NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680
vs
AMD Radeon HD 6870

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680
AMD Radeon HD 6870
GTX 680 HD 6870 Difference
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 AMD Radeon HD 6870
Price $ 485.0 $ 199.0 286 (59%)
Year 2012 2010 2 (0%)
Maximum Recorded Temperature 84C 86C 2 (2%)
Max Fan Noise 57.2dB 59dB 1.8 (3%)
Recommended Power Supply 545W 501W 44 (8%)
Benchmark CPU Intel Core i7-2700K @ 3.50GHz ($199.99) Intel Core i7-975 @ 3.33GHz ($179.99)
CPU Impact on FPS +0.0 FPS +0.0 FPS 0 (0%)
CPU Impact on FPS % 0.0% 0.0% 0 (0%)
Benchmark Quality Settings Ultra Quality Settings Ultra Quality Settings
Average 1080p Performance 51.5 FPS 28.6 FPS 22.9 (44%)
Average 1440p Performance 37.3 FPS 14.7 FPS 22.6 (61%)
(Ultrawide) Average 1440p Performance 29.9 FPS 12.8 FPS 17.1 (57%)
Average 4K Performance 18.5 FPS 9.2 FPS 9.3 (50%)
Memory 2 GB 1 GB 1 (50%)
1080p Cost Per Frame $ 9.7 $ 8.4 1.3 (13%)
1440p Cost Per Frame $ 13.4 $ 16.3 2.9 (22%)
(Ultrawide) 1440p Cost Per Frame $ 16.7 $ 18.7 2 (12%)
4K Cost Per Frame $ 27.0 $ 26.0 1 (4%)
Variant NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 AMD Radeon HD 6870
Overall Combination Score 50/100 52/100 2 (4%)
Our Verdict: The GTX 680 is faster by 154% for 1440p gaming.
Share Your Comments 0

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680

The GTX 690 might be the extreme flagship of the latest Kepler set of graphics cards, but their prices keep them out of the reach of most high-end PC gamers. On the other hand, the GTX 680 is closer to being reasonably affordable at a price tag of $ 499. NVIDIA ’s xx80 cards have always been defined by high-end prices with performance that knocks on the door of extreme graphics cards – especially when overclocked. After taking the time to fully test the Kepler graphics card inside the GTX 680, we can say without a doubt that it continues the trend.

Spec for spec, this GTX 680 leapfrogs its direct predecessor, the GTX 580, by boasting 24.7 % more fps. The GTX 680 has 2 GB RAM compared to the GTX 580 's 1.5 GB video memory.

Fortunately, gaming performance was quite impressive. The GTX 680 consistently delivers great frame rate increases over the GTX 580 and it really justifies an upgrade. For 1080p Full HD, we were able to play Valorant at 78 fps to 78 fps and kept frame rates hovering around 78 fps.

For 1440p Quad HD, we were able to play Valorant at 64 fps to 64 fps and kept frame rates hovering around 64 fps.

AMD Radeon HD 6870

AMD ’s xx70 cards have always been defined by mid-range prices with performance that knocks on the door of high-end graphics cards – especially when overclocked. After taking the time to fully test the TeraScale 2 graphics card inside the HD 6870, we can say without a doubt that it continues the trend. The HD 6870 is much more expensive than the HD 6770 as it costs a whopping $ 239. Compare this to the HD 6770, which came originally at a price of $ 129. Meanwhile, the NVIDIA closest equivalent card is the GTX 470 which costs $ 349.

Compared to its NVIDIA 's closest rival, GTX 470, the HD 6870 was 9.2 % faster.

