NVIDIA Jumps Back To The Top With The New GTX 680

By Jonathan Leack

So if you've been keeping up with PC news, you are probably aware that AMD recently made a huge move with the Radeon HD 7970. Benchmarks showed an average of around a +20% increase in power over the Nvidia GTX 580, a similar single-GPU card in the $500-$550 price bracket. Well, while their run was strong, it was short lived, as Nvidia are now prepared for war, and they have the technology in their favor.

The Nvidia GTX 680 is now available for purchase, and it's extremely promising. Before we dive in, check out some of the key specs as it compares to its last-generation equivalent.

 
 
Right out of the gate, the big selling point of this new line of GeForce cards are their die-shrink. They're down to a 28nm process and as a result the power draw is significantly reduced, which has allowed Nvidia to bump up the horsepower substantially while retaining a low heat footprint. This strong balance of power and efficiency has caused the GTX 680 to dominate benchmarks with an improvement of about 12% in games such as Crysis 2 and Battlefield 3 versus its competitor, the AMD HD 7970.

So what does this all mean and why is it important? Well, some might argue that hardware has become stagnant and technology isn't evolving as quickly as they'd like. The truth of the matter is that Nvidia and AMD (formerly ATI) are battling as heavily as ever before, and their graphics cards are improving at an alarming rate. If you're expecting the next generation of consoles to have disappointing visual performance, don't fret, because this constant competition is causing phenomenal hardware to drop in price regularly.

Jonathan Leack
Jonathan Leack

Although Jonathan Leack began covering the gaming industry in 2009, his earliest roots date back to 2004 when he wrote his first of many reviews to come. Equipped with a B.S. in Computer Information Systems and several information technology certifications, he provides a unique perspective that is technological and business conscious. Having acquired the role of Executive Editor in 2016, his mission is to make GameRevolution a gaming site that thoughtfully considers the consumer perspective, and has a knowledgeable presence of PC gaming, console, hardware, and eSports coverage.

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