256 bit bus? Talk about a mid range product being sold on the high end. I wonder if the card had a 384 bit bus if it would perform much better
Based on these leaks Im inclined to agree this was nVidias mid-range part, and the high-end has probably been delayed because of manufacturing issues on 28nm. nVidia did say TSMC was having trouble with yields.
I mean lets think about it: when was the last time a flagship single-GPU had two 6-pin connectors? Or basically the same memory bandwidth as the previous single-GPU flagship, in this case the GTX580?
Im not necessarily saying it needs more memory bandwidth to perform better, but thats how the specs compare.
The size of the bus is not the end all determining factor in a chip's performance. 8800GTX had a 512-bit bus. Based on that, Nvidia has done nothing except gone backwards since then.
The size of the bus is not the end all determining factor in a chip's performance. 8800GTX had a 512-bit bus. Based on that, Nvidia has done nothing except gone backwards since then.
Eh? An 8-pin connector is rated for 150W, 75W more than the 6-pin. Thus 8 + 6 allows the card to have a TDP of 300W which is way higher than 225W.Why would 6pin vs 8pin make a big difference in overclocking? It's not like you're hard limited to 225W with 2x6pin. All adding another two ground pins will do is slightly lower voltage drop and keep your ground reference from creeping up, but the extra couple amps going from 225W to 250W shouldn't be a big deal. I would say that the power supply design on the card is an order of magnitude more important than the extra two grounds on the connectors.
Eh? An 8-pin connector is rated for 150W, 75W more than the 6-pin. Thus 8 + 6 allows the card to have a TDP of 300W which is way higher than 225W.
It might not necessarily affect overclocking but it definitely affects how much power draw is available to the card.
Perf/mm2 improvements are impressive to engineers and nvidia's margins, but mean jack all to me as an end user who wants performance. Do. Not. Care.
I'll wager there is no way the 680 is going to offer the kind of increase nvidia has offered over their past flagship on the previous process as the same movement has in the past. Meaning the leaps seen from 8800GTX to GTX 280 and GTX285 to GTX480 are better improvements than we will see from GTX580 to GTX680. Really interested how they plan to market the 680 given their past flagships perf. improvements.
Cards can draw outside PCIe specs without issue.
I can assure you my cards are going well past the specified limit of two 6 pins when I toss 1150mv at them and nearly 60% overclocks.
So nobody complains about the power consumption of the GTX480? :sneaky:
The GTX480 needed 25% more power for 40-75% more performance. The GTX680 could use 25% less power for 40-60% more performance over the GTX580.
Now which is the better High-end card?
Thats not necessary true. It could be clever engineering and/or manufacturing like Ivy Bridge. Ivy Bridge is faster than Sandy Bridge while using less power.Some might say lower TDP is good, but in respect to performance, it just says this card is not powerful enough to need more power.
You can only go so far overdrawing your PCIE connectors until you get a burned out connector and/or fried PSU. Ask some of the people who burned their ATX24 out running Tri-SLI on mobos without additional power to the board or GTX480 owners who jerry-rigged 6 pin connectors up to 8 pin.
Just because you got lucky running outside of spec it doesnt mean your luck will hold, or anyone elses for that matter.Cards can draw outside PCIe specs without issue.
I can assure you my cards are going well past the specified limit of two 6 pins when I toss 1150mv at them and nearly 60% overclocks.
Thats not necessary true. It could be clever engineering and/or manufacturing like Ivy Bridge. Ivy Bridge is faster than Sandy Bridge while using less power.
Is Ivy Bridge not powerful enough to need more power? Nope.
I personally like the low TDP. I think the thermal envelope has been pushed too hard in GPU space, and they need to start focusing more on performance/watt like Intel does. Intels products became amazing once they adopted this philosophy.
Just because you got lucky running outside of spec it doesn’t mean your luck will hold, or anyone else’s for that matter.
The fact that this card has only 2x6-pin connectors is very significant considering where it ended up being positioned in the market.
i just think there must be more to this than simply it was their midrange part. i mean all that steams from its engineering code name, gk104. We are letting imaginations come up with complete fabricated stories from it. It seems to me more likely the name gk104 is because it is built off the gf104 design. It somehow related to it. Long long ago we had leaks of nvidias road map and it didnt have a gk100 on it at all. It also had a name for a dual version of the gk104 and nvidia has never done this before. The gtx 590 is still a gf110.
Also nvidia stress from the start that they were focusing on performance per watt with kepler. This was a major goal and maybe that has something to do with the results.
Certainly not.
But the 680 looks to actually be their first step backwards with a flagship I have seen since, well, forever.
Compared to their past flagships: Small die limiting max performance potential, small bus, mediocre VRAM increase, lower TDP. Some might say lower TDP is good, but in respect to performance, it just says this card is not powerful enough to need more power.
Perf/mm2 improvements are impressive to engineers and nvidia's margins, but mean jack all to me as an end user who wants performance. Do. Not. Care.
I'll wager there is no way the 680 is going to offer the kind of increase nvidia has offered over their past flagship on the previous process as the same movement has in the past. Meaning the leaps seen from 8800GTX to GTX 280 and GTX285 to GTX480 are better improvements than we will see from GTX580 to GTX680. Really interested how they plan to market the 680 given their past flagships perf. improvements.
This is not nvidia style I am seeing, it's AMD style. But here it is; $550, X80 moniker. Could be the big die strategy bit nvidia on the ass even harder than it did on 40nm and GK110 is way out, 2013 out. :thumbsdown:
Only problem is that its only a flagship by name alone. This is a mid range card that performs with amds best.
Only problem is that its only a flagship by name alone. This is a mid range card that performs with amds best.
Certainly not.
But the 680 looks to actually be their first step backwards with a flagship I have seen since, well, forever.
Compared to their past flagships: Small die limiting max performance potential, small bus, mediocre VRAM increase, lower TDP. Some might say lower TDP is good, but in respect to performance, it just says this card is not powerful enough to need more power.
Perf/mm2 improvements are impressive to engineers and nvidia's margins, but mean jack all to me as an end user who wants performance. Do. Not. Care.
I'll wager there is no way the 680 is going to offer the kind of increase nvidia has offered over their past flagship on the previous process as the same movement has in the past. Meaning the leaps seen from 8800GTX to GTX 280 and GTX285 to GTX480 are better improvements than we will see from GTX580 to GTX680. Really interested how they plan to market the 680 given their past flagships perf. improvements.
This is not nvidia style I am seeing, it's AMD style. But here it is; $550, X80 moniker. Could be the big die strategy bit nvidia on the ass even harder than it did on 40nm and GK110 is way out, 2013 out. :thumbsdown:
LOL, Well if the card about to be released does pip the AMD flagship, Id wager your last statement is exactly what AMD management is hoping for, otherwise they are in serious trouble...
Not sure of the big die biting NV ass though, Fermi was new architecture, and they did get manage to get it out with the full complement of cores, after the node process was sorted.....to say its going to take til 2013 sounds like something a shrill or AMD PR spokeman might say...