Game Performance at selected quality settings

Change Quality Settings
Ultra Quality High Quality Medium Quality Low Quality

1920x1080

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680
AMD Radeon HD 6870
Year Game Frames Per Second
2023 Resident Evil 4
35
39.3
17
19.3
2023 A Plague Tale: Requiem
24
26.8
11
13.1
2023 Hogwarts Legacy
20
23.2
10
11.4
2023 The Last of Us Part I
16
17.9
7
8.8
2023 Forspoken
18
20.7
9
10.2
2023 The Callisto Protocol
14
16.1
7
7.9
2023 Dead Space
24
26.8
11
13.1
2023 Baldur's Gate 3
28
31.8
14
15.6
2023 Armored Core VI
28
31.8
14
15.6
2023 Immortals of Aveum
12
14.3
6
7.0
2023 Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart
25
28.6
12
14.0
2023 Remnant II
14
16.1
7
7.9
2023 Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
19
21.5
9
10.5
2023 Atomic Heart
19
21.5
9
10.5
2023 Starfield
9
10.7
4
5.3
2022 Elden Ring
20
23.1
11
12.5
2022 God of War
19
21.9
10
11.8
2022 Overwatch 2
36
40.7
19
22.0
2022 F1 22
28
32.2
14
15.8
2022 Dying Light 2
27
30.4
13
14.9
2022 Total War: Warhammer III
27
30.4
13
14.9
2022 Spider-Man Remastered
45
50.1
22
24.5
2022 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II
32
35.8
15
17.5
2021 Forza Horizon 5
19
22.1
10
12.0
2021 Halo Infinite
15
16.9
8
9.1
2021 Battlefield 2042
28
31.2
15
16.8
2021 Hitman 3
36
41.1
18
20.1
2021 Far Cry 6
34
38.3
16
18.7
2021 Guardians of the Galaxy
37
41.8
18
20.5
2020 Watch Dogs: Legion
37
42.2
18
20.7
2020 Assassin's Creed Valhalla
16
17.9
8
9.6
2020 Microsoft Flight Simulator
10
11.7
5
6.3
2020 Valorant
70
78.3
38
42.3
2020 Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
27
30.7
14
16.6
2020 Death Stranding
31
35.5
17
19.1
2020 Marvel's Avengers
20
23.1
11
12.5
2020 Godfall
31
34.5
16
18.6
2020 Cyberpunk 2077
16
17.9
8
9.6
2019 Apex Legends
32
36.0
16
18.0
2019 Anthem
20
23.2
10
11.6
2019 Far Cry New Dawn
30
34.0
15
17.0
2019 Resident Evil 2
43
48.1
23
26.0
2019 Metro Exodus
19
21.4
10
11.6
2019 World War Z
35
39.5
19
21.3
2019 Gears of War 5
28
31.2
15
16.8
2019 F1 2019
35
39.1
18
21.1
2019 GreedFall
31
35.2
17
19.0
2019 Borderlands 3
22
24.8
12
13.4
2019 Call of Duty Modern Warfare
42
47.6
23
25.7
2019 Red Dead Redemption 2
16
18.3
8
9.9
2019 Need For Speed: Heat
25
28.8
13
15.5
2018 Just Cause 4
27
30.9
15
16.7
2018 Monster Hunter: World
29
33.3
16
18.0
2018 Strange Brigade
45
50.2
24
27.1
2017 Need For Speed: Payback
38
42.8
20
23.1
2017 For Honor
51
57.1
27
30.8
2017 Project CARS 2
36
40.5
19
21.8
2017 Forza Motorsport 7
44
49.0
23
26.5
2016 Dishonored 2
26
29.5
14
15.9
2015 Rocket League
149
166.6
81
90.0
2015 Need For Speed
41
46.2
22
24.9
2015 Project CARS
39
44.3
21
23.9
2015 Rainbow Six Siege
72
80.9
39
43.7
2014 Thief
43
48.0
22
25.2
2013 Bioshock Infinite
72
81.0
39
44.1
2013 Company of Heroes 2
33
37.4
28
32.1
2013 GRID 2
74
82.9
34
37.9
2013 Metro: Last Light
47
52.7
21
23.8
2013 Total War: Rome 2
43
48.1
41
45.6
2013 Battlefield 4
49
55.4
34
37.9
2012 DiRT: Showdown
64
71.6
25
28.7
2012 Far Cry 3
40
44.7
29
32.5
2012 Hitman: Absolution
40
44.7
35
39.0
2012 Sleeping Dogs
74
82.5
38
42.8
2012 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
102
114.2
55
61.7
2011 DiRT 3
121
134.5
54
60.6
2011 Portal 2
213
237.5
97
108.1
2011 The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
88
97.8
20
23.2
2011 Batman: Arkham City
92
103.0
45
51.0
2011 Total War: Shogun 2
122
136.1
55
62.1
2011 Battlefield 3
58
65.0
26
28.9
2010 Civilization V
73
81.7
34
38.4
2010 Metro: 2033
53
59.0
30
34.0
2010 Starcraft II
113
126.2
51
57.1
2009 League of Legends
192
214.2
104
115.7
2008 Crysis: Warhead
45
50.2
27
30.4

