Khalus
Whatever...
- Joined
- February 27, 2011
- Messages
- 183
I'm in the market for a new GPU, and I have a few choices to decide on. Thought I'd ask you all here what I should get and hopefully more from the average gamer thats not obsessed with overclocking and running 3-4 580 in SLi BS. {yeah the forums at EVGA piss me off, ask a simple question but the community tend to focus on mass OCing everything…}
Anyway, I built this new PC mid last year primarily for FFXIV, but besides that also for the plethora of other RPGs, but never decided on a GPU yet. I keep thinking I should wait for the next best card or model. After E3 though and seeing how great Skyrim is going to look, not to mention the obsession with mods I enjoy playing the Elder Scrolls with; I want an extremely beefy GPU setup to take advantage of everything Skyrim has to offer and then some at excellent fps. {When Morrowind and Oblivion were released my PC at the time could barely play them and I really didn't enjoy them as much as I should have} I have a very nice PC this time around and currently have little to no problems playing anything on max or at least high settings -minus most the AA/AF enthusiast settings.
I also play MMOs, and I'm greatly looking forward to SW:TOR and Guild Wars II too.
So here is my PC:
Motherboard:EVGA P55 FTW 200 SLI
CPU:Intel Core i7-K875 Lynnfield 2.93GHz
Heatsink: Thermaltake SpinQ VT
GPU: EVGA GTX 275
Monitor: 40" Proscan HDTV
Case: Antec 1200
PSU: Antec 750w
RAM: 8GB A-DATA Gaming Series DDR3 1600
HDD: Hitachi 1TB 7200
Sound: Creative X-FI 7.1 Gamer Edition
Speakers: Creative 7.1 Surround
Sometimes I keep asking myself why I want a new GPU when I can already play nearly everything on max or at least high settings. One of the main reasons are because my GTX 275 for some reason doesn't like the latest drivers from nVidia and the control panel keeps locking up. Also I've been seeing some stuttering and slowdown with video playback in-game or just watching a TV show or movie. {Its not much or too bothersome, but it tells me its time to upgrade…}
So here are the choices I'm interested in, but havn't yet been able to make a decision:
1x EVGA GTX 570 ~ $360 ~ $330 after rebates
2x EVGA GTX 570 in SLi ~ $720 ~ $660 after rebates
1x EVGA GTX 580 ~ $470 ~ $440 after rebates
1x EVGA GTX 590 ~ $730
I did briefly own a GTX 570 a week after it launched in Dec 2010, but had to RMA it a 2 weeks later…got a bad one. It performed really well and I enjoyed it, but at the same time, I now think that I'd like more fps than what one offered. I've been reading through reviews and benchmarks for the past week and the 580 offers about 7-15/20 more fps depending on the game, and has a bit more power overall than the 570, and should be better for the long haul {2-3yrs before upgrading again…} My GTX 275 is over 2yrs old now and still going strong and I hope to repeat that scenario.
The other 2 options involve SLi, with the GTX 590 {runs in SLi, on one card instead of two} destroying anything you run, and the GTX 570s that make the 590 look weak. Seriously all the benchmarks show the 570s defeating the 590 by a huge margin. However, even though nVidia has been creating SLi profiles for damn near every new game of late and even some older ones, I still hear there can be some issues with compatibility. Where running SLi can make ones performance even less than a single GPU, forcing you to turn off SLi. That could be fixed in time, but I wonder if I should bother with dealing with that possibility or just go the single GPU route as I always have!
