GTX680 vs 7990

[sparx1981]

Hi there people,

I've been scouring the internet today and found pleanty of rumours about the GTX 680 being released in February. From what I've read it's likely to be on par with the 7970. So no expecting a massive difference here. That said, Nvidia does have Physx so if the cost is similar it could be something that sways people.

Currently my two Saphire 7970's have been returned to ebuyer as one of them went pop. I've asked for a refund and expect this will be done in a few days.... the big question is, do I get two standard 7970s, wait a bit and get two 7970 DirectCU II Top cards, or wait till the end of the month hoping the NVidia card comes out and is better than the 7970?

I'm not looking for fan boy answers. I've had both ATI and NVidia and both have worked fine for me. I only game in 3 x 1 landscape so both manufacturers can cater for that. Also, 3D isn't being used yet apart from anaglyph glasses on occasion.

[Dredknot]

From what ive read the 6xx series are aways off. They are expected later in the year not by the end of the month. Id say stick with your 7970's for now. At least then u have a rig to play.

[BHawthorne]

None of the 600-series rumors are credible. It's just tech news sites feeling off of each other's speculative fan fiction. The only thing I've heard from any semi-credible source is that 600-series will be OEM die shrink Fermi while 700-series will be retail Kepler. The speculation on the NVIDIA side is FUD. It's meant to be as a stall tactic. No doubt NVIDIA will come out with something to combat AMD, but the real question is when? And by that time AMD will already be ramping up for 8000-series in the fall. It's all a cyclical game. The realist has to step back and weigh do I wait 6 months or do I want something now? Is 15-20% difference in performance meaningful in real-world use? There is almost a 100% guarantee that there will always be something new that is 15-20% more powerful down the road every 6-9 months. Do you want to be enjoying things now or later though? One constant in the universe is marketing will play off your uncertainty and the grass is always greener on the other side (until you get there). The romance and reality of tech is often at odds with each other.

[sparx1981]

Poetic yet true. I think the 7970's are going to be my mainstay. In fairness I have absolutely no problem with their performance so I dont need faster.