upgrading to 680 from 9600gt

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gordonie

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Hello,

I will be upgrading to a 680 as soon as newegg restocks them, and I have a few questions.

First, to replace the 9600gt I am currently using with a 680, I simply just turn everything off, replace it, start windows and do a fresh install of the drivers correct? Are there any complications I could run into upgrading from such an old card to a new one?

Secondly, there are so many different 680's to choose from. I would like to hear everyones opinion as to which brand 680 is the best and why. Like the actual card itself wether it is lowder and cooler or not, how the software side of things are like the drivers for that brand, support, everything. I have no problem if you prefer one over the other but simply saying, "Asus ones are the best just because" is not very informative.

And finally, I might have plans in the future to go into. Now I know there are many complications with sli and I have done alot of research, but if I do go with an sli setup, no more than 2 cards, should I stick to reference cards that vent air out the back or use non-reference cards which do not? I do have a HAF X which has over 6 ginormous fans in total, what are your opinions here? Also, I have an Asus z68 so I would not be stacking the cards one on top of another, I could place the second card down a few slots to give better air flow.

thanks guys,
 
Firstly, with that much of an upgrade I'd jizz all over the place.

Secondly, I prefer eVGA. Their reference boards are usually in the lowest 3 price bracket and take a kick to the balls OC wise (anything but 680, I'll explain later). They are also my preference because they are US based, I know the head of RMA, and they have pretty good service if you are nice to them.

With Nvidia cards I always prefer the reference stock cooler that vents out the back and has the squirrel blower fan on the other end of the card. Don't look at my specs because I got this 580 as a steal. If I bought new, would always be reference and eVGA.

As for the OC, 680s are a different game. I try to mention this in every post 680 wise to get the info around. It isn't as easy as simply moving the slider or upping the voltage anymore. With this info in mind you can either Google how to properly OC the 680s or you can simply buy a pre overclocked model.
 
I see, thank you for the info PP. And I would figure out how to OC it myself, I am really interested in this stuff, it is one of my minors anyway so I better like it.

My PSU is the corsair 1200watt gold, I built this system in december 2011 using only the best I could find on newegg, except the gpu which I borrowed from a friend, I knew the 680 was coming out so I had to wait :)
 
Firstly, with that much of an upgrade I'd jizz all over the place.

omg I facepalmed and literally lol'd when I read this.


As for the original posts questions...
What are the specs of the rest of the rig?
For manufacturer I generally buy XFX now.
If you can manage the extra space between the cards, I would go with an aftermarket cooler. They get really toasty in SLi / Crossfire, especially if you don't have that extra space.
 
omg I facepalmed and literally lol'd when I read this.


As for the original posts questions...
What are the specs of the rest of the rig?
For manufacturer I generally buy XFX now.
If you can manage the extra space between the cards, I would go with an aftermarket cooler. They get really toasty in SLi / Crossfire, especially if you don't have that extra space.
He has a Z68 board so I'm guessing a 2500, 2600, or 2700k.
XFX is ATI only and he wants a 680 so...yea.
 
We're both wrong there.. XFX does have nVidia cards but they're low end and older generation :tongue: I remember a friend had an XFX 8800GT.. long long ago.
 
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