of ANY card nvidia puts out with new architecture, wait until they work the bugs out. In the process you get a more stable card, and because you waited a month or so, a cheaper one as well.
I'm currently running SLI in both of mine and my wife's systems. Honestly, I'll never do an SLI setup again for gaming. SLI and Crossfire don't receive the development time by the companies to make it worthwhile IMO. The only exception to this is if someone plans on doing SLI/Crossfire with top of the line cards, where you can't get a single card to match the performance of two. If you're looking to SLI two consumer level cards, it's better to spend the cost of both cards on a single enthusiast level card, hands down.
I essentially must go through my video drivers and tweak them every time a game comes out that I want so I can make sure that the SLI is functioning. Some games flat out receive such a minimal boost in performance from SLI that it's infuriating I spent the money. Also, I've had issues where I must consistently research which SLI rendering settings squeak out the best performance each and every time a new beta video driver is released (and you can expect to be using beta drivers from now on if you want SLI support in new games in any kind of timely manner). The problem with the beta drivers is that you can and do get some bad batches that cripple SLI performance because some minute setting got tweaked, so you must check your own performance levels and research other gamers' performance levels with the newest version of drivers so you can determine what settings work best with the most current version, or if you now have to rollback to a previous iteration.
If you spend some time reading the cost effectiveness of SLI setups in articles you can find via Google, you'll also see two aspects that get overlooked: added heat generation and added electricity consumption.
I've had to literally increase my air conditioning usage because the two SLI computers pump out so much heat, then can get you sweating after a few hours of playing in the room with them (and I have both systems in separate rooms), and this goes double if I have my PS3 going as well for movies or Netflix simultaneously. Granted, we do use our PCs a tremendous amount. Also, the electricity cost of running the extra card doesn't go away if you're not gaming. If you're PC is turned on and the card is installed, it's using power even if you're doing nothing more than surfing or e-mail.
TL;DR
SLI isn't worth it because of the inconsistent performance increases, the extra time you spend checking to see if you're driver settings are optimal, the added electricity used, and the added heat generated unless you plan to install two top of the line cards where you there is no single card that can match the performance of two.
/edit: Forgot to mention, you're 560ti should be overkill for Diablo 3 in all but the most enthusiast level settings. Obviously if you plan on playing in Quad hd 4096x2304 resolution with 128x AA and ultra settings, then invest in an upgraded card. Otherwise, buying the GTX 680 for Diablo 3 is like buying a Ferrari to drive to work; flashy with plenty of power that goes unused. I've read others' accounts that Blizzard ran GTX 460s in their systems at the various Con's to show off Diablo 3 (not sure if anyone here can confirm this again).
1) Don't rush out and buy the brand new card that has new architecture because it's way pricey and new architecture will take time to flush out flaws
and
2) Don't waste money on SLI because it's a small increase at a cost of an entire other card, and power that will be needed to run it.
Just a side note: Once I build my new computer, my current one would still be used a lot (games etc). Also, current computer would be single monitor -- new computer MAY eventually be dual monitor setup.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Playing a Wizard. Looking for Demon Hunters to play with.
You're spot on about the SLI, though I'll still concede that SLI is the way to go if you want to invest in two top of the line cards.
As far as not rushing out to buy the newest card on the block....well we all like getting the latest and greatest If you want the GTX 680, then by all means go for it. Just understand that if Diablo 3 is your main target, it's not necessary but that doesn't mean it won't be awesome
Haha thanks. I'll probably end up trying to get my hands on the 680 still.
If I can't get it before May 15th then I will go with some other video card and be happy with that. But I won't go with a 560ti so that I can later put it in my older computer and SLI them, since that seems like a waste.
Edit: The way I'm looking at it now is this -- I need a graphics card, and I'm probably going to spend about 300-350 on one, so why not dump an extra 150 (which doesn't seem like that much tbh) for the 680...
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Playing a Wizard. Looking for Demon Hunters to play with.
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I'm trying to get a new computer built by May 15th and would like to use that card, but I'm not sure if I will be able to get one by then.
Here's what I'm thinking of doing -- let me know if you think it's a good idea:
Purchasing my new computer with a gtx 560ti card (same as my current computer has), then once I can get my hands on a gtx 680, replace the 560ti with it, and put the 560ti into SLI on my current computer. Good/bad idea? Is 560's in SLI a good idea/investment?
