Title says it all really, just wondering, need to upgrade from my GTX 470 some time soon, and want some input on whether the 680 is really worth nearly double the 660Ti in terms of performance...
I play a wide variety of games, most pretty high end so I would like the better performance (I know the 680 is faster than a 660Ti) but still, maybe 2 would cut it.
If someone can recommend and also maybe give a specific model of card? Currently tied between and MSI Power Eddition and an EVGA Superclocked.
I'd also consider the 670 but, still, looking more towards those two cards. If it help I run an i5 2500K (No OC), but with the intention to upgrade to the equivalent Haswell model when they get released.
If you have the cash, it would be better just to go with two GTX 660 TIs and put them in SLI. You would get the most performance that way for about $100 more than a vanilla GTX 680.
Gtx 660ti is no joke as is the 670 and 680. What it really comes down to is what games your playing and at what resolutions. Also matters if your doing rendering and stuff like that because the more CUDA cores you have the faster some programs can render as well.
To answer your question the GTX 660ti is very close in performance to most games as a GTX 670. With a good overclockable 660ti you can reach and even exceed gtx 670 performance. If you are going to do that then go for the MSI Power Edition because it has better cooling and better OC abilities.
As for the GTX 680 goes, you only really see a gap in performance between the cards if you are running at large resolutions do to the high bandwith and the stronger gpu, however if you are willing to shell out the money for the GTX 680 it will last you longer down the road for future titles.
Both cards have adaptive v-sync technology so you dont really have to worry too much about graphics tearing in game do to your monitors refresh rate being to low. If you have a 120hz refresh rate monitor your screen will look really smooth when the gtx 680 is pumping out massive frame rates.
When it comes to cost, the gtx 660ti is the sweet spot for most gamers. Wait for the holiday season to hit if your getting the gtx 680.
In summary:
GTX 660ti: Gaming only style card. Overclocks to gtx 670 speeds if you have decent cooling.
GTX 680: For the enthusiast who wants hard core gaming, faster rendering through CUDA, longer lasting system.
I wouldn't really be doing rendering as such (apart from what gets done by the game itself). Right now I got a crappy Dell something not sure it's like 2 years old. But I am soon to upgrade proably when I buy the GPU I'll get a new monitor.
Right now my main game is ARMA II (not just DayZ like most people but the entire game), I'll also most likely get ARMA III when it comes out, maybe Crysis 3. I'm an FPS guys mainly, but I want to be able to run every game maxed out at 40+ FPS, so, yeah.