GTX 580 - 1536MB VS 3072MB. Pros n Cons??

[cruc1al]

2 GTX 580's that I am on the fence over. I love the added features and the cooler on the ASUS Matrix. But, I love the added feature of the 30 sec in reverse fans on the MSI lightning, plus the card has 3mb of GDDR5. The price diffference really isn't an issue.

I suppose the main question: Does 1.5mb of GDDR5 make a difference for say Max Resolution and AA x16?? Also, what are the pros vs cons, between the two cards?

(I plan on purchasing one of these today or tomorrow for the upcoming BF3 Beta, on the 27th of September)

 

[jyjjy]

The standard amount of ram is fine for a single card and 1920x1200 or below. If you are going to SLI, use a higher res monitor or perhaps move to a 3 monitor setup then the extra ram will be useful.

 

[cruc1al]

Hmmmm. 1.5mb seems ok, but I want insurance with games like Skyrim, and possibly the 3mb card could add some of that insurance, what you guys think?

***Maybe I don't understand, what is GDDR5 Ram used for anyhow?***

 

[cruc1al]

So 3mb is complete overkill. 😀

 

[cruc1al]

But say you won the lottery, would you get a 3mb card, hypothetically speaking of course. lol Reason I ask is the 590 has 3mb on it.

 

[cruc1al]

That's an awesome response, lol. x4 for Gaming holy craptastic batman.

 

[jyjjy]

But say you won the lottery, would you get a 3mb card, hypothetically speaking of course. lol Reason I ask is the 590 has 3mb on it.

The GTX 590 is two underclocked GTX 580s in SLI on one card. Each of them have 1.5gb of RAM. In SLI the video RAM for each GPU is redundant so despite that the card physically contains 3gb of RAM it effectively still has 1.5gb. This is actually considered a design flaw of the card by a lot of people as the processing power of SLIed GTX 580s is only really useful at high resolutions or on 3 monitor setups and that is when having more RAM per GPU would be appropriate as I said earlier.

 

[cptpoppinfresh]

But say you won the lottery, would you get a 3mb card, hypothetically speaking of course. lol Reason I ask is the 590 has 3mb on it.

Just to clarify something for you. The Geforce 590 does not have 3gb memory technically. It has two cores with 1.5gb each. Its basically like having 2 cards in sli in one package. If you have that much money, why not just got two 590's and sli? That's 4 way sli.

Also, you should get the 580 with the 3gb if you can. Future proofing is awesome.

 

[cruc1al]

Well, I've decided. 3d Surround is appealing and I might do it in the future. But I do plan on getting a 3d Monitor to test it out first. So I will probably end up getting the MSI Lightning 3mb for my future 3d Viewing pleasure.

Thanks 384-BiT for the help.

 

[cruc1al]

Just to clarify something for you. The Geforce 590 does not have 3gb memory technically. It has two cores with 1.5gb each. Its basically like having 2 cards in sli in one package. If you have that much money, why not just got two 590's and sli? That's 4 way sli.

Also, you should get the 580 with the 3gb if you can. Future proofing is awesome.

See I didn't know that. But the 590 isn't something I want to do, mainly because I already purchased a Modular PSU @ 650 W lol and the 590 Needs at least 700w.

And I might put a second MSI Lightning in in the future probably not though, since this beast can run games for 1-2 years maxed out.

 

[jyjjy]

Keep in mind that the 3D part of Nvidia's "Surround" is optional. Using it with 3 regular monitors works fine as well.

 

[cruc1al]

Keep in mind that the 3D part of Nvidia's "Surround" is optional. Using it with 3 regular monitors works fine as well.

Maybe I misunderstood, but you can get 3d capabilities with a regular monitor with these cards?

 

[jyjjy]

Maybe I misunderstood, but you can get 3d capabilities with a regular monitor with these cards?

No, what I meant was 3 monitor gaming without 3D. It would be equivalent to AMDs Eyefinity. 3D too is nice and all but the cost of three 3D monitors is going to be pretty high. I just mentioned it so you are aware of all your options. Keep in mind with Nvidia cards to game on 3 monitors at once, 3D or 2D, you must SLI.

 

[cruc1al]

More than likely, I am going to wait till the price drops on the cards, then SLI. Purchase those monitors when the price drops. It's really not that important anyways, gaming will be fun regardless, just future proofing my case is a safe bet with the MSI 3GB GeForce GTX 580 Lightning Xtreme Edition.

 

[cruc1al]

So the new EVGA GTX 580 Classified came out with 3072, just came out today. What do you guys think?

 

[inzone]

If I didn't already have three of these in 3-way sli ; http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130665

I would be getting the new Classified , figures they come out with that card now. Not a bad price I would get one or two if I were you.

 

[inzone]

do remember for the above class of card you need a watercooling loop in order to cool it 😉

Which card ?

 

[inzone]

EVGA hydrocopper

I was suggesting picking up the Classified , not the Hydro Copper.

 

[cruc1al]

Yeah, I have the EVGA 580 GTX Classified (Air Cooled) In my newegg basket right now.

I've looked At EVGA's warranty info, and if you register within 30 days you have a lifetime warranty and 90days to step up upgrade to a better card, you just pay the difference.
So its looking like EVGA is going to be my new favorite over ASUS.

And I overclocked my CPU(q9550 2.83 Quad) to 3.4ghz, so there should be no bottle necking for this card, until I can upgrade to an i5 or i7.

 

[cruc1al]

 

[cruc1al]

I finally pulled the trigger on EVGA's Newest card which came out yesterday afternoon. Truely tests the phrase. "Good things happen, to those who wait."

 

[cruc1al]

Yes. I really wanted the Extra ram just for the hell of it. I'm not the most tech savvy individual, so if something goes wrong with my graphics now, I know I didn't do it.

I won't be overclocking the EVGA 580 Classified, it really doesn't need it. Maybe 1-2 years down the road, I will crank up the heat on the hardware.

 

[inzone]

I finally pulled the trigger on EVGA's Newest card which came out yesterday afternoon. Truely tests the phrase. "Good things happen, to those who wait."

Ok now I'm jealous, really jealous!!!