Indeed it has. 780 is around 30% faster than 680 Firehawk.

30% ...... maybe
But pricing policy nvidia is relentless ..
Cheapest NVIDIA GeForce GTX780 that I found for the price of about 570 eu and more .. One (I) can buy using GeForce GTX 680 for the price of 200 eu cca ..
It is a ratio of about 600EU - 200EU
6xx Series nVidia will still the most advantageous HW long for counting GPUGRID ..
nvidia cards 7xx is most preferably completely ignored, and the generations to come maxwell from NVDIA be maximally 40-60% faster than Kepler 6 xxx but will be expensive 800-1000 usd. and optimization in GPUGRID for maxwell is nowhere in sight,
So my analysis is that the next two years will be about most preferably count on GPUGrid nvidia 6xx cards .. because Maxwell does not come so soon and will be expensive.
http://videocardz.com/45403/nvidia-to-launch-more-cards-this-year-maxwell-in-q1-2014

Its all a matter of perspective and how much cash you got. For me, 30% is a large enough # that its justifiable. If I can knock several hours off a WU, that's huge.

If one considers only price point, than yes, the newest is never the best. I will be waiting to buy when Maxwell is released. Not only because of the time difference between hardware release and app release, but because im really hoping Haswell e will offer an 8 core.

My experiences with the 660´s are that bad that I only will buy 7xx cards from now one. My Asus 770 does great, runs cool and almost every type of WU runs in one go, that means no interruption by the app as termination to avoid error. That saves a lot of frustration and lost crunching time. That is also a point of consideration than only cash. But of course cash is an important decision maker, that is the reason I don´t have a 780 or Titan yet.

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Greetings from TJ

I'm glad you found the fix for the Titan/GTX780 problems! So MHJ was right, it was indeed deep down in nVidia code.. something they fixed now. This might be worthy news - Titan and GTX780 owners under Win upgrade your driver to 331.40 to fix nasty bug".

@TJ: you are specifically talking about your experience with GTX660's. And I suspect it's rather a system issue than a card issue. And we shouldn't forget the loads of 600's which run practically trouble-free since 8.14. So.. I don't think mentioning your experiences here is of much relevance for the general question of "600 vs. 700".

Regarding that actual question: everybody keep in mind that except of the GTX780, which is a baby Titan, all 700 series cards released so far use the same chips as the 600 series. They're physically the same, just with slightly different clock speeds, power limits, enabled shader blocks and memory controllers. The only other difference is the temperature based boost 2 in the firmware.

So actually there is no question of "optimization for 600" versus "optimization for 700". These cards all have the same basic shader blocks (SMX) and programming and optimizing for all of them is just the same.

@Maxwell being expensive: sue for the top model. Smaller and cheaper ones wil arrive in due time, though. It's the same "family" business as with Keplers.

MrS

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Scanning for our furry friends since Jan 2002

Now that the v331.40 beta driver has fixed the access violation error of the GK110 cards (GTX 780 and GTX TITAN), I'm planning to buy a GTX 780.
For all those who are planning to do the same thing: it might be wise to wait a couple of days, until AMD release their R9-290 and R9-290X based cards, as (according to its specs and the leaked benchmarks) these cards could/will be the competitors of the GTX 780 and the GTX TITAN, but their prices could/will be lower (around $600), thus they will force NV to lower their prices a bit. (as they already did it with their lesser cards).

Rumor has it that nVidia might release the Titan Ultra at Montreal the 16th or 17th of this month and lower prices too. It's supposed to be a fully enabled GK110 with 2880 cores, there's also mention of a new Tesla K40 with the GK180 (is that the Maxwell?) but still with 2880 shaders. But, as I said, it's still a rumor, but a reliable one at that, I guess we'll have to wait and see.

I am buying a 780 next month. But I have a question about the fan.
GPU´s are casing heat. My Asus 770 has two fans and runs really cool.
Now the 780 and the Titan, from EVGA and Asus have only one fan. This is strange to me as I would expect these cards run little warmer as they use more Watt and Watt is heat. So why don´t they build these cards with two or even three fans?

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Greetings from TJ

I am buying a 780 next month. But I have a question about the fan.
GPU´s are casing heat. My Asus 770 has two fans and runs really cool.
Now the 780 and the Titan, from EVGA and Asus have only one fan. This is strange to me as I would expect these cards run little warmer as they use more Watt and Watt is heat. So why don´t they build these cards with two or even three fans?

I think you might be interested in buying one of these cards:
ASUS GTX780-DC2-3GD5
ASUS GTX780-DC2OC-3GD5
Gigabyte GV-N780WF3-3GD
Gigabyte GV-N780OC-3GD

The single fan cards have more what's like a blower, they vent the hot air out the back. The twin fan models vent in to the case, not so good for other components. If you can have a case fan blowing in fresh air on to a blower type card, I think that's the best way to go.

