GeForce GTX 680 vs Graphics 4-Core iGPU (Arrow Lake)

NVIDIA

GeForce GTX 680

2012Core: 1006 MHzBoost: 1058 MHz
VS

Graphics 4-Core iGPU (Arrow Lake)

2023Core: 300 MHzBoost: 1950 MHz

GeForce GTX 680 vs Graphics 4-Core iGPU (Arrow Lake) Performance Spectrum

About G3D Mark

G3D Mark is a standard benchmark that measures graphics performance in real-world gaming scenarios. It simplifies comparing cards from different brands, where higher scores directly correlate with better fps and smoother gaming experiences.

GeForce GTX 680 vs Graphics 4-Core iGPU (Arrow Lake): Pros, Cons & Final Verdict

See where each GPU makes more sense in practice: raw FPS, VRAM, features, power draw, pricing, and long-term headroom.

GeForce GTX 680

2012

Why buy it

  • Competitive enough if your priority is price, power, or specific feature preference.

Trade-offs

  • 2012 hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • 66.3% HIGHER MSRP
    $499 MSRPvs$300 MSRP
  • Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 11.2 vs 18.3 G3D/$ ($499 MSRP vs $300 MSRP).
  • 1200% higher power demand at 195W vs 15W.

Graphics 4-Core iGPU (Arrow Lake)

2023

Why buy it

  • Costs $199 less on MSRP ($300 MSRP vs $499 MSRP).
  • Delivers 63.1% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 18.3 vs 11.2 G3D/$ ($300 MSRP vs $499 MSRP).
  • Better long-term bet: Xe LPG (2023) on 5nm gives it a newer hardware base for upcoming games.
  • Draws 15W instead of 195W, a 180W reduction.

Trade-offs

  • Fewer clear downsides in this head-to-head, aside from the usual pricing and availability swings.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
GeForce GTX 680 is the faster gaming card right now based on the synthetic data we have. It leads by 2% in PassMark G3D (5,609 vs 5,500), which is the best performance signal available in this matchup.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
Graphics 4-Core iGPU (Arrow Lake) is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: a 5nm process instead of 28nm and a newer 2023 generation instead of 2012. That makes it the less risky pick as game demands keep moving.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
Graphics 4-Core iGPU (Arrow Lake) makes the most sense to buy today. It is $199 cheaper on MSRP at $300 vs $499, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 63.1% (18.3 vs 11.2), which is enough to swing the recommendation its way. GeForce GTX 680 still makes more sense if max raw gaming performance matters more than value.

GeForce GTX 680 vs Graphics 4-Core iGPU (Arrow Lake) Technical Specifications

Side-by-side specs, architecture details, clocks, memory, power, and platform differences.

NVIDIA

GeForce GTX 680

The GeForce GTX 680 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in March 22 2012. It features the Kepler architecture. The core clock ranges from 1006 MHz to 1058 MHz. It has 1536 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 195W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 5,609 points. Launch price was $499.

Manufacturer

Graphics 4-Core iGPU (Arrow Lake)

The Graphics 4-Core iGPU (Arrow Lake) is manufactured by an unknown manufacturer. It was released in December 14 2023. It features the Xe LPG architecture. The core clock ranges from 300 MHz to 1950 MHz. It has 4 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 15W. Manufactured using 5 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 5,500 points.

Graphics Performance

The GeForce GTX 680 scores 5,609 and the Graphics 4-Core iGPU (Arrow Lake) reaches 5,500 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX 680 is built on Kepler while the Graphics 4-Core iGPU (Arrow Lake) uses Xe LPG, both on 28 nm vs 5 nm. Shader units: 1,536 (GeForce GTX 680) vs 4 (Graphics 4-Core iGPU (Arrow Lake)). Boost clocks: 1058 MHz vs 1950 MHz.

FeatureGeForce GTX 680Graphics 4-Core iGPU (Arrow Lake)
G3D Mark Score
5,609+2%
5,500
Architecture
Kepler
Xe LPG
Process Node
28 nm
5 nm
Shading Units
1536+38300%
4
Boost Clock
1058 MHz
1950 MHz+84%
L1 Cache
128 KB
768 KB+500%

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GTX 680 gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Graphics 4-Core iGPU (Arrow Lake) leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

FeatureGeForce GTX 680Graphics 4-Core iGPU (Arrow Lake)
Upscaling Tech
Upscaling support
Upscaling support
Frame Generation
Not Supported
Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction
No
No
Low Latency
NVIDIA Reflex
Standard
💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards ship with 4 GB of video memory. Memory bus width is 256-bit on the GeForce GTX 680 and System on the Graphics 4-Core iGPU (Arrow Lake).

FeatureGeForce GTX 680Graphics 4-Core iGPU (Arrow Lake)
VRAM Capacity
4 GB
4 GB
Memory Type
GDDR5
Shared
Memory Bandwidth
192.2 GB/s
System
Bus Width
256-bit
System
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12 (FL 11_0) (GeForce GTX 680) vs 12 Ultimate (Graphics 4-Core iGPU (Arrow Lake)). Vulkan: 1.1 vs 1.3. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 4.

FeatureGeForce GTX 680Graphics 4-Core iGPU (Arrow Lake)
DirectX
12 (FL 11_0)
12 Ultimate
Vulkan
1.1
1.3+18%
OpenGL
4.6
4.6
Max Displays
4
4
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC 1st gen (GeForce GTX 680) vs Xe Media Engine (Graphics 4-Core iGPU (Arrow Lake)). Decoder: PureVideo VP5 vs Xe Media Engine. Supported codecs: H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2 (GeForce GTX 680) vs H.264,H.265,VP9,AV1 (Graphics 4-Core iGPU (Arrow Lake)).

FeatureGeForce GTX 680Graphics 4-Core iGPU (Arrow Lake)
Encoder
NVENC 1st gen
Xe Media Engine
Decoder
PureVideo VP5
Xe Media Engine
Codecs
H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2
H.264,H.265,VP9,AV1
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX 680 draws 195W versus the Graphics 4-Core iGPU (Arrow Lake)'s 15W — a 171.4% difference. The Graphics 4-Core iGPU (Arrow Lake) is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 550W (GeForce GTX 680) vs 350W (Graphics 4-Core iGPU (Arrow Lake)). Power connectors: 2x 6-pin vs PCIe-powered. Card length: 256mm vs 0mm, occupying 2 vs 0 slots. Typical load temperature: 98°C vs 85.

FeatureGeForce GTX 680Graphics 4-Core iGPU (Arrow Lake)
TDP
195W
15W-92%
Recommended PSU
550W
350W-36%
Power Connector
2x 6-pin
PCIe-powered
Length
256mm
0mm
Height
111mm
0mm
Slots
2
0-100%
Temp (Load)
98°C
85-13%
Perf/Watt
28.8
366.7+1173%
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the GeForce GTX 680 came in at $499, while the Graphics 4-Core iGPU (Arrow Lake) launched at $300. On MSRP, Graphics 4-Core iGPU (Arrow Lake) was 39.9% cheaper ($199 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 11.2 (GeForce GTX 680) vs 18.3 (Graphics 4-Core iGPU (Arrow Lake)) — the Graphics 4-Core iGPU (Arrow Lake) offers 63.4% better value. The newer card here is Graphics 4-Core iGPU (Arrow Lake) (2023 vs 2012).

FeatureGeForce GTX 680Graphics 4-Core iGPU (Arrow Lake)
MSRP
$499
$300-40%
Performance per Dollar
11.2
18.3+63%
Codename
GK104
Meteor Lake iGPU
Release
March 22 2012
December 14 2023
Ranking
#410
#496

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