Lastly, I could always try and purchase a used GTX 275 on eBay and see how I like SLi before committing to the costs above, but again I'd still be having driver issues and the like. Older drivers are working ok, but don't support the new SLi configs of newer games. I've read that the 275 in SLi are more powerful than a single GTX 580…
Anyway, this has become much longer than I had thought it would. So if ya have an opinion on my situation or own one of the possible GPU setups I'm interested in, I'd love to hear some feedback as to the performance. Also, please don't recommend that I use AMD or create a flame war over manufacturer. {I'm an nVidia and EVGA loyalist through and through…thanks}
Anyway, I built this new PC mid last year primarily for FFXIV, but besides that also for the plethora of other RPGs, but never decided on a GPU yet. I keep thinking I should wait for the next best card or model. After E3 though and seeing how great Skyrim is going to look, not to mention the obsession with mods I enjoy playing the Elder Scrolls with; I want an extremely beefy GPU setup to take advantage of everything Skyrim has to offer and then some at excellent fps. {When Morrowind and Oblivion were released my PC at the time could barely play them and I really didn't enjoy them as much as I should have} I have a very nice PC this time around and currently have little to no problems playing anything on max or at least high settings -minus most the AA/AF enthusiast settings.
I also play MMOs, and I'm greatly looking forward to SW:TOR and Guild Wars II too.
So here is my PC:
Motherboard:EVGA P55 FTW 200 SLI
CPU:Intel Core i7-K875 Lynnfield 2.93GHz
Heatsink: Thermaltake SpinQ VT
GPU: EVGA GTX 275
Monitor: 40" Proscan HDTV
Case: Antec 1200
PSU: Antec 750w
RAM: 8GB A-DATA Gaming Series DDR3 1600
HDD: Hitachi 1TB 7200
Sound: Creative X-FI 7.1 Gamer Edition
Speakers: Creative 7.1 Surround
Sometimes I keep asking myself why I want a new GPU when I can already play nearly everything on max or at least high settings. One of the main reasons are because my GTX 275 for some reason doesn't like the latest drivers from nVidia and the control panel keeps locking up. Also I've been seeing some stuttering and slowdown with video playback in-game or just watching a TV show or movie. {Its not much or too bothersome, but it tells me its time to upgrade…}
So here are the choices I'm interested in, but havn't yet been able to make a decision:
1x EVGA GTX 570 ~ $360 ~ $330 after rebates
2x EVGA GTX 570 in SLi ~ $720 ~ $660 after rebates
1x EVGA GTX 580 ~ $470 ~ $440 after rebates
1x EVGA GTX 590 ~ $730
I did briefly own a GTX 570 a week after it launched in Dec 2010, but had to RMA it a 2 weeks later…got a bad one. It performed really well and I enjoyed it, but at the same time, I now think that I'd like more fps than what one offered. I've been reading through reviews and benchmarks for the past week and the 580 offers about 7-15/20 more fps depending on the game, and has a bit more power overall than the 570, and should be better for the long haul {2-3yrs before upgrading again…} My GTX 275 is over 2yrs old now and still going strong and I hope to repeat that scenario.
The other 2 options involve SLi, with the GTX 590 {runs in SLi, on one card instead of two} destroying anything you run, and the GTX 570s that make the 590 look weak. Seriously all the benchmarks show the 570s defeating the 590 by a huge margin. However, even though nVidia has been creating SLi profiles for damn near every new game of late and even some older ones, I still hear there can be some issues with compatibility. Where running SLi can make ones performance even less than a single GPU, forcing you to turn off SLi. That could be fixed in time, but I wonder if I should bother with dealing with that possibility or just go the single GPU route as I always have!
Lastly, I could always try and purchase a used GTX 275 on eBay and see how I like SLi before committing to the costs above, but again I'd still be having driver issues and the like. Older drivers are working ok, but don't support the new SLi configs of newer games. I've read that the 275 in SLi are more powerful than a single GTX 580…
Anyway, this has become much longer than I had thought it would. So if ya have an opinion on my situation or own one of the possible GPU setups I'm interested in, I'd love to hear some feedback as to the performance. Also, please don't recommend that I use AMD or create a flame war over manufacturer. {I'm an nVidia and EVGA loyalist through and through…thanks}
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2011
- Messages
- 183