Thanks again Zoltan.
I forget to look at Asus site I only looked at my 3 suppliers and they don't have them (yet).

Flashawk, I understand what you mean, but my experience with the 770 (twin fan) is good. I have had a temperature reading sensor in it, just in front of the second fan and that air was quite cool 54°. Two case fans blow cool air in and 3 are taking it out. The card is very quit as well and that I like as well.

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Greetings from TJ

What do you guys think of MSI cards? They are a bit cheaper in the Netherlands and plenty available.
My first choice would be EVGA, followed by Asus.

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Greetings from TJ

What do you guys think of MSI cards? They are a bit cheaper in the Netherlands and plenty available.
My first choice would be EVGA, followed by Asus.

I have a Gigabyte GTX670 and an MSI GTX670. The more expensive (for me) MSI uses one exhaust fan and the Gigabyte uses a triple fan system. The Gigabyte is 13% faster and runs between 50 and 53°C. The MSI operates at 76°C (in an open case).
My single fan GTX770 runs at 69°C, and that's with LOTS of bespoke open-case cooling, albeit in a 3 card system. The Ref. 770 blows out the back and into the case and is well shy of the power target (79%). My 660 is typically ~97% and my 660Ti is around 91%
- Multi-fan cards are cooler and quieter.

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I have a lot of MSI cards and they've been great. It so much depends on the model of ANY brand card, some have great cooling, some not so good. Newegg reviews are helpful or ask about a specific model.

My MSI card is reference, never a great start. My other reference cards are equally fallible.
I don't have an issue with MSI, in fact I much prefer MSI motherboards over the more expensive boards, that offer absolutely nothing extra when it comes to crunching. In the past I've had Asus boards pop and burn, but never an MSI board...

WRT GPU crunching, the big issue is,
multi-fan cards don't stack well (they blow hot air inside the case),
exhaust fan cards run hot to begin with, and even hotter when you stack them!

Perhaps the answer is multi-fan GPU's with excellent case cooling &/or an open side panel?

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With excellent cooling, would you put in side fans? Must they blow in air or push out air? Top fans?

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Greetings from TJ

Stacking those multi-fan video cards has resulted in unfavorable results for me. I have already "cooked" one multi-fan video card in a stacked configuration with an open case panel (they were Gigabyte video cards). What I now do is I put the multi-fan card on the top and bottom and a "blower" card in the middle. That configuration has yield acceptable and workable temperatures, however the middle card will generally be hotter by 5-7c. This occurs with the side case panel off at all times.

If you want to use the side case panel where the side panel fans facing or near the video card, for multi-fan cards the air flow should be directed towards the outside of the case, or air being pushed out of the case. If the air flow is directed towards the multi fan video cards, you run the risk of the video card and the case side fan "fighting" each other as air is being directed towards (case fans) the video cards while the video cards are venting inside and usually directed towards the case side panel. This may result in the video card not receiving proper ventilation and a very hot video card. For those "blower" cards, either way could work and I have found this to be best determined on a "case by case" basis.

I totally agree with what skgiven stated above "...with excellent case cooling &/or an open side panel." Having an excellent case cooling solution can help you mitigate potential heating issues with all your computer components. I would add that prior to purchasing a new motherboard I carefully review the amount spacing between each video card on the motherboards, and sometimes leaving an empty PCIe slot to aid air flow may help prevent "cooked" video cards.

I carefully review the amount spacing between each video card on the motherboards, and sometimes leaving an empty PCIe slot to aid air flow may help prevent "cooked" video cards.

That´s the trick and the best solution in a multi-card configuration. Along with a completely open case and the best direct airflow you can get.
In the other hand and more in topic, I verify that my EVGA 780SC card is much more cooler and overclockable than the GK104 cards. That one is the best card to have in the middle of the stack, on the mobos that won´t allow the empty pci-e slot. Even on that situation, it rarely hits 70°C.

My 780 is switching from one WU to another (but just 2) every 2 minutes or so. Any clues?

I have a problem like this with my GTX Titan and GTX 780 with driver 327.23
My GPUGRID WU are not switching from one WU to another but they are stopping working every 2-3 minutes (access violation). After 1 minute the WU starts again.
Schould i change to the 331.40 driver?

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Member of Boinc Italy.

My 780 is switching from one WU to another (but just 2) every 2 minutes or so. Any clues?

I have a problem like this with my GTX Titan and GTX 780 with driver 327.23
My GPUGRID WU are not switching from one WU to another but they are stopping working every 2-3 minutes (access violation). After 1 minute the WU starts again.
Schould i change to the 331.40 driver?

Yes please do it. 331.40 improves a lot the stability on the GK110 chips.