GTX 670 - How much VRAM for 3 screens (but gaming ONLY on 1 screen)

[switchblade]

Hi guys,
Do I need to splurge for a 4GB GTX 670 when I will solely be gaming on 1 screen? At 1920x1080?

This is my set up:

Screen 1 (1920x1080): Samsung 27" - Primary screen. Gaming. Photo Edits.
Screen 2 (1920x1080): Samsung 24" - Secondary Screen - Sitting next to primary screen. Browser. Widgets
Screen 3 (1920x1080): Sony 46" LED TV Mounted on wall - TV shows. Movies.

That's my setup.

I was planning on getting the Gigabyte GTX 670 Windforce 2GB Overclocked card for $369 after rebates. The 4GB version is $60 more and takes up 3 PCI slots.

I want to SLI in the near future so 3 PCI slot coverage by the GFX card is a big no-no.

My other PCI slots will host:
Sound Blaster Z
Gigabyte GC-WB300D Wifi/Bluetooth PCI card

Thx!

 

[lt_dan_zsu]

I would look at the 7970 or 7950. just compare their performance. I think it is worth it to spend $70 less for barely any loss in performance. You can very easily overclock the 7950 past a 670 anyways. I mean an overclocked 670.

 

[switchblade]

Dan thanks for the reply but in the past I've always had some issues with ATi cards in some form. So i tend to stay away from them now. I saw the benchmark comparison at Anandtech for those two cards...and it seems like there's a give and take with them. The 670 pulls ahead in some games and trails in some...however will 2GB be enough though? Thanks!

 

[lt_dan_zsu]

Yes 2gb will be enough for any game. I can't imagine you needing more. When did you last own an amd card? 7000 series has ran very well.

 

[switchblade]

The last two ATi's that I owned were the Radeon 9800 Pro, and the 1900XT All In Wonder.

Then I switched to EVGA GTX 480. Never had any issues with it so decided to stick with Nvidia....

So 2Gb is enough to run a blu-ray movie on one screen while you're photo editing on another? And have a browser open in the 3rd?

Thanks!

 

[lostgamer_03]

I'm using a GTX 670 by ASUS with the Direct Cu II cooler. It only takes 2 slots. It's the most quiet GTX 670 and the temperatures doesn't seem to go beyond 70 C while the fan is only spinning at 30%, I'm pretty impressed.

I'm gaming on 1080p as well, but I have to say that the 2 GB are already almost used up. Crysis 3 eats 1.8 GB same for Skyrim. Guild Wars 2 comes close as well. I'm actually worried that it might bottleneck my GPU in this year, with the new games coming out.

4 GB does seem appealing to me right now, if you were to go SLI and game on 2 or 3 screens then absolutely get 4GB.

 

[AdioKIP]

2 Gigs is just fine for current games while still having tasks running on other screens. I run 4 screens, (EyeFinity + 1). The only time I've seen my card go over using 2 gigs of ram is when running games on multiple screens (5760x1080). I can easily game on one screen, play live tv on another, and hd video on another and normally dont go over 2 gigs of useage. While 2 gigs seems good for now, personally I would try to go for a card with 3 or above since I'm sure newer titles will eventually use more and more ram.

 

[lt_dan_zsu]

Well based on info I just read. 4gb might bottleneck. Also you owned ati when it was stupid. It got a lot better when it was bought out by amd. They are really good now. Better overclocks, better prices. You can get a card off better strength than a 670 4gb for over $100 less.