GeForce GTX 680: Overview | Specification (Specs) | Testing | is it still relevant?| Is It Good For Gaming? / Price “$200″ The GeForce GTX 680 was officially announced by NVIDIA on March 22, 2012. The new Kepler microarchitecture on which this model is based and which replaces the previous Fermi is more productive and energy-efficient. Everyone knows that last year’s GTX 580 has been firmly holding the lead among single-processor video adapters from NVIDIA all this time. And now, the new “fighting machine”.
Galaxy NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 2GB Video Card Review & Showcase NCIX Tech Tips
At the heart of the GeForce GTX 680 is a new graphics chip labeled GK104, built using 28nm technology. The graphics adapter has a 256-bit memory bus and operates at 1006 MHz. The dimensions of the video card are 255x98x37 mm, and, in principle, do not differ from the dimensions of the main competitors. The novelty has a fundamentally different cooling system from the previous ones, which consists of many parts, which, in turn, makes it easy to disassemble and clean the radiator from dust.
The performance of the video card in question has increased quite significantly compared to its predecessor, which can be seen in synthetic tests. In the game Battlefield 3 at maximum settings and a screen resolution of 1920×1080, the average number of FPS was 79. In Metro 2033, at similar settings, the average result was 66 FPS. For comparison, the GTX 580 averaged 57 and 54 FPS in these games, respectively. From this we can draw a very specific conclusion that the GTX 680 will allow you to play any modern games at maximum graphics settings without any problems.
GeForce GTX 680: Specifications (Specs)
| Kernel name | GK104 |
| Technological process, microns | 0.028 |
| Number of transistors | 3540 mln |
| Number of universal processors | 1536 |
| power usage | 195 W. |
| Core frequency | 1006 MHz |
| Memory type | GDDR5 |
| Memory | 2048 Mb |
| Memory bus width | 256 pages |
| GDDR5 Memory Bandwidth | 192.3 GB / s |
| PCI Express bus | 3.0 |
We offer you a detailed video review of the novelty in question.
NVidia GeForce GTX 680 Graphics Accelerator
The NVidia GeForce GTX 680 Graphics Accelerator has made it an entry-level game, but many consumers say the potential of the graphics card is worth competing with more expensive devices in the professional segment of the video adapter market. This article gives the reader access to one of the best chips on the internal market that is able to handle not only all resource-intensive toys, but also shows great performance with applications that require high computer performance. An overview of features and owner reviews will help users decide on a video adapter to choose in the gaming segment.
How Relevant is the NVidia GeForce GTX 680?
The NVidia GeForce GTX 680 graphics card was supposed to become the norm in the evolution of gaming graphics accelerators in the high-performance segment and replace the outdated GTX 580 video adapter, but everything went as planned by the manufacturer. This was due to the shift in chip manufacturing technology from 40 nanometers to 28. As the crystal energy consumption decreased, heat dissipation decreased, so the chip had great potential to increase performance during power-up.
It is worth mentioning that it is this technology that has created a number of productive graphics cards for professional use in mathematical calculations in image processing and 3D modeling. True, the manufacturer used a multiprocessor platform for such systems. Needless to say, two or three graphics cards based on the GTX 680 chip in SLI mode can show good results in similar calculations.
Technical specifications
The GTX 680 chip was codenamed GK104. The manufacturer has been able to assemble 3.5 billion transistors on a single chip using an area of 294 mm 2 . Support for DirectX 11 and Hardware 5 The shader modification has become the key to the high gaming performance of the nVidia GeForce GTX 680 graphics card. Performance characteristics are provided by a 265-bit memory bus built using GDDR5 technology. This is done as four independent controllers, each 64 bits wide.
The amount of RAM in the video adapter is 2 GB, but it is theoretically possible to assume that some manufacturers want to increase the amount of RAM in the accelerator to 3 or 4 gigabytes. They will be able to do this by installing larger memory chips, but this change will not affect bus bandwidth because this feature is limited by the hardware.
