Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Asgorath

macrumors 68000
Mar 30, 2012
1,573
479
1) is the eVGA version of the GTX670 a quiet card? Specifically this one. Is it as quiet as the stock 5770 card at idle? (Or possibly quieter due to its higher efficiency?)

I'm running an EVGA GeForce GTX 680, and I can basically never hear the fans. They are very quiet cards.
 

andrabr

macrumors newbie
Jul 25, 2008
7
0
Gigabyte GV-N680Wf3-2GD’s TDP

I have just received a straight answer from Gigabyte support:
"GV-N680Wf3-2GD’s maximum power is 233W"

A bit more than 195W I've seen mentioned for 680, but i guess something is needed to run those three fans :)

For those trying to calculate what power they have available: PCI-E slot can provide only 75w, PCI-E 2.0 150w , pci-e 6 pin connector 75w and pci-e 8 pin connector 150w.
 

DanielCoffey

macrumors 65816
Nov 15, 2010
1,207
30
Edinburgh, UK
I posted a couple of GPU questions in the main FAQ thread since they had not been addressed yet but it seems the thread is pretty quiet so I have edited my questions out and am reposting here...

===

1. I see the majority of the 680s have the full-sized Displayport female connector as well as pairs of DVI. If I intended to use a 680 in my 2010 MP with the Apple 27" Cinema Display with its mini-Displayport plug, which of the GPU port types would it be advisable to use and what adapter would be recommended?

2. Some of the 680s come with triple-height custom coolers and I know that we are currently advised to fit the card into PCI slot 2. Do these cards still fit assuming no other PCI cards present?

Cheers.
 

All Taken

macrumors 6502a
Dec 28, 2009
780
1
UK
I posted a couple of GPU questions in the main FAQ thread since they had not been addressed yet but it seems the thread is pretty quiet so I have edited my questions out and am reposting here...

===

1. I see the majority of the 680s have the full-sized Displayport female connector as well as pairs of DVI. If I intended to use a 680 in my 2010 MP with the Apple 27" Cinema Display with its mini-Displayport plug, which of the GPU port types would it be advisable to use and what adapter would be recommended?

2. Some of the 680s come with triple-height custom coolers and I know that we are currently advised to fit the card into PCI slot 2. Do these cards still fit assuming no other PCI cards present?

Cheers.

1. Displayport to Mini Displayport adaptor.

2. The PCI slot 2 advice is something I haven't encountered for the 680 lineup. I'm not saying that some cards don't see better performance with a particular slot, I'm saying in my experience with the 680 the Mac Pro is non-preferential.

To answer your question, yes. But why you would get a triple slot card when something like a GTX680 twin frozr II has a brilliant cooler in a dual slot design I do not know.
 

DanielCoffey

macrumors 65816
Nov 15, 2010
1,207
30
Edinburgh, UK
Thanks for the reply.

I must have had a google blind spot because at first I could only find the mDP to DP cables but after pasting "Displayport to Mini Displayport adaptor" into the search field I very quickly found the correct adapter. Only about £4 too which is a pleasant surprise.

As for the triple-height cards, I was having difficulty finding suppliers in the UK offering a 680 4Gb with 2x 6-pin power. I think the MSI Twin Frozr and Zotac meet that spec but the Zotac has a standard single-fan cooler and the only importer offering the MSI Twin Frozr card wants a totally ridiculous price for it. The rest of the 680 4Gbs were triple height and you really had to look closely to even find pictures of the power requirements since few resellers offer more than a frontal shot. If the 680 can sit in the lower slot and avoid the issues that I remember were to do with Sleep problems then that opens up more possibilities for cards.
 

Asgorath

macrumors 68000
Mar 30, 2012
1,573
479
I posted a couple of GPU questions in the main FAQ thread since they had not been addressed yet but it seems the thread is pretty quiet so I have edited my questions out and am reposting here...

Yeah I've been slammed at work for the past month or so, I'll try and update the FAQ thread with all the latest information this weekend. The answers above are what I would've said, for sure.
 

DanielCoffey

macrumors 65816
Nov 15, 2010
1,207
30
Edinburgh, UK
Both the sticky thread and this one are an excellent read, I have to say. Thanks for keeping them on track.

I know folks will say that 2Gb vram is plenty on a single-monitor card but the exceptions are games like Skyrim at 2560x1440 with HD textures. It soon gets eaten up which is why I have been looking at the 4Gb cards. I just wish they were more readily available...

It seems that the MSI 680 4Gb Twin Frozr is in a sweet position because it is sold as a 2x 6-pin card.
 

dpny

macrumors 6502
Jan 5, 2013
268
105
Both the sticky thread and this one are an excellent read, I have to say. Thanks for keeping them on track.

I know folks will say that 2Gb vram is plenty on a single-monitor card but the exceptions are games like Skyrim at 2560x1440 with HD textures. It soon gets eaten up which is why I have been looking at the 4Gb cards. I just wish they were more readily available...

