Sold my GTX580 Direct CU II ... cof ... what now?

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Limp Gawd
Joined
Nov 29, 2004
Messages
169
So... i had a GTX580 Direct CU II in test... and well ... it's a great card of course, but ... i never got to "fall in love" with it so i had a guy that wanted to buy it and i sold it...

What now? I don't want to spend much more... only if it's a great investment... i sold the card for 400 Euros ( 550 USD ) and i'm willing to spend 200 Euros more ( +-250 USD ) ... but of course ... if i don't spend it ... better!

I have a 1920x1200 screen, not going to change it for now nor this year.

I was thinking on going for a MSI GTX560 Twin Frozr II OC SLi setup or Getting a couple of 6950's to CF ... OR ... just get those 250 Euros and get the 6990 ... but ... i'm not sure about that.

What do you think?

P.S. Another solution is just get another GTX580 that will overclock more than mine did! ahahah ...

Tell me your thoughts...
 
Well, obviously you don't need anything more powerful than a 580 for 1920x1200 gaming. A 560 SLI setup or a 6950 CrossFire would be most ideal. Same amount of money, and better performance than your lone 580 was giving you.
 
For 1920x1200, I'd probably say 6850 crossfire. It's dirt cheap, and very fast at that res. two 6950s or 560s is plain overkill, and far more than you need to spend.
 
SLi or Crossfire is pointless at that res period, & KYLE has stated that plenty of times during his tests. If the GTX580 didn't create any love, I'm not sure how grabbing two cards is going to change that.

I'm assuming based on your post that your, discontent lies within how poorly that card overclocked? I can understand that, so maybe a different brand may change things around? Like Sam stated though, 560's is just saying you had the cash to blow on a second card.
 
SLI or CF are the best options. And yeah, if your board is compatible with CF/SLI, get 2 6850's or 2 460's.
 
What exactly didn't you like about it?
What's the rest of your rig like (especially PSU)
 
GTX 570 might be good. GTX 580 would be the best but kinda overkill for that res. Honestly you are only gaming at 1920x1200 and that is where the GTX 570 shines. HD 6950 wouldn't be a bad option either, but SLI or CF is kinda useless at that res, you would be happier with just a single card which flunctuates less with FPS.
 
6990 is a joke to me, power and noise off the charts, as well as heat. Anandtech got it to 74.3 decibels, my GTX480 topped out at 66db and that was insanely loud, 74.3 is nearly twice as loud I believe.
 
It uses much less power than any similar crossfire setup, and it's no noisier than two GTX480s (probably less noisy in fact), despite being faster than them, so it's not really that bad.
 
Sorry guys ... wasn't here for some time.

Well... the GTX580 didn't got my attention because i'm not one of those guys that change GPU's every 6 months...

My plans were to get a GFX that would be really good and grab another one later if needed...

Problem one... the space, i though i could install SLI in my system... wrong...
Problem two... yes... it was a poor overclocker ...

My system is:

i7 920 @ 4.5
6Gb Hyperx 2000C8
HX1000 PSU
X58A-UD7 rev 1


I'm still thinking on what to get...
i'm not saying i won't grab another GTX580 :p i'm just thinking about other possibilities... like the new 6990... the 560SLi was just "It could work" but ... not a really great jump over GTX580.

So basically my decision lies in getting the best solution so i don't need to think in graphics for some time ...

And the Direct CU 2 is a great great GREAT card ... it was just bad judgement of my part thinking that i could install 2 in my mobo :p

Fail :D
 
I still don't quite understand why you didn't like the 580 @ 1920x1200 -- it was too slow and you can't SLI it later? So you want a 590 then, is that what you're saying?
 
xorbe said:
I still don't quite understand why you didn't like the 580 @ 1920x1200 -- it was too slow and you can't SLI it later? So you want a 590 then, is that what you're saying?
Click to expand...

Very confusing indeed. Sounds like he isn't sure what he wants (aside from what card to get).
 
I don't think it's confusing ...
imagine that you had a plan ... buying a GTX580 DCU2 ... with the intention of getting a second one when you would find a good deal ...

