Performance tests

Testbed:

• Intel Core i7-975 3340 MHz CPU
• ASUS P6T Deluxe motherboard on the Intel X58 chipset
• 6GB of 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM from Corsair
• WD Caviar SE WD1600JD 160GB SATA HDD
• Tagan TG900-BZ 900W PSU
• Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit, DirectX 11
• 30" Dell 3007WFP monitor
• VSync disabled
• AMD Catalyst 12.1; NVIDIA Drivers 295.52

Benchmarks:

• Far Cry 2 (Ubisoft) — DirectX 10.0, Shaders 4.0 (HDR), built-in benchmarking utility (the Middle level), maximum settings.
• Tropics Benchmark 1.3 (Unigine) — DirectX 10.0, High settings.
• 3DMark 11 (FutureMark) — DirectX 11, Performance settings.
• Aliens vs. Predator (Rebellion/SEGA) — DirectX 11, Shaders 5.0, Very High settings, run from in game.
• Crysis Warhead (Crytek/EA) — Cargo level, DirectX 10.0, Very High settings, batch file, timedemo available by e-mail request.
• F1 2010 (Codemasters) — DirectX 11, Ultra High settings, run as follows: "formulaone.exe -benchmark example_benchmark.xml". Game provided by NVIDIA.
• Heaven Benchmark 2.5 Pro (Unigine) — DirectX 11, High settings.
• Colin McRae: DiRT 2 (Codemasters) — DirectX 11, Ultra High settings, run as follows: "dirt2.exe -benchmark example_benchmark.xml".
• Metro 2033 (4A Games/THQ) — DirectX 11, Super High settings, PhysX disabled, run from in game.
• Just Cause 2 (Avalanche Studios/Eidos Interactive) — DirectX 10.0, Super High settings, run from in game.

Final thoughts

The capability rating compares each graphics card with GeForce GT 430, which is considered a baseline, or 100%. The rating is based on both synthetic and gaming results and shows, as the name implies, what a product is capable of.

The usability rating is obtained by dividing each card's capability rating by its price. It basically shows whether a given product is over or underpriced, considering what it can do, and thus how reasonable it is to buy it.

The complete ratings can be found in our i3Dspeed. Below are just the parts relevant to today's review.

Sorted by capability (high to low)

Everything is clear and predictable here: the overclocked GeForce GTX 680 is the leader, also on a par with our three graphics cards.

Sorted by usability (high to low)

Though GeForce GTX 680 is more expensive than Radeon HD 7970, its significant advantage in performance and functionality lets it score a higher capability rating. The overclocked HD 7970 (which is supposed to give you an idea about the performance of Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition) has a higher rating than GeForce GTX 680 only because we assumed it should be priced the same as a regular Radeon HD 7970. Our August 3Digest will have more precise results.

ASUS GeForce GTX 680 DirectCu II TOP is a fine version of GeForce GTX 680. It comes with factory overclocking but can be pushed even further by adjusting clock rates and core/memory voltages in the ASUS utility. The cooler is quite big but produces little noise.

Gainward GeForce GTX 680 Phantom is a nice factory overclocked card. The only disadvantage is its noisy albeit great looking cooler.

Zotac GeForce GTX 680 AMP! Edition is an excellent solution with the most effective cooling system of all three. Factory overclocked, too. However, reference supplementary power connectors (two 6-pin) may prevent it from becoming an overclocker's choice.

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