Hardware Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 2GB Windforce 3X Review

Nice cooler on that 670 card.

Very disappointed that such obsolete drivers have been used, especially for AMD's cards. Looking at other reviews on the net, GTX670 has no chance at all to come anywhere near HD7970 Ghz with the latest drivers.

HardOCP (Cats 12.11)
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/11/12/fall_2012_gpu_driver_comparison_roundup

Legion Hardware (Cats 12.11)
http://www.legionhardware.com/artic...hz_edition_7950_iceq_xsup2_boost_clock,4.html

TechPowerUp (Cats 12.11)
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/Catalyst_12.11_Performance/23.html

This review is more or less irrelevant for measuring performance standing between NV and AMD cards at this point in time.

 

Wow that 7970 does seem to have jumped ahead. Still no Physx though would be a concern for me.

 

Aren't all 3 of those benchmarks comparing a 7970 GHZ against stock 670's though, not really comparable seeing as bits review is using a high clocked 670?

7970 ghz's seem to be about £50 dearer too.

I think older drivers may have been used so that you can compare new cards to cards in other bit-tech reviews, that's my take on it anyways.

 

CrapBag,

The main point I was making is that with latest drivers, AMD cards gained 7-10% boost, and 20-25% in Frostbite 2.0 games (Battlefield 3, Medal of Honor Warfighter)

The relative improvements for each card with Catalyst 12.11 are:
HD 7750: +4%
HD 7770: +5%
HD 7850: +4%
HD 7870: +10%
HD 7950: +7%
HD 7970: +7%
HD 7970 GHz: +7%

If you look at the reviews I linked they all show that HD7970Ghz is now easily faster than GTX680, HD7970 beats GTX670 and HD7950 Boost / V2 beats GTX660Ti.

Also, TechPowerUp, has a performance summary that shows that HD7970 is faster than GTX670. If you look at Legion Hardware's write-up, HD7970 Ghz beat GTX680 in 10 of 14 games, tied in 2, lost in 2. HD7950 Boost beats GTX660Ti in 12 of 14 games, lost in 2. That's at stock speeds.

Legion Hardware also has an overclocking section where HD7950 OCed beats HD7970 Ghz and GTX680. That makes it a way better value than GTX670 in this review. Cards like MSI TwinFrozr III 7950 or Gigabyte Windforce 3x HD7950 or Sapphire Dual-X HD7950 overclock to 1100-1150mhz without much trouble and at 1100mhz, HD7950 is already as fast as a GTX680.

This is why it's questionable why GTX670 got such an amazing rating in this review:
1) Enthusiast consider overclocking, and that's what makes i5-2500k/i5-3570K stellar;
2) Even without overclocking, HD7970 is now nearly as fast as a GTX670, yet in this review it's slower -- because they used outdated drivers.

I am not cherry-picking either. Other reviews now show even HD7970 beating GTX680 and HD7970 Ghz 10-15% faster than GTX680 at 2560x1600:
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...12-11-never-settle-driver-performance-17.html

I don't think this review tells the real story of current performance.

 

Now I don't know what to think!

 

I think this is still a good choice of card for those looking to upgrade, price is reasonable, cooling and quiteness are in line with worth paying a little extra for and they suck up a lot less energy than comparitive Radeon cards.

All I say is that not many people play at 2560x1440 let alone 2560x1600 (less than 1% at guess), anything over 70fps is a waste (the human eye can't process above 60hz, unless you're opting for 3D?

1920x1080 or lower is where most people are at right now.

Whilst I take on board what BlueFalcon has said and backed up with some numbers, those stellar settings are for the people who believe in multi monitor set-ups or have £1200 30" monitors.

 

Well there are some really nice 2560x1600 in the 27" range now and are expensive but not crazily expensive. The Hazro and some others are around £500 or so I think. I could maybe stretch to that early next year, but the problem is that I would then need a card to cope, and it starts getting really expensive then.

I like to crank games and judging by all those charts, even high end cards struggle with that resolution. The big double cards are so expensive, but at least with the Radeon you could maybe just about scrape by. You might only be able to get 30fps out of demanding games but at least you're pulling it off. If the alternatives are 10fps less, that's 20fps which is a no go for most action games.

In the end I would probably just have to compromise on the screen and get a 24" instead One of those with this 670 Windforce3 shaves off hundreds. I am hoping something nice might happen early next year with screens and the GTX 780 or whatever.

 

dolphie, it also comes down to the games you play/want to play. Planet Side 2, WOW, Hard Reset, Dragon Age 2, Project CARS, Max Payne 3 will run faster on NV cards, while other games like Sleeping Dogs, Hitman Absolution, Witcher 2, Skyrim with ENB mods, Arma II games, Dirt games, Far Cry 3, Anno 2070, Metro 2033, will run faster on AMD's cards. Games like Battlefield 3 and Crysis 2 will be nearly a tie at this point. Nvidia no longer has an advantage in Frostbite 2.0 games after AMD fixed their driver issues in that engine. At the same time, Nvidia also offers PhysX effects in games like Batman AC or Borderlands 2 which look cool and the GTX670 will use a bit less power.

You can't go wrong with GTX670 Windforce 3x as it IS an excellent card. My main point was the standing of the cards in this review is no longer accurate as the latest drivers drastically changed the situation. You also make a very good point regarding no single-GPU being sufficient enough to drive 2560x1600 on its own.

Right now GTX670 OC Windforce is going for about £300 with 2 free games - Borderlands 2 and Assassin's Creed 3.
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-...08mhz-gddr5-gpu-980mhz-boost-1058mhz-cores-13

1Ghz Gigabyte Windforce HD7970 is also £300 with 3 free games - Sleeping Dogs, Hitman Absolution and Far Cry 3
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/3gb-...d-5500mhz-gddr5-1000mhz-dvi-i-hdmi-2x-mini-dp

If you push HD7970 with overclocking, it will outperform GTX670/680 at 2560x1600:
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...70-3gb-matrix-platinum-edition-review-20.html

Most HD7970 will only overclock to 1150-1200mhz though, but still would be faster at 1920x1200 or 2560x1600 than GTX670 OC. If you don't want to overclock, it's a moot point. Chances are for next generation games like Metro Last Light and Crysis 3, neither GTX670 nor HD7970 would be fast enough anyway - the store of PC enthusiast!

 

Thanks a lot Blue, helped a lot

 

My HD 7950 is a beast and fantastic value!!