Benchmark results for NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680M

[zipper]

 
Current hardware into use - MSI GT70 0NE with GTX 680M @771/1800 MHz and i7-3630QM. Windows 8 64bit updated to 8.1 in October 2013.
New benchmark tools 3DMark11 and 3DMark Cloud Gate + Fire Strike; older benchies discarded. The laptop isn't as loud as I feared; my old Asus is clearly noisier. A bad overclocker - clockdowns do occur at about + 50 MHz but via a custom flash quite high clocks can be reached; +150 - 200 MHz at least. I don't bother (so far...).
Btw, 3DMark06 scores about 21000, Sky Diver about 13100 (13619 on 390.65).
 
 
 

Driver|3DMarkVa|3DMark11|3DMarkCG|3DMarkFS|

 

306.14|.21462..|..5842..|.15160..|..3300..| - original MSI default driver
320.18|.20946..|..6042..|.15179..|..4111..| - WHQL notebook driver
320.20|.21227..|..6084..|.15125..|..4104..| - WHQL notebook driver
320.49|.21954..|..5846..|.15182..|..4011..| - beta notebook driver
326.19|.21663..|..5880..|.15064..|..4023..| - beta notebook driver
326.29|.21720..|..5881..|.15204..|..4021..| - beta notebook driver
326.41|.21725..|..5888..|.15331..|..4065..| - beta notebook driver
326.58|.21863..|..5895..|.15363..|..4076..| - developer notebook driver
326.80|.21888..|..5873..|.15321..|..4063..| - beta notebook driver
326.84|.21890..|..5869..|.15423..|..4070..| - developer notebook driver
327.24|.22009..|..5897..|.15509..|..4065..| - developer notebook driver
331.40|.21776..|..5930..|.15532..|..4047..| - beta notebook driver
331.58|.21667..|..6000..|.15587..|..4051..| - WHQL notebook driver
326.80|.21916..|..6020..|.15554..|..4056..| - MSI notebook driver
331.65|.21829..|..6003..|.15633..|..4048..| - WHQL notebook driver
331.82|.21828..|..6012..|.15523..|..4052..| - WHQL notebook driver
331.93|.21847..|..6022..|.15494..|..4048..| - beta notebook driver
332.21|.21825..|..5936..|.15622..|..4039..| - WHQL notebook driver
334.67|.21887..|..6106..|.15626..|..4069..| - beta notebook driver
334.89|.21844..|..6022..|.15654..|..4071..| - WHQL notebook driver
335.23|.21864..|..6031..|.15671..|..4077..| - WHQL notebook driver
337.50|..xxxxx..|..6046..|.xxxxx....|..xxxx....| - beta notebook driver
337.61|..xxxxx..|..6057..|.xxxxx....|..xxxx....| - beta notebook driver
337.81|.22203..|..6148..|.15807..|..4130..| - beta notebook driver
337.88|.22286..|..6158..|.15840..|..4133..| - WHQL notebook driver
340.13|.22320..|..6162..|.15842..|..4152..| - beta notebook driver
340.52|.22345..|..6186..|.15886..|..4154..| - mobile Quadro driver, modded inf
340.65|.21912..|..6123..|.15774..|..4114..| - WHQL notebook driver
340.72|.22043..|..6134..|.15755..|..4113..| - ICafe WHQL notebook driver
340.82|.22096..|..6175..|.15897..|..4158..| - beta OpenGL 4.5 Driver notebook driver
344.11|.22067..|..6204..|.15653..|..4118..| - WHQL notebook driver
344.48|.22250..|..6162..|.15770..|..4169..| - WHQL notebook driver
344.60|.22340..|..6240..|.15862..|..4173..| - WHQL notebook driver
344.65|.22125..|..6194..|.15828..|..4169..| - WHQL notebook driver
344.75|.22264..|..6237..|.15819..|..4170..| - WHQL notebook driver
347.09|.22261..|..6192..|.15852..|..4144..| - beta notebook driver
347.25|.22242..|..6220..|.15963..|..4188..| - WHQL notebook driver
347.26|.22219..|..6236..|.15950..|..4167..| - ICafe WHQL  driver
347.52|.22201..|..6259..|.15844..|..4160..| - WHQL notebook driver
347.71|.22238..|..6230..|.15682..|..4163..| - WHQL notebook driver
347.88|.22223..|..6255..|.15916..|..4172..| - WHQL notebook driver
347.90|.22178..|..6206..|.15751..|..4148..| - WHQL notebook driver
350.05|.22103..|..6245..|.15913..|..4183..| - WHQL notebook driver
