NVIDIA Graphics Cards Are Popular. Even outdated models may be suitable for a user computer. Their relevance is often important for gamers and those who need a productive system. The rest will fit the old model, which may be less productive, but the quality is not inferior to new products.
About graphics card
Gigabyte GTX 680 is unlikely to appeal to some gamers. This model has long become obsolete as a gaming solution, although it could deal with gaming projects about 5 years ago. Now, only those who do not expect much from system performance can buy this video card.
The feature of the model is that it comes with a proprietary cooling system. The Gigabyte GTX 680 looks good, but takes up a lot of space in the case. For example, such a model may not stand on a compact motherboard, since it has as many as three fans and a large case length.
The fact that the adapter received such an impressive cooling system hints at a good overclocking potential.
Packaging and equipment
The Gigabyte GTX 680 graphics card comes in a bright corporate box. It is very similar to the modern design. A huge neon eye is drawn in front - the trademark of the cooling system. The model of the adapter and its main parameters are immediately indicated: the type of memory, its amount and the name of the SD.
A detailed list of features is displayed on the back of the box. There is also a photo of the video card and its capabilities are described.
The package bundle is hardly generous. It turned out that the manufacturer does not really care about the user, so inside there is a disk with software, instructions for connecting and using the device, as well as two adapters for power. There are no additional plugs or cables, so if there is a shortage of them, you will have to buy separately.
The appearance of the video card
Despite the fact that the configuration of the Gigabyte GTX 680 did not please users, the appearance of the device left a good impression. The size of the adapter is quite large, although the printed circuit board itself does not differ from the reference model: 254 x 98 x 34 mm.
If you look at the dimensions of the device, taking into account the cooling system, you understand what the feature of the video card is: the dimensions of the SD are 273 x 110 x 39 mm. Such dimensions should be considered when buying this model in a compact case and even in a standard one. You will have to think in advance whether the device will interfere with the connection of other components or block the elements from additional cooling.
Printed circuit board
Description Gigabyte GTX 680 should start with the appearance of the printed circuit board. This is one of the main elements of the device. It should be said right away that when creating a modified version, the company decided not to experiment with the board itself. Therefore, we have a reference model that has not undergone changes even in color.
In general, the regular design actively promotes nVidia and it would be foolish for Gigabyte to move away from this path. And nobody needs to create even more work for themselves.
Therefore, the manufacturer decided to leave the company’s board in order to save time and money, free engineers from developing an exclusive board, and spend time on special compatibility tests. By the way, few want to spend time because they can be the first to enter the market and declare themselves while others are engaged in processing.
So, back to the board, what do you need to know? The “parents” of the device left no choice for modifier manufacturers. For some reason, they created only four phases of GPU power. This is said to be due to TDP restrictions. What does this affect?
First of all, such a decision will affect overclockers, who can no longer hope for a good overclocking potential. Although the idea of improving frequencies is not worth burying at all.
The main elements of the Gigabyte GTX 680 graphics card are hidden under the cooling system, so to consider them, you have to remove it. A professional here may notice the use of combined nutrition. There are also questions about the phases of nutrition, which turned out to be in an unusual position: before they were pulled vertically, but in this version everything was done the other way around.
On the board you can see the processor itself, which is responsible for the graphics, - GK104. It takes almost 300 square millimeters. For its location, a PCB substrate was used. Protects the chip - a metal frame.
Cooling system
Model GV-N680OC-2GD especially with its cooling system, so it is also worth mentioning separately. It consists of several parts. At first glance, it is difficult to understand whether it is effective. But after a careful inspection, it becomes clear that thanks to her this model is for sale.
Textolite, as always, is covered with a plastic casing. It can hardly be called any special. There are no bright graphic elements and company drawings on it. It is made of translucent green plastic.
Three 75 mm fans are built into the casing. The design helps get rid of turbulent flows. A radiator is hidden under the casing. It has a fairly impressive distance between the plates, which is quite unusual. This did not allow the development of high fans for this model.
At the base of the radiator, you can see a copper insert to which all the heat sink tubes are pulled together.
Device details
No less important in the graphics card is the interface panel. She can’t boast of a special variety here, so some users may be dissatisfied with the lack of a port.
