NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 Review: Retaking The Performance Crown
by Ryan Smith on March 22, 2012 9:00 AM ESTThe Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Prior to the launch of our new benchmark suite, we wanted to include The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, which is easily the most popular RPG of 2011. However as any Skyrim player can tell you, Skyrim’s performance is CPU-bound to a ridiculous degree. With the release of the 1.4 patch and the high resolution texture pack this has finally been relieved to the point where GPUs once again matter, particularly when we’re working with high resolutions and less than high-end GPUs. As such, we're now including it in our test suite.
Skyrim presents us with an interesting scenario. At anything less than 2560 we’re CPU limited well before we’re GPU limited, and yet even though we’re CPU limited NVIDIA manages to take a clear lead while the 680 still finds room to push to the top. For whatever the reason NVIDIA would appear to have significantly less driver overhead here, or at the very least a CPU limited Skyrim interacts with NVIDIA’s drivers better than it does AMD’s.
In any case 2560 does move away from being CPU limited, but it’s not entirely clear whether the difference we’re seeing here is solely due to GPU performance, or if we’re still CPU limited in some fashion. Regardless of the reason the GTX 680 has a 10% lead on the 7970 here.
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CeriseCogburn - Thursday, March 22, 2012 - link
GTX680 is already sold out.HD 7970 has been sold out for months.
They can't make em fast enough.
Have fun with your i-pad tiny gaming.
Ananke - Thursday, March 22, 2012 - link
They spend like 100 mln on R&D and sold out the first several hundred cards at $500. Do you think that is a huge success? With this rate they will need decades just to break even...and what I said is that their targeted customers, both individuals and corporate, will have disposable income for the next several months only, then other electronics is coming out which will attract their money.Same like SONY - "great" success with PS Vita, next quarter they announce 2.5 bln loss on the books...yey really great.
CeriseCogburn - Thursday, March 22, 2012 - link
Well whatever you claim you said, I don't care. What is clear at least to me is the new architecture comes out in a lot more than 1 top video card, has already spread to shipped laptops, and will be spun out in millions upon millions of Wal Mart machines and Brand names like Dell/whatever etc for years to come, not to mention the many discreet card lines, and to cap it off very high value, high purchase cost FERMI/KEPLER compute cards costing multiple thousands of dollars each and contributing we have been told at least for Nvidia not amd, to like 38% of Nvidia's overall year upon year profits, which are so far, profits every single year, unlike AMD.--
So I can agree with you for AMD, but not for Nvidia because of the above facts.
If AMD somehow pulls off a victory this time and turns their research into profit, that's great, it will be a first for them.
Ananke - Thursday, March 22, 2012 - link
High Performance Computing is interested in ARM cores...a switch of NVidia fortunes may happen very very quickly, and NVidia shall be blind to not see this coming. Inadequate price positioning doesn't help.In consumer market the disposable income goes towards tablets, and this trend increases. This is the same people buying gaming GPUs.
So, BOTH NVidia and AMD are going to be squeezed on both sides. They have around 6 months to make good volume sales, and they very hard are trying to blew this chance with pricing.
Here you go, kinda internal marketing info for you, free.
What I said is the GPU is great, but not good enough for the money they ask.
CeriseCogburn - Friday, March 23, 2012 - link
Ok thanks for your perspctives. I read Nvidia announced their biggest ever quarter coming - maybe it's tegra 3 or something or some governments supercomputers or something else.Ananke - Friday, March 23, 2012 - link
Tegra 3 and mobile platforms. Nobody gives a c*** about GPU, hence the high prices. NVidia dosn't expect these to sell in large volume, but they don't care either.CeriseCogburn - Saturday, March 24, 2012 - link
The prices are no different than they have been for near a decade, everyone here obviously cares, some quite a lot such as yourself even, and for that same decade top tier cards from either warring company were never expected to sell in great quantity, hence my pointing out the great quantity of lower tier derived from from the research for both companies that is sold, as well as massively profitable high end for Nvidia and not amd.-
So there are indeed "more than plenty of people who care a great deal", and the top research benefits everything down the line, including humanity reaching for the stars.
You couldn't be more incorrect about everything really, especially using the GPU attack in the singular when it's better than and priced lower than amd's.
marc1000 - Thursday, March 22, 2012 - link
BTW, this is a nice achievement and makes me more interested in Nvidia than ever. But $ 400+ cards is not where the money is. It is at 100-200 range. And for some time AMD will have new cards in that price range, while Nvidia only has older ones.If Nvidia does launch the mid and low-end cards really fast, then AMD is in great trouble. Otherwise AMD will make money for some time - and lets hope this helps to save them.
oh, and by the years end I will buy my new card. it will be the best performing card at $ 250 with a single PCIe power connection. It does not matter if it will be AMD or Nvidia.
dubyadubya - Thursday, March 22, 2012 - link
I'd say overall both camps did a good job this time around. Competition at this level is a win win for the consumer. Let the price wars begin!CeriseCogburn - Tuesday, March 27, 2012 - link
I'm just realizing how evil and screwing AMD is. I found out Nvidia's last 4 flagships have been released at $499 for each, and AMD pr and marketing has known this, and certainly has the spying arms to know it this time as well.So what does AMD do ?
Well, closer to $600 suits them... why let's just waltz out there at $589 and heck by the time anyone figures it out it will be too late :(
It's just sinking in... it's like wait a minute...
Nvidia was not bound to come out higher as everyone told me to get me to buy the amd card !
They were bound to $499, been bound to it.
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So, on the top tier, there is no price war, yes let it begin - it has not begun !