350.12|.22149..|..6276..|.16016..|..4173..| - WHQL notebook driver
352.86|.22141..|..6295..|.15952..|..4182..| - WHQL notebook driver
353.06|.22042..|..6255..|.15879..|..4189..| - WHQL notebook driver
353.30|.22231..|..6248..|.15881..|..4182..| - WHQL notebook driver
353.38|.22024..|..6259..|.15873..|..4181..| - WHQL notebook driver
353.45|.21801..|..6111..|.15689..|..4133..| - hotfix notebook driver
353.49|.21860..|..6100..|.15603..|..4149..| - hotfix notebook driver
353.62|.21965..|..6099..|.15633..|..4142..| - WHQL notebook driver
355.58|.21782..|..6045..|.15630..|..4131..| - beta notebook driver
355.60|.21962..|..6099..|.15634..|..4132..| - WHQL notebook driver
355.78|.21974..|..5959..|.15538..|..4137..| - WHQL notebook driver
355.83|.21977..|..6076..|.15624..|..4147..| - beta VR notebook driver
355.84|.21851..|..6037..|.15616..|..4134..| - WHQL notebook driver
355.97|.21917..|..6102..|.15576..|..4153..| - developer driver
358.50|.22082..|..6237..|.15943..|..4186..| - WHQL notebook driver
358.58|.22135..|..6210..|.15929..|..4187..| - WHQL hotfix driver
358.78|.22189..|..6229..|.15963..|..4190..| - WHQL notebook driver
358.87|.22142..|..6199..|.15996..|..4181..| - WHQL notebook driver
358.91|.22149..|..6219..|.15944..|..4191..| - WHQL notebook driver
359.00|.22047..|..6195..|.15917..|..4184..| - WHQL notebook driver
359.12|.22127..|..6215..|.16014..|..4190..| - WHQL notebook driver
361.43|.22141..|..6199..|.15950..|..4192..| - WHQL notebook driver
361.75|.22132..|..6204..|.15804..|..4193..| - WHQL notebook driver
361.91|.22337..|..6208..|.15907..|..4208..| - WHQL notebook driver
362.00|.22099..|..6222..|.15812..|..4193..| - WHQL notebook driver
364.71|.22305..|..6195..|.15893..|..4171..| - WHQL notebook driver
364.72|.22251..|..6211..|.15932..|..4181..| - WHQL notebook driver
364.96|.22232..|..6197..|.15992..|..4183..| - WHQL hotfix driver
365.10|.22165..|..6194..|.15928..|..4176..| - WHQL notebook driver
365.19|.22268..|..6168..|.15879..|..4176..| - WHQL notebook driver
368.22|.22173..|..6168..|.15798..|..4180..| - WHQL notebook driver
372.54|.21939..|..6324..|.15522..|..4225..| - WHQL notebook driver
372.60|.22170..|..6292..|.15569..|..4221..| - iCafe WHQL driver
372.70|.22239..|..6250..|.15606..|..4210..| - WHQL notebook driver
372.90|.22166..|..6250..|.15483..|..4201..| - WHQL notebook driver
373.06|.22242..|..6313..|.15560..|..4219..| - WHQL notebook driver
375.57|.22192..|..6347..|.15516..|..4258..| - WHQL notebook driver
375.70|.22288..|..6303..|.15528..|..4250..| - WHQL notebook driver
376.19|.22194..|..6275..|.15541..|..4246..| - WHQL notebook driver
376.33|.22264..|..6282..|.15325..|..4238..| - WHQL notebook driver
376.48|.22201..|..6287..|.15875..|..4242..| - WHQL notebook driver
376.60|.22290..|..6231..|.15959..|..4235..| - WHQL hotfix driver
376.66|.22172..|..6267..|.15895..|..4234..| - WHQL developer driver
376.71|.22198..|..6228..|.15919..|..4235..| - WHQL Vulcan developer driver
378.49|.22134..|..6274..|.15932..|..4240..| - WHQL notebook driver
378.77|.22299..|..6244..|.15891..|..4237..| - WHQL hotfix driver
378.78|.22245..|..6254..|.15862..|..4249..| - WHQL notebook driver
381.89|.22194..|..6263..|.15875..|..4249..| - WHQL notebook driver
382.05|.22020..|..6243..|.15828..|..4251..| - WHQL notebook driver
382.33|.22098..|..6248..|.15918..|..4219..| - WHQL notebook driver
384.94|.22120..|..6315..|.15856..|..4268..| - WHQL notebook driver
385.28|.22103..|..6286..|.15967..|..4245..| - WHQL notebook driver
385.69|.22215..|..6268..|.15972..|..4243..| - WHQL notebook driver
387.92|.22331..|..6229..|.15974..|..4246..| - WHQL notebook driver
390.65|.21643..|..6330..|.15947..|..4262..| - WHQL notebook driver

