Finally Reviewing the Matrox C680: The First Flagship Since the Parhelia

Today, we’re looking at Matrox’s first flagship graphics card since the Parhelia. The Matrox C680, while not brand new, is still exciting, especially for us fans of Matrox. I bought this card on eBay for just under £40, which makes it an interesting option especially for those on the search for a graphics card thats just a little bit... Different.

The History – What is a Matrox?

The Matrox C680 is one of the more powerful cards in Matrox’s lineup and serves as one of their flagship graphics card. To understand why this is important, let’s quickly go over Matrox’s history. Matrox was once a major player in the graphics card market, competing with ATI, Nvidia, and 3DFx. They were known for high-quality, stable graphics cards, which was crucial when everything display wise was analogue, and output quality mattered a lot than it does now.

In the late 90s, Matrox was at its peak with reliable driver support and great image output. However, the release of the G450 card marked the start of their decline in performance. The Matrox Parhelia was supposed to be their big comeback, but it couldn’t compete with other cards in terms of price and performance. This led to Matrox leaving the consumer market.

Matrox returned to the consumer market with the Matrox C420, based on AMD hardware. This card continued Matrox’s legacy of stable drivers and great features, all in a small, power-efficient package. The frametimes during testing were very smooth, offering a playable experience even if the framerates weren’t always high.

What is the C680?- AMD? Matrox? Both?

This brings us to the Matrox C680. Released in 2017, the C680 is based on the AMD Capde Verde Pro GL architecture, a variant not commonly seen in consumer cards. It has 512 shading units, 4GB of GDDR5 RAM, and operates within a 40-watt power envelope under full load. The card supports DirectX12 and Vulkan, providing a full feature set for everyday use. It has six DisplayPort Mini ports, which is a bit much, but Matrox has always focused on display capabilities.

The main selling point of the C680 is its support for six 4K displays, combined with Matrox’s reliability. This makes it ideal for users with extensive display needs, like power users, or those who may have a business that involves running multiple displays...Think shop windows, billboards, etc...

The card’s impressive OpenCL and DirectX capabilities also make it suitable for game engines and 3D Modelling tools like Maya or Blender.

The Benchmarks - Just how much can Matrox Offer in 2024

Counter Strike 2

Starting off the benchmarks, we have Counter Strike 2. This isn’t a game I have tested or benchmarked before, as we usually test CSGO. Without commenting on the overall game, the performance we saw with a good mixture of competitive settings in a 720p resolution was solid. It averaged around 90 FPS across various game modes and maps. Some maps like Office could exceed 100 FPS, while others like Italy hovered around 60-70 FPS. Overall, the game was always playable with exceptional frametimes, with no hitches or stuttering, even with the new intensive smokes.

Red Dead Redemption 2

Next up was the big one, Red Dead Redemption 2, running in 720p with a mixture of low and medium settings. The game recommended the latest AMD drivers, which we couldn’t use, so the Matrox drivers had no specific optimizations for this game. Despite this, the game hovered around a playable 30 FPS, even in combat and various situations. It took some time to get these settings to work, as some things impacted the card more than others. Overall, Red Dead Redemption 2 was not just running but playable on a Matrox graphics card.

Bannerlord

Mount and Blade 2 Bannerlord ran very well with a 720p resolution and a good mixture of settings, mostly medium. We tested the game across various scenarios, including large battles, and found no problems. In the early game, the card exceeded 60 FPS, and even in intense later stages, the Matrox C680 handled it well.

BeamNG

BeamNG was interesting as I had to do two sets of benchmarks. On less intensive maps, the game ran fine with a mixture of high, medium, and low settings. However, on certain maps, the card struggled, requiring settings to be turned down to the lowest to keep the framerate high. It was fully playable but impacted more than some other cards. Still, it was stable overall.

Fallout 4

Fallout 4 is a game people often ask to be tested again. Even after all these years, the game generally runs poorly, even on the Matrox card. Achieving a solid 60 FPS was impossible, but in 900p with medium settings, we got around 30 FPS indoors and outdoors. The framerate would increase indoors, but the C680 maintained a respectable 35 FPS even when things got busy.

Half Life 2

For the other end of the scale, I launched Half-Life 2 in 1080p with Ultra settings. The game maintained a solid 60 FPS, never dropping more than 1 FPS. This makes the card a solid contender for older classics, using minimal power. The same applies to other titles from this era, where you can max them out without losing frames. It seemed like the card itself was enabling V-Sync, forcing the game into a 60 FPS state, but there were no issues.

Skyrim SE

This extends to remasters of classic titles like Skyrim Special Edition, which ran almost on par with console versions. Using high settings and a 900p resolution, the card returned a playable 30 FPS overall. It ran similarly to Fallout 4, with the same issues trying to hit a constant 60 FPS. However, with a game like this, I’d rather have the resolution and graphics than turn them down to hit 60 FPS. As long as it’s smooth, there shouldn’t be a problem.

3D Mark

I don’t think anyone else has tested this card in 3D Mark. We got a score of 568, placing it around a Radeon HD 8670. This isn’t exactly reflective of the performance we saw above, probably because the card is geared towards stability rather than overall performance. The card remained very stable with clocks throughout, with no drops in core or memory during testing. It didn’t fluctuate once, which is impressive for such a small card. So, maybe not one for pushing benchmark numbers, but for overall stability and general use, it’s not a problem.

Thermals, Power Consumption, and Stability – The Matrox Formula

The experience was similar to the last Matrox card we tested, with unparalleled performance in frametimes and smoothness. Yes, the hardware is a bit dated, but for such a quirky card, I can’t complain. Thermals were decent, with the card rarely heating up or the fan ramping up. I didn’t even change the thermal paste, as the paste on the card hadn’t dried up. Usually, I have to change the paste on cards I test, but not this one. Maybe it was changed at some point, or they use higher quality paste from the factory. Matrox often answers support questions even when the cards are out of warranty, showing their faith in the product. Good luck trying that with any of the big players in the market.

Power consumption was very low. Under the most intensive scenarios, the card ran at around 31 watts. That’s not a joke; fully stressed, it hardly broke the 30-watt barrier. No wonder this thing will never break; it never even warms up. It’s impressive to see how GCN works when the company behind it doesn’t just shove a ton of voltage into it for a few extra frames.

Stability was brilliant. There were never any issues with the card or its performance. It just kept on working, and nothing you could do would make it crash. You could change resolutions from 4K down to 640x480, leave one screen interlaced, and change them back and forth with no issues or slowdown. It just works!

Conclusion – A nice new return from the boys in blue.

So, there we have it, the Matrox C680. Once again, I am impressed. For a card you can get for between £30 to £40, it seems like great value for those needing a real workstation card that can also handle some games. And I don’t just mean basic ones; I mean some really modern stuff. It’s always fun to test something that isn’t from AMD or Nvidia. Sometimes it’s nice to look at the market and imagine a more diverse time with little niches and nuances to each option. No, Matrox isn’t as big as it used to be, but with two cards into their new lineup, they’re just as relevant for all the right reasons. More than a rebrand, and different enough to warrant what the name stands for.

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