Which gtx 670?

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meeklo062704

meeklo062704

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Feb 11, 2012
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I'm trying to figure out which gtx 670 to go with. I have it narrowed down to EVGA 670 ftw vs Asus 670 dcii vs Msi power edition. I know performance will vary from game to game, so I don't want to base the decision on that since lots of games will be released while I have this card. I was originally deciding between the Asus and the evga, but the msi power edition has received some good reviews and is a little cheaper. I know the coolers are better on the Asus and the msi, but the step up program is tempting too. I guess I'm looking for opinions on longevity and which can handle overclocking better. Not so much which will overclock higher, but which will handle it better in the long run.

I5-2500k (still stock clock)
Z68ma-d2h-b3 mobo
8gb @1600mhz
750w psu
Samsung 830 256gb
Asus xonar essence stx
 
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As far as the research I have done goes, the FTW is more comparable to a 680 because of its significant clock adjustments. I know the ASUS dcii was a let down, but if money is the deciding factor, I know the FTW isn't cheap.

As for coolers, the dual vs blower cooling systems are kinda a matter of preference and cases. If you have a case with really good airflow, the dual fans are more efficient, and quieter, but only marginally, and you usually pay for it. I would bet that by the time you got a case with the proper airflow to use the dual fans correctly, the whole PC wold be louder than if you just got the blower in the first place, but I am not positive on that. Again, if money is the deciding factor, I am looking at the same cards for my own build, and I kinda decided that the dual fans are only worth like a $10 difference. Look at the 670 FTW signature2 from EVGA.

I personally trust EVGA and know they have great customer/rma service, but both ASUS and MSI are good as well. If I were you I'd go with whatever is in your budget, but I think the FTW is the best 670 on the market.

Also, are you looking at 4GB or 2GB models?

Edit: Comparing the costs, it looks like the ASUS and EVGA are the same price, but the EVGA will significantly out perform it. The MSI and EVGA are within margin of performance, but the MSI is about $20-30 more. If you think that cooling is an issue, look at this one. With rebate, it is only $10 more than the regular FTW (also with rebate), has the better cooler and has the same speeds as the refular FTW. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130843
 
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I would personally choose a Gigabyte GTX 670 over the three you mentioned. It has GTX 680 PCB which is pretty good. When it's overclocked VS the GTX 680 overclocked in some games gigabyte 670 beats the 680 by a couple of frames also it has Windforce 3X Cooler which is one of the best custom cooler for GPU. It's also the cheapest and best bang for the buck. :)
 
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oops, forgot to mention my case is a Fractal Design Define XL. I'm not crazy worried about budget at this point. I picked up a 660ti last week, and all I keep thinking about is a little bit extra for a 670. So I've already spent $300, so I'm really only making a decision on an extra $100 give or take. I'm going for a 2gb as I won't be going multiple monitor, so the major benefit of a 4gb would be lost on me. Is the Gigabyte the only one with a 680 pcb? I thought I remembered hearing that some of the other 670 non reference cards had 680 pcb's.
 
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I own a Gigabyte GTX 670 and have had it for about 3 months. It is the best IMO for over clocking because of it's amazing cooling. I also did a lot of research into many of the GTX 670s and over all most have said to get the gigabyte edition over others.
 
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From what I know both Gigabyte and EVGA FTW has 680 PCB. But for overall overclockability and performance, I'd choose the gigabyte version with no hesitation.
 
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The EVGA FTW 670 series also use the 680 PCB. :) Going by the non OC clock speeds, the FTW still out clocks the Gigabyte by about 20 MHz on both base and boost, however the Gigabyte is also cheaper by a good $20-30. Definitely a competitor. Personally, I would still pick EVGA though. Just looking at video reviews, EVGAs quality is worth the $20 to me.

This thread might also interest you. http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/362360-33-evga-geforce-gigabyte-windforce

After doing a bit more checking, the Gigabyte also has the "potential" to get higher overclocks because of its power connector and 5 phase pwm, however the FTW is a bit more consistent. OC'ing is not certain for most cards anyway, so just going off of the base clocks, the FTW is faster, but the Gigabyte is Cheaper.
 
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I keep leaning towards the evga, if for no other reason, because of integrity and reputation. Which is especially ridiculous of me considering I'm coming from a gigabyte gtx 460 that I picked up used from craigslist that runs so well that I'm putting it back up on craigslist. I would imagine overclocking performance on the 2 will be reasonably similar within a few frames of each other, so performance difference wouldn't be massive. I like knowing that problems will be taken care of, which is why I'm getting it from Frys. If there is a problem that comes up within the first month, I like knowing that I can take it back as opposed to getting it online. Once the return period is up, warranty and rma speed and reliability is important. I realize that nobody will have both the gigabyte and the evga at this point, but I'm wondering if there was a blind test between the 2 of them, would someone be able to say "ok, that one performs much better than the other"?
 
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IThis is your second thread so i will just say this any of the ones your debating about are good so make sure you get your hand on a nice non-reference model, like EVGA (FTW Signature2 ) Asus (DirectCU II), MSI (power edition) or Gigabyte (windforce).I have the power edition and love it !MSI's GTX 670 Power Edition uses the famous Twin Frozr IV cooler from the MSI Lightning and comes with a large clock speed boost out of the box, making its default clock speed even higher than GTX 680 stock clocks.The MSI GeForce GTX 670 has everything we love in a video card - a great price, blazing performance, and it runs cool and quiet. MSI even encourages further overclocking and overvolting with its included software. That is pretty much the definition of Kick Ass. My clocks/results on the 670 PE were i say were because i have not overclocked them recently this was two months ago:


Max OC
Core: 1316 MHz
Memory: 7406 MHz
Fps: 52.6


Standard OC
Core: 1290 MHz
Memory: 7204 Mhz
Fps: 51.5
 
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My bad, I didn't realize the thread posted twice. I posted from my phone, and got an error message saying the site wasn't available the first time. I definitely like the overclocking of the msi, but will heavy overclock and overvoltage shorten its lifespan? I'm all for performance, but not performance that will significantly shorten the lifespan.
 