 

 
At last some sensible OC  results, 830/2460 about max without downclocking
 
331.40|.23554..|..6493..|.16485..|..4498..| - beta notebook driver

347.09|.xxxxx..|..xxxxx..|.16847..|..4604..| - beta notebook driver

364.72|.xxxxx..|..6255..|..16998.|..4520..| - WHQL notebook driver

[tribaljet]

Congrats on your new laptop.

 

Also, have you tried 311.12 on that machine yet? While it did deliver reasonable performance, for some reason the Optimus system seemed to occasionally glitch DWM-related content.

[Robbo the Second]

Hi Zipper, awesome laptop there, congratulations, quite a change from the 260M toaster!  I think you made a wise choice with the CPU, you don't need better than the 3630QM, and the slightly faster models are only slightly faster, but so much more expensive.

 

Have you tried overclocking the 680M yet?  Does it run cool, notebook cooler?  (Whack a small cheap SSD in there too if you've got 2 drive bays!)

[zipper]

On hold just now - waiting for that SSD ofc. And that Win8 did break in the 2nd day ; lets see if it can be fixed - or back to Win7. Must admire MS - at last they could produce an OS that is inrepairable by the normal user with some knowledge. I did my best to break Win XP, Vista and Win7 - and always got them back working without a reinstall. Not anymore it seems.

[Robbo the Second]

Yeah, I don't think Win8 really offers anything new that is positive or useful to PC users, and given your experience for one it's no surprise that Win8 is not taking off.  Sticking to Windows 7, don't need another new OS for a PC unless Microsoft 'forces' users to upgrade by not providing any new features that might be around the corner (like new DirectX versions perhaps, but don't think there's anything new on the horizon there anyway).

 

I guess you haven't tried overclocking your 680M yet?

[zipper]

No, just checked the clocks - Nvidia System Tools gave totally wrong figures and MSI Afterburner a little suspect ones.

[tribaljet]

Except Windows 8 actually has a quite improved kernel that's lighter and higher performing than Windows 7's, not to mention how some bugs have been ironed out, and said bugfixes aren't going to be backported. Given that I do prefer Windows 7's usability, it only took me some tweaking to restore every single feature I missed and now I would never look back.

 

zipper, rather odd that Nvidia System Tools wouldn't give you proper clock readings. Did that happen with all tested drivers?

[zipper]

Tested just the default driver, maybe it was showing the 2D speed of HD4000, it was something around 350+ MHz instead of 750+ of GTX 680M. By default 3DMark tried to run on HD4000, too - had to force GTX 680M on.

[tribaljet]

I'm sorry to say, but welcome to the hybrid GPU world, zipper, and at least you got the lesser evil (compared to the dreadful AMD implementation that requires combo driver packages).

 

Hopefully there might be a way to disable the IGP on your specific laptop, otherwise there will be plenty of kinks to work around.

