Dual 580 3gb or 7970

[Jeremy1998]

Well guys, I've been looking for some new graphics cards to use in my system, at least temporarily.

The options I've looked at are either 1 or 2 EVGA GTX 580's (the 3gb model), and some sort of 7970, probably just a reference Sapphire one. The 580's are $200 USD each, or $400 for both. The 7970 is about $340 USD.

I understand the power advantage to just one 7970... But I also understand that the 580's would be cheaper for one, or if I bought 2, that's 2 cards that I can use in 2 separate systems later on.

My main hope right now is gaming at 1440p, and also using the cards for GPU acceleration while rendering in Adobe CC Premiere Pro (which supports rendering with multiple cards). Which solution can do it better? Also keep in mind the advantage I mentioned of using the 2 580's in 2 separate systems later on.

 

[jamesriley94]

What kind of prices are 670s these days where you are?

In the UK they're around the same price as 580s, so if it works out on prices, you'd be better off getting them.

I wouldn't recommend buying 2x cards that are already 2 generations old.

 

[Jeremy1998]

What kind of prices are 670s these days where you are?

In the UK they're around the same price as 580s, so if it works out on prices, you'd be better off getting them.

I wouldn't recommend buying 2x cards that are already 2 generations old.

Well, an EVGA 670 is $345 after rebate, but the thing I worry about is trying to game at 1440p on max settings with 2gb of vram. The only other option I see is the 4gb EVGA 670, which is $400 after rebate.

But if I went for a 770, the 2gb version is $400, and it has GPU Boost 2.0, which would be nice when I put it under water. So will 2gb of ram really handle at 1440p with current titles (and somewhat future titles, think BF4) at max settings?

The 7970 has more vram, and is automatically unlocked for overclocking, but we all know the 770 will out-perform a 7970... So will that 2gb of ram be a limiting factor at that resolution with high detail games?

 

[jamesriley94]

I'd probably go with a 7970 then to be honest.

Depends on budget though really.

No chance of pushing for a 4gb 770?

 

[Jeremy1998]

I'd probably go with a 7970 then to be honest.

Depends on budget though really.

No chance of pushing for a 4gb 770?

Well, I could probably wait a week longer and get the 4gb card, but that's what I'm asking about... Will the 3/4gb cards see an improvement over the 2gb cards? Some people claim that 1440p doesn't need much memory because you don't need AA because of all the extra pixels, while other people say you need more memory because you're pushing more pixels... And unfortunately, I can understand both sides of that argument, so I don't know what's right.

 

[jamesriley94]

Well, I could probably wait a week longer and get the 4gb card, but that's what I'm asking about... Will the 3/4gb cards see an improvement over the 2gb cards? Some people claim that 1440p doesn't need much memory because you don't need AA because of all the extra pixels, while other people say you need more memory because you're pushing more pixels... And unfortunately, I can understand both sides of that argument, so I don't know what's right.

It's difficult to really say to be honest - and it will completely depend on the specific game in question.

If you were to turn the settings down to medium/high however, then RAM wouldn't be an issue at all, so if you are trying to save money, I wouldn't be so bothered about RAM as there is an easy solution if it does become an issue.

 

[Jeremy1998]

It's difficult to really say to be honest - and it will completely depend on the specific game in question.

If you were to turn the settings down to medium/high however, then RAM wouldn't be an issue at all, so if you are trying to save money, I wouldn't be so bothered about RAM as there is an easy solution if it does become an issue.

Well, I was just reading the specs from Adobe, and they say 1gb of VRAM is about the low end limit for 5K video... And the most I will EVER be editing any time soon would be 4k, so 2gb of VRAM is enough for that task. Now I just have to make a choice on if I go for the 7970, or save up a little for a 770, and then if I go for the 770, decide how much VRAM I need... But I guess those are decisions only I can make, so I'll have to think about it, and eventually decide. Anyways, thanks for your help!
______________________________________________________________________________
EDIT: I just thought of the memory bus...
The 7970 has a 384 bit 5.5ghz memory bus.
The 770 has a 256 bit 7ghz memory bus.

So I've figured out that either card has more memory and bandwidth than Adobe CC could ever use... So as far as gaming goes, will the memory bus or clock speed give either card an advantage at 1440p?

