Is there a better option than....

Blackjack

Blackjack

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Oct 29, 2007
Messages
1,352
A Single MSI N580GTX Lightning Extreme edition when it comes to single card solutions?

I'm looking to upgrade my current rig to something that will be able to handle modern games (specifically Battlefield 3) on absolute max settings at 1900x1200. I currently run a pair of GTX275's in SLI but I don't really like having to manage two cards. SLI likes to randomly turn itself off and I would much prefer a single card solution. The price of the N580GTX Lightning Extreme is pretty much the upper bound of my price range, but I wanted to know if there was anything better than it that I may be overlooking in the AMD/ATI camp.

Current Rig:
- Lian Li PC-P50 (this will likely be swapped out for a Corsair 650D when i get the new card)
- i7-920 currently running at stock voltages.
- 2xBFG GTX275
- Intel DX50SO
- 16 GB G-Skill Ripjaw DDR3 1600
- Corsair HX620

Thanks.
 
Nope,you are not overlooking anything,GTX580 is currently the fastest single GPU card out there.And the MSI card certainly looks impressive.
 
Thanks for all the input so far. Would I see better performance out of an SLI/Crossfire setup at that resolution? From what I've gathered so far, I think it may be more trouble than its worth for that resolution.
 
The Asus ROG Matrix Platinum seems to be another good choice that looks like it overclocks better, it only has 1.5gb of Vram but at 19x12 you don't need 3gb. Just throwing another "top dog" 580 model out there for you to consider.

I can max out almost every game besides Crysis enthusiast and Metro 2033 on a single GTX 570 at 19x12 so you should be set for a while with one of those models.
 
I also vote for Asus Matrix ROG, It's review here at hardocp left me feeling it was the best GTX 580 hands down.
 
What kind of performance should I expect to see out of a 6970 compared to the N580GTX XE? From what I can tell I likely wont be able to tell the difference at 1920x1200 and the lower price-point is very attractive.
 
The only thing that would make that suggestion more ridiculous is if he was running at 1680x1050.

The ASUS Mars 2 only exists to have a "flagship" model. It's to say "we made this beast because we're fucking awesome". It's not for anybody running less than 2560x1600... and even that's not going to push it much.

You would do well with a 560 Ti SLI setup if you're looking to cut costs and still max your resolution at 60 FPS. Otherwise a single 580 of the 1.5GB variety will completely suffice.
 
Blackjack988 said:
What kind of performance should I expect to see out of a 6970 compared to the N580GTX XE? From what I can tell I likely wont be able to tell the difference at 1920x1200 and the lower price-point is very attractive.
Click to expand...

At 1920x1200 you'll get more frames than you need from either card on just about any game with high settings. Check into the games you plan to specifically play and then decide if the extra money is worth it.
 
You probably won't be able to tell the difference. I prefer Nvidia, but its hard to say no to similar performance for 2/3 the price. If you can find a 6970 in stock somewhere it would be a good choice as well.
 
Blackjack988 said:
So after researching and flip-flopping quite a bit, I decided that I will go with the MSI Lightning Extreme Edition after all, the money was already mentally spent and a card that powerful should hold me for quite some time. Now, one final quick question. I plan on over-clocking the card when I get it. I will also overclock my 920, hopefully to around 3.4.-3.6. Will my powersupply have enough juice to carry all the extra load?
Click to expand...

What is the make/model of your PSU ?
 
So after researching and flip-flopping quite a bit, I decided that I will go with the MSI Lightning Extreme Edition after all, the money was already mentally spent and a card that powerful should hold me for quite some time. Now, one final quick question. I plan on over-clocking the card when I get it. I will also overclock my 920, hopefully to around 3.4.-3.6. Will my powersupply have enough juice to carry all the extra load?
 