High power indicator: NVidia GeForce GTX 680
By reducing heat, they have improved the key graphics features of the nVidia GeForce GTX 680. After exceeding the psychological barrier at 1 GHz, the manufacturer set a minimum limit of 1006 MHz for the crystal. However, according to many owners, this setting is fancy and, as practice shows, the video adapter is more capable.
As with previous modifications of the nVidia line, the stability of the device depends on cooling, so the performance of chips from different manufacturers in the gaming video card segment will only be effective if there is a suitable cooler for heat dissipation. Here, however, the consumer will have to choose the price and performance of the platform, as the solutions available in the market have no middle ground.
Technologies and their possibilities
Looking at the nVidia GeForce GTX 680 chip, we can conclude that the video adapter is a finished product. First, the crystal runs at full capacity (no one locks it in the factory), and this will clearly appeal to any user. The second point is to support all existing technologies in the multimedia market and gaming segment. We’re talking virtualization when working with 3D, support for multiple screens with faster graphics output from all connected monitors, and the ability to use the crystal in CUDA mode.
Only one oddity is confusing: a graphics accelerator has been installed by the manufacturer, which will automatically reduce the fundamental frequency at idle. It is somewhat incomprehensible why the performance of an already economical chip needs to be reduced, as users logically need the efficiency that the chip in question is implementing in GPU Boost mode.
GeForce GTX 680: Battlefield 3 Maximum
Spontaneous reduction in fundamental frequency using a simple nVidia GeForce GTX 680 graphics accelerator After the introduction to the world, an explanation was found for laptops with a discrete video adapter based on a similar chip. While testing and reviewing laptops, many enthusiasts found that the manufacturer was initially targeting the portable device market. It is for mobile platforms that such an economical chip has been developed.
Comparing the gaming performance of the GTX 680M and GTX 580M graphics accelerators built into laptops, consumers have concluded that nVidia technologists have simply eliminated AMD’s competitor from the market, providing a cost-effective and highly efficient solution to the world. Thus, the price of a laptop in the gaming segment with the new accelerator does not exceed $300 (which is 10% higher than the previous generation device). While platform performance has increased by 35%. Pretty good deal for players.
Prize for the studio!
A potential buyer will definitely pay attention. Note that the domestic market is full of solutions based on the nVidia GeForce GTX 680 that look almost identical. This is the same cooling system in many video adapters from this manufacturer. Tests have shown that the motherboard, along with the crystals and batteries, is not exposed to strong heat, so many manufacturers have chosen to leave the nVidia cooler at the factory and label their product with a standard sticker attached to the radiator housing.
The aluminum plate around the perimeter of the entire video card and the turbofan, completely enclosed in the housing, perfectly remove heat from the elements of the device. The 28-nanometer technology has clearly had a positive effect on the chip. But this only applies to graphics accelerators that have not been devalued at the factory by the manufacturers.
Above the stars
However, the famous Taiwanese brand in another I just wanted to surprise my fans, and the video adapter ASUS nVidia GeForce GTX 680 appeared on the market, which not only got its own cooling system, but also experienced a huge surge. By increasing the base frequency to 1300 MHz, the company’s technologists have managed to increase the device’s performance by almost 20 percent. The market leader did not stop there and offered customers a choice of solutions with 2 and 4 gigabytes of RAM.
After the ASUS innovation, the image boards appeared under the brands MSI, Zotac, Palit and other well-known manufacturers. They are all united by a large factory graphic core connection and a patented cooling system. It is simply difficult to choose, because the price of the product increased in direct proportion to the efficiency of the chip (at least 20,000 rubles).
In the final work
The video adapter based on the nVidia GeForce GTX 680 will definitely appeal to all fans of resource-intensive games, but after reviewing and testing it, many potential buyers will be unpleasantly surprised. The fact is that the video card has a huge power supply, the potential of which can only be revealed if there is a CPU that matches the gaming class. After all, it is irrational to buy an expensive accelerator and use half of its power.
Depending on the game video adapter, you need to change the game platform, otherwise it will not be possible to achieve high performance. IT professionals recommend the use of multiple Core i3 and later powerful processors. If we are talking about AMD products, then it is better to start with 4 core platforms.
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