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tracer1

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 6, 2013
240
38
SC
May be replacing my AMD HD 7970 in the near future. Thought about going to the old tried & true 680 because of ease ( or some say) to flash for boot screen. I can get the Nvidia gtx 680, 2G (one with the one fan), for $75 from a friend. Is it worth it to do it ( is the card worth it in terms of age) considering all the new cards of today. Most of the AMD R9 series seem to be a rebadge of the 7000 series, give or take specs but some do require less power. Now back to the 680. My research into all this says the 4G is good for multiple monitors. 2G is fine for 1080p, which is basically what I do. Have no intention of going to multiple monitors or in that direction. I still have my original mac 5770 & 3 GT120s. Now if I keep the 7970 for a while longer, I have just that card in my mac, can I also keep the 5770 or gt120 in it also or would draw too much power? Any info would be greatly appreciative.
Thanks
 

bsbeamer

macrumors 601
Sep 19, 2012
4,307
2,703
I recently swapped my GTX 680 (official Mac version) for a GTX 1080. So far very happy with the decision and performance. No boot screens with this method and using NVIDIA web drivers. The GTX 680 was really showing its age for my needs/usage. Hope this can get me through the next 9-12 months until more is known about tthe new Mac Pro (7,1).
 

fendersrule

macrumors 6502
Oct 9, 2008
423
324
It seems weird to trade a 7970 for a GTX 680. A very big step backwards. The GTX 680 is still a backwards step from the 7950.
 

tracer1

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 6, 2013
240
38
SC
I recently swapped my GTX 680 (official Mac version) for a GTX 1080. So far very happy with the decision and performance. No boot screens with this method and using NVIDIA web drivers. The GTX 680 was really showing its age for my needs/usage. Hope this can get me through the next 9-12 months until more is known about tthe new Mac Pro (7,1).

Yes the 1080 is nice & does have great specs. Boot screen is no problem as I have the other cards if needed.


It seems weird to trade a 7970 for a GTX 680. A very big step backwards. The GTX 680 is still a backwards step from the 7950.

Totally agree. My concern is that some of the guys on here say it will eventually blow my motherboard because of power consumption. It has run great even with heavy loads in the past years & will run virtually anything you throw at it. Simply looking at the 680 for flashing ease as it would outperform my 5770 & 120.
Thanks guys.
 

h9826790

macrumors P6
Apr 3, 2014
16,614
8,546
Hong Kong
Yes the 1080 is nice & does have great specs. Boot screen is no problem as I have the other cards if needed.

Totally agree. My concern is that some of the guys on here say it will eventually blow my motherboard because of power consumption. It has run great even with heavy loads in the past years & will run virtually anything you throw at it. Simply looking at the 680 for flashing ease as it would outperform my 5770 & 120.
Thanks guys.

Then you don’t need any replacement. Power draw should not be a problem. I ran 2x 7950 with just the mini 6 pins for years, no problem. And now I am running a 1080Ti, again, with the mini 6pins only, my logic board still alive.
 

bsbeamer

macrumors 601
Sep 19, 2012
4,307
2,703
Also running the GTX 1080 (Founders Edition) with dual 6-pin to 8-pin power without issue.
 
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