Blackjack988 said:
So after researching and flip-flopping quite a bit, I decided that I will go with the MSI Lightning Extreme Edition after all, the money was already mentally spent and a card that powerful should hold me for quite some time. Now, one final quick question. I plan on over-clocking the card when I get it. I will also overclock my 920, hopefully to around 3.4.-3.6. Will my powersupply have enough juice to carry all the extra load?
Click to expand...

The 580 is quite a power hog, though if I recall, not as bad as the 480. You should be ok for 1 GPU, but you will need more PSU for SLI in the future.
 
Blackjack988 said:
What kind of performance should I expect to see out of a 6970 compared to the N580GTX XE? From what I can tell I likely wont be able to tell the difference at 1920x1200 and the lower price-point is very attractive.
Click to expand...

Apples-to-Apples in BC2 from [H]:

gtx580: MIN fps 53

6970: MIN fps 24

thats the downside of amd cards, and reason why im with nvidia.
 
DualOwn said:
Apples-to-Apples in BC2 from [H]:

gtx580: MIN fps 53

6970: MIN fps 24

thats the downside of amd cards, and reason why im with nvidia.
Click to expand...

Something didn't look right with those numbers. Here's what [H] actually published:

13127724861jtqz5A6a6_6_4.gif


Here's what you get with a 6970 overclocked which costs $150 less:
13127724861jtqz5A6a6_8_10.jpg
13127724861jtqz5A6a6_8_6.jpg

13127724861jtqz5A6a6_8_2.jpg
13127724861jtqz5A6a6_8_4.jpg
 
TheCommander said:
Nah, youre just a troll and I've seen it in quite a few threads. According to the [H] review, both cards are very similar.
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2011/08/17/asus_rog_matrix_gtx580_platinum_video_card_review/7
Click to expand...

I understand and agree with the message your trying to deliver. However, based only on BFBC2 the 6970 does indeed perform like crap compared to a GTX 580 or 570 or even a GTX 560 Ti in that game. It's sad. Sadly that is the main game alot of frequent visitiors of this forum play. I'm more of a COD MW part 1 multiplayer kinda guy. ;)
 
I keep recommending this... but I really don't think for the money you can beat this solution.

6870x2 will beat a GTX 580 by a pretty solid margin. Why pay 500 dollars for a single card when you could easily beat that performance for about 340 dollars?
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/305?vs=301

Of course you already know what you're getting into with a dual card setup... personally the main negative I've seen with my 6950s are not working in Windowed mode.

I went from 50-70 FPS average range in BF BC2 to 90-130 FPS average range when I went from my single unlocked 6950 to stock bios Crossfire 6950s. This is with max everything and 4X AA. This should be slamming Battlefield 3 at easily over 60 FPS at max settings. You should only be 10-20% behind 6950x2 with 6870s... unless the 1GB of ram happens to become a limitation.

You could run those 6870s for a couple years then put that saved 150 bucks to your next upgrade ;)
 
jhokie said:
I keep recommending this... but I really don't think for the money you can beat this solution.

6870x2 will beat a GTX 580 by a pretty solid margin. Why pay 500 dollars for a single card when you could easily beat that performance for about 340 dollars?
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/305?vs=301

Of course you already know what you're getting into with a dual card setup... personally the main negative I've seen with my 6950s are not working in Windowed mode.

I went from 50-70 FPS average range in BF BC2 to 90-130 FPS average range when I went from my single unlocked 6950 to stock bios Crossfire 6950s. This is with max everything and 4X AA. This should be slamming Battlefield 3 at easily over 60 FPS at max settings. You should only be 10-20% behind 6950x2 with 6870s... unless the 1GB of ram happens to become a limitation.

You could run those 6870s for a couple years then put that saved 150 bucks to your next upgrade ;)
Click to expand...

Yep, this is the mose sensible choice available today. Sure its not a single card setup but crossfire works very well these days and you rarely have any issues. I have two PC's at home, one still has dual 5850's and the other has dual 6870's and both are very comparable and considerably quicker than a single GTX 580 or 6970 and cost less too.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top