GTX 680 4GB SLI Benchmarks

I've had the opportunity of testing a pair of Palit Jetstream GTX 680 4GB cards in SLI and thought I should share some of the benchmarks and screenshots with you all.

The setup is as follows:

i7 3930K @ 4.2Ghz Cooled by Corsair H100 in Push/Pull
Gigabyte X79-UD5
2 x Crucial M4 256GB in RAID0
2x Palit Jetstream GTX 680 4GB
3x iiyama Prolite 24" E2473HDS screens giving a resolution of 5760*1080

These aren't perfect benchmarks, they were all run for varying amounts of time but in that time I tried to simulate what would be the highest and lowest FPS situations.



BF3 - Operation Guillotine (Max graphics)

Frames	Time (ms)	Min	Max	Avg
2464	49412	36	62	49.866

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm (Flight Around Stormwind) [I am running max graphics with about 5 custom settings which advance them beyond what is controllable in the UI]

Frames	Time (ms)	Min	Max	Avg
11028	124856	47	214	88.326

Dear Esther

Frames	Time (ms)	Min	Max	Avg
7574	56207	110	204	134.752

Elder Scrolls: Skyrim (With texture packs up to 2.8GB and ENB series, Vsynced at 60fps hence max)

Frames	Time (ms)	Min	Max	Avg
8292	141952	50	59	58.414

Guild Wars 2

Frames	Time (ms)	Min	Max	Avg
3645	79888	32	64	45.626

There are certain games in which it would be silly to benchmark, for example DotA 2/LoL don't run well without Vsync, so with this setup they quite happily sit at 60fps, CS:GO will run anywhere between 140 and 290fps across all three screens. Tera will run at a fairly constant 60fps as well, maybe dropping to 55 occasionally.

DotA 2 Black Screen Fix

Just a quick note here really, if you're having issues with DotA 2 playing properly with your graphics card setup and just get a black screen when loading (and then sometimes following by a really jittery DotA background music), you should try this:

Right click on your DotA 2 in Steam, go to Properties and Set Launch Options, then enter the following:

-windowed -w 1920 -h 1080 -noborder -novid

Replace the 1920 and 1080 with your actual resolutions.

This will launch the game windowed and maximised without the Valve intro video.

UPDATE: Also try removing your DotA2 config files located in steam/steamapps/common/dota 2 beta/dota/cfg and then in the launch options described above, add +autoconfig


EDIT: If you are still experiencing issues after applying this fix, a good precautionary measure is to update to your latest video card drivers, but to also do a full uninstall of the old ones too, a good program to use to completely clear them is Driver Sweeper.

As in the comments - you have to replace the numbers with the correct resolution of your screen, mine won't always be the same.

Palit Jetstream GTX 680 4GB Overview

Skyrim was proving incredibly demanding in the VRAM department due to the massive amount of higher definition textures I have installed now. Bearing in mind I'm also running triple 1080p screens the 2GB 680 couldn't handle them.

With the move up to 4GB came a few setbacks, a little less overclocking. The Jetstream does +100 core, the reference 680 did almost +200. That may have given the POV a slight fps boost over the Palit.

Aside from that though, I am very pleased with how quiet this card is, along with obviously the gain in memory size.

Skyrim now registers a decent 2.7GB of VRAM usage and a constant 60fps V-Sync'd.
Diablo III proves no issues for the card either. 60fps V-Sync'd across three screens with GPU usage sat at around 40-50% and temperatures no higher than 48 degrees!

nVidia GTX 680 Surround Setup & Summary

I was lucky enough to bag myself one of the new nVidia Kepler offerings - the GTX 680. It has been a slightly longer wait than expected since putting together the Sandy Bridge E system. I've been sat with three screens but no ability to play surround as the 570 isn't capable of it alone, it requires another running in SLI and unfortunatley my second one failed.

Point of View were the only models in stock

I've been far too caught up in fiddling with the clocks and playing the odd game to sit down an run a long winded benching session, but a few scores are below.

GPUZ showing the highest clocks/temperatures achieved (MSI Afterburner was clocked at +214Mhz core and +360Mhz memory):

3DMark11 scored 10952 P points.

http://3dmark.com/3dm11/3046327;jsessionid=1xso1zmj71y0f13rdzpmbtzxv7

Battlefield 3 Benchmarks running in surround at 5760x1080 resolution:

Ultra Settings (Game used all 2GB of VRAM)

Frames	Time (ms)	Min	Max	Avg
3815	141647	21	37	26.933

High Settings (Game used 1.7GB max of VRAM)

Frames	Time (ms)	Min	Max	Avg
8198	187708	33	59	43.674

Ultra settings in single player were just about bearable, but an average of 27fps wasn't all that enjoyable. High was just right to play at, only a minimum of 33fps, so I was happy with that across a triple screen setup.

Skyrim isn't really worth mentioning, with everything set to full, official texture pack and the 2K texture pack, it will still return anywhere between 50 and 60 fps (Vsync on) on constant gameplay. I could unlock the vsync and see what more it can give at a later date.

Pics and screenshots to follow!

A quick phone snap of WoW spread across the three screens:

UPDATE: 24/7 Clock at +194 core, +500 mem, scored over 11.5K 3DMark11
http://3dmark.com/3dm11/3235185

Kepler Confirmation for April?