Among the video connectors here are: one HDMI and DP and a pair of DVI. This configuration seems already outdated by 2019. Fortunately, at least one HDMI is. By the way, the connectors are placed horizontally, while the reference model offers a vertical arrangement.
Device specifications
Finally, it's worth talking about the specifications of the Gigabyte GeForce GTX 680 graphics card. It only slightly differs from the reference model.
The device works with 1536 stream processors. Texture units - 128. The adapter works with a frequency of 1072 MHz, while the reference version shows the result - 1006 MHz. That is, we can already say that this modification is accelerated.
Frequency indicators in the “Boost” mode also vary. Here the speed increases even more - 1123 MHz against 1058 MHz in the reference version. The remaining parameters are no different from other modifications of this model.
The memory card type is GDDR5. This particular model works with a capacity of 2 GB, although there is also a 4 GB version. The memory frequency is 6008 MHz. The device consumes almost 200 watts. The processor is made according to the 28 nm manufacturing process. The memory bus is 256-bit.
Energy consumption
The video card GeForce GTX 680, according to the specifications, consumes 192 watts. In fact, the situation is a little different. In idle mode, it requires 142 watts. If you activate a full load, the device will begin to "devour" up to 300 watts. The difference between the two indicators is 158 watts. To calculate the real parameter, you need to add another 10 watts to this. Thus, we get real power consumption - 168 watts.
This value may vary slightly. Sometimes it depends on the operation of the cooling system, on the presence of a reference board and various components on it. But in general, this is the indicator that gives this model.
Temperature and noise
WindForce 3X is a fairly powerful cooling system. In fact, it should make a lot of noise, since it immediately has three fans with dimensions of only 75 mm. Experienced users know: the smaller the diameter of the fan, the more revolutions it needs to make, and accordingly, make more noise.
In idle time, it emits only 38 dB. With a high load on the video card, it emits noise of 40 dB. Interestingly, this indicator is one less than the reference model.
Everything should be fine with the temperature of the GTX 680 graphics card, not for nothing that the manufacturer tried to develop a proprietary cooling system. The model in a calm state is almost not heated and shows only 29 degrees. Thus, it can be considered one of the “coldest” cards on the market.
With a heavy load, the GeForce GTX 680 graphics card warmed up to 63 degrees. Of course, this indicator also can not but rejoice, and vice versa gives hope that during overclocking it will not overheat as much as other models.
By the way, such a good temperature indicator provides an excellent opportunity to reduce the number of fan revolutions, reducing the noise of the device, respectively.
Graphics card memory
Many people try to understand how to find out how much video memory is on the video card. Firstly, it can be seen on the packaging and in the specifications of the device. Specifically, the Gigabyte GTX 680 model has two versions. The user can purchase a 2 or 4 GB adapter.
If you still do not know how much video memory your model has, you can use auxiliary utilities. For example, you can find out this information using the GPU-Z program.
You can download it from the official site. It is better to use the version with the English interface, since the Russian-language version may incorrectly display or not show some parameters at all.
After downloading the program, just run it. She will quickly collect data on the video card and will indicate all of them on the plate. You need to pay attention to the line Memory Size. Here in the cell is the amount of memory GDDR5 graphics card GTX 680.
Overclocking
Of course, you can hope for Boost mode, which actually increases the frequency of the processor. But most professional overclockers absolutely do not believe in such a parameter. It can restrain you within certain limits, because of which overclocking can only harm the operation of the device.
Boost mode works in automatic tuning. It independently increases the frequency and voltage, but when it reaches a certain limit, it stops. With independent overclocking, you have the opportunity to control these parameters yourself, understanding either intuitively or thanks to the graphs how far you can go during adjustment.
Overclocking may be another problem that will be impossible to solve. A manufacturing company may place certain restrictions. If it represents a factory overclocked model, you can stop hoping for potential and increased speed. Usually after this, overclocking at home does not give any result at all.
Of course, during overclocking you can experiment, use different modes and utilities, but you always do this at your own peril and risk. It is easier to use special programs, for example, MSI Afterburner. The utility is the most popular for this task and allows you to simply increase or decrease the adapter frequencies, and if you exceed the permissible values, it immediately speaks about it.
Thanks to her, it was possible to increase the frequency of the model under review to 1171 MHz, and with the addition of Boost, it was possible to reach 1250 MHz. The speed of video memory also increased from 6008 to 6,612 MHz.