Notebookcheck

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680M SLI

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680M SLI

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680M SLI is a high-end DirectX 11-compatible graphics card for laptops, consisting of two GeForce GTX 680M. Each card has a 28nm GK104 core based on the Kepler architecture. Compared to the desktop GeForce GTX 670, the GTX 680M also features 1344 CUDA cores, but the mobile counterpart operates at reduced core and memory clock speeds (720/1800MHz vs 915-980/3004MHz). The clocks for the SLI-setup are identical. With SLI, each card usually renders a single frame (AFR mode). Therefore, it may suffer from micro stuttering in low fps ranges of 30fps. This happens because of different timespans between two frames (e.g., irregular delays between sequential frames).

Architecture

The Kepler architecture is the successor to the Fermi architecture that first appeared in laptops with the GeForce 400M series. The GK104 Kepler core offers eight shader blocks, called SMX, that are clocked at the same speed as the central core. Although more shader cores are available in the Kepler architecture as compared to the Fermi design, the Kepler shaders are still expected to be up to twice as power efficient. However, due to the missing hot clock of the shader domain, two shaders of a Kepler chip are of similar speed to one shader of a Fermi chip (as the latter is clocked twice as fast). PCIe 3.0 is now supported by the mobile Kepler series and an optional Turbo mode can automatically overclock the Nvidia card by a theoretical 15 percent if the laptop cooling system allows it. The implementation of this boost mode is done in the BIOS, but it is ultimately dependent upon the manufacturer of the laptop.

Performance

The graphics performance of the GeForce GTX 680M SLI is on the same level as the Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire, thus making both the fastest mobile solution as of summer 2012. In our Benchmarks, the 680M SLI is just marginal in front. The GPUs have enough power to run games of 2012 fluently with Full HD resolution, maxed out graphical settings and antialiasing. Even extremely demanding titles like Metro 2033, Alan Wake or Risen 2 are playable at the highest detail settings.

Features

The improved feature set now includes support for up to 4 active displays. Furthermore, high resolution monitors of up to 3840x2160 pixels can now be connected using DisplayPort 1.2 or HDMI 1.4a if available. HD-Audio codecs, such as Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD, can be transmitted via bitstream mode through the HDMI port. However, as most laptops will feature Optimus, the integrated GPU will likely have direct control over the display ports and may limit the feature set available by the Nvidia Kepler cards.

The 5th generation PureVideo HD video processor (VP5) is also integrated in the GK104 core and offers hardware decoding of HD videos. Common codecs such as MPEG-1/2, MPEG-4 ASP, H.264 and VC1/WMV9 are fully supported up to 4K resolutions while VC1 and MPEG-4 are supported up to 1080p. Two streams can be decoded in parallel for features such as Picture-in-Picture. Another novelty is the inclusion of a dedicated video encoding engine similar to Intel QuickSync that can be accessed by the NVENC API.

The power consumption of the GeForce GTX 680M SLI should double compared to a single GTX 680M. Therefore, only large desktop replacements can handle the heat.

ManufacturerNVIDIA
GeForce GTX 600M Series
GeForce GTX 680M SLI 2688 @ 720 MHz2x 256 Bit @ 3600 MHz
GeForce GTX 680MX (compare) 1536 @ 720 MHz256 Bit @ 5000 MHz
GeForce GTX 675M SLI (compare) 768 @ 620 MHz256 Bit @ 3000 MHz
GeForce GTX 680M (compare) 1344 @ 720 MHz256 Bit @ 3600 MHz
GeForce GTX 670MX SLI (compare) 1920 @ 600 MHz2x 192 Bit @ 2800 MHz
GeForce GTX 675MX (compare) 960 @ 600 MHz256 Bit @ 3600 MHz
GeForce GTX 675M (compare) 384 @ 620 MHz256 Bit @ 3000 MHz
GeForce GTX 670MX (compare) 960 @ 600 MHz192 Bit @ 2800 MHz
GeForce GTX 670M (compare) 336 @ 598 MHz192 Bit @ 3000 MHz
GeForce GTX 660M (compare) 384 @ 835 MHz128 Bit @ 4000 MHz
CodenameN13E-GTX
ArchitectureKepler
Pipelines2688 - unified
Core Speed720 MHz
Memory Speed3600 MHz
Memory Bus Width2x 256 Bit
Memory TypeGDDR5
Max. Amount of Memory2x 4096 MB
Shared Memoryno
DirectXDirectX 11, Shader 5.0
technology28 nm
FeaturesOptimus, SLI, PhysX, Verde Drivers, CUDA, 3D Vision, 3DTV Play
Notebook Sizelarge
Date of Announcement04.06.2012

