A gamer simply can't get enough graphics power in their rig, which makes the upgrade question omnipresent. To show you whether it makes sense to upgrade from one generation to another we created this series of articles, where we will compare graphics cards from different generations. Today we're having a close look at the differences between the GTX 680 and the GTX 780.
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 680 to the GTX 780 varies
between 14 (Call of Duty Black Ops 2) and 32 percent (Far Cry 3). Something that
becomes very clear is that on average graphical intense titles benefit more from
the GTX 780 than titles which are less demanding. Calculating the average in all
games grants the GTX 780 an advantage of 20 percent over the GTX 680, which is
quite something.
Things are starting to get a bit more interesting if we start looking 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 framrate 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 20 percent improvement won't cut it, since the framerates will still be
too low even with the GTX 780. 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 680 and you upgrade to a GTX 780, you will have to pay about
420 Euro for a 20 percent improvement. Should really be willing to spend this
kind of money just for replacing your "old" graphics card with the latest model,
you should definitely consider building an SLI. Adding another GTX 680 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 680 is much better than with simply replacing the GTX 680 with a GTX
780. After checking eBay we found the prices for second hand GTX 680 cards
starting at 320 US-Doller in the US, 180£ in the UK and 230 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.
A gamer simply can't get enough graphics power in their rig, which makes the upgrade question omnipresent. To show you whether it makes sense to upgrade from one generation to another we created this series of articles, where we will compare graphics cards from different generations. Today we're having a close look at the differences between the GTX 680 and the GTX 780. 
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