KFA2 GeForce GTX 680 LTD OC 2048MB 1268mhz – SLI update

1. Introduction2. Synthetic Performance3. Direct X 11 Gaming Performance4. Power Consumption5. Closing Thoughts6. View All Pages

Yesterday we published our UK exclusive review of the new strictly limited edition KFA2 GeForce GTX 680 LTD OC 2048MB with a staggering boost speed of 1,268mhz. If you missed the review, head over here for a recap. Our conclusion in one line? – if you have a nice fat bank balance then it is one of the most enjoyable ways to quickly part with £559.99.

Since we published the review, we received emails asking if we could run a few tests in Sli, and measure system power consumption. Today, we aim to please.

As we said in the main review, these cards are extremely difficult to find due to the tight threshold for 1,200mhz certification, and we are fortunate enough to have one of the samples in the UK.

We may be giving this away to one lucky reader but we first needed to first solve a tiny issue, how could we run SLI tests with a paired boost speed of 1268mhz? We only have one KFA2 LTD OC card at hand.

Regular readers will remember our recent review of the ARCTIC Accelero Xtreme III cooler. In this review we used the Asus GTX 680 Direct CU II TOP and spent a couple of hours modifying the card. The end result? A 16c core temperature reduction supported by a 22c VReg temperature drop.

Above, the Asus GTX 680 Direct CU II TOP before modification (left) and after modification (right). The Accelero Xtreme III Cooler is without a doubt the highest performing air cooler for the GTX680.

We slotted this modified card into our high end system with the KFA2 GeForce GTX 680 LTD OC 2048MB 1268mhz boost. This is the same system we used for the last section of our review yesterday, here.

We will compare sections of this article against an array of performance leading graphics hardware from the current and last generation.

Ultra High End System:

Processor: Core i7 3960 X Extreme Edition @ 4.6ghz
Cooler: Antec 920 H20
Memory: 16GB G.Skill 2,400mhz @ 10-11-10-30
Motherboard: Asus Rampage IV Extreme
Power Supply: Enermax Platimax 1200W
Optical Drive: Asus BluRay Drive
Chassis: Lian Li PC-A77FR Aluminium Red Full Tower Case
Monitors: Dell U3011, 3x Ilyama ProLite E2472HDD
Boot Drive: Patriot WildFire 120GB
Secondary Drive: 1TB Samsung
Monitor: Dell U3011

Now the final part of the configuration was to match the speed of both cards. The Asus GTX 680 Direct CU II TOP ships at faster clock speeds than the reference card, 1137mhz on the core (from 1,006mhz), with a boost speed of 1,202mhz. This is however still significantly slower than the KFA2 GeForce GTX 680 LTD OC 2048MB which runs at 1,202mhz with a core boost of 1,268mhz.

Using MSI Afterburner we ensure that the card speeds aren't linked in the settings panel. We then overclock the Asus GTX 680 Direct CU II TOP to the same 1,202mhz core/1267mhz boost speeds.

Both cards with the clock speeds matched, running in SLi. Thanks to the Accelero Xtreme III cooler the Asus GTX680 Direct CU II TOP has no problem running at these enhanced speeds. We used a minor Core Voltage increase for added stability.

Futuremark released 3DMark Vantage, on April 28, 2008. It is a benchmark based upon DirectX 10, and therefore will only run under Windows Vista (Service Pack 1 is stated as a requirement) and Windows 7. This is the first edition where the feature-restricted, free of charge version could not be used any number of times. 1280×1024 resolution was used with performance settings.

Rather crazy results, scoring 58,444 points in the graphics section of the benchmark. The overall system score was 65,519 points. Slightly faster than three reference HD7970 cards in Crossfire.

3DMark 11 is designed for testing DirectX 11 hardware running on Windows 7 and Windows Vista the benchmark includes six all new benchmark tests that make extensive use of all the new features in DirectX 11 including tessellation, compute shaders and multi-threading.

After running the tests 3DMark gives your system a score with larger numbers indicating better performance. Trusted by gamers worldwide to give accurate and unbiased results, 3DMark 11 is the best way to test DirectX 11 under game-like loads.

The final overall score is 18,925 points, one of the highest scores we have achieved to date.

Unigine provides an interesting way to test hardware. It can be easily adapted to various projects due to its elaborated software design and flexible toolset. A lot of their customers claim that they have never seen such extremely-effective code, which is so easy to understand.

Heaven Benchmark is a DirectX 11 GPU benchmark based on advanced Unigine engine from Unigine Corp. It reveals the enchanting magic of floating islands with a tiny village hidden in the cloudy skies. Interactive mode provides emerging experience of exploring the intricate world of steampunk.

Efficient and well-architected framework makes Unigine highly scalable:

• Multiple API (DirectX 9 / DirectX 10 / DirectX 11 / OpenGL) render
• Cross-platform: MS Windows (XP, Vista, Windows 7) / Linux
• Full support of 32bit and 64bit systems
• Multicore CPU support
• Little / big endian support (ready for game consoles)
• Powerful C++ API
• Comprehensive performance profiling system
• Flexible XML-based data structures

We use the following settings: 1920×1080 resolution. Anti Aliasing off. Anisotrophy 4, Tessellation normal. Shaders High. Stereo 3D disabled. API: Direct X 11.

