GTX 690 Questions

[ArmaanJaveri]

When I first started pc gaming I decided to buy an alienware like many others. Since i've gotten a more interested in this stuff since then I decided to build one for myself. The computer I bought at first came with a GTX 690, I know its a very expensive card but I'm not actually sure how good it is anymore. So I have a few questions.

 

1. If I was upgrading to a 780 Ti would it be worth it or should I just stick with a 690?

2. Why is it that the 690 is never included in builds (here or on reddit)?

3. If I was to sell a 690 how much would I be looking at getting for it if it was in good condition?

[Shd0w2]

Maybe 600-700 for the 690, you might even be able to snag 800-900.

[fatuglywierdbean]

1) Probably not worth it on the upgrading side of things

 

2) The reason why it is rarely seen in builds is because it is actually two graphics processors on one card (essentially two graphics cards in one). However to keep thermals down (and for various other reasons) they are fairly low powered chips that are similar to two 660s or 670s. They cost a lot more and are more inefficient in terms of power and performance than two cards on there own which is why they are rarely seen in build guides. The only place they are really useful is in an mitx case for two card performance in a case that only supports one card.

 

3) At least over £300 - probably more like 350

 

-Billy

[Aniallation]

A 690 is just 2 680's in SLI so a 780Ti should be better.

What? 680 ~= 770

 

Two 770s in SLI will be quite a bit better then a 780 Ti. Most games are properly SLI optimized today anyways, a 690 will be better.

[Aniallation]

1. If I was upgrading to a 780 Ti would it be worth it or should I just stick with a 690?

2. Why is it that the 690 is never included in builds (here or on reddit)?

3. If I was to sell a 690 how much would I be looking at getting for it if it was in good condition?

 

1. No. Not at all. If anything it will be a downgrade.

2. It was very expensive, like the Titan Z today

3. Don't sell it because there's not much of anything you can upgrade to unless you get two 780s

[legend8887]

The 690 is very fast, are you crazy?

[Sauron]

1) The 690 is way faster than the 780ti

2) It was a very expensive card and dual gpu cards are hard to recommend anyway because of the inherent issues with sli, now it's outdated so it doesn't make a lot of sense compared to crossfire r9 290s for example.

3) Don't sell it, you'd be looking at no more than 350$ I'd say.

[Izaya Orihara]

1) The 690 is way faster than the 780ti

2) It was a very expensive card and dual gpu cards are hard to recommend anyway because of the inherent issues with sli, now it's outdated so it doesn't make a lot of sense compared to crossfire r9 290s for example.

3) Don't sell it, you'd be looking at no more than 350$ I'd say.

They are pretty much equal with the 780ti even beating the 690 in some games. 

[Sauron]

They are pretty much equal with the 780ti even beating the 690 in some games. 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56zg7PJx5Yw

 

in most games it's significantly faster, and either way it wouldn't make sense to upgrade...

[ArmaanJaveri]

If the 690 is about on par with the 780 Ti why does it do so badly on this test? Its even lower than the 670 - http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html

 

Also how good is the i7 3820 (got it with computer), is it worth upgrading to the i7 4790k? I know its kinda the wrong section but I didnt want to make another post.

[APrettyCoolWalrus]

The 690 will still be better than the 780 Ti, but only slightly.

[seiny]

I'd say keep it, it's still a baller card

 

Edit:

Come back after 2years and ask the same questions, then it will make sense to upgrade

[Izaya Orihara]

 

 

in most games it's significantly faster, and either way it wouldn't make sense to upgrade...

 

Guru3d's benchmarks disagree 

[D2ultima]

*sigh*

 

GTX 690 in a game with 99% SLI scaling will *SMOKE* a 780Ti... at least at reference clocks (for both cards). This is not to say all games get 99% SLI scaling. If you're in a game that doesn't scale too well or a game which uses only 1 card of the 690's two downclocked 680s, you're not going to get very much performance.