2560x1440

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680
AMD Radeon HD 6870
Year Game Frames Per Second
2023 Resident Evil 4
22
28.6
11
14.0
2023 A Plague Tale: Requiem
15
19.7
7
9.6
2023 Hogwarts Legacy
14
17.9
7
8.8
2023 The Last of Us Part I
10
13.6
5
6.7
2023 Forspoken
10
13.6
5
6.7
2023 The Callisto Protocol
9
11.4
4
5.6
2023 Dead Space
14
17.9
7
8.8
2023 Baldur's Gate 3
20
25.8
10
12.6
2023 Armored Core VI
20
25.8
10
12.6
2023 Immortals of Aveum
8
10.0
3
4.9
2023 Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart
15
19.7
7
9.6
2023 Remnant II
8
10.7
4
5.3
2023 Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
12
16.1
6
7.9
2023 Atomic Heart
12
15.4
6
7.5
2023 Starfield
7
9.7
3
4.7
2022 Elden Ring
14
18.2
7
9.8
2022 God of War
15
18.8
8
10.2
2022 Overwatch 2
28
35.0
15
18.9
2022 F1 22
15
19.7
7
9.6
2022 Dying Light 2
15
19.7
7
9.6
2022 Total War: Warhammer III
17
21.5
8
10.5
2022 Spider-Man Remastered
28
35.8
14
17.5
2022 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II
18
23.2
9
11.4
2021 Forza Horizon 5
15
19.0
8
10.3
2021 Halo Infinite
12
15.2
6
8.2
2021 Battlefield 2042
16
20.7
8
11.2
2021 Hitman 3
23
29.3
11
14.4
2021 Far Cry 6
22
28.6
11
14.0
2021 Guardians of the Galaxy
23
29.7
11
14.5
2020 Watch Dogs: Legion
22
27.5
10
13.5
2020 Assassin's Creed Valhalla
12
15.5
6
8.4
2020 Microsoft Flight Simulator
8
10.2
4
5.5
2020 Valorant
51
64.0
27
34.6
2020 Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
19
24.0
10
13.0
2020 Death Stranding
22
27.5
11
14.9
2020 Marvel's Avengers
13
16.4
7
8.9
2020 Godfall
18
23.1
10
12.5
2020 Cyberpunk 2077
13
16.7
7
9.0
2019 Apex Legends
21
26.8
10
13.4
2019 Anthem
14
18.4
7
9.2
2019 Far Cry New Dawn
21
26.4
10
13.2
2019 Resident Evil 2
25
32.4
14
17.5
2019 Metro Exodus
13
16.7
7
9.0
2019 World War Z
23
28.8
12
15.5
2019 Gears of War 5
18
22.6
9
12.2
2019 F1 2019
22
27.7
12
15.0
2019 GreedFall
20
25.5
10
13.7
2019 Borderlands 3
13
17.4
7
9.4
2019 Call of Duty Modern Warfare
27
34.3
14
18.5
2019 Red Dead Redemption 2
12
15.0
6
8.1
2019 Need For Speed: Heat
18
22.6
9
12.2
2018 Just Cause 4
18
22.8
9
12.3
2018 Monster Hunter: World
18
23.3
10
12.6
2018 Strange Brigade
28
35.0
15
18.9
2017 Need For Speed: Payback
24
30.9
13
16.7
2017 For Honor
26
33.3
14
18.0
2017 Project CARS 2
22
28.6
12
15.4
2017 Forza Motorsport 7
35
44.3
19
23.9
2016 Dishonored 2
20
25.2
10
13.6
2015 Rocket League
57
71.4
30
38.6
2015 Need For Speed
28
35.7
15
19.3
2015 Project CARS
27
33.8
14
18.2
2015 Rainbow Six Siege
41
52.4
22
28.3
2012 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
76
95.2
41
51.4
2009 League of Legends
95
119.0
51
64.3

3440x1440

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680
AMD Radeon HD 6870
Year Game Frames Per Second
2019 Apex Legends
17
22.9
8
11.4
2019 Anthem
11
15.2
5
7.6
2019 Far Cry New Dawn
16
21.6
8
10.8
2019 Resident Evil 2
19
25.8
10
14.0
2019 Metro Exodus
11
14.6
6
7.9
2019 World War Z
18
24.3
9
13.1
2019 Gears of War 5
14
19.7
8
10.6
2019 F1 2019
18
24.2
9
13.1
2019 GreedFall
14
19.3
7
10.4
2019 Borderlands 3
10
14.1
5
7.7
2019 Call of Duty Modern Warfare
22
29.3
12
15.8
2019 Red Dead Redemption 2
9
13.1
5
7.1
2019 Need For Speed: Heat
14
19.7
8
10.6
2018 Just Cause 4
14
18.6
7
10.0
2018 Monster Hunter: World
14
18.5
7
10.0
2018 Strange Brigade
21
28.9
11
15.6
2017 Need For Speed: Payback
21
28.0
11
15.1
2017 For Honor
20
26.8
10
14.4
2017 Project CARS 2
21
28.0
11
15.1
2017 Forza Motorsport 7
33
43.5
17
23.5
2016 Dishonored 2
18
24.2
9
13.1
2015 Rocket League
42
56.0
22
30.2
2015 Need For Speed
24
31.8
13
17.2
2015 Project CARS
23
30.8
12
16.6
2015 Rainbow Six Siege
31
41.0
16
22.1
2012 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
73
96.8
39
52.2
2009 League of Legends
67
89.1
36
48.1

