GTX680 review

[Xeox]

This game does not use hyperthreading at all, but yes the 2600k is a massive upgrade even though the OP has his OC to 4.0, the bottle neck in the bridge is causing a problem.

 

Also make sure in BIOS in the i5 the rails are set to 16x not 8x some of the versions of boards defaulted to 8x and have to manually changed, same as the i7 defaults ram from 1600 down to 1333 for efficiency and has to be manually increased. Had to do this with my 2200 RAM as well as it defaulted to 1800

 

Never had to turn off hyperthreading at all. But that can be board/processor specific.

[AutoCocker]

for me your GTX 680 partly bottleneck with your processor which is an old cpu (i5-750). unless your processor was an i7-2600k or the i5-2500k plus if you overclock it would have been faster than the fps you experienced. swtor is cpu hungry so it matters most if you have a faster processor not only video card. that is why you and the people arent still impress with the performance.

I myself is waiting for the availability of GTX 680 as nowadays its out of stock anywhere and if there is a site selling its $100 more expensive and its overpiced. until someone give a review using GTX 680 with a recent processor like an i7-2600k which I have or the newer ivy bridge then we will know there would be a big difference...

 

This guy is on the right track. Hell i don't run anything near that powerful of a vid card but can run max settings without a hitch in swtor. Been around gaming computers for 12 years and times have changed in both software and hardware developments. In the old days it simply came down to ram and vid cards. Now however everything is a factor in a gaming rig. A properly balanced rig = waaaay better than one with a bottleneck or top of the line vid card.

 

Everything must come into consideration nowadays. Your monitor size and the best card for that resolution (more expensive doesn't equal better), the often overlooked power supply (most important part of your rig), matching ram intervals, amount of ram etc with your mobo/processor type and the list goes on. It really is no longer about who has the most ram or biggest vid card anymore. It's all about balance of all components within the system to achieve maximum performance.

 

I am not saying the OP is wrong or has a crappy rig. But running that card on an i5 shows me one small bottleneck right there. When you have bottlenecks in your system nothing runs at 100% of its potential. Again to the OP plz do not think i am ripping on you or your rig at all because that is not the case. I am simply stating that when doing a review for any type of game fps issues you have to put all aspects into consideration with the rig used and go from there.

[Xeox]

This guy is on the right track. Hell i don't run anything near that powerful of a vid card but can run max settings without a hitch in swtor. Been around gaming computers for 12 years and times have changed in both software and hardware developments. In the old days it simply came down to ram and vid cards. Now however everything is a factor in a gaming rig. A properly balanced rig = waaaay better than one with a bottleneck or top of the line vid card.

 

Everything must come into consideration nowadays. Your monitor size and the best card for that resolution (more expensive doesn't equal better), the often overlooked power supply (most important part of your rig), matching ram intervals, amount of ram etc with your mobo/processor type and the list goes on. It really is no longer about who has the most ram or biggest vid card anymore. It's all about balance of all components within the system to achieve maximum performance.

 

I am not saying the OP is wrong or has a crappy rig. But running that card on an i5 shows me one small bottleneck right there. When you have bottlenecks in your system nothing runs at 100% of its potential. Again to the OP plz do not think i am ripping on you or your rig at all because that is not the case. I am simply stating that when doing a review for any type of game fps issues you have to put all aspects into consideration with the rig used and go from there.

 

Tend to agree here, like putting v12 in a LaCar, massive power but spins its wheels and tips over (did this btw in HS)

 

Only disagreement is monitor size, the size is irrelevant, its the frame rate, resolution and refresh rate that matter. I run same efficiency on a 24" 1080p as i do on my 60" 3d 1080p

[RicoFrost]

Nah you right AutoCocker, i've been out of the hardware game for a long time now. I take on all comments as information to help me improve my system.

 

I was looking at upgrading my mobo cpu and ram

Mobo

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=138_711_1183&products_id=19861

CPU

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=187_346_1184&products_id=16416

 

My current system is 2yrs old now.

 

Thanks to everyone with your suggestion.

Edited April 24, 2012 by RicoFrost

[Xeox]

Nah you right AutoCocker, i've been out of the hardware game for a long time now. I take on all comments as information to help me improve my system.

 

I was looking at upgrading my mobo cpu and ram

Mobo

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=138_711_1183&products_id=19861

CPU

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=187_346_1184&products_id=16416

 

My current system is 2yrs old now.

 

Thanks to everyone with your suggestion.

 

One thing the MB your specifying is PCI-E 3.0 Compatible, but does not support PCI-E 3.0 and your card is PCI-E 3.0. If your building a system, future proof it by looking at features like that and or the ram speed on that MB is locked at 1600 max

 

Processor for the money is nice

[RicoFrost]

Which would you recommend, i do like gigabyte so i would rather a gigabyte brand.

