Another one of those threads.

[appleshaq]

Hi everyone

I am buying my computer by the end of this week and I need to now ASAP what GPU configuration I should get.

I will be gaming at 1080p on a 24" monitor ( http://www.asus.com/Display/LCD_Monitors/VS248H/ ) and would like to know your opinions.

What should I get?

2 x 560 Ti's in SLI.

1 x 580 with no plans of future SLI.

I want to max (I mean MAX out to the limits) out every current game and future games (BF3, MW3, Skyrim ect...). So taking into account my monitor resolution, would you suggest a 580 or 2 x 560 Ti's in SLI?

Thanks and please bomb bard me with opinions, links and comments.

 

[appleshaq]

Ok, to be more specific, these cards:

2 x http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=193_1193&products_id=17326

1 x http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=193_1170&products_id=17809 or http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=193_1170&products_id=18698 (which ever is better)

I am confused on what I need. All the help will be appreciated.

 

[DelroyMonjo]

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_560_Ti_SLI/1.html
Good comparison here. Unless you're doing multi monitor, I don't think massive extra amounts of VRAM would be useful.
That's a nice monitor, BTW, I have one.

 

[appleshaq]

Thanks, would you suggest the monitor or get a better one?

So should I just get a 580?

 

[monsta]

Get 2 x 560ti 2gb models , faster and better than a single GTX 580 and will keep you good for awile, the 2gb vram will come in handy with the newer games.

 

[appleshaq]

Thanks, I have just been reading up on both configurations and I am going to take the plunge and get 2 x 560 Ti's in SLI.

I only have one more question.

1) What is the BEST 560 Ti to run in SLI, money is not a problem, I just want to know the BEST in terms of cooling, performance and speed (I don't care about noise I just want to know the best).

Thanks.

 

[monsta]

I find the ASUS, Gigabyte and the MSI versions of the 560ti the best , the cooling on all 3 of them is excellent and they all overclock really well.
Have a look at all 3 models and compare them , its down to personal perference , but whichever you choose , you cant go wrong.

 

[appleshaq]

Which 3 models?

Hawk?
SOC?
Direct CU II?

 

[monsta]

Yup exactly those 3

 

[monsta]

If it helps , I say get the MSI Hawk , heard they overclock the best and other users swear by them.

 

[appleshaq]

Yeah thanks. I was considering the Hawk.


Does it have the best cooling though? I wanf something that runs really cool.

Thanks.

 

[tmoel1]

I have a Gigabyte GTX 560 Ti SOC (single) and it runs great, highest factory overclock out of the box by a fair margin and is nice and cool - currently I'm getting about 5C about ambient, with the lowest fan speed (idle). I'd definately recomend it.
ED: The Windforce X2 is very similar to the Twin Frozr II or III, both in design and performance.

 

[monsta]

The MSI would have to run the coolset

Heres a good comparison chart for you to look at, hope it helps.

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/40552-nvidia-geforce-gtx-560-ti-roundup-asus-evga-gigabyte-msi.html

 

[monsta]

I have the Gigabyte also and its the fastest one of the lot.

 

[appleshaq]

Ok, so alot of it is cleared up for me, I just don't know what GPU!

SOC vs Hawk? In the end, which card is really worth it?

So confused.

Thanks.

 

[Warmacblu]

I don't think the SOC or the Hawk models have 2GB of RAM. If you were to SLi two 1GB models then you would be limited to that VRAM which is not enough for Skyrim or BF3.

Here are the two 2GB cards:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007709%20600094002%20600107147%20600007782&IsNodeId=1&name=2GB

Either of those cards would be a great choice, maybe the eVGA cards are tiny bit better because they exhaust the heat outside the case but you probably can't overclock them as much as MSI card with their excellent Twin Frozr cooler.

 

[appleshaq]

I have read that I don't need more than 2GB of Vram for a single monitor at 1080p.

Won't 2GB in total suffice? Read this: http://www.overclock.net/t/1153604/battlefield-3-vram-usage and the post by xPwn.

Thanks and recommendations on cards will be nice, it is such a difficult decission for me to make.

SOC vs Hawk, SOC vs Hawk?

Please help me!

 

[Warmacblu]

The VRAM won't stack if you SLi two 1GB cards, you are still left with 1GB for each card.

There are plenty of reviews and forum posts, etc. showing that BF3 uses more than 1GB of VRAM and Skyrim can use up to 1.28GB; and we're talking on a single HD monitor. If money is no issue, you should get the 2GB cards for future proof, especially if you want to add in some nice Skyrim high-res texture mods.

 

[appleshaq]

But won't the 1GB of Vram stack up to make 2GB, I don't need 4GB of Vram that is like giving a child $50 to buy a bag of candy.

I am confused and would like more input from others too.

Thanks for the reply Warmacblu.

 

[Warmacblu]

The VRAM will not stack.

 

[appleshaq]

Well is it worth getting this card for the extra $100 then (not SLI)?

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=193_1170&products_id=18698

Will this MAX out both games on the highest settings? I will not plan to do SLI if I go with this. I want a card that will do most of todays games at 60+ FPS and future game for around 2 years.

So 560 Ti Hawks in SLI vs 580 3GB Lightning Extreme Edition (remembering my resolution, and I will not do multi monitors, just one for gaming)?

Thanks!

 

[Warmacblu]

A single GTX 580 will not max BF3 at 1900x1200 using Ultra settings, you will need two of them.

2 GTX 560 Ti's may not max out BF3 at 1900x1200 using Ultra settings, you may need to step up to two GTX 570's (Tom's recommendation for the nVIDIA camp)

I personally do not want to deal with the hassle of SLi, especially since I can afford to purchase a fast enough GPU every other year or so. Since you want to max out BF3, you will need to purchase at least 2 GTX 570's, take a look at Tom's BF3 analysis and make a decision based on that.

 

[appleshaq]

Are you sure? Thanks for the info.

I wanted to get 560 Ti's in SLI hoping that it will MAX out BF3.

I really do't know what to do now?

 

[Warmacblu]

Here, read this:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/battlefield-3-graphics-performance,3063-7.html

A single GTX 580 will give you a good experience with Ultra settings at 1900x1200 but there may be some stuttering in multiplayer.

 

[appleshaq]

Just to let you know, I will be playing at 1920x1080 so will a single 580 3GB XE suffice?

Thanks.