3840x2160

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680
AMD Radeon HD 6870
Year Game Frames Per Second
2023 Resident Evil 4
15
21.5
7
10.5
2023 A Plague Tale: Requiem
8
12.5
4
6.1
2023 Hogwarts Legacy
8
12.5
4
6.1
2023 The Last of Us Part I
5
7.2
2
3.5
2023 Forspoken
4
6.4
2
3.2
2023 The Callisto Protocol
3
5.7
1
2.8
2023 Dead Space
5
7.2
2
3.5
2023 Baldur's Gate 3
10
14.3
4
7.0
2023 Armored Core VI
10
14.3
4
7.0
2023 Immortals of Aveum
3
4.6
1
2.3
2023 Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart
7
10.7
3
5.3
2023 Remnant II
3
5.4
1
2.6
2023 Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
5
7.9
2
3.9
2023 Atomic Heart
6
9.7
3
4.7
2023 Starfield
4
6.4
2
3.2
2022 Elden Ring
7
10.4
3
5.6
2022 God of War
10
14.6
5
7.9
2022 Overwatch 2
18
26.4
10
14.3
2022 F1 22
10
14.3
4
7.0
2022 Dying Light 2
10
14.3
4
7.0
2022 Total War: Warhammer III
11
16.1
5
7.9
2022 Spider-Man Remastered
17
25.0
8
12.3
2022 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II
10
14.3
4
7.0
2021 Forza Horizon 5
10
14.8
5
8.0
2021 Halo Infinite
7
10.5
3
5.7
2021 Battlefield 2042
9
13.3
5
7.2
2021 Hitman 3
12
17.9
6
8.8
2021 Far Cry 6
10
15.4
5
7.5
2021 Guardians of the Galaxy
11
16.1
5
7.9
2020 Watch Dogs: Legion
12
17.9
6
8.8
2020 Assassin's Creed Valhalla
7
10.5
3
5.7
2020 Microsoft Flight Simulator
5
8.1
3
4.4
2020 Valorant
38
55.7
21
30.1
2020 Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
9
12.9
4
6.9
2020 Death Stranding
11
16.7
6
9.0
2020 Marvel's Avengers
6
8.6
3
4.7
2020 Godfall
7
11.0
4
5.9
2020 Cyberpunk 2077
7
10.9
4
5.9
2019 Apex Legends
11
16.0
5
8.0
2019 Anthem
7
10.0
3
5.0
2019 Far Cry New Dawn
9
14.0
4
7.0
2019 Resident Evil 2
11
15.9
6
8.6
2019 Metro Exodus
7
10.5
3
5.7
2019 World War Z
11
16.6
6
8.9
2019 Gears of War 5
10
14.3
5
7.7
2019 F1 2019
12
17.6
6
9.5
2019 GreedFall
7
10.5
3
5.7
2019 Borderlands 3
6
9.0
3
4.9
2019 Call of Duty Modern Warfare
14
20.5
7
11.1
2019 Red Dead Redemption 2
6
9.5
3
5.1
2019 Need For Speed: Heat
10
14.3
5
7.7
2018 Just Cause 4
8
11.9
4
6.4
2018 Monster Hunter: World
7
11.2
4
6.0
2018 Strange Brigade
13
19.0
7
10.3
2017 Need For Speed: Payback
14
21.4
8
11.6
2017 For Honor
11
16.7
6
9.0
2017 Project CARS 2
16
23.8
9
12.9
2017 Forza Motorsport 7
25
37.1
14
20.0
2016 Dishonored 2
14
20.0
7
10.8
2015 Rocket League
23
33.3
12
18.0
2015 Need For Speed
16
23.8
9
12.9
2015 Project CARS
16
23.8
9
12.9
2015 Rainbow Six Siege
17
24.3
9
13.1
2012 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
59
85.7
32
46.3
2009 League of Legends
33
47.6
17
25.7
GTX 680 vs HD 6870 with i7-2700K vs i7-975 at 1080p and ultra vs ultra settings
GTX 680 vs HD 6870 with i7-2700K vs i7-975 at 1440p and ultra vs ultra settings
GTX 680 vs HD 6870 with i7-2700K vs i7-975 at 4K and ultra vs ultra settings

