Kfa2 gtx670

-cK- · **Kfa2 gtx670 -** 06-24-2012, 20:38 | posts: 6 | Location: RSA

Hi

I'm looking at upgrading my old ATi 5850 that has served me well and is still going strong be it overclocked to the max on watercooling.

I'm looking at the KFA2 GTX 670 OC as a possible replacement as I find I need to start to compromise a bit more on quality settings with some new titles, still acceptable but usually the tell tell signs of upgrade time.

I'm running a ASUS P7P55D-E motherboard so I know SLi can't be done on this board but I've never ran SLi or Crossfire even thou my last two motherboards could. It just never seems like a viable solution and is more trouble by the sound of it so an irrelevant factor to go ATi/nVidia. Anyways I'm running triple monitors and my res is 5040x1050 without bezel correction.

I can pick up this card for about a $100 less than the 680 but is running the same clock speeds as a stock 680 and is also cheaper than the 7970.

I've been looking and reading reviews and the 670 from nVidia seems to be the current bang for bucks winner. I'm not familiar with the KFA2 brand and the closest priced alternative that would be a better buy is the EVGA 680 SC. I know EVGA is a well know brand but it's a $100 more and the gain is very small if you compare it in clock speeds.

Anyone familiar with KFA2, durability, overclocking stability and so-forth. I also would like to water cool this card with my universal XSPC Rasa GPU block I have, I trust it would fit, so I believe I will be able to get some good OC'ing out of the 670 but this is also true for the EVGA 680. Both are in stock at a local supplier so any inputs would be welcomed.

I would also like some input on the following I realized I might need to address before I upgrade:

1) My PSU is a Cooler Master Extreme 650W. The requirements for either of the two mentioned cards are 30 - 38 amps on the 12V output. From the link to my PSU the 12v is split into a 12v1 @ 18amps and a 12v2 @ 18amps. I'm confused as to whether this means I have 36 amps on my 12v or 18 amps max. In the latter case It would seem that I might need to replace the PSU first then

2) The outputs of the nVidia cards. My LCD's are VGA input only. I have two DVI-i's + one Diplayport connected to run the three LCD's all with VGA adapters. The thing is the DVI-i to VGA adapter, as I just found out, ain't gonna work on the DVI-d that the nVidia is running. So I'm wondering will I be able to run triple monitors (surround vision) via a HDMI to DVI-i via DVI-i to VGA adapter to the LCD as per a quick browse through the suppliers site I could not find a DVI-d to VGA adapter.

My alternative option in more or less of the same price would be the Sapphire 7970. Thou it is more expensive than the 670 it is less than the 680 and is shipped with all the adapters I'll need to get it hooked to my current displays. It does come at a small performance drop off on certain games to the 680 and 670 but it is within the margin of negligible I think. Plus overclocking the 7970 seems to be more straight forward than the new series nVidia cards?

Thanks

Deathspank · 06-25-2012, 13:43 | posts: 1,293 | Location: Wolverhampton/England

yes, i had a kfa4 460 1g and it was a great card. i loved the way you could lift the fan out to give it a good clean without stripping it down. when it came to overclocking the card didnt know when to stop, in fact it was me that lost the bottle as i didnt want to damage the card. think i had it @ 900 core and 2200 mem.

its now in a friends rig doing him justice now and running just fine. i would buy another kfa2 card with out hesatation.

good luck with the 670.

RoadKillNL · 06-25-2012, 14:34 | posts: 2,677 | Location: Netherlands

Was going to buy a KFA2 GTX 680 EX OC 4GB myself, but getting one here in Holland is close to impossible.

My current order is a Zotax GTX 680 4GB, but that's almost 4 weeks ago and they still don't know when and if it will come.

Sucks so bad nVidia can't get a 680 in stock.

-cK- · 06-27-2012, 21:17 | posts: 6 | Location: RSA

Thanks for the inputs but it would seem after some more forum scouring that due to technical requirements I'm stuck on ATi as my only choice for triple monitor gaming at this time as nvidia does not support 3x VGA on a single GPU. Your screens need to be DVI/HDMI/Display Port and in my case they are all VGA only...