Yet again, no official announcements, however we've seen a lot of very similar rumours flying around now that indicate the release of Kepler cards around the second week of April.

If there is any truth in it, we'll be seeing some form of official statement in the next few weeks I would think.

Links:
http://hexus.net/tech/news/graphics/35933-nvidia-gtx-6xx-kepler-rumoured-production/

http://www.fudzilla.com/home/item/26069-kepler-gk104-cards-in-production

Mass Effect 3

It's been around 2 years now since Mass Effect 2 was pushed onto our shelves. Since then there have been a lot of eager gamers awaiting the launch of the third title in the series.

Well, as luck would have it, we have just under 3 weeks until the official release!

However, without spoiling it too much, ME3 brings the fight home; the Reapers launch an all-out assault on Earth. You take the role of Commander Shepard, as with the previous games, to carve your own path through the Mass Effect universe and to seek out a way to defeat the Reapers.

Expect to see many diversions to the main story arc though, with multiple quests that will take you to far out planets in search of god knows what.

ME3 brings something new to the table though, 4 player co-op mode! You will be able to team up with 3 friends to take on various challenges that will also reflect back on your single player campaign. Taking over enemy strongholds has been mentioned as one of these scenarios.

The demo is currently available to play at http://masseffect.bioware.com/ so if you're a fan of the series I'd grab it now!

Beta Roundup - Tera, Guild Wars 2, Diablo III & Others

We've got three games kicking around at the minute that are set to release quite soon. Most are now in beta stages or are set to enter beta fairly soon.

Tera Online
Pre-Beta. Registration open.
http://tera-europe.com/home.html

An MMO with a difference. Tera brings a new aspect to the world of MMOs - skill. You can, more often than not, get by in most of the MMOs around with some semblance of common sense and hand-eye coordination, specifically in PvE fights. However, Tera takes targeting to a whole new level.

With a crosshair.

That's right, you have to physically aim your spells. After all of the standard 3rd person MMOs I've played, this has been predominantly the case: Click target, cast damage/healing spell, wait for cast time, boom. Next.

Take a look at this video of the Archer gameplay. The mobs know when you've taken aim at them, there is a skill aspect involved in actually targeting your enemy as opposed to just having them on your targeting pane. I have a feeling this will be absolutely hilarious in a PvP environment and cannot wait to give it a try.


Guild Wars 2
Closed Beta, Open Beta in March. Registration not yet open.
http://www.guildwars2.com/en/

We finally see a sequel to the much loved Guild Wars. Again, another MMO doing something different this year. Guild Wars 2 brings a slightly different take to the traditional roles of tank, dps and healer, they name them Control, Damage and Support. For a start, every class will be able to resurrect, at level 1! There are no dedicated 'healers' in the game so to speak either. All healing will be done via self heals, support heals or defensive abilities, protective domes (positional) and so on.

Death is not the end. When you are pummeled to the ground in GW2, you do not die. Nope, you are given a second chance. You are placed into a 'Downed' mode, in which you can fight to your last dying breath. You can still be attacked and defeated in this state, but you are able to use certain abilities to turn the tides of battle. Certain professions (classes) have instant resurrects, that can get you straight back into the thick of the fight again.


Diablo III
In beta - limited keys available.
www.diablo3.com

 
It's taking a very, very long time for this to be released. The original promise was Christmas last year if I recall. That didn't happen. It was then 'early 2012', which, I suppose is still around now, but no release date as of yet (but we all know what Blizzard are like with their release dates). I would suspect it will arrive at some point during March as they will want to be competitive with other releases at this time, else they risk losing out.


The beta has technically started, however, I've not spoken to one person just yet who has a beta key here in the UK though that may just be not knowing the right people. If you are signed up for beta access, keep an eye on your battlenet account and the associated email address to see if you get in!



A few more...

It may be worth mentioning a few other releases I've had on my radar for a while. Some of these are works in progress, some are just rumours.


WoW: Mists of Pandaria 
http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/

We all know WoW is a lumbering behemoth of a game nowadays, so with the current content already complete, yet again comes the time for a new expansion. The next major delivery to the monster is Mists of Pandaria. Information was released last BlizzCon on the zones, dungeons, enemies, classes and so on.

The new playable race (Pandaren) are neutral and can 'side' with a faction at level 10 it seems. A new class (monk) is also being released. No auto attack is present on the monk! Their abilities are all active.

I think we should see MoP beta hit in the next three months some time. I would be disappointed if they released the actual game any later than early August, as with half the level increase in each expansion, they should really be bringing the packs at least 6 months closer between each one, so an 18 month release schedule as opposed to a 2 year one. I would hope for a June/July release of MoP.



Infinity Universe
http://www.infinity-universe.com/

I am hoping for big things from this project. It's being managed by a small team of 8 people but has been going for years now. In short it is a space simulator, similar in a way to EVE, however, there seems to be more emphasis on skill than how long you've had to train a certain ability. Their aim is to create a seamless universe, in which you can travel through space, head towards a planet and instead of a loading screen where you 'land' and then can walk around etc, you should technically be able to fly towards the planet, enter the atmosphere, fly around the surface, and just head towards space again to leave the planet.

This video was recorded almost two years ago:

 

 

In conclusion, I think we have a few good games on the horizon for 2012, and some (Infinity) to watch develop into something possibly fantastic over the coming years.