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 / i7-2700K

For the most part, the GTX 680 is still capable of playing modern games, but you would have to reduce settings to sustain those higher framerates. If keeping graphics quality settings closer to ultra or high is important, there are a few options for upgrades. With current 2048 MB RAM, the GTX 680 can have serious memory-related bottlenecks in more modern games. This combination between GTX 680 and Intel Core i7-2700K @ 3.50GHz has less than 8% bottleneck in many games and is perfect match to avoid FPS loss. This combination between GTX 680 and Intel Core i7-2700K @ 3.50GHz is a perfect match to avoid FPS loss. With current 2048 MB RAM, the GTX 680 can have very few memory-related bottlenecks in more modern games.
View Current Price List

AMD Radeon HD 6870 / i7-975

With current 1024 MB RAM, the HD 6870 can have serious memory-related bottlenecks in more modern games. It is important to know that HD 6870 's max load temperature is very high and might require custom cooling solutions. This combination between HD 6870 and Intel Core i7-975 @ 3.33GHz has less than 8% bottleneck in many games and is perfect match to avoid FPS loss. This combination between HD 6870 and Intel Core i7-975 @ 3.33GHz is a perfect match to avoid FPS loss.
View Current Price List

GTX 680 vs HD 6870 Specifications Comparison

Board Design

GTX 680 HD 6870
Board NumberP2002C222
Length10 inches 254 mm8.66 inches 220 mm
Outputs2x DVI1x HDMI1x DisplayPort2x DVI1x HDMI2x mini-DisplayPort
Power Connectors2x 6-pin2x 6-pin
Slot WidthDual-slotDual-slot
TDP195 W151 W

Clock Speeds

GTX 680 HD 6870
GPU Clock1006 MHz900 MHz
Memory Clock1502 MHz 6008 MHz effective1050 MHz 4200 MHz effective

Graphics Card

GTX 680 HD 6870
Bus InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 2.0 x16
GenerationGeForce 600Northern Islands (HD 6800)
Launch Price499 USD239 USD
ProductionEnd-of-lifeEnd-of-life
Release DateMar 22nd, 2012Oct 21st, 2010

Graphics Features

GTX 680 HD 6870
DirectX12.0 (11_0)11.2 (11_0)
OpenCL1.21.2
OpenGL4.64.4
Shader Model5.15
Vulkan1.1.82N/A

Graphics Processor

GTX 680 HD 6870
ArchitectureKeplerTeraScale 2
Die Size294 mm²255 mm²
GPU NameGK104Barts
GPU VariantGK104-400-A2Barts XT (215-0798000)
Process Size28 nm40 nm
Transistors3,540 million1,700 million

Memory

GTX 680 HD 6870
Bandwidth192.3 GB/s134.4 GB/s
Memory Bus256 bit256 bit
Memory Size2048 MB1024 MB
Memory TypeGDDR5GDDR5

Render Config

GTX 680 HD 6870
ROPs3232
Shading Units15361120
TMUs12856

Theoretical Performance

GTX 680 HD 6870
FP32 (float) performance3,250 GFLOPS2,016 GFLOPS
Pixel Rate33.86 GPixel/s28.80 GPixel/s
Texture Rate135.4 GTexel/s50.40 GTexel/s
What to Consider Before Buying a Graphics Card

What to Consider Before Buying a Graphics Card

If you have been planning to upgrade your system by purchasing a new graphics card. Then there are some important factors to consider.
Resolution VS Quality: Impact on Game Performance

Resolution VS Quality: Impact on Game Performance

What affects game performance? Clarity or Details?

Ultra VS High Quality Settings in PC Games

Ultra VS High Quality Settings in PC Games

Every player has a different notion about the ideal setting for PC games. But in most cases, opting for a High quality graphics configuration is the way to go.

What are CPU or GPU Bottlenecks?

What are CPU or GPU Bottlenecks?

Are you getting sudden frame drops? you might have a bottleneck.
What is the acceptable FPS speed for me?

What is the acceptable FPS speed for me?

For some games, you can still enjoy great garphics at lower frame rates.
GPU Hierarchy
GPU Hierarchy
GPU Compare
GPU Compare
CPU Hierarchy
CPU Compare
Laptop Hierarchy
Gaming Laptops
Monitor Hierarchy
Gaming Monitors
Headset Hierarchy
Gaming Headsets

Discussion and Comments

Share Your Comments