[mArchangel]

for me your GTX 680 partly bottleneck with your processor which is an old cpu (i5-750). unless your processor was an i7-2600k or the i5-2500k plus if you overclock it would have been faster than the fps you experienced. swtor is cpu hungry so it matters most if you have a faster processor not only video card. that is why you and the people arent still impress with the performance.

I myself is waiting for the availability of GTX 680 as nowadays its out of stock anywhere and if there is a site selling its $100 more expensive and its overpiced. until someone give a review using GTX 680 with a recent processor like an i7-2600k which I have or the newer ivy bridge then we will know there would be a big difference...

 

This is total nonsense! Please provide proof of the claim that an i5 bottlenecks ANYTHING!

Some of this pseudo educated hardware knowledge makes me crack up. OP don't worry your system is fine. Nothing bottlenecks you, hence why you see a strong performance gain in BF3. The game's engine is NOT optimised and no matter what new hardware you throw at it, it will stall providing more performance at some point. SLI 570ies work a treat albeit SLI is not properly supported and crashes from time to time. Also please refrain from using SuperSample AA. If you monitor your temps with it on you will notice a massive increase. Stick with 8xMS through the driver or nVidia inspector and make sure to select the right compatability bits. If you like I can send you links and setup. Let me know.

 

Greetings

[RicoFrost]

This is total nonsense! Please provide proof of the claim that an i5 bottlenecks ANYTHING!

Some of this pseudo educated hardware knowledge makes me crack up. OP don't worry your system is fine. Nothing bottlenecks you, hence why you see a strong performance gain in BF3. The game's engine is NOT optimised and no matter what new hardware you throw at it, it will stall providing more performance at some point. SLI 570ies work a treat albeit SLI is not properly supported and crashes from time to time. Also please refrain from using SuperSample AA. If you monitor your temps with it on you will notice a massive increase. Stick with 8xMS through the driver or nVidia inspector and make sure to select the right compatability bits. If you like I can send you links and setup. Let me know.

 

Greetings

 

Sure could you send me the link please.

 

I was going to turn it back to MS as I didn't notice that much of a difference from SS. I will check my bios setting when i get home. I am noticing a massive difference in BF3 (that's the only other game i tested) but not in swtor.

[Xeox]

Which would you recommend, i do like gigabyte so i would rather a gigabyte brand.

 

Would recomend EVGA Z68 FTW Board as best choice (best choice for customer service)

 

Maximus Extreme Z for overclocking

 

For PCI-E 3.0 and future proof Rampage IV Extreme Fun fact you can install the game on the RAM for insane load times, Not so fun fact, new chipset so currently alot of bugs. And some drivers are not yet written for this board.

 

I was a fan of Gigabyte til a few years ago when i had 3 board from them fail on me in a row. Wont touch them again.

 

Republic of Gamer (ROG) Boards are the best on the market IMO but EVGA has better customer support.

[Innocences]

I run two 580s and get over a 100+ frames with everything maxed out including X8AA and X16Iso. It looks amazing, but my pc sec is i7 extreme, 6g ddr3, two 10000rpm raptors in raid 0, 1200w power supply. The newer Intel processors are in the $300 range and are better than my i7 so its a good time to build a new pc. I do recommend the single Radeon 6970.

[mArchangel]

This game does not use hyperthreading at all, but yes the 2600k is a massive upgrade even though the OP has his OC to 4.0, the bottle neck in the bridge is causing a problem.

 

This is simply put: NOT TRUE!

Edited April 24, 2012 by mArchangel

[mArchangel]

Sure could you send me the link please.

 

I was going to turn it back to MS as I didn't notice that much of a difference from SS. I will check my bios setting when i get home. I am noticing a massive difference in BF3 (that's the only other game i tested) but not in swtor.

 

No worries mate,

 

Please send me a PM with your email addy and I forward screenies and links. Pretty much all you need to get you up and running in no time.

Always glad to help out.

 

Greetings

[Valperion]

If you really want to give a good test for the GTX680.

* Try a game that supports "DX11".

 

The swtor game is demanding more towards the "CPU" rather than the graphics card.

* The tests you just did prove a point.

 

Go ahead and play the game and check the usage between the card and cpu.

* A card like that should easily get over 100+ fps without a sweat.

* With 8vs8 in warzones to drop below 50fps with a GTX680 is laughable.

 

The "Hero" engine has yet to be optimized for this game.

Edited April 24, 2012 by Valperion

[RicoFrost]

Would recomend EVGA Z68 FTW Board as best choice (best choice for customer service)

 

Maximus Extreme Z for overclocking

 

For PCI-E 3.0 and future proof Rampage IV Extreme Fun fact you can install the game on the RAM for insane load times, Not so fun fact, new chipset so currently alot of bugs. And some drivers are not yet written for this board.

