Don't think nvidia will be pushing for a high-end card (GK110) release any time soon, as their high/mid-end 680 (which was suppose to be 670) is beating opponents high-end card. It just wouldn't make any sense to release a faster GPU just to beat their own card. But i would like to see what they have waiting for a better opponent.
The added Vram on these new cards from both sides is very useful. More AA and higher resolution textures can be used. Power wise sure the 580 is enough, but it lacks Vram that newer titles will take advantage of. Not to mention as some others said, mods for games eat up Vram like no tomorrow. The more the better. The whole reason I upgraded was the 3gig Vram that is actually used by BF3 and Skyrim. I see both games using over 2.4 gigs of my Vram.
Skyrim in 3D (and other games) will make good use of this card as well. Practically umodded Skyrim with official hi res pack at 1/2 1080p, all settings on max incl AO, no AA, gives around 42fps outdoors average (60fps av indoors except for some areas with fine particles). Framerate drops on occasion lower than 30fps.
hmmm... I can run Skyrim with consistent 60fps. Just turn off AA and opt for FXAA. It gives about the same IQ and 4xAA and to be honest, I simply can not tell the difference at 1080p. The game runs beautifully, even with the hi-res texture mod they released too.
Without SSAO through ENB, Skyrim runs at 60fps constant at 2560x1440 + 2xAA + FXAA and 8192 res shadows. With ENB SSAO, Skyrim runs no less than 45fps at the same settings. I sincerely doubt you'll need dual 685's to run it with full graphic mods, much less dual 680's if gaming at 1920x1080.
Ohhhh, if true this definitely looks like the card for me, three of these in SLi for surround, mmmmm. The current 680 doesn't have enough VRAM and the 7970 is just a tad too slow and expensive. SLi does not multiply the amount of GPU memory available, no matter how many cards you add you only get the amount of a single card, this is because each card has to work with the same data set (models, textures, multiple buffers), data sets that need to be stored close to each GPU for performance.
Looking at benchmarks and reviews I wouldn't waste 1k on the GTX 680's if I had 580s. I would wait for something better (GTX 780 or something)
Well, if the 685 is released within the next three months, I'll gladly use my step-up on it. For now, looks like I have the GK104 680 on preorder from Amazon. Just sad that EVGA is being a bit more strict with their warranty policy.
You will not notice any difference in gaming whatsoever,only your benchies will be higher...instead of 35000 you will have 40000 points....so what,big deal,stick with what you have and go for a more worthwhile upgrade when it appears.
overclocked 680 is about 5-15% slower than 2 580s, how is the 680 not an upgrade? The 680 is a great card and worth every penny.
No its not in gaming. Read the benchmarks gaming not 3dmarks. 680 sli is about 25% faster than 580 sli. It may be worth it to some people with 580s but it isn't worth it to me.
I got my 680 so i guess i'm not gonna be upgrading to gk110, but it is nice to see how nvidia is staying on top of thing, if 685/780 is gonna be 20-25% faster over 680 then it will be waaaay faster than 7970. Cool Next purchase for me : when next gen chip arrives
Likely because of CPU bottleneck. IMHO, anyone that gets a GTX680 should take advantage of the custom resolution tool and start playing at 2560x1440 or higher. That's where it will truly start to shine over the GTX580 in SLI.
