Whats the difference?

[Deleted]

I'm still looking over what GPU I should be getting for my new rig and I think I've decided on the GTX 580. However, there are so many different versions of the GTX 580 I'm not sure which one to choose.

GTX 580 list

1) Is the 3072MB GPU useless unless I'm going to be using multiple monitors?

2) Are there any noticeable differences between the different GPU makes? i.e.

MSI GeForce GTX 580 Lightning 1536MB
Vs
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 580 OC Special Edition 1536MB

Lastly, I'm building this rig for the release of the major new games coming out Q4 2011 / Q1 2012 and having looked over some of the graphics on the new BF3 and Skyrim they look very demanding. I know the requirements haven't been released for these games and I could be way over shooting them but nonetheless it'd be nice to have a GPU that'd run stuff without problem. I've already ruled out GTX 590 and ATI 6990 simply because they're unnecessary overkill and way too expensive, but I was wondering how the 6970 matched up to the GTX 580?

Thanks

Rob

[Cyanotical]

*cough* get the EVGA

[Chronius]

1) Currently the games aren't memory heavy enough to warrent the 3gb versions, yet. Unless ofc you start using those ultra high 2500+ resolutions.

2) The biggest difference between the different companies are often their return/warranty policies. Some allow you to change the cooler on them without voiding warranty.

Often the biggest difference between the same type of GPU from different brands is their choice of cooler and their factory overclock. Some of them also change other parts of their cards, like improving the power capabilities.

[Fuzzykins]

1.) Yes.
2.) Aside from sound? Not really.
3.) http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/292?vs=305

[dabros]

gigabyte GPU's tend to be terrible. you can't go wrong with EVGA

[Deleted]

*cough* get the EVGA

I was just using the two as a comparison really

I've actually been told EVGA are better before by a few people, what is it about their cards that make people say that?

[Fuzzykins]

gigabyte GPU's tend to be terrible. you can't go wrong with EVGA

Brand favoring is frowned upon in these forums without the proper explanation.

---------- Post added 2011-06-12 at 10:23 PM ----------

I was just using the two as a comparison really

I've actually been told EVGA are better before by a few people, what is it about their cards that make people say that?

Lifetime/10 Year warrantys. >_>

[dabros]

you can get an evga card with lifetime warranty, i don't know of any other company that does that

[Deleted]

1) Currently the games aren't memory heavy enough to warrent the 3gb versions, yet. Unless ofc you start using those ultra high 2500+ resolutions.

2) The biggest difference between the different companies are often their return/warranty policies. Some allow you to change the cooler on them without voiding warranty.

Often the biggest difference between the same type of gpu from different brands is their choice of cooler and their factory overclock

Thanks, I did notice a difference of 2 years in some of the warranties between the GPU's so I'll definitely look out for that.

[Kayko]

There have been rumors of the Radeon HD 7XXX series already in production. If your waiting till Q4 for the games, might as well hold out to see whats going on with the next gen GPUs.
Other then the rumors, it appears likely that the 7X series will be out before 2012.

[Deleted]

1.) Yes.
2.) Aside from sound? Not really.
3.) http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/292?vs=305

Thanks for the link! Very informative. 580 looks to be superior as I expected.

---------- Post added 2011-06-13 at 04:27 AM ----------

There have been rumors of the Radeon HD 7XXX series already in production. If your waiting till Q4 for the games, might as well hold out to see whats going on with the next gen GPUs.
Other then the rumors, it appears likely that the 7X series will be out before 2012.

Oh nice, sounds interesting. However I don't want to have to sell Kidney to buy one if they do come out and they're insanely expensive

[Cyanotical]

Brand favoring is frowned upon in these forums without the proper explanation.

EVGA uses better materials in production, as well they have much better support and easily the best customer service, they also have the trade up program allowing you to send in your old gpu and trade it for a new one and only pay the difference

they are also not as strict on voided warranties, usually if you send the card back at least semi put together they will honor the warranty

[aggs]

you can get an evga card with lifetime warranty, i don't know of any other company that does that

Maybe no other nvida card but xfx does with amd cards.

