Hey guys, I built a gaming PC last year and because of some unfortunate events I had to sell it and spend the money elsewhere. Now however I can get a new gaming PC again and know what I'm getting except for two components. I don't know if I should go for a GTX 670 or the 680. Is the 100$ difference worth it? Is there some sort of special thing within the 680 that makes it better? I'll be coupling it along a Sabertooth Z77 and a 3570K so bottlenecking isn't an issue at all. I used to have a GTX 570 and could run a lot maxed out but would sometimes have some lag in Battlefield 3 and what not. I want the experience to be super smooth and don't know which card to go for.

Other issue is the monitor. I'm used to always getting 23" monitors because I always felt as if it was the sweet spot. I never had a higher resolution than 1680x1050 in the past 5 years and am now thinking it might be time to upgrade. Some friends have iMacs with the massive 27" screen and it made me think if my gaming PC is good enough I could totally run high resolution games smoothly. Should I go for that high of a resolution? Is it not worth it? I could also just upgrade to 25" and keep 1920x1080 which wouldn't really bother me. Also does anyone have any brand recommendations? I'm used to Samsung should I stick with that?

Thanks in advance

There isn't a huge reason to get a 680 over a 670 unless your pushing massively high resolutions (2560x1600 and triple head resolutions), or if you just a crazy person like me. The 670 just just fine at 2560x1440 and crushes it at 1920x1200, especially with a smidge over overclocking if your game. Monitor wise if you have the cash then there's not reason not to jump in on a 27"-30" screen, however you will pay a price premium for a decent IPS display in that 2560 resolution range.

@Korwin said:

There isn't a huge reason to get a 680 over a 670 unless your pushing massively high resolutions (2560x1600 and triple head resolutions), or if you just a crazy person like me. The 670 just just fine at 2560x1440 and crushes it at 1920x1200, especially with a smidge over overclocking if your game. Monitor wise if you have the cash then there's not reason not to jump in on a 27"-30" screen, however you will pay a price premium for a decent IPS display in that 2560 resolution range.

Basically what he said.

Regarding monitors, if all you are going to do is play games then an IPS is overkill (I do love my U2412M), so you can save the money and get a bigger screen.

I've decided on the GTX 670 and yeah looking at monitors now, thanks! :)