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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680MX

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680MX

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680MX is a high-end DirectX 11-compatible graphics card commonly found on Apple iMac products. It is based on the 28nm GK104 Kepler architecture similar to the GTX 680M, but features more CUDA cores (1536 vs. 1344) and a higher memory clock rate (720/2500MHz vs. 720/1800MHz)

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. In the GTX 680MX, all eight blocks are active for a total of 1536 CUDA cores. Although the Kepler architecture can utilize more shader cores than a Fermi chip, its shaders can 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

Thanks to the additional shader cores and the faster memory, the graphics performance of the GeForce GTX 680MX should be 15 - 25 percent above the GTX 680M and similar to the Desktop GTX 580. The GPU has enough power to run demanding games of 2012 fluently with Full HD resolution and maxed out graphical settings. Battlefield 3, Skyrim, and Crysis 2, for example, are playable at the highest detail settings.

As an example, the GTX 680MX can play Battlefield 3 on ultra settings at 30 FPS on a native resolution of 2560x1440 during our benchmark sequence. For fluent multiplayer gameplay, the resolution and/or anti-aliasing should be reduced (e.g. 1920x1080 Ultra at 45 fps).

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 680MX should be somewhat higher than the GTX 680M, making it difficult to cool for laptops. The Apple iMac is currently the most readily available product to utilize this high-end card.

GeForce GTX 600M Series

GeForce GTX 680M SLI compare 2688 @ 0.72 GHz2x 256 Bit @ 3600 MHz
GeForce GTX 680MX 1536 @ 0.72 GHz256 Bit @ 5000 MHz
GeForce GTX 675M SLI compare 768 @ 0.62 GHz256 Bit @ 3000 MHz
GeForce GTX 680M compare 1344 @ 0.72 GHz256 Bit @ 3600 MHz
GeForce GTX 670MX SLI compare 1920 @ 0.6 GHz2x 192 Bit @ 2800 MHz
GeForce GTX 675MX compare 960 @ 0.6 GHz256 Bit @ 3600 MHz
GeForce GTX 675M compare 384 @ 0.62 GHz256 Bit @ 3000 MHz
GeForce GTX 670MX compare 960 @ 0.6 GHz192 Bit @ 2800 MHz
GeForce GTX 670M compare 336 @ 0.6 GHz192 Bit @ 3000 MHz
GeForce GTX 660M compare 384 @ 0.84 GHz128 Bit @ 4000 MHz
ArchitectureKepler
Pipelines1536 - unified
Core Speed720 MHz
Memory Speed5000 MHz
Memory Bus Width256 Bit
Memory TypeGDDR5
Max. Amount of Memory2048 MB
Shared Memoryno
APIDirectX 11, Shader 5.0, OpenGL 4.3
Power Consumption122 Watt
Transistor Count3.5 Billion
technology28 nm
FeaturesOptimus, SLI, PhysX, Verde Drivers, CUDA, 3D Vision, 3DTV Play
Notebook Sizelarge
Date of Announcement23.10.2012
Link to Manufacturer Pagewww.geforce.com

Benchmarks

3DMark Vantage
3DM Vant. Perf. total +
3DM Vant. Perf. GPU no PhysX +
- 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.

low 1024x768
72  fps    + Compare
med. 1366x768
43.6  fps    + Compare
high 1920x1080
26.4  fps    + Compare
ultra 1920x1080
14.2  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings med..
ultra 1920x1080
133  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
high 1366x768
55.4  fps    + Compare
ultra 1920x1080
34.4  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings high.
F1 2012

F1 2012

2012
ultra 1920x1080
97.5  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
high 1366x768
99  fps    + Compare
ultra 1920x1080
31.1  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings high.
low 1024x768
126  fps    + Compare
med. 1366x768
104  fps    + Compare
high 1366x768
92  fps    + Compare
ultra 1920x1080
45.6  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
lowmed.highultraQHD4K
The Witcher 37243.626.414.2
Dead Space 3133
Hitman: Absolution55.434.4
F1 201297.5
Sleeping Dogs9931.1
Battlefield 31261049245.6
< 30 fps
< 60 fps
< 120 fps
≥ 120 fps


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