Conclusion

Lets take a closer look at the results in the games we tested. In this case we can see, that the performance improvement from the GTX 670 to the GTX 770 varies between 7 (Borderlands 2) and 21 percent (Sleeping Dogs). Something that becomes very clear is that on average graphical intense titles benefit more from the GTX 770 than titles which are less demanding. Calculating the average in all games grants the GTX 770 an advantage of 16 percent over the GTX 670, which is quite something.

Things are starting to get a bit more interesting if we look at the framerates in absolute numbers. Since we mention average frames per seconds, this means that minimum framerates, can be up to 50 percent lower. If we now look at the games, where both cards score less than 60 fps, then 50 percent less would mean a minimum framerate of 30 fps, which comes dangerously close to stuttering. Since we have average frame rates as low as 30 fps here, it's to be expected, that the minimum framerate can dive below 20 fps, where we're definitely seeing stuttering.
It's these demanding games, where every additional frame makes a difference. But still a 16 percent improvement won't cut it, since the framerates will still be too low even with the GTX 770. So far we've only been talking about performance and we haven't spent one word on pricing, which is going to change now.

If you own a GTX 670 and you upgrade to a GTX 770, you will have to pay about 280 Euro for a 16 percent improvement. Should you really be willing to spend this kind of money just for replacing your "old" graphics card with the latest model, then you should definitely consider building an SLI. Adding another GTX 670 to your setup will give you a 40 to 80 percent performance boost and it will cost you quite a bit less. In other words the price performance ratio with adding a second GTX 670 is much better than with simply replacing the GTX 670 with a GTX 770. After checking eBay we found the prices for second hand GTX 670 cards starting at 200 US-Dollar in the US and 180 Euro in Germany. Unfortunately an SLI will also come with downsides. First of all the power consumption will go up, which also means, that the heat produced by the gaming rig will increase. In winter time this isn't an issue, but during summer, especially when you're living an a warmer country, an SLI might help to increase room temperature to a degree where it's not really comfortable anymore. Other than that you'll have to have a power supply, that can cope with two cards.

Nevertheless if it was our PC and our money and we wanted to get the highest framerates for the money, we would go for the SLI option, although power consumption will go up significantly.

Page 1 - Introduction	Page 10 - DIRT Showdownn
Page 2 - Test Setup	Page 11 - Far Cry 3
Page 3 - 3DMark Fire Strike	Page 12 - Sleeping Dogs
Page 4 - Unigine Heaven 4.0	Page 13 - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Page 5 - BattleField 3	Page 14 - Metro: Last Light
Page 6 - Borderlands 2	Page 15 - GTA V
Page 7 - Bioshock Infinite	Page 16 - Power Consumption
Page 8 - Crysis 3	Page 17 - Performance Index, price
Page 9 - Call of Duty Black Ops 2	Page 18 - Conclusion