Benchmarks

3DMark 11 - Performance 1280x720
min: 9922     avg: 10053.3     median: 9946 (28%)     max: 10292 points
+ 3 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
3DMark 11 - Performance GPU 1280x720
min: 10921     avg: 10952     median: 10952 (21%)     max: 10983 points
+ 2 benchmarks and specifications   - Hide comparison chart
3DMark Vantage
P Result 1280x1024 +
P GPU no PhysX 1280x1024 +
3DMark 03 - Standard 1024x768
min: 108274     avg: 108565     median: 108565 (57%)     max: 108856 Points
+ 2 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
3DMark 05 - Standard 1024x768
min: 32059     avg: 32434     median: 32434 (61%)     max: 32809 Points
+ 2 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
3DMark 06 Standard 1280x1024 +
Unigine Heaven 3.0 - DX 11, Normal Tessellation, High Shaders 1920x1080
107.5 fps (40%)
+ 1 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
Unigine Heaven 2.1 - high, Tesselation (normal), DirectX11 1280x1024
min: 131     avg: 135.1     median: 135 (57%)     max: 138 fps
+ 2 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
SPECviewperf 11
Siemens NX 1920x1080 +
Tcvis 1920x1080 +
SolidWorks 1920x1080 +
Pro/ENGINEER 1920x1080 +
Maya 1920x1080 +
Lightwave 1920x1080 +
Ensight 1920x1080 +
Catia 1920x1080 +
Windows 7 Experience Index - Gaming graphics
7.9 points (113%)
+ 2 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
Windows 7 Experience Index - Graphics
7.9 points (113%)
+ 2 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 64Bit +
- Range of benchmark values for this graphics card
- Average benchmark values for this graphics card
* Smaller numbers mean a higher performance

Game Benchmarks

The following benchmarks stem from our benchmarks of review laptops. The performance depends on the used graphics memory, clock rate, processor, system settings, drivers, and operating systems. So the results don't have to be representative for all laptops with this GPU. For detailed information on the benchmark results, click on the fps number.

Assassin´s Creed III

Assassin´s Creed III

2012
med. 1366x768
81.2  fps    + Compare
high 1366x768
78.6  fps    + Compare
ultra 1920x1080
47.6  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
Hitman: Absolution

Hitman: Absolution

2012
low 1024x768
85.8  fps    + Compare
med. 1366x768
78.8  fps    + Compare
high 1366x768
70.6  fps    + Compare
ultra 1920x1080
44.1  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2

2012
low 1024x768
230.8  fps    + Compare
med. 1366x768
194.4  fps    + Compare
high 1366x768
145.1  fps    + Compare
ultra 1920x1080
108.1  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
Need for Speed: Most Wanted

Need for Speed: Most Wanted

2012
low 1024x768
60  fps    + Compare
med. 1366x768
60  fps    + Compare
high 1366x768
58.6  fps    + Compare
ultra 1920x1080
47.7  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
Medal of Honor: Warfighter

Medal of Honor: Warfighter

2012
low 1024x768
194.1  fps    + Compare
med. 1366x768
179.7  fps    + Compare
high 1366x768
161.2  fps    + Compare
ultra 1920x1080
80.2  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
Dishonored

Dishonored

2012
low 1024x768
130  fps    + Compare
med. 1366x768
130  fps    + Compare
high 1366x768
129.9  fps    + Compare
ultra 1920x1080
130  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
World of Tanks v8

World of Tanks v8

2012
low 1024x768
118  fps    + Compare
med. 1366x768
92.7  fps    + Compare
high 1366x768
82.6  fps    + Compare
ultra 1920x1080
59  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
Fifa 13

Fifa 13

2012
low 1024x768
455.5  fps    + Compare
med. 1366x768
419.9  fps    + Compare
high 1366x768
403.2  fps    + Compare
ultra 1920x1080
374  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
F1 2012

F1 2012

2012
low 1024x768
173  fps    + Compare
med. 1366x768
141  fps    + Compare