NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 Mac Edition
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 Mac Edition: A Retrospective and Relevance in 2025
A Professional Analysis of an Obsolete Legend for macOS Enthusiasts
Introduction
The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 Mac Edition is a specialized version of a graphics card from 2012 designed for Apple computers. Despite its venerable age, it can still be found in older Mac Pros and attracts the attention of collectors. In 2025, its potential is extremely limited, but we will examine its features to understand who might find it useful today.
1. Architecture and Key Features
Kepler Architecture: A Legacy of 2012
The GTX 680 Mac Edition is built on the Kepler (GK104) architecture, which at the time marked a breakthrough in energy efficiency. The manufacturing process is 28 nm with 3.54 billion transistors. The card does not support modern technologies such as RTX, DLSS, or FidelityFX, but it was praised in 2012 for:
- GPU Boost — dynamic overclocking based on temperature;
- Adaptive VSync — eliminating screen tearing;
- TXAA — anti-aliasing for improved detail.
Drivers and interfaces were optimized for macOS (Mini DisplayPort instead of DVI). However, today, the lack of support for Metal 3 and Vulkan limits its usability in newer versions of macOS.
2. Memory
GDDR5 and Modest Capabilities
- Capacity: 2 GB GDDR5 — critically low for modern gaming and professional tasks.
- Bus: 256-bit.
- Bandwidth: 192 GB/s.
Even in 2012, 2 GB was insufficient for high-resolution textures. In 2025, such an amount renders the card inadequate for 4K, 8K video editing, or handling heavy 3D models. For older games (like Skyrim or Battlefield 3), this was sufficient, but in projects like Cyberpunk 2077, memory fills up instantly.
3. Gaming Performance
Only Retro Gaming and Indie Projects
In 2025, the GTX 680 Mac Edition is a choice for nostalgic users. Sample FPS (1080p, low settings):
- CS:GO — 90-120 FPS;
- GTA V — 35-45 FPS;
- The Witcher 3 — 20-25 FPS.
Support for 1440p and 4K is nearly impossible: even in Rocket League at 1440p, average FPS drops to 40-50. Ray tracing is absent, as is upscaling (DLSS, FSR). The card is not suitable for modern AAA games.
4. Professional Tasks
CUDA on Minimal Setting
- CUDA Cores: 1536 — impressive in 2012, but today even mobile GPUs outpace the GTX 680.
- OpenCL 1.2 Support — an outdated version incompatible with most modern applications.
The card can handle basic editing in Final Cut Pro X (for 1080p projects) or rendering simple scenes in Blender 2.8, but for DaVinci Resolve 18 or Maya 2025, its power is insufficient. Scientific calculations on CUDA are also limited due to the small memory capacity.
5. Power Consumption and Heat Dissipation
Average Efficiency by 2010s Standards
- TDP: 195 W — requires quality cooling.
- Recommended Power Supply: 500 W (with headroom for Mac Pro).
Noise levels depend on the cooling system. In older Mac Pros with a turbine cooler, the card could heat up to 80°C under load. For upgrades, cases with good ventilation (like Fractal Design Define 7) are recommended, but installation in modern PCs is complicated due to the lack of a UEFI bootloader.
6. Comparison with Competitors
Against Radeon HD 7970 and Modern Budget Options
In 2012, the main competitor was the AMD Radeon HD 7970 (3 GB GDDR5, 384-bit bus). The GTX 680 excelled in energy efficiency but lagged in memory.
In 2025, even budget GPUs like the NVIDIA GTX 1650 (4 GB GDDR6, 75 W TDP) or AMD Radeon RX 6400 (6 nm, 53 W) outperform it by 3-5 times in performance. However, these models are incompatible with macOS without patches.
7. Practical Advice
Who is the GTX 680 Mac Edition Relevant to in 2025?
- Owners of Old Mac Pros (2010-2012) — replacement for a burned-out GPU.
- Collectors — as an artifact of the era.
- Hackintosh Enthusiasts — experimenting with old hardware.
Nuances:
- Drivers: Official support has been discontinued. Conflicts may arise in macOS Sonoma and newer versions.
- Price: New units are rare — ranging from $200 to $300 (on niche platforms).
- Power Supply: 500 W with 80+ Bronze certification.
8. Pros and Cons
✅ Pros:
- Reliability and longevity (if not overheating).
- Full compatibility with older Mac Pros.
- Low noise levels in well-ventilated cases.
❌ Cons:
- Outdated architecture and lack of support for new technologies.
- Only 2 GB of memory — critical for modern tasks.
- No official drivers for macOS and Windows newer than 2020.
9. Final Conclusion: Who is the GTX 680 Mac Edition Suitable For?
This graphics card is a relic, relevant only for specific scenarios:
1. Repairing Old Mac Pros — if the original card has failed, and the budget is limited.
2. Retro Gaming — running classic games from the 2000s to early 2010s on macOS.
3. Educational Projects — studying the history of hardware or the basics of CUDA using Kepler as an example.
For modern tasks (gaming, editing, 3D), it is better to choose even budget GPUs from 2023-2024 like the Intel Arc A580 or AMD Radeon RX 6600, but installing them in macOS will require additional effort. The GTX 680 Mac Edition fills a niche for those who value nostalgia or collect hardware.