new rig means new gpu(s) <3

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LukeDaly

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Sep 21, 2011
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ok guys i gota order my new rig this week :)

so help me out here with gpu's

dont want any silly fanboy arguments...

here are my options.. i will be watercooling in a haf-x so keep that in mind..

2x 3GB gtx 580?

2x 6970 2gb ?

is there even a difference between these 2 ?

3x 6970 2gb ?

and this seems like the best but would require a seperate loop?

many thanks, Luke
 
Ive got a HAF X with SLI Gigabyte ultra durable 3gb 580's, air cooled (actually pretty quiet as I dont have to run gpu fans that fast to keep temps down..case fans doing great job). Im using 2560x1440 display and these cards haven't had any problems
 
Building a socket 1155 2700k or a 2011 3930k rig, and I will be on dell u2410 monitors
 
x2 6970's will match x2 gtx 580's for ALOT less price. Nothing can beat 3x 580's atm I don't think.. not even quadfire/quad sli.

So i would go with x2 6970's and overclock the hell out of them and enjoy. The 3gb of the 580's you are looking at are only useful when playing at resolutions above 1080p. Either a very very high resolution monitor or when playing in multiple monitors at once. Other than that ,the 6970's scaling will be the best bang for your buck.
 
Personally I have usually favored Nvidia because they tend to have better driver support, but my current system is sporting 2 Sapphire Toxic 6950 2GBs and I love it. I am not sure exactly what you want to do that you would need the cost of the 6970s or 580s. If you want to do 3D, I would lean toward the 580s. Otherwise I think AMD is a bit better priced. The 6950s should be able to do 3x1 eyefinity in crossfire with no problem for almost all games. Anything on top of that is gravy, so that is where cost comes in. Is it worth it to pay that much money for a little more performance?
 
The pc will be used for a lot of multimedia design work (job) so yes a lot of extremely large photoshop files, 3d animation etc. Although I would like to be able to play games also, appreciate all the input thanks, Luke
 
If you are going to be doing more stuff with photoshop and 3 animation, I may lean more towards the Nvidia cards then. The g2gpu and physics functions on the Nvidia cards seem to be a bit more mature than they are on the AMD cards. You might find those useful when dealing with animation work and larger photoshop renderings.
 
Phishy714 said:
The 3gb of the 580's you are looking at are only useful when playing at resolutions above 1080p. Either a very very high resolution monitor or when playing in multiple monitors at once. Other than that ,the 6970's scaling will be the best bang for your buck.
Click to expand...

He said he's using Dell U2410s, plural. Each is 1920x1200. That's above 1080p.
 
NoOther said:
If you are going to be doing more stuff with photoshop and 3 animation, I may lean more towards the Nvidia cards then. The g2gpu and physics functions on the Nvidia cards seem to be a bit more mature than they are on the AMD cards. You might find those useful when dealing with animation work and larger photoshop renderings.
Click to expand...

This is the correct answer.
 
I recommend the 2011 3930k rig with 2x6970 because you are not playing higher res than 1080p, you will have a lot of overclocking headroom and will be set for a long time!
 
For a work horse, 3930k,16-32GB RAM(I have 12GB and have been up over 11GB usage before),SLI 580's.
 
Richneerd said:
I recommend the 2011 3930k rig with 2x6970 because you are not playing higher res than 1080p, you will have a lot of overclocking headroom and will be set for a long time!
Click to expand...

This is so strange, where does everyone get the 1080p from? He is using multiple monitors capable for 1920x1200, that is well above 1080p. He is also using it mainly for 3d animation and photoshop, not just gaming. Please guys, read the whole thread.
 
NoOther said:
This is so strange, where does everyone get the 1080p from? He is using multiple monitors capable for 1920x1200, that is well above 1080p. He is also using it mainly for 3d animation and photoshop, not just gaming. Please guys, read the whole thread.
Click to expand...

He will be gaming on 1 monitor unless he has 3.
 
happymedium said:
He will be gaming on 1 monitor unless he has 3.
Click to expand...

