The results here were very interesting.  I had my Vantage results handy from the 580s for both Performance and High Quality modes so it was a good opportunity to compare.  First, the 580s (with CPU at 4.1Ghz) in Performance:

54682.  Not a bad score for 980x@4.1Ghz and Tri-SLI overclocked (900Mhz).  Now for the 680s, also at 4.1Ghz with cards at 111%:

60432.  Not a dramatic difference from the 580s – about 10%.  I think here we are beginning to see diminishing returns at this resolution with the CPU being a constant.  A bump here would require a bigger proc – the GPUs just aren’t breaking a sweat in either case.

Now lets look at the “High Quality” results.  First, the 580s:

21600.  A huge hit on the 580s going into High Performance mode.  At the time I was surprised by the impact of the move to the High Quality settings.  So how did the 680s do?

49557! Wow!  Now that is a massive showing for the 680s.  At 1680×1050 they destroyed the 580s.  Extremely interesting and it shows that Even a modest bump to just under HD resolutions, at high details, is a bigger hit on the GPUs than it is on the CPU (at least at Nehalem 4Ghz level).

Thats it for now. More conclusions coming soon!