Buying the latest and greatest video cards is a terrible waste of money. The preformance you gain over a card like a 560ti is very minimal for the cost of the card.
if you're buying the computer to play diablo 3, dont waste your money on a super expensive card like a 680
if you're buying it because you like to waste money on the latest and greatest technology, then why are u asking if you should buy it or not?
both cards are solid cards
also, google gpu benchmarks
Nvidia GTX 560 SLI gets around 200. What are you planing to do with your system? Why do you need SLI?
Here's my system, and I'm very pleased with it, will run D3 on max settings with no issues:
OPERATING SYSTEM: Windows 2.6.1.7601 (Service Pack 1)
CPU TYPE: Intel® Core™ i7-2600K CPU @ 3.40GHz
CPU SPEED: 3.46 GHz
SYSTEM MEMORY: 7.98 GB
VIDEO CARD MODEL: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570
VIDEO CARD MEMORY: 3.97 GB
DESKTOP RESOLUTION: 1920x1080
HARD DISK SIZE: 1000 GB
The motherboard is Asus Sabertooth, and the HDD's are 2 500 GB on raid zero(edited out the value beta profile settings gives which was wrong). Runs smoothly every game out there on max settings.
Another good benchmark site:
http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html
BIg issue I have with nvidia and any time it makes changes to architecture, it goes through growing pains. I wouldn't rush out and buy the first iteration of ANY card nvidia puts out with new architecture, wait until they work the bugs out. In the process you get a more stable card, and because you waited a month or so, a cheaper one as well.
I essentially must go through my video drivers and tweak them every time a game comes out that I want so I can make sure that the SLI is functioning. Some games flat out receive such a minimal boost in performance from SLI that it's infuriating I spent the money. Also, I've had issues where I must consistently research which SLI rendering settings squeak out the best performance each and every time a new beta video driver is released (and you can expect to be using beta drivers from now on if you want SLI support in new games in any kind of timely manner). The problem with the beta drivers is that you can and do get some bad batches that cripple SLI performance because some minute setting got tweaked, so you must check your own performance levels and research other gamers' performance levels with the newest version of drivers so you can determine what settings work best with the most current version, or if you now have to rollback to a previous iteration.
If you spend some time reading the cost effectiveness of SLI setups in articles you can find via Google, you'll also see two aspects that get overlooked: added heat generation and added electricity consumption.
I've had to literally increase my air conditioning usage because the two SLI computers pump out so much heat, then can get you sweating after a few hours of playing in the room with them (and I have both systems in separate rooms), and this goes double if I have my PS3 going as well for movies or Netflix simultaneously. Granted, we do use our PCs a tremendous amount. Also, the electricity cost of running the extra card doesn't go away if you're not gaming. If you're PC is turned on and the card is installed, it's using power even if you're doing nothing more than surfing or e-mail.
TL;DR
SLI isn't worth it because of the inconsistent performance increases, the extra time you spend checking to see if you're driver settings are optimal, the added electricity used, and the added heat generated unless you plan to install two top of the line cards where you there is no single card that can match the performance of two.
/edit: Forgot to mention, you're 560ti should be overkill for Diablo 3 in all but the most enthusiast level settings. Obviously if you plan on playing in Quad hd 4096x2304 resolution with 128x AA and ultra settings, then invest in an upgraded card. Otherwise, buying the GTX 680 for Diablo 3 is like buying a Ferrari to drive to work; flashy with plenty of power that goes unused. I've read others' accounts that Blizzard ran GTX 460s in their systems at the various Con's to show off Diablo 3 (not sure if anyone here can confirm this again).
1) Don't rush out and buy the brand new card that has new architecture because it's way pricey and new architecture will take time to flush out flaws
and
2) Don't waste money on SLI because it's a small increase at a cost of an entire other card, and power that will be needed to run it.
Just a side note: Once I build my new computer, my current one would still be used a lot (games etc). Also, current computer would be single monitor -- new computer MAY eventually be dual monitor setup.
As far as not rushing out to buy the newest card on the block....well we all like getting the latest and greatest If you want the GTX 680, then by all means go for it. Just understand that if Diablo 3 is your main target, it's not necessary but that doesn't mean it won't be awesome
If I can't get it before May 15th then I will go with some other video card and be happy with that. But I won't go with a 560ti so that I can later put it in my older computer and SLI them, since that seems like a waste.
Edit: The way I'm looking at it now is this -- I need a graphics card, and I'm probably going to spend about 300-350 on one, so why not dump an extra 150 (which doesn't seem like that much tbh) for the 680...