These GTX680 cards in SLi are a match for two GTX590's running in QUAD SLi. Three HD7970's in 3 way Crossfire hold the top spot, although the cooler fan noise generated to achieve this is painful.

Max Payne 3 is a third-person shooter in which the player assumes the role of its titular character, Max Payne. Max Payne 3 features a similar over-the-shoulder camera as its predecessors, with the addition of a cover mechanic, while also retaining much of the same run-and-gun style of gameplay. Max Payne 3 also marks the return of bullet-time in action sequences, for which the franchise is notable.

In bullet-time it is possible to see every bullet strike an enemy in detail. New to the series is a “Last Stand” mechanic, which gives the player a grace period after losing all health during which time the player may kill the enemy that wounded them in order to continue playing, however this mechanic is only usable if the player has one or more bottles of painkillers in their possession.

Max Payne is undoubtedly one of the best games released this year for the PC platform, even though it seems to have met with some negative reviews. Regardless, the Direct X 11 engine is fantastic and can demand 4GB of video memory at the highest settings.

This is exactly what we did today for this article.

We increased all the settings to the limit and cranked FXAA and MSAA, with high Tessellation. At these settings the game was requesting 4060MB of memory from 4096MB available.

We measured real world performance from Chapter V, Chapter IX and Chapter XII, then averaged the results below. This will give a good real world average of overall system performance.

At these settings, the GTX680's have no problem maintaining an average of almost 80 frames per second, never dropping below 60 frames per second. For such a demanding engine these are incredible results.

Shogun 2 is set in 16th-century feudal Japan, in the aftermath of the Ōnin War. The country is fractured into rival clans led by local warlords, each fighting for control. The player takes on the role of one of these warlords, with the goal of dominating other factions and claiming his rule over Japan. The standard edition of the game will feature a total of eight factions (plus a ninth faction for the tutorial), each with a unique starting position and different political and military strengths.

We use the built in benchmark via STEAM so you can compare against your own system.

This engine favours AMD drivers/hardware, however to average almost 130 frames per second in the Direct X 11 high 1080p test is quite an achievement.

According to EA, Battlefield 3 garnered 3 million pre-orders by the day of its release. It is unknown at present whether these figures are worldwide or just for the US. The pre-order total makes it “the biggest first-person shooter launch in EA history”, according to the publisher. The engine is beautiful on the PC and very demanding of the partnering hardware.

Great performance again from the system, averaging 175 frames per second at these settings.

To test power consumption today we use a Keithley Integra unit and we measure power consumption from the VGA card inputs. We measure results in this state while gaming in Crysis Warhead.

We also measure overall system drain from the socket with a calibrated meter. We measure this while running the final CPU/GPU intensive test in 3DMark 11.

In 3DMark11 the system with two overclocked GTX680's demands 607 watts of power at the socket.

This may seem like a lot of power, however regular readers may remember that a system we tested, almost identical to this (image above: 3960X EE clocked to 4.8ghz), with two GTX590's in Quad SLI. This configuration demanded 929Watts at the socket.

Our indepth review of the KFA2 GeForce GTX 680 LTD OC 2048MB yesterday concluded that the card is one of the fastest discrete solutions available today. The 1,268mhz boost version we tested will be available in limited quantities soon from Overclockers for £559.99 inc vat. They won't be selling many of them, so you may struggle to locate one, never mind two.

If you happen to have £1,120 burning a hole in your pocket and you are in the market to create a ‘no compromises' system then this is a good first choice. It may seem like a lot of cash, but next to the latest £995.95 GTX 690 cards they are a great ‘cost effective' alternative. Yeah, I can't believe I said that either.

Sadly, there are only a handful of new games that really demand this level of flagship hardware … we are in fact facing a market this year which is almost devoid of ground breaking PC titles. I am sick installing a new title only to find out it is another sloppy, half assed console port.

Thankfully, Max Payne 3 is one of the few games released this year that really does give reward when paired up with a cutting edge graphics card, such as the Nvidia GTX680. Fortunately it is also a fantastic game to play and we don't often get that killer combination. If you are one of the lucky people to get hold of a new GTX680, then I can certainly recommend Max Payne 3 as a first purchase.

If you aren't able to get hold of the KFA2 Geforce GTX 680 LTD OC 1,268mhz boost version, then Overclockers are also selling a slightly slower clocked version for £455.99 inc vat. We aren't sure if it will overclock to these speeds, but it might be possible. Another great option is the Asus GTX 680 Direct CU II Top which we modified in this article with the amazing ARCTIC Accelero Xtreme III cooler.

If you are short of cash right now, then you will be happy to hear that you could win the KFA2 GeForce GTX 680 LTD OC 2048MB over here, thanks to our good friends at Overclockers.

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