 

I was a fan of Gigabyte til a few years ago when i had 3 board from them fail on me in a row. Wont touch them again.

 

Republic of Gamer (ROG) Boards are the best on the market IMO but EVGA has better customer support.

 

I am not able to find those boards around here as I am looking to maybe get this today, Asus and gigabyte boards I can get.

I'm looking at Gigabyte which as the PCI Express 3.0 standard http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4153#sp

[RicoFrost]

If you really want to give a good test for the GTX680.

* Try a game that supports "DX11".

 

The swtor game is demanding more towards the "CPU" rather than the graphics card.

* The tests you just did prove a point.

 

Go ahead and play the game and check the usage between the card and cpu.

* A card like that should easily get over 100+ fps without a sweat.

* With 8vs8 in warzones to drop below 50fps with a GTX680 is laughable.

 

The "Hero" engine has yet to be optimized for this game.

 

Yes it is laughable to be getting below 50fps drop, but from what I remember I dont recall seeing my CPU being pushed during game play. If changing my CPU and motherboard will fix things the I am willing to do so.

[pangwl]

Yes it is laughable to be getting below 50fps drop, but from what I remember I dont recall seeing my CPU being pushed during game play. If changing my CPU and motherboard will fix things the I am willing to do so.

 

You've got to do more readings then..... it's very well-known that swtor is not an mmo optimized for gpu, it's well-discussed since beta.... cpu + ram is most important, for this game.

 

And personally, I changed from a dual-core to phenom x6; same gpu; but huge huge huge improvement... b4 the change, I would frequently lag in warzone... after the change, smooth sailing... not even the slightest hinge at high settings.

[stephenalandavie]

I just installed a GTX680 upgrading from GTX580. I did multiple tests this morning with different setting in the control panel. My computer spec’s are in my signature.

 

Using GeForce 301.24 Beta Drivers.

 

Here is my client_settings.ini file

 

[Renderer]

AntiAliasingLevel = 8

AtlasQuality = 0

Buckets = 3

D3DFullScreen = true

DynamicLightsLimit = 4

GraphicsDeviceId = 4480

Height = 1080

MeshLODQuality = 1

NativeHeight = 1080

NativeWidth = 1920

PerformanceLevelChanged = false

RefreshRate = 120

TextureAnisotropy = 16

Width = 1920

WindowX = 0

WindowY = 0

doShadows = true

doBlobShadows = true

EnableBloom = true

AllowDepthOfField = true

TextureQuality = 0

ShaderSet = 9

PlantDensity = 100

VerticalSyncState = true

FarClipScale = 1.

 

 

[Game]

MoviesFolder = ..\..\Movies

SwtorRegKey = SOFTWARE\BioWare\Star Wars - The Old Republic

 

Here are my results.

I did warzones as a test because single player runs very well. I would watch my FPS when doing different things in the game. Some tests have more info then others. On ave most wz where sitting around 55-70fps this is with shadows and bloom on

 

Test 1 The Civil war - During combat when a number of people around me FPS dropped to 45 at times and ave FPS was about 70.

 

Test 2 VoidStar- The overall game did seem smoother then normal however i did notice at the door when everyone was aoeing that the FPS did drop to 25FPS for a short time.

 

Test 3- Sorry didn't having anything written down for this test, from what i remember it feel the same as AAx4, i dont recall noticing any difference.

 

Test 4 Nova coast - 75-85FPS standing in the starting area, when capping the east tower inside i was getting 49FPS. In heavy combat it dropped down to 45FPS.

 

Test 4 Huttball - Standing in the starting area 70-80FPS and the lowest FPS i saw was 45FPS in combat.

Test 1

 

Antaliasing = 4

Antaliasing Transparency = Mulitsample

Texture filtering quality = Quality

Triple buffering = off

Vertical sync = adaptive

Treaded optimization = on

TextureAnisotropy = 16

 

 

Test 2

 

Antaliasing = 4

Antaliasing Transparency = Mulitsample

Texture filtering quality = High Quality

Triple buffering = off

Vertical sync = adaptive

Treaded optimization = on

TextureAnisotropy = 16

 

 

Test 3

 

Antaliasing = 2

Antaliasing Transparency = Mulitsample

Texture filtering quality = Quality

Triple buffering = on

Vertical sync = adaptive

Treaded optimization = on

TextureAnisotropy = 16

 

 

Test 4

 

Antaliasing = 8

Antaliasing Transparency = Supersample

Texture filtering quality = Quality

Triple buffering = on

Vertical sync = adaptive

Treaded optimization = on

TextureAnisotropy = 16

 

 

Load times - I did notice a difference in load times.

Loading Tatooine took 40 seconds.

Loading to my ship from the character screen 8 seconds.

Loading Voidstar 12 seconds.