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It's not going to significantly shorten the lifespan.
 
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I ended up going with the FTW, and have been playing with the overclocking a little. But my question is this. How much performance difference will there be with it running at 8x instead of 16x? My mobo needs an upgrade since its a Matx board. I'm trying not to block air, so I have my xonar essence stx in the the bottom pcie lane instead of the one that would put it right below the cooler. Unfortunately, that makes the 16x run at 8x. As I'd like to keep the air flowing, and the sound card as isolated as possible to avoid interference, will there be a noticeable loss of performance from this?
 
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As far as I'm aware, you won't see a significant drop in performance,(most things say like 5%) but your 2500k doesn't support pcie 3.0 either. If I were you, I'd just save up and upgrade to a Ivy bridge and a decent z77 mobo if you really want to take advantage of that GPU.

For like $360 you can get an i5 3570k and an AS Rock Extreme4.

But an upgrade of that magnitude constitutes a bunch of other upgrades as well like possibly cooling and a case.
 
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I've been afraid to even look at the performance difference between pcie 2.0 and pcie 3.0. Out of sight out of mind, what you don't know about doesn't get you the stink eye from your wife for spending more money. Is it a huge difference? I have been thinking about upgrading the mobo anyway, I just don't know if I would want to stay at 1155 or go 2011. It seems like 1155 will have a more steady upgrade path assuming that 2011 stays an enthusiast class. A define xl with some good fans should be sufficient for cooling though right?
 
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Well, its not too bad as far as pcie is concerned. I may be wrong but as I understand it, pcie 16x 2.0 is roughly equivalent to pcie 8x 3.0, and there is only about a 5% difference between 8x and 16x, so you are only looking at like a 10% increase if you go to 16x 3.0.

As for the chipsets, I would probably wait if I were you. The new intel Haswell line will probably be coming out in june, and it will require a completely new socket. Weather or not you use it, the prices of the 1155 will most likely come down.

I'm not actually sure the new processors will be true successors to the ivy bridge chips though, as it seems these 4th gen processors are designed to be lower power for tablets and ultrabooks. I may be wrong, but that sounds more like a new Atom processor than one for desktops and overclocking.


Case looks good too, but I'd still recommend a good aftermarket cpu cooler if you are oerclocking.
 
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I was planning on waiting it out a little to see where the socket went. No huge rush on it as an i5-2500k is still serving me quite well. I have a hyper 212+ on it right now, and its keeping idle temps below 30 celsius. I have been keeping an eye out for a good deal on a closed loop cooler, probably an h80 or h70. I'm kinda curious to see what Intel really does after haswell. The tick is usually not quite as good as the tock. So I'll probably see how the tock goes before I make a move on a processor.
 
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your ans is in my sig :)
if your in to overclocking its best to get the external exaust version from EVGA as you dont want all those heat dumping inside your case and getting the neighbours (eg ram mobo cpu) unhappy lol

Even the external exaust the 680pcb version dumps 25% air inside the case so case needs to have a good airflow.

PCIE2.0 to PCIE3.0 NO noticable difference up untill now, as GFX card at preasent couldnt top the PCIE2.0 data limitation so dont let that deciding factor.

3570k has in built PCIE 3.0 GFX support in conjunction with Z77 ofcourse & 2500k doesnt internaly
2500k should be a better clocker than a 3570k (on avarage) with less heat issue from my experience.

H100 if your planning to swim :)

Goodluck
 
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I'd go h100i myself 😉 less lekage history, better fans, software, and for some reason, currently cheaper on amazon. :lol:
 
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As much as I'd love to throw an h100i in there, define xl won't support a dual radiator. It was the give and take. It was a big chambered case, lots of fan mounts for good airflow, sturdy, and the cleanest looking one. The drawback was the 180mm fan that wouldn't allow a dual rad. Of course they released the define xl r2 6 months later, but its the price we pay. I've been hearing good things about the kraken coolers as well, so it might be worth checking into. I kind of stayed away from overclocking the cpu before because I didn't want to risk burning it out early, but that was before I realized that something breaking down means I can upgrade.
 
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I've been messing with that guide since last night, but I'm having a hard time with it. I'm getting pretty bad results with overclock headroom, so it's tough to compare with the guides results. My max boost was 50-60 less than what was achieved in the guide. Seems like I got one of the underperforming overclockers. I was thinking about trying to get it exchanged at the Frys where I got it, but I guess it's a little odd to return it for it matching advertised speeds.
 
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Yeah it's luck of the draw with overclocking some do it well others do not.
 
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Download GPU-Z:
http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/2219/TechPowerUp_GPU-Z_v0.6.8.html

Then right-click on the title bar, select "Read ASIC quality..."
Check to see how high your chip is rated, the higher the better. That will help you to determine if it's a bum chip versus other factors, like the airflow in your case contributing to the low overclocks.

Usually EVGA selects only the best ASIC binned chips for their FTW and Classified models.

Also, keep in mind that most review sites are using open test beds, with no outer case. So their airflow is much better than the average user, and therefore their overclocks are usually better than the average user.
 
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It's showing 70% in ASIC quality
 
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