3D Performance
Starting off with the synthetic 3DMark 11 benchmark, we can see that the heightened speed allows the KFA2 GeForce GTX 680 LTD OC to get closer to the dual-GPU GeForce GTX 690.
Using the Extreme results as an example, the KFA2 card offers roughly 65 per cent of the performance of NVIDIA's dual-GPU monster. Not bad for a single-GPU card, but is it enough to maintain playable frame rates at 5,760x1,080?
With high image-quality settings at this extreme resolution, the single KFA2 card does well to return in excess of 30 frames per second in some of today's demanding DX11 titles.
All three of the above games are playable at these settings, but if you prefer to live closer to the sought-after 60fps mark, you will need to make sacrifices in on-screen detail. In order to get Aliens vs. Predator up to an average of 54.6 frames per second we were able to retain most of the high-quality image settings, but had to completely turn off anti-aliasing and disable screen space ambient occlusion (SSAO).
Similarly, we were able to get up to 52.9 frames per second in Battlefield 3 by switching from the High graphics preset to Medium, and in Batman: Arkham City, downgrading from 8xMSAA to 4xMSAA and switching between the Extreme and Very High presets resulted in our average frame rate going up from 32 to 67.
We see impressive performance in DiRT Showdown and Just Cause 2, with the single factory-overclocked GTX 680 delivering smooth gameplay across three screens. Total War: Shogun 2 is as brutal as always with the eye-candy turned up, but using the game's built-in Very High preset - which disables demanding enhancements such as anti-aliasing, tessellation and screen space ambient occlusion - we were able to increase the average frame rate to a healthier 81.8.
We know from previous reviews that a GeForce GTX 680 is incredibly quick, but it's worth reiterating that just one of these cards is capable of driving the latest games across three full-HD displays. You may need to take image quality down a couple of notches to get a desired frame rate, but we're impressed to see the KFA2 card offer almost 70 per cent of the performance of a GTX 690 in certain games.
