GTX 580 SLI - Worth it for 1080p gaming?

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drkCrix

Weaksauce
Joined
Nov 17, 2004
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As the topic states,

With the current selection of games out, does it make sense to SLi 2 580s if I am only playing at 1080p?

Thanks for all comments and advice,

Cheers

Chris
 
No it does not make sense at all. I suggest you try a single 580 first. If your unsatisfied, then try the second.
 
Is it needed? Probably not. Is it worth it? That depends on the games you play and it depends on the level of detail you are willing to play those games at.
 
Probably not. Besides, if you find your performance lacking with the first one, you can always buy another one. If you buy two but only need one, you'll have that hassle of returning it or having to sell it.
 
I would always start with one card. The money for the second could go into buying more memory, an SSD, etc. There's a difference between being [H]ard and being tupid.
 
If you want to maintain 60 FPS on the highest setting in all games, then yes, it's worth it, i can notice my fps dip well below 60 sometimes in BF3 on ultra and it's annoying in firefights.
 
If money is no object go for it. If it is I agree with the try 1 first and if you find it lacking get another. If not spend it on more storage or keep it in your pocket.
 
drkCrix said:
As the topic states,

With the current selection of games out, does it make sense to SLi 2 580s if I am only playing at 1080p?

Thanks for all comments and advice,

Cheers

Chris
Click to expand...

overkill for 1080p. a single 560 Ti can handle that with ease @ 60fps.

As others said.. a single 580 will do.
 
Some people here...funny. It all depends on the game and the settings. If you max everything out, in some games you will not have consistent 60fps. If you're talking SSAA, downsampling, 3DVision, PhysX then it's even worse. 580 SLI are fine if you can afford it. Don't listen to the nay sayers here, they are clueless.
 
yes even if only for the extra ram, you could get excellent performance at 1080p in any game if you just got 2 2gb 560 Ti's or 570's as well
 
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When one of my 570s had to be RMA'd I missed it like hell.

I had to sacrifice AA in games, just for starters and 3D was out of the question.

Go for it.
 
@ 1080p If you have a 120hz monitor, you will see a difference in GPU demanding games, If you're only gaming @ 60hz you will still see some difference although mostly negligible. it'll just raise your minimum frame rate for those hectic moments in multiplayer games.. If you got the cash go for it! also really consider trying out a 120hz monitor if you do!
 
it would help if you actually listed your other specs too. if you have system that can fully utilize and handle 580 sli then go for it. but of course it makes since to try just one card first.
 
I already have the 2 580s, just wanted to know if 1 would hold me over and I could sell the other
 
drkCrix said:
I already have the 2 580s, just wanted to know if 1 would hold me over and I could sell the other
Click to expand...

Sure it can. I would take a look at reviews of performance of your favorite games or just ask around to see the performance levels are what you want. 90% of even newer games pretty much maxed will run just fine. My backup gaming rig is an i7 920 with a single GTX 480 driving a 1920x1200 screen and pretty much everything runs great at max on that system.

I think you'll be fine.
 
Hmm what kind of questions is this? This is [H] and most people here are not reasonable enough about our hardware purchases...

I run 2x 6950 (6970 flash) and I run BF3 on max settings @1920x1200. Hey if I didn't spend it the wife would just find an excuse to get another pair of shoes or another purse to keep in the closet...
 
I don't know. Spending $1000 on video cards for 1080 doesn't seem the best way to go. If you've got that kind of cash to spend, why not move up to a 2560x1600 30" monitor?
 
Enermax 920W

I am a AMD *cpu* fan, hence the bulldozer build, waiting to see what 2012 brings
 
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I was thinking about going SLI, but my 580 is highly overclocked and I can run BF3 ultra settings and average 50 fps. I'm gonna wait until the next release or when more demanding games come out. If I were you Id overclock and save your money.
 
A single GTX 580 should be more than enough for a single 1080p monitor. In some games I can get away with using just one at 2560x1600 which is far more demanding. You'll be fine. Now if you are talking about 2D vs. 3D, then that's perhaps a bit different, but you should be fine otherwise.
 
Serious Sam 3 taught me that I need another GTX 580 so I can run it in most of it's beautiful glory :D
 
I've been considering making the same move as the OP. Selling my Gigabyte SLI and going back to my Asus Matrix 580. Mostly due to excessive noise from the Gigabytes. The problem I've found when testing the single card is that I've simply gotten too used to the performance of SLI. The difference is highly noticeable in games like BF3, Crysis 2 and The Witcher 2. Even @60hz you will need to get rid of some eye candy to get similar framerates in those games with a single card. If you have a 120hz screen and want to utilize the extra refresh rate, you will definitely benefit from SLI (and even 3-way SLI in some cases).

It comes down to whether you're willing to turn down some graphics settings in certain games or not. A single GTX 580 will of course run every game out there @1080p, just not at the absolute highest settings @50-60 fps.
 
GTX 580 will run every game at absolute highest settings, even with 4xaa at least, most off them with 8xmsaa. In 1080p. Second card is overkill for 1080p. Even BF3 ultra with 4xaa runs smooth, not highest fps count but much smoother than many sli and cf setups.

Try Lightning or Lightning extreme. They are not noisy at all even overclocked.
 
roki977 said:
GTX 580 will run every game at absolute highest settings, even with 4xaa at least, most off them with 8xmsaa. In 1080p. Second card is overkill for 1080p. Even BF3 ultra with 4xaa runs smooth, not highest fps count but much smoother than many sli and cf setups.

Try Lightning or Lightning extreme. They are not noisy at all even overclocked.
Click to expand...

Try 3d vision and tell me that you wouldn't want more performance.
 
So we have posters that say 1 580 will run everything maxed in BF3 and others that say you need more than one. So which is it?
 
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