GPU confusing + build PC

[Cosmic.]

Looking into graphics cards, am confused at if i should go for a 1.5GB card or a 3GB card.

here are the two models im looking at -

MSI GeForce N580GTX Twin Frozr II/OC 1536MB ($768NZD)

or

EVGA 03G-P3-1584-KR GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) 3072MB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card ($798NZD)

I am looking for the bets all round package, ie cooling, noise and power. I am intending to put one of these with the following build

CPU - i7 2600k intel quad 3.4ghz (overclocked to 3.6ghz)

RAM - 16GB DDR3 Corsair vengeance

MOBO - Asus P8Z68-V/GEN3

SSD - intel 320 series 120GB

HDD - 2TB seagate barracuda

PSU - Enermax 920w

Would this be able to give ULTRA settings on a 24" 1920x1080 monitor?

Is it worth going for 3GB graphics or sticking with the twin frozr and have 1.5GB?

Thanks in advance.

*edit could it run ULTRA above 45 FPS??

 

[S_I_N]

if you can swing it I'd get the 3gb version I normally see my 1280meg gtx580 hitting 1250megs while gaming BF3 to be specific and iirc crysis2 also. you should see very decent fps with a 580 on ultra.

 

[yassarikhan786]

if you can swing it I'd get the 3gb version I normally see my 1280meg gtx580 hitting 1250megs while gaming BF3 to be specific and iirc crysis2 also. you should see very decent fps with a 580 on ultra.

I didn't know they made 1280meg 580s

 

[ThatBattlefieldGuy]

I think he means 570. If you afford it go for the 3gb version. Futureproof bro

 

[yassarikhan786]

I think he means 570. If you afford it go for the 3gb version. Futureproof bro

I know, hence the

at the end of my comment

 

[ThatBattlefieldGuy]

Yeah I knew that, for sure

 

[jonnyfgm]

why not just get a 7970? You'll get the same price as the 3GB 580, with same amount of RAM but quicker performance

 

[SieB]

why not just get a 7970? You'll get the same price as the 3GB 580, with same amount of RAM but quicker performance

I was just thinking the same thing, why aren't people recommending the 7950 or 7970?

 

[yassarikhan786]

why not just get a 7970? You'll get the same price as the 3GB 580, with same amount of RAM but quicker performance

It would be better to get a 7970, but maybe Cosmic. doesn't want one.

 

[Master&Puppet]

I wouldn't recommend anything less than 2gb now so definitely get the 3gb 580, one of the amd 7xxx or wait and see what the 660ti brings to the party next month.

 

[mrDMxtreme]

well he's using ONE 24" and 1920x1080 so i don't get why u would need more then the 1.5gb 580??

personally i run one 1920x1200(main) AND a 1680x1050, i game on the main and use the other for temps and stuff, but mainly for school work, anyways even with a larger resolution i can still max out BF3 and get over 40 fps

so if ur looking to upgrade ur screen (or add more) then go with a 3gb card, also if you want more then 2 screens / card go for amd, and lastly if u wanna do some folding at home go with nvidia and join our team

 

[jonnyfgm]

on BF3 on my 7970 i can slightly top 1.5GB of VRAM, but then again that doesn't mean a 580 would

And perhaps he doesn't want a 7970, but perhaps he hadn't realised the advantages he could get from it so just suggesting

 

[Cosmic.]

I am going to be getting a second monitor about a month after i finish the build (screen will be approx the same ). The reason im going for nvidia is because the last PC I built, i had a HD5970. Had major problems with drivers and took weeks to sort out. That and BF3 has been optimised for nvidia cards. Just wanted to see if nvidia is any better with being more stable. At the moment i will wait until the 600 series comes out, just depends on how much i need to spend on my car.

 

[Cosmic.]

And perhaps he doesn't want a 7970, but perhaps he hadn't realised the advantages he could get from it so just suggesting

What advantages does that card have apart from eyefinity? nvidia is optimised for BF3 and has Physx?

 

[jonnyfgm]

well my 7970 will run BF3 at ultra in multiplayer with vsynch on perfectly, with v synch off it regularly hits triple figure FPS rates.

Just every benchmark i've seen shows the 7970 hitting a 20-30% performance improvement in games over even the superclocked 3GB 580s

Dont get me wrong, I'm no AMD fanboy, I have an i7, and had my heart set on a 580 for ages, then i decided to wait for keplar, but then when i heard the next nvidia card to be released wouldn't even outperform the 7970, and we'd have to wait 6 months for one that would, then i thought why not get the fastest single GPU card on the market?

Having said all that, I am having a few issues with multiplayer and BF3 since i switched, a few out of memory dirext x errors, but hopefully this should be resolved in either a driver update or a patch.

I'd take a look around the net and really compare benchmarks. For example this review

http://www.motherboards.org/review/gpu-wars-sapphire-amd-hd-7970-vs-evga-nvidia-gtx-580-3gb

You can see at stock speeds it outperforms the 3GB EVGA card which (i believe) is already pre overclocked.

Just saying

 

[Rastalovich]

Just every benchmark i've seen shows the 7970 hitting a 20-30% performance improvement in games over even the superclocked 3GB 580s

I'd never go around saying a 7970 out performs a 580 by 20-30% in every benchmark I've seen.

I'd certainly say a 7970 outperforms a 580 in approximately 6 out of 8 games (the usual suspects) and the 580 does the 7970 by approximately 2 out of 8, especially in those optimized for each. Heck the 560 beats a 580 in some game(s) - figure that one out.

A blanket 20-30% wreaks of the talk manufacturers boast about driver improvements.

Even in the synthetics, the 7970 takes the 580 in probably 6 out of 8 tests generally speaking, and 2 out of 8 the other way.