 

So basically, one 780Ti is a sidegrade more than anything else, but the performance you will have will be FAR more consistent, and you disregard the downsides that SLI grants. Also, you'll have more memory, as the 690 only has 2GB (never seen a version of it with 4GB on each card).

 

Personally, if you got the money, I say a 780Ti is a fairly decent buy if you want to give up sometimes-more-power for a constant, stable set of power. Make no mistake: in games where SLI scaling is spot on, a 690 (especially OC'd) is gonna beat a 780Ti both in memory bandwidth and raw power. But for games that don't use it so well or simply don't use it at all, you're left with a downclocked GTX 680, whereas you'll always have the 780Ti.

 

Also, you could simply buy the 780Ti and keep the 690 attached to it as a PhysX card if you want until you get it sold. Maybe if you're lucky you'll be able to sacrifice the second card in the 690 for Anti-Aliasing boosting too. SLI has lots of options =D. Imagine, playing a game at max settings without using AA on your 780Ti, while your second card is forcing 64xQ CSAA (yes, I said SIXTY-FOUR) at no performance downside to your 780Ti while your third card is using PhysX if the game supports it =D.

 

(if you manage to try this and get it set up please let me know, because I don't actually know if you can use a mismatched card to force the anti-aliasing boost)

[Mick Naughty]

I think is a great card and look amazing in a build. I was gonna get one for a build awhile back but went another route. Not sure what way you're going with your build but I would get a bad ass case and pick up another 690 Aslong as the mobo is adequate.

[ArmaanJaveri]

*sigh*

 

GTX 690 in a game with 99% SLI scaling will *SMOKE* a 780Ti... at least at reference clocks (for both cards). This is not to say all games get 99% SLI scaling. If you're in a game that doesn't scale too well or a game which uses only 1 card of the 690's two downclocked 680s, you're not going to get very much performance.

 

So basically, one 780Ti is a sidegrade more than anything else, but the performance you will have will be FAR more consistent, and you disregard the downsides that SLI grants. Also, you'll have more memory, as the 690 only has 2GB (never seen a version of it with 4GB on each card).

 

Personally, if you got the money, I say a 780Ti is a fairly decent buy if you want to give up sometimes-more-power for a constant, stable set of power. Make no mistake: in games where SLI scaling is spot on, a 690 (especially OC'd) is gonna beat a 780Ti both in memory bandwidth and raw power. But for games that don't use it so well or simply don't use it at all, you're left with a downclocked GTX 680, whereas you'll always have the 780Ti.

 

Also, you could simply buy the 780Ti and keep the 690 attached to it as a PhysX card if you want until you get it sold. Maybe if you're lucky you'll be able to sacrifice the second card in the 690 for Anti-Aliasing boosting too. SLI has lots of options =D. Imagine, playing a game at max settings without using AA on your 780Ti, while your second card is forcing 64xQ CSAA (yes, I said SIXTY-FOUR) at no performance downside to your 780Ti while your third card is using PhysX if the game supports it =D.

 

(if you manage to try this and get it set up please let me know, because I don't actually know if you can use a mismatched card to force the anti-aliasing boost)

 

Thanks for the long answer, do you have any thoughts on the i7 3820, if I'm not upgrade the GPU should I upgrade that the the i7 4790k?

[D2ultima]

Thanks for the long answer, do you have any thoughts on the i7 3820, if I'm not upgrade the GPU should I upgrade that the the i7 4790k?

i7-4790K will smoke a 3820 by my calculations. You shouldn't get any extreme edition CPUs unless you're going for the hexacores. I would quicker suggest, however, the i7-4930K instead of the 4790K. It'll benefit you more in games like BF3/BF4 where CPU power is really necessary, and if you happen to livestream then wonderful

[GlassBomb]

The 690 is by far faster than any single graphics card, as long as the game works well with SLI.

 

The only issue you might bump into, as I mentioned, is that not all games are all that optimized for more than a single GPU. In those cases, a single GTX 780 will be faster.