GTX 690 still worth it?

[P5yko]

Currently I am looking to buy a new video card (2nd hand but new to me). I have been looking into either getting a GTX 780 (Ti) or a GTX 690. I could buy a 970 but they are currently slightly out of my price range I am hoping to aim for.

 

With Windows 10 released yesterday, along with the release of DirectX 12, I wasn't sure how well the current cards from nVidia will be able to run compared to last generation cards.

 

If anyone could help shed light on this subject that would be great!

 

 

Thanks,

Paddy.

[Tim Drake]

The GTX 690 is awesome but that 2GB of VRAM will hold you back

[arnavvr]

GTX 690 is superior to 780Ti

[Tim Drake]

GTX 690 is superior to 780Ti

3GB of VRAM > 2GB

 

The VRAM is a bottleneck.

[blackadder]

Don't get the 690

780ti and 970 trade blows pretty good, you do get slightly more ram and new features you may or may not use. The 970 is direct x 12 but i don't think ghe 780ti is or fully. Chances are dx12 eyecandy will put them both on their knees and you may not be able to use it anyways. Im saying save if its not to long or have you looked at the 290 or 290x around 230-350 usd

[P5yko]

The GTX 690 is awesome but that 2GB of VRAM will hold you back

Would it hold me back much? I don't really plan on playing any recent titles apart from The Division when it is released. If it is ever released.

[P5yko]

3GB of VRAM > 2GB

 

The VRAM is a bottleneck.

It will still be a big step up from my GTX 750 Ti. lol

[Tim Drake]

It will still be a big step up from my GTX 750 Ti. lol

Doesn't matter.

 

More room for upgrading your monitor and such with a 780 Ti

[P5yko]

Don't get the 690

780ti and 970 trade blows pretty good, you do get slightly more ram and new features you may or may not use. The 970 is direct x 12 but i don't think ghe 780ti is or fully. Chances are dx12 eyecandy will put them both on their knees and you may not be able to use it anyways. Im saying save if its not to long or have you looked at the 290 or 290x around 230-350 usd

I was thinking about buying an AMD card, but I heard about their driver problems and a lot micro stuttering so that put me off a bit

[blackadder]

It will still be a big step up from my GTX 750 Ti. lol

yes but when some games say you need 4gb vram even though you card is plenty powerful, it will suck hard.

[thekeemo]

Gtx 690 = dual 960 + more heat and power consumption

[Clyne]

Okay well 4GB VRAM but 2GB per card....not like some 590 shit where you had exactly 1.5GB.

[P5yko]

yes but when some games say you need 4gb vram even though you card is plenty powerful, it will suck hard.

I heard there is a piece of software called nVidia Inspector? (Not sure if its the correct name) but you can enable both GPU's and some other stuff, but would it still only be 2GB VRAM then if both GPU's are enabled?

[blackadder]

I was thinking about buying an AMD card, but I heard about their driver problems and a lot micro stuttering so that put me off a bit

lol nvidia has their fair share of driver oops, google 970 and chrome crashes. Micro stuttering is mostly with crossfire and i think they have fixed that mostly. Nvidia does have almost monthly driver updates though so it mostly up to date.

[P5yko]

Gtx 690 = dual 960 + more heat and power consumption

I was thinking about getting a GTX 960 4GB card but I thought that the 128 bit memory bus will hold me back when rendering or with anything.

[blackadder]

I heard there is a piece of software called nVidia Inspector? (Not sure if its the correct name) but you can enable both GPU's and some other stuff, but would it still only be 2GB VRAM then if both GPU's are enabled?

yes still only 2gb,it shares them. D12x may change that if games put it in (they won't)

[P5yko]

yes still only 2gb,it shares them. D12x may change that if games put it in (they won't)

So it will be 1 GB per GPU? Just that GPUBoss says that it has 4GB RAM so I'm really confused now haha

[thekeemo]

I was thinking about getting a GTX 960 4GB card but I thought that the 128 bit memory bus will hold me back when rendering or with anything.

for the money get a 285/280x/380

[blackadder]

So it will be 1 GB per GPU? Just that GPUBoss says that it has 4GB RAM so I'm really confused now haha

whoops i was thinking they were duel 660tis or something like the mars one. Its still 1000 usd on newegg. Looks beast but i would still get a new card unless you find that at a great price.

[Lays]

So it will be 1 GB per GPU? Just that GPUBoss says that it has 4GB RAM so I'm really confused now haha

There is 4 gb of vram on the circuit board. Each gpu has 2gb. It doesn't add up, as each card can only use its own 2Gb. Therefore you essentially have 2gb of vram.

[P5yko]

There is 4 gb of vram on the circuit board. Each gpu has 2gb. It doesn't add up, as each card can only use its own 2Gb. Therefore you essentially have 2gb of vram.

Alright. So if both GPU's are being utilized all 4GB will be in use, right?

[blackadder]

Alright. So if both GPU's are being utilized all 4GB will be in use, right?

yes, technically but, they will both be doing the same job or have the same info so you only get 2gb effective vram.

[P5yko]

lol nvidia has their fair share of driver oops, google 970 and chrome crashes. Micro stuttering is mostly with crossfire and i think they have fixed that mostly. Nvidia does have almost monthly driver updates though so it mostly up to date.

The bench mark scores for the GTX 970 and GTX 690 are around the same but with the 690 in the lead by a slight margin. My current PSU is slightly under the recommended for the GTX 690 but I have another PSU that is 750w that I can also use if push comes to shove.

[P5yko]

yes, technically but, they will both be doing the same job or have the same info so you only get 2gb effective vram.

Ah ok. So I will be better off with 3.5GB, I mean 4GB of VRAM with a GTX 970 then? Also the power consumption will be much lower and DX12 will be supported natively. 

[blackadder]

The bench mark scores for the GTX 970 and GTX 690 are around the same but with the 690 in the lead by a slight margin. My current PSU is slightly under the recommended for the GTX 690 but I have another PSU that is 750w that I can also use if push comes to shove.

get the 970,are you saving a good amount of money by going 690? Or does it take a really long time to save.