Conclusion
Conclusion
So here we are at the end of yet another NVIDIA graphics card review and to some, this conclusion will sound familiar. The GTX 680 set a high water mark for single GPU performance and this new GTX 670’s goals may be slightly more modest. However, the end result is just as -if not more- impressive. Not only does it provide a surprising amount of performance in the $399 price bracket but the GTX 670 does so without the need for a power supply upgrade.
While the GTX 680 represents the highest performance available, the GTX 670’s cut down GK104 core allows for most of its bigger sibling’s performance but without the associated power consumption and (in most cases) long backorder lists. This situation does however pose a bit of a problem for NVIDIA since the GeForce family’s newest member may follow a bit TOO closely in their flagship’s footsteps. Even though the GTX 670 costs a good 20% less than the GTX 680, it only trails by an average of 11% across all benchmarks. Add a bit of overclocking to that equation and we just can’t see the appeal of spending $499 on a flagship card. This is great news for anyone in the market for a $399 graphics card but buyers of the GTX 680 may feel a bit jilted.
With performance that comes awfully close to a fully enabled GK104, the GTX 670 poses a nightmare scenario for AMD. Fresh off a round of price drops, they now have to contend with a card that retails for the same price as a HD 7950 but runs dead even with a HD 7970 in everything except multi monitor resolutions. To add insult to injury, the Radeon cards fight a losing battle in the performance per watt and acoustics categories as well. Free game offer or not, without another $50 to $75 shaved off, we can’t think of a single scenario where a gamer should choose a Tahiti-based card over the GTX 670.
From an intergenerational perspective, the GTX 670 represents a true step forward when compared against the GTX 580. Remember, the flagship GF110-based product was launched about a year and six months ago for a price of $499 and we now have a $399 card that can run circles around it. Now that's progress folks.
Back to the topic of overclocking. Even though our sample's heatsink wasn't the of best quality (a trait we've been assured isn't indicative of retail samples), the GTX 670 was more than willing to overclock, easily equaling the framerates posted by a GTX 680. We have no doubt that board partners’ custom cooling designs will allow for even higher Boost clocks.
NVIDIA has pleasantly surprised us yet again. Their new GTX 670 hits nearly the same performance level as the GTX 680 but costs significantly less, causing a potential issue for the GeForce lineup but undoubtedly making this the go-to card for gamers. More importantly, the GTX 670 effectively slaps AMD while they’re down, necessitating another price drop on cards that are becoming increasingly marginalized in a competitive market. If you are looking for incredible performance and haven't made the jump to a GTX 680 yet, this is currently the card to have.