[Deleted]

Another question if you'd be so kind to answer

After looking over some of the benchmarks for the GPU's I noticed that using CF 6950's stomps on a single 580 and is actually cheaper. I know there are some compatibility issues with some games and CF/SLI and also it would require a lot more power but that shouldn't be a problem if I upgrade the PSU.

Is it worth going for the CF 6950s?

[Saithes]

EVGA uses better materials in production, as well they have much better support and easily the best customer service, they also have the trade up program allowing you to send in your old gpu and trade it for a new one and only pay the difference

they are also not as strict on voided warranties, usually if you send the card back at least semi put together they will honor the warranty

Proof? So far all of their Fermi GPU's have been reference design other than the 460 2Win which means they just rebrand a Nvidia OEM. The MSI 580 Lightning has twice the power phases as the EVGA and a far superior heatsink. There's also high speculation EVGA doesn't even bin their Fermi GPU's like they use to on the GTX 200's lol..

The Step Up only lasts for 90 days and since there aren't any new GPU's coming out until 2012 there's nothing to upgrade to unless its the 590(but who would do that since its a horrible card lawl).

[Chronius]

Another question if you'd be so kind to answer

After looking over some of the benchmarks for the GPU's I noticed that using CF 6950's stomps on a single 580 and is actually cheaper. I know there are some compatibility issues with some games and CF/SLI and also it would require a lot more power but that shouldn't be a problem if I upgrade the PSU.

Is it worth going for the CF 6950s?

Well that's up to you. If you went for a single 580 you would still have an open slot for an extra should it prove not to be enough for bf3, skyrim.

[Deleted]

Well that's up to you. If you went for a single 580 you would still have an open slot for an extra should it prove not to be enough for bf3, skyrim.

It's probably not good to assume, but since the CF 6950s are benching Crysis Warhead pretty nicely I'd imagine they'd handle the new BF and Skyrim. I did hear somewhere though that BF doesn't support CF or SLI but that might have just been a load of tosh, I'm not sure why it wouldn't. But yeah, having the extra room for another 580 in the future is definitely nice, I'll have to weigh it up

[Chronius]

I'm pretty sure that 2x 6950 will handle both of the mentioned games, however I'm not sure they'll be able to handle it will all the details set to its maximum.
The witcher 2 brings my 2x 580's clocked to 1050 down to around 30-40 fps with everything cranked to the max, so I imagine bf3 and skyrim will have no trouble whatsoever to task the topend cards.

[Deleted]

I'm pretty sure that 2x 6950 will handle both of the mentioned games, however I'm not sure they'll be able to handle it will all the details set to its maximum.
The witcher 2 brings my 2x 580's clocked to 1050 down to around 30-40 fps with everything cranked to the max, so I imagine bf3 and skyrim will have no trouble whatsoever to task the topend cards.

I heard Witcher 2 is the new game to benchmark GPUs with because it's so intense, it truly shows how good the GFX are when it brings SLI 580s to 30-40 FPS :O But I think I'll go with the single 580 and maybe with a twist of the arm I might get a second if I feel it necessary when the new games are out. Out of curiosity, since this'll be my first PC build, how difficult is it to build and install SLI GPUs?

[Cyanotical]

Proof? So far all of their Fermi GPU's have been reference design other than the 460 2Win which means they just rebrand a Nvidia OEM. The MSI 580 Lightning has twice the power phases as the EVGA and a far superior heatsink. There's also high speculation EVGA doesn't even bin their Fermi GPU's like they use to on the GTX 200's lol..

The Step Up only lasts for 90 days and since there aren't any new GPU's coming out until 2012 there's nothing to upgrade to unless its the 590(but who would do that since its a horrible card lawl).

this is exactly why brand loyalty is discouraged, as somebody always has to hate on the brand you love, or love the brand you hate