What are people's thoughts on 4GB models of the GTX 670. With 5670x1200 I've been convinced that I will need the extra RAM, but it seems the only 4GB models at launch use the standard PCB and cooler like the EVGA Superclock GTX 670 4GB. The reviews of GTX 670 SLI seem amazing and have got me very excited, faster than 680 SLI and 690 on average in Skyrim it seems. That, and I just rebuilt my system moving from a Core 2 Quad Q9550S at 2.8GHz and 8GB of RAM to a Core i7-2600K at 4.8GHz and 16GB of RAM and 2 Corsair Force 3 120GB SSDs... but I've still got my GTX 250, meaning Skyrim with mods chugs down to ~10FPS whenever I look into the distance... and that's at 1920x1200. Anywho, getting to the point: I am probably going to overclock my card at some point, and I will be leaving it on air. Think it's worth it to wait for a custom PCB (or 680 PCB) and cooler like an ASUS TOP 4GB DirectCU or EVGA Dual Shock? Or should I grab the Superclocks and call it done. I hope ASUS sticks with a 2 slot cooler if they do make a 4GB TOP version. Also, a side note, which custom cooling solution do you like best/ by which manufacturer? If I don't get this out I'm going to have to resort to adding the Superclocks to my cart and precariously waving my mouse over the "confirm" button just to see what happens O.O
I spoke to one of the BT guys (who I wont name) and he said the 2GB and 4GB versions make no difference at any res from their testing...
I'm guessing we are, cause how can a GFX card with less Cuda cores and lower core clocks be as fast as a GTX 680? Something is not right... If this isn't the case, I'm going to kick up stink about how much I've paid for my GFX card's. £600 for a GTX 680 4GB, when a GTX 670 4GB is only £430...NVidia are not making any friends here!
Saw this thread and thought you'd be here mate! But its very strange, so could be a driver limitation as suggested already!
Lucky for me i sent back my EVGA 680SC SIG to buy 2 670s for sli goodness just need to raise the funds for the second card though,as for the 4gb v the 2gb when i had my 3gb 580 bf3 could eat upto 1700 vram depending on maps and players but i would rather buy the 4gb card just to help out that bit more in the future.
I still haven't decided on graphics cards yet, running at low res at the moments means I really don't need that much grunt but I want to be able to go either triple monitor or 27/30 inch in the not too distant future and not have to worry about upgrading again and getting complete new cards. I like the look and price of the 670s, but then I like the thought of having the 680s, still torn between 2GB and 4GB though. I am thinking of either a single 680 4GB now, And then another in a couple of months, or just go 2x 670 4GB, really have no idea.
I'm really starting to think that the 6xx series is memory controller or driver limited, there seems to be little that can exceed 2GB of RAM usage unless it'll exceed it by a hell of a lot. Otherwise it just seems to nestle right up against the limit and call it a day.
I think Linus has kinda of proved to me that it is indeed a driver limitation that's holding the 680 back at the moment Watching that video of his you can see that the 670 is faster by quite a margin in The Witcher 2, but also he says the 670 is using a newer driver than the 680, which doesn't work (I'm guessing that's why he's not using it) on the 680.
Hmmm... Maybe this is a marketing ploy, and NVidia are holding back the GTX 680 for a reason. (Just my Speculation)... Also, it is easy enough to mod the GTX 670 Drivers to work on the GTX 680.
Maybe they are waiting for something to really stress cards and then they will unlock the full potential of the cards and then everyone who buys a 670 will upgrade to the 680.
I am sure the performance is driver limited or limited by some other factor. I never expected Skyrim to be a test of graphics performance, even with mods, it was too console focused. The real concern I have is why no game seems to use over 2GB on true_gamer's cards. We attributed it to better memory management, but what if it's a driver restriction or what if the drivers were "optimized" for the 2GB memory configuration (smaller bus could necessitate this). It could also mean that games are memory limited, which would explain the similar performance of the two cards with the same memory. Also, does anyone know of any reviews using PCIe 2.0 x8/x8 as would commonly befit a P67 board? I'd like to know whether a pair of 670s would be held back.