I got a 4GB SC 670 specifically for the extra VRAM. Running X-Plane with textures set to highest can easily use 2.5-3 GB of VRAM.
 

Sinx2oic

macrumors regular
Mar 26, 2009
142
0
EVGA 2GB GeForce GTX 680 SC

Hi guys

got a question, I bought a EVGA 2GB GeForce GTX 680 SC Signature NVIDIA Graphics Card.

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-...5-gpu-1084mhz-boost-1150mhz-cores-1536-2x-dl-

I tried to fit it today and realised that it has a 6 pin on the top and a 8 pin on the bottom? Obviously my mac pro has two 6 pin PCI power cables. I should have read all the info on here first. Will it work if I get a 6pin to 8pin converter cable? or would it need external power? It says the power is 195W. Only I read somewhere that you shouldn't use 6pin to 8pin converter cables?

Help would be much appreciated!
 

Asgorath

macrumors 68000
Mar 30, 2012
1,573
479
Hi guys

got a question, I bought a EVGA 2GB GeForce GTX 680 SC Signature NVIDIA Graphics Card.

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-...5-gpu-1084mhz-boost-1150mhz-cores-1536-2x-dl-

I tried to fit it today and realised that it has a 6 pin on the top and a 8 pin on the bottom? Obviously my mac pro has two 6 pin PCI power cables. I should have read all the info on here first. Will it work if I get a 6pin to 8pin converter cable? or would it need external power? It says the power is 195W. Only I read somewhere that you shouldn't use 6pin to 8pin converter cables?

Help would be much appreciated!

Should be fine, since it's listed as a 195W TDP. Converter cables are not generally recommended for cards that have a TDP higher than 225W.
 

Sinx2oic

macrumors regular
Mar 26, 2009
142
0
Should be fine, since it's listed as a 195W TDP. Converter cables are not generally recommended for cards that have a TDP higher than 225W.

Cool, cheers for the response Asgorath. I have ordered the cable from amazon.
Fingers crossed it will all work. :)
 

BlueBubba

macrumors member
Jan 5, 2012
59
4
Hi guys

got a question, I bought a EVGA 2GB GeForce GTX 680 SC Signature NVIDIA Graphics Card.

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-...5-gpu-1084mhz-boost-1150mhz-cores-1536-2x-dl-

I tried to fit it today and realised that it has a 6 pin on the top and a 8 pin on the bottom? Obviously my mac pro has two 6 pin PCI power cables. I should have read all the info on here first. Will it work if I get a 6pin to 8pin converter cable? or would it need external power? It says the power is 195W. Only I read somewhere that you shouldn't use 6pin to 8pin converter cables?

Help would be much appreciated!

I'd like to know how you get on with the 8pin convertor Sinx2oic. I'd like to get a 4GB card and there are only two 6 pin cards available in the UK as far as I can tell. The twin frozr 4gb 680gtx is £789!!! on amazon uk or the Zotac single fan.

Cheers.
 

marcotronic

macrumors newbie
Apr 16, 2013
2
0
Germany
My 680 has one 6 pin and one 8 pin connector. Yes, at this point I'm using a 6 to 8 pin adapter from the motherboard for the 8 pin plus the standard 6 pin cable. I have two years of Apple care so I figured it would be a good time for a burn-in test. ;) (Burn-Out Test ???) ;)

I've run many day long renders with the card maxed and pouring out heat without any issue. I'm considering adding another 4GB 680 in which case I'll run both cards off an external PSU.

Dave #3

Hi,
I have just ordered the card you have for my Mac Pro 4,1...
When I look into the specs of this card (http://www.evga.com/products/pdf/04G-P4-3687.pdf ) it says under "requirements" that you have the option to use only one 6-pin connector. Is that correct? So is there a problem using only that 6-pin connector? Would the card run with reduced capabilities then?

thanks
Marco
 

marcotronic

macrumors newbie
Apr 16, 2013
2
0
Germany
Alrighty... Just got the above mentioned card (EVGA GTX680 4GB) and it runs like a charm! My old card was connected with two 6 pins and I just connected the two existing 6-pin cables to

A. the 6 pin
and
B. 6 of the 8 pins of the 8 pin connector

seems to work so far!

Marco
 

antonio99

macrumors member
Feb 2, 2017
38
1
Hi,
I have just ordered the card you have for my Mac Pro 4,1...
When I look into the specs of this card (http://www.evga.com/products/pdf/04G-P4-3687.pdf ) it says under "requirements" that you have the option to use only one 6-pin connector. Is that correct? So is there a problem using only that 6-pin connector? Would the card run with reduced capabilities then?

thanks
Marco

Hi Marco, were you (or anybody else for that matter) able to run a GTX 680 off a single 6-pin cable?
I've got one second hand, and since I only have a single cable I'm wondering if it is possible to test it by using a single cable.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.