GTX670 is only 4% lower in overall performance, a simple OC can fix that, and you'll have twice the frame buffer as the 2GB Cards

Yeah can't wait for this to have 3 monitor back for iRacing etc. I think the 4GB VRAM is probably an excessive luxury at this point, but I plan to have the 670 last me 2+ years like my 5870 did and I know BF3 is pushing at my current 1.2GB VRAM single monitor as does FSX with addon Orbx airports.

Now I just have to be patient for the 3+ weeks that this pre-order will take to ship.

Pretty interesting 670 vs 680 vs 7950 vs 7980 and overclocked review here:
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/05/14/geforce_680_670_vs_radeon_7970_7950_gaming_perf/1

Just wish they had done 3 monitor too.

EVGA GTX 670 4GB SC in stock at the Egg for $484:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130785

Let's hope Tigerdirect got some stock too so my pre-order there will ship.

I ended up cancelling my Tigerdirect pre-order since they still didn't have stock and ordered from NewEgg and it showed up at the door today.

I've just been able to do first benchmarks and am adding my previous recent video cards as comparison:

XFX HD5870 1GB


2x XFX HD5870 1GB Crossfire


MSI 560 GTX OC 1.2GB default clocks


MSI 560 GTX OC 1.2GB max overclock 900/1800/2250+100mv


EVGA 670 GTX SC 4GB default clocks



So as the Heaven 2.5 benchmarks show, this single GTX 670 at 76.2 FPS outperforms my previous longtime favorite crossfired 5870s that managed 64.6 FPS but only when the game benefited from crossfire, but most often the sims I play like FSX, rF2, iRacing never benefited from crossfire so I was stuck with that 39.5 FPS.

So I think this 670/4GB will have achieved my goal of a single card with decent performance and high VRAM for triple monitor play with 4x AA, I hope to revisit some of the triple monitor titles later tonight.

Additional notes from install and playing a bit:
1. It's nice to get back to 3 monitors
2. Even nicer that with the GTX 670 I was able to use DVI+DVI+HDMI without needing to use the DP port like I used to with my 5870s, so no DP port means no DRM problem with Windows Media Center 7
3. I can see that the 4GB VRAM will come in handy, just playing Iron Front '44 at 1920x1080 FXAA, and the GPU memory in use went to 1.8GB so my previous 5870 and 560 GTX with 1GB and 1.2GB mem that used to peak out were definitely not enough, I will try triple monitor later and I bet it will use even more VRAM.

How does the triple monitor setup process work for NVidia? And bezel compensation? I'm still running 5870s in Crossfire for my triple screen setup... But when I go 3 x 24" screen in August I think I will need to upgrade...

Triple screen "surround" mode setup is pretty similar to AMD "eyefinity" setup, it allows bezel compensation (I don't use it) and I noticed it also allows a bunch of custom triple monitor resolutions too.

Here's a screenshot of the config UI:

You know one interesting thing is that I now switched back to using the DisplayPort on one of the monitors so I can free up the DVI input for my XB360, and it turns out after a few days of use that Windows Media Center 7 hasn't complained at all about DRM or anything... both when running in 1+1+1 1920x1080 mode as well as surround 5760x1080.

So at least on this 670 card and Nvidia drivers WMC7 doesn't mind the DisplayPort.

Also I already mentioned the negative that the Nvidia Surround drivers are missing keys/profiles shortcuts to switch between "surround" and "extended" desktop mode, but I've found one nice thing is that "Surround" mode desktop at 5760x1080 seems to handle playing 1920x1080 resolution games better than Eyefinity did, it actually notices that you are playing single monitor resolution and when the game goes full screen it displays it on the center monitor and blanks out the side ones, so I actually can leave "surround" mode all the time even when not playing 5760x1080 resolution games.

For me with my 5870s up through 12.1 drivers I always had to switch out of "eyefinity" mode to play 1920x1080 games otherwise it would display the game on the left monitor only.

So I suspect that is why NV drivers don't have the keys/profiles shortcut to switch in and out of surround mode, you don't really need to switch as it is smart enough to use the center monitor for non-surround games.

Anyhow it's interesting to see how both companies handle 3 monitor gaming, hopefully they will borrow the good ideas from each other and compete so we can benefit and it makes 3 monitor gaming simple for anyone who tries it.