[zipper]

Either Nvidia Control Panel or Device Manager - just some extra inconvenience.

[tribaljet]

On Optimus systems, the Nvidia Control Panel allows for IGP-GPU selection, but it doesn't allow for disabling the IGP and running everything through the GPU. For instance, DWM runs solely on the IGP, regardless of any tinkering one might do. If disabling the IGP through Device Manager, one gets a black screen since it's the IGP that handles the video output.

 

The only currently available method of disabling the IGP and running with the GPU alone is through a BIOS switch, something that too few laptops have.

[zipper]

No need to disable the IGP - just get 3D apps to run definitely on 680M. And I don't yet know if using just external screen via HDMI mixes things up; my Asus PowerMizer didn't clock down to the lowest speed on external screen via HDMI - but clocked down via VGA.

[zipper]

Finally got the Samsung 840 Pro 256 GB SSD installed and Win8 onto it. After installing the necessary additional programs I might slowly get back to the drivers. This time the first thing to do was to turn system protection on and make a restore point; then a boot stick and backup to a second drive. Had to edit the first benchmark - some  old versions gave false results.

[zipper]

At last a new driver - 320.18 notebook WHQL. Seems better than the original default.

[zipper]

Now 320.20 WHQL notebook driver - about the same level. Tested the MSI overclock button; the effect is small except in Vantage towards 500 points. Other benchmarks might benefit 50 to 100 points.

[zipper]

Notebook 320.49 beta tried - 2 high benchies and 2 not so high. Good average, no problems  found so far.

[tribaljet]

Will you still benchmark and update the GTX 260M thread?

[zipper]

Yes, but less frequently.

[zipper]

Finally did some OC-tests with 320.20 driver. Almost no gain at all - if I get some tenths better fps @about 30 fps even a 6% overclock pushes physics figure down so benchmarks get just lower (3DMark FS and 3DMark11). On 12% still worse figures. No glitches or lockups, just added fan noise. Luckily the default performance is good enough for me.

[Robbo the Second]

Finally did some OC-tests with 320.20 driver. Almost no gain at all - if I get some tenths better fps @about 30 fps even a 6% overclock pushes physics figure down so benchmarks get just lower (3DMark FS and 3DMark11). On 12% still worse figures. No glitches or lockups, just added fan noise. Luckily the default performance is good enough for me.

 

 

Is that due to power or temperature restrictions Zipper?  If it's temperature, you can use Throttlestop to override any CPU throttling when you overclock your 680M.  As you know, might not be too good for the laptop if it gets too hot!  

 

(As a quick aside, I started a Thread in Overclocking Section entitled 'LCD Panel Overclocking', I've overclocked the refresh rate to 75Hz, do you know or have any experience to any potential damaging effects to the monitor? No ones replied to my thread yet, and I know you have experience in computing).

Edited July 4, 2013 by Robbo the Second

[zipper]

I didn't monitor the clocks except the temperature which stayed @90C max. Probably going to check further, time permitting. Many panels seem to handle 75 Hz easily - like my external BenQs - but the image gets bad on high rates. I'd figure that the support electronics don't let you to toast the screen (hopefully..)

[Robbo the Second]

Yep, good call (hopefully!), I tend to agree, shouldn't be a problem at 75Hz, no image distortion or frame skipping so I'm happy.

[zipper]

Did some temperature/clock checks by logging during 3DMark 11. Temperatures were quite OK, CPU max 86 and GPU on 80's. Clocks did stay stable, no clockdowns. Just results for physics go down, the more when clocked higher. So no need to try overclocking further, this thingy doesn't want to be overclocked!

[tribaljet]

Both CPU and GPU temps are well within reasonable values, no need to worry there.

[Robbo the Second]

Did some temperature/clock checks by logging during 3DMark 11. Temperatures were quite OK, CPU max 86 and GPU on 80's. Clocks did stay stable, no clockdowns. Just results for physics go down, the more when clocked higher. So no need to try overclocking further, this thingy doesn't want to be overclocked!

 

I don't understand how that can be Zipper.  If neither the CPU or GPU is downclocking during the benchmark, then the physics score should be the same.  Temperatures seem alright though.