 

[NickOmega]

So will 2gb of ram really handle at 1440p with current titles (and somewhat future titles, think BF4) at max settings?....

The system requirements for BF4 have been released/published, recommending 3GB GDDR.

https://twitter.com/Battlefield/status/377129313524387841/photo/1

Not sure what resolution they're recommending that for of course.

 

[Jeremy1998]

The system requirements for BF4 have been released/published, recommending 3GB GDDR.

https://twitter.com/Battlefield/status/377129313524387841/photo/1

Not sure what resolution they're recommending that for of course.

Well, I'm sure it's for 1080p since that's the most common gaming resolution... but 3gb of vram for 1080p seem like a heck of a lot...

The difference between the 7970 and the 770 is $80 USD, and the difference in waterblocks is $20... So overall, the 7970 would be $100 cheaper than the 770... $150 USD if I go for the 4gb 770.

So what kind of performance difference will I see for that money? Also, how do both cards scale in SLI / Crossfire? I saw that the 770 scales almost 100%, but I've never looked into the 7970. So how much better will that 770 perform in gaming, and also for GPU assisted rendering?

 

[NeverBackDown]

Or wait till AMD announces their newer cards on Sept 25th. Supposed to be on par with a titan at 780 prices. Price war will happen then consumers will benefit.

 

[Jeremy1998]

Or wait till AMD announces their newer cards on Sept 25th. Supposed to be on par with a titan at 780 prices. Price war will happen then consumers will benefit.

I honestly had no clue anything new was coming. But still, 780 prices, I guess I better save up. If it really does compete with a Titan, it's worth it to me though... I guess we'll see.

 

[NeverBackDown]

They will be like those prices for a while after release. After that when demand starts to kick in more then more volumes are made and prices come down. Honestly we have no clue when they will release except that many people believe a little before BF4 comes out to get a game bundle(AMD has confirmed that).

 

[Jeremy1998]

They will be like those prices for a while after release. After that when demand starts to kick in more then more volumes are made and prices come down. Honestly we have no clue when they will release except that many people believe a little before BF4 comes out to get a game bundle(AMD has confirmed that).

Well based on my limited research, it's supposed to be under $600, and come some time in October... So hopefully that's true, because that's about all I can spend, and about as long as I can wait. We'll see how it goes.

 

[NeverBackDown]

It will be worth it. Supposed to have all new AAA titles as a game bundle. From what i know they are going to be 8. Bf4, Total War Rome 2 etc.

Edit: Here's the game bundle

 

[Jeremy1998]

It will be worth it. Supposed to have all new AAA titles as a game bundle. From what i know they are going to be 8. Bf4, Total War Rome 2 etc.

Edit: Here's the game bundle

Wow... I'm glad I'm buying 2 cards, because I want a lot of those games... if I get all the ones I want off that list for free, that's cool! I just hope I can afford the second card before the Never Settle bundle ends.

 

[jamesriley94]

The system requirements for BF4 have been released/published, recommending 3GB GDDR.

https://twitter.com/Battlefield/status/377129313524387841/photo/1

Not sure what resolution they're recommending that for of course.

Putting 3gb to me would seem more of a recommendation to get AMD over Nvidia, since most of the cards with 3gb vRAM are AMD.

I wouldn't read too much into that to be honest.

 

[digitaljuice]

love my 7970 and wouldn't trade it for any other card out there. Highly recommended!

 

[abakerboi]

Or wait till AMD announces their newer cards on Sept 25th. Supposed to be on par with a titan at 780 prices. Price war will happen then consumers will benefit.

If Tom's reviews/videos/knowledge is anything to go by, a 780 already is on par with/better than a Titan at 780 prices

All titan really has going for it is VRam

Ant.:huh:

 

[SPS]

If Tom's reviews/videos/knowledge is anything to go by, a 780 already is on par with/better than a Titan at 780 prices

All titan really has going for it is VRam

Ant.:huh:

That's a good point :lol:

 

[NeverBackDown]

If Tom's reviews/videos/knowledge is anything to go by, a 780 already is on par with/better than a Titan at 780 prices

All titan really has going for it is VRam

Ant.:huh:

Just shows how good the cards will be then won't it?