That doesn't explain where ppl are getting 1080p and he never said he would be gaming on just one monitor and did not stipulate exactly how many monitors. Just insinuated he had multiple Dell 2410s. Also the main focus of his query was still on photoshop and animation, that is why I made the comment. I just want people to read the whole thread and give proper advice according to his stipulations, that's all. =]
 
I would wait. I just sent my 6970 back because the 7k series is right around the corner. I upgraded my rig entirely but saw that the 6970 is almost a year old and that the new gen cards are coming out very soon. My advice is to wait. Before this when I built my rig, the 8800gtx was already 9 months into its life cycle. I don't want that tip happen again so I sent my 6970 back, and gonna wait for the 7970.
 
zamardii said:
I would wait. I just sent my 6970 back because the 7k series is right around the corner. I upgraded my rig entirely but saw that the 6970 is almost a year old and that the new gen cards are coming out very soon. My advice is to wait. Before this when I built my rig, the 8800gtx was already 9 months into its life cycle. I don't want that tip happen again so I sent my 6970 back, and gonna wait for the 7970.
Click to expand...

He is ordering anew rig this week. So your suggesting he waits 2 months for a new gpu?
Thats not too smart.;)
 
sorry for slow reply guys, I have 2 u2410's, and will only be using one for gaming, also I have heard that triple 6970 beats sli 580's? also can i run them on a 850 watt corsair ax proffesional series powersupply?
thanks, Luke
 
For gaming on a single 1080p monitor and productivity on another, 1 gtx580 will run 99% of the games out there just fine.Try 1 card first, if you need more power grab another is my advice.

You do not need 3 6970's, no way no how.

As far as professional applications, Nvidia is the better card.

Your psu is just fine.
 
so my 850 watt will be able to handle to gtx 580 3gb? and what sort of watercooling will i need for the cards?
 
happymedium said:
For gaming on a single 1080p monitor and productivity on another, 1 gtx580 will run 99% of the games out there just fine.Try 1 card first, if you need more power grab another is my advice.
Click to expand...

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, HE'S NOT AT 1080P!

OP, go with the Nvidia cards of your choice. At least you'll have CUDA acceleration with Adobe products, Maya etc.
 
Ruoh said:
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, HE'S NOT AT 1080P!

OP, go with the Nvidia cards of your choice. At least you'll have CUDA acceleration with Adobe products, Maya etc.
Click to expand...

1900x1080 or 1900x1200 same freaking thing. calm down.
 
LukeDaly said:
so my 850 watt will be able to handle to gtx 580 3gb? and what sort of watercooling will i need for the cards?
Click to expand...

yes it will, your psu is fine.

If you insist on water cooling.......
Grab 2 of these cards.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130665

And one of these

http://www.koolance.com/water-cooling/product_info.php?product_id=1171

Monarch3.jpg
 
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was looking at them hydro cards a few weeks ago, its actually cheaper and cooled better if you buy EK water blocks and fit them yourself, and guys I will be gaming alot on this rig as well as working, and i can actually get the 3x 6970 cards cheaper than the 2x 3gb evga 580's.. therefore that leaves me lost, every review uses 1.5gb 580's :/
 
LukeDaly said:
was looking at them hydro cards a few weeks ago, its actually cheaper and cooled better if you buy EK water blocks and fit them yourself, and guys I will be gaming alot on this rig as well as working, and i can actually get the 3x 6970 cards cheaper than the 2x 3gb evga 580's.. therefore that leaves me lost, every review uses 1.5gb 580's :/
Click to expand...

at 1900x1200 resolution there will be no difference from 2 6970's and 3 6970's
 
Listen bud, You do not need more than 1.5gb of video memory @ 1900x1200.