 

Space combat

Nez - 111FPS pretty much the whole mission, it did drop down to 92FPS when there was a lot happening on the screen but that was only really one part of the mission.

Sarapin Assault - Most of the time i was getting 80-111fps but it did drop to 50FPS when the 2 medium ship cross in front of you and you need to blast them.

 

I would have to say that I didn't notice much of a performance difference between AAx2 AAx4 AAx8 or multisample or supersample. Visually I did notice a difference AAx8 supersample looking the best. I did do about 8 different setting tests but they all seem to be pretty much the same so I didn't add them all. I didn't do any tests with AAx0 however. I did try FXAA but I really didn't like how it looked, it just looked blurred to me.

 

Was there a difference from the GTX570? Overall the game did run smoother in pvping it did seem better and I don't recall any major slowdowns. Single play runs awesome, however it ran rather well on the 570 also.

 

The upgrade didn’t seem big compared to BF3. On BF3 I did notice a massive difference but on SWTOR not so much.

 

I do remember wow having the same problems in BGs with lag and FPS issues many years ago, even when I upgraded my video card and CPU.

 

What size is your card?

[seallone]

Yes it is laughable to be getting below 50fps drop, but from what I remember I dont recall seeing my CPU being pushed during game play. If changing my CPU and motherboard will fix things the I am willing to do so.

 

I7 5ghz sandy 2nd gen, 3 480 gtx i seen 45fps in wz.... on raid ssd's.. i paid alot. what worse, IS THEM DAM, black screen, hard reset's

 

Do i need a new motherboard, and cpu?

[seallone]

I7 5ghz sandy 2nd gen, 3 480 gtx i seen 45fps in wz.... on raid ssd's.. i paid alot. what worse, IS THEM DAM, black screen, hard reset's ( while loading)

 

Do i need a new motherboard, and cpu?

 

All other games fine, Batman full 60 min alltimes, Bf3 100fps min

 

111 fps to 45, kills it for me.. but i do like this game, its a real shame..

[RicoFrost]

I7 5ghz sandy 2nd gen, 3 480 gtx i seen 45fps in wz.... on raid ssd's.. i paid alot. what worse, IS THEM DAM, black screen, hard reset's

 

Do i need a new motherboard, and cpu?

 

That's what I am really trying to work out here.

 

I'm looking at getting

Corsair CMX8GX3M2A2000C9

8GB kit (2x4GB) DDR3 2000MHz Unbuffered CL 9 DIMM Memory for AMD and Intel Core i3, i5, i7 Dual Channel DDR3 platforms

Intel i7 2600K CORE i7 2600K, 3.4GHz, LGA1155, Quad Core 8 Threads, 8M Cache, Integrated Intel HD Graphics, Intel Turbo Boost Technology

Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H

Z77 / 4 x DDR3 / 2 x PCI-E3.0 x 16 / 4 x SATA3 / 8 x USB3.0 / HDMI / DP / D-Sub / DVI-D / 7.1CH / GBLAN / RAID / CrossFireX / SLI / ATX

Edited April 24, 2012 by RicoFrost

[RicoFrost]

Someone was saying that the Z68 chipset is better then the Z77 can anyone confirm that> Edited April 24, 2012 by RicoFrost

[StrykerOne]

Yes it is laughable to be getting below 50fps drop, but from what I remember I dont recall seeing my CPU being pushed during game play. If changing my CPU and motherboard will fix things the I am willing to do so.

 

A lot of people were reporting low CPU and GPU usage during some of the worst WZ slowdowns. Hopefully they've improved things by now but apparently they were having the renderer wait for something (probably server-based data) between frames so your FPS would actually be limited by server congestion or network lag at times. (I'm not sure if that's true or not, but it was the prevailing theory a while back.)

 

I've been considering upgrading to a 120 HZ monitor but I'm kind of wondering if I should now... right now 45 FPS is absolutely fine for me but I wonder if I get used to actually seeing 100+ FPS will I start seeing 45 as choppy?

[mArchangel]

Noone with an i5 or i7 configuration needs new hardware. The game needs a new engine and BioWare needs better coders:rolleyes:.

[Kabaal]

Someone was saying that the Z68 chipset is better then the Z77 can anyone confirm that>

 

It's not, plus you have more features on z77 with the option of going for the new Ivybridge chips that are out this weekend. They're about 10% faster clock for clock than sandy bridge and really good overclockers... but only on very good cooling as they run very hot once you start upping the volts. Probably moot though as your sig now says 2700k.

Edited April 28, 2012 by Kabaal

[DiabloDoom]

load times are due to your HD speed not the graphics card

 

EEEHHHHHHH!!!!! SWTOR, like every other game loads onto your graphics memory aswell as your ram. So yes there was a difference, I don't know how you noticed it but it was there possible it may of shaved a few seconds off?