First GTX 690 Review

[valtterieranen]

Because tearing and irregular frame intervals are worse.

I have no issue with single GPU input lag with my 20ms TV.

[QuadDamage]

Wow you will always find something to complain about. I don't use v-sync in competitive shooters such as CS:S and Q3A because v-sync causes massive input lag which interferes with aiming and since both of the games run at 299fps for CS:S and 142fps for Q3A I get no visual screen tearing. There's nothing worse than v-sync induced input lag period. If you want smooth visuals then enable v-sync but if you really care about KD ratio then you should disable it. You can't have it both ways so maybe it's time for you to stop complaining already.

[valtterieranen]

since both of the games run at 299fps for CS:S and 142fps for Q3A I get no visual screen tearing.

That's already where we fundamentally disagree.

I will complain as much as I like thank you very much.

[QuadDamage]

At high framerate you get no tearing. You should try and see for yourself when you get some time.

[russ18uk]

At high framerate you get no tearing. You should try and see for yourself when you get some time.

Too busy looking at every pixel for colour disparity or brightness bleeding

[OrionCheung]

I'm still not liking SLI. The difference in input lag is very clear to me. SLI 60fps looks like 60fps but doesn't feel like it when playing a game. Single GPU is perceivably snappier when it comes to mouse aiming. I find myself playing my games SLI disabled most of the time since I can reach 60fps that way without the additional lag. Only Witcher 2 really needs more power.

Might just get rid of my 480's and get a single 670 or 680.

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/...hnology_review

The cure to tearing is to turn VSync on. What this does is cap the game's framerates to the highest native refresh rate of your display. This means on our 60Hz display, the game won't exceed 60FPS. As most people consider 60 FPS to be a very smooth gameplay experience, this sounds like there would be no drawbacks, but unfortunately there is. The problem with turning VSync on is that the framerate is locked to multiples of 60. If the framerate drops even just a little below 60 FPS VSync will drop all the way from 60 FPS to 30 FPS. This is a huge drop in framerate, and that large change in framerate becomes noticeable to the gamer. The result is called stuttering, and when you are playing a game that consistently changes between only 30 and 60 FPS, the game speeds up and slows down and you feel this difference and it distracts from the gameplay experience. What's worse is that if the framerate drops ever so slightly below 30 FPS the next step down for VSync is 20 FPS, and then the next step down is 15 FPS.

Also, even if you have vsync on or off. Adaptive Vsync still plays a roll:

The option to turn on Adaptive VSync is located in the NVIDIA control panel. We have version 301.24 of the driver installed on our system. You will find five options in the drop down box. The first option is "Use the 3D application setting." This means is that the in-game VSync option (if one) takes precedent. The off option forces VSync off in all games and the VSync on option forces it on in all games, no matter the in-game setting. The "Adaptive" option is the one you want to use to enable Adaptive VSync. It doesn't matter whether VSync is off or on in your game, this setting overrides in-game control settings. The fifth option Adaptive (half refresh rate) will probably rarely be used. This will basically lock your refresh rate at 30 Hz, or 30 FPS, and most gamers don't want. Using the "Adaptive" option is our preferred option.

I was thinking if you still have adaptive vsync and not liking it.. disable that too. and see how it will be on games.

[valtterieranen]

At high framerate you get no tearing. You should try and see for yourself when you get some time.

I have, several times. You still get several incomplete frames on your screen at a given moment. You still get tearing. It's less prevalent due to so many frames much closer to eachother, but it's still there.

Adaptive Vsync has no purpose when my FPS is a flat 60 all the time anyway.

[Meaker]

Once the card becomes obsolete you will be able to remove it and mount it in a frame as a piece of art

[Raptor156]

Because tearing and irregular frame intervals are worse.

There are very few games I've felt the need to enable v-sync in. Never felt the need in any Source engine game, Bad Company 2, Battlefield 3 and plenty of others. The only game I can think of off the top of my head that v-sync is a must for me is Rage. I get horrible tearing in that game if v-sync is disabled, may have something to do with it being OpenGL, but I'm not sure.

[Brat Gvidon]

And there I was thinking that for once in my life I bought the fastest videocard out (GTX 680)... and yet 3 days later there is GTX 690... F*ck this industry. By 2013 my GTX 680 will be minimum requirement for upcoming games!

My upcoming rig parts will burn at the stake before I unpack them and I think I need my Xanax...