A water cooled PNY gtx580 1.5gb is the best solution for you.
It will cool your card and cpu at the same time and yes its been reviewed and works great.
http://www3.pny.com/GTX-580-Liquid-...rdc0431Limited-Time-Bundlefont-P3016C470.aspx

review of card...
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2011/09/26/cooled-gtx-580-1-5gb-review/1

review of card and cooling cpu also.
http://www.pureoverclock.com/article1354.html

So for 650$ you get a gtx580 and your cpu water cooled and for 579$ you get another watercooled gtx580.
So for 1200$ you get 2 water cooled gtx580's and your cpu water cooled as well.

gtx580 and cpu watercooling kit 650$
http://www3.pny.com/GTX-580-Liquid-...rdc0431Limited-Time-Bundlefont-P3016C470.aspx
and single gtx580 water cooled for 579$.
http://www3.pny.com/GTX-580-Liquid-...rdc0431Limited-Time-Bundlefont-P3015C470.aspx


Nothing more to buy, no pump, radiator, tubing ect ect ect .

temps with cpu running prime 95 and gtx580 running furmark at the same time!

Cpu temps..
pny_gtx580lc_tempscpu.jpg

gpu temps...
pny_gtx580lc_tempsgpu.jpg
 
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thanks man, but ill need more vram than that when i get my 3rd screen, so im basically debating performance wise between the 2x 3gb 580's and 3x 6970's
 
LukeDaly said:
thanks man, but ill need more vram than that when i get my 3rd screen, so im basically debating performance wise between the 2x 3gb 580's and 3x 6970's
Click to expand...

So you are going to game on 3 screens? You said one.

By the time you buy a third screen, new cards will be out.
 
OP,

Please do yourself and everyone a favor and completely ignore anything the user "happymedium" has to say on this subject.

Everything he has said has been strangely odd, and incorrect.

If you plan on pushing a lot of "work"(maya, adobe, etc..) buy nvidia. For now stick with ONE GTX580 with 3Gb of VRAM. I constantly cap my VRAM on my 1.5Gb card right now on older games with hirez texture packs.

Stay away from ATI cards for now, their driver support is shoddy at best and nvidia is just plain better for actual work(see: not gaming).

Get ONE 580, and work with that for a few months and see when the 6xx cards are coming out and then make you choice to buy another, or just get that series once it is released.

Also, don't waste your time with water cooling unless you are experience. If not, the set up your are outlining works quite well with a well ventilated air cooling set up.
 
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Inate8 said:
OP,

Please do yourself and everyone a favor and completely ignore anything the user "happymedium" has to say on this subject.

Everything he has said has been strangely odd, and incorrect.

If you plan on pushing a lot of "work"(maya, adobe, etc..) buy nvidia. For now stick with ONE GTX580 with 3Gb of VRAM. I constantly cap my VRAM on my 1.5Gb card right now on older games with hirez texture packs.

Stay away from ATI cards for now, their driver support is shoddy at best and nvidia is just plain better for actual work(see: not gaming).

Get ONE 580, and work with that for a few months and see when the 6xx cards are coming out and then make you choice to buy another, or just get that series once it is released.

Also, don't waste your time with water cooling unless you are experience. If not, the set up your are outlining works quite well with a well ventilated air cooling set up.
Click to expand...

check post #22, i said the same thing basically.
 
happymedium said:
1900x1080 or 1900x1200 same freaking thing. calm down.
Click to expand...

Actually, no, no they are not the same thing at all. 1920x1200 is another full 10% more pixel resolution. It is also a 16:10 standard whereas the 1920x1080 is a 16:9 standard. In addition, 1920x1200 is not an official TV HD standard, it is a computer resolution standard. Saying they are the same thing is completely ridiculous on all levels, especially when you start bringing in multiple monitors. And yes, you can say he is gaming on 1 monitor, but he has 2 and is talking about a third. 3x 1920x1200 is far more than 3 x 1920x1080. And he is actively using both monitors, one might be for gaming, but the other he may be working on. The cards still need to support both monitors. And for the work he is doing, which again was the original point of the post, VRAM is absolutely necessary. Photoshop and 3d animation work can take a lot of VRAM.

My advice would still be to go with 1 or 2 GTX 580 3GB. There is far more support for doing CUDA work and physics work on the Nvidia cards than the AMDs. That alone will probably be worth the cost if you are really planning on doing heavy photoshop and 3d work. I would not worry so much about the watercooling unless you notice stability issues. A well ventilated air cooling case can handle 2 GTX580s with little issue.
 
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