In the end, you got to the conclusion that the upgrade path you were planing won't be possible unless you got a new motherboard that had the necessary pcie slot spacing to get 2 of the 3 slot monsters to work ...

So you decide that ... no ... i'm not changing my motherboard ... i'm changing my card....

And then you sell your card but meanwhile... an ATI 6990 appeared ... the GTX 560 Sli is 35% quicker than a single GTX580 ... the ATI 6950 can be unlocked and the CF is very strong ... you have Gigabyte saying that a new GTX 580 SOC will be available with binned gpu's that can do 1Ghz on air ...

So ... that was my initial intention ... to get your opinions ... i didn't say i did not like the GTX580 ... i just said i "never felt in love with it" ... for the space it took and for the poor overclocking that i was expecting from the VRM layout and cooler that it was built with ...

I came from a GTX295 ... this was a ver special card ... it lasted 2 years ... i'm not a crazy guy that loves spending tons of money on new cards every time something new appears ... that's why i'm asking your help/opinion ...

jeez...

Big John ... Thank you for your straight answer ... :) I'm checking that solution too :) A little more than i was "hoping" to spend though ... and that gets in the ATI 6990 area ... that has 1 or 2 benefits ... 1 is the fact that is a single slot card ... second that i only needed to buy a water block instead of 2 for the GTX 570's ;)
 
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Ok mods... just close the thread ... i already know where this is leading ... thank you all ...
 
samuelmorris said:
It uses much less power than any similar crossfire setup, and it's no noisier than two GTX480s (probably less noisy in fact), despite being faster than them, so it's not really that bad.
Click to expand...

I think the noise of 480 is a bit overstated. I have on in my backup rig but I've got good cooling in it and it just doesn't make that much noise and the heat output isn't anything all that noticeable even when gaming heavily on it.

As for the 580, so you didn't like it because it didn't overclock well but are considering a 560? If the issue was spacing you can put two 580's side by side, I three in a a sandwich and they work just fine.
 
I'm gonna vote for 6950 crossfire. After rebate you can get 2 for the same price of that GTX 580 you sold and they would kick the GTX 580s back out of it's chest in performance. Especially if you unlock them to 6970 speeds, although that is not necessary.
 
Wait, so....you wanted to do SLI but don't have the motherboard space? Huh?

Just get a dual GPU card and be done with it. 5970, GTX590....etc.

But that said, I love my GTX580. I am pretty confused as to what you want. I have a Savage 4 I could sell you. :-p
 
I see what you are saying now that I looked up your hardware.

You had the ASUS GTX 580 CU, which is a triple slot card.
Your Gigabyte MB is SLi or even tri-SLi capable but actually can't physically accept two of the CU model 580s.

Given the cash you have, and the space on the board, you have limited choices, but good ones.

Two of these: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...61099&cm_re=gtx_560_ti-_-14-261-099-_-Product

or two of these: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...1416&cm_re=hd_6950_2gb-_-14-121-416-_-Product

Both are 2 GB and will give excellent performance vs. a single 580 and be able to come into your cash situation.

At the resolution you use you will be able to force high AA and get playable framerates.
 
At 1920x1200 the 580 was overkill anyways. I've got a 480 myself and it's more than enough at this rez.

So I'm also confused as to the point of this post. You want something MORE powerful than the 580 for 1920x1200? How does that make ANY sense?
 
magoo said:
I see what you are saying now that I looked up your hardware.

You had the ASUS GTX 580 CU, which is a triple slot card.
Your Gigabyte MB is SLi or even tri-SLi capable but actually can't physically accept two of the CU model 580s.

Given the cash you have, and the space on the board, you have limited choices, but good ones.

Two of these: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...61099&cm_re=gtx_560_ti-_-14-261-099-_-Product

or two of these: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...1416&cm_re=hd_6950_2gb-_-14-121-416-_-Product

Both are 2 GB and will give excellent performance vs. a single 580 and be able to come into your cash situation.

At the resolution you use you will be able to force high AA and get playable framerates.
Click to expand...

Except he wants to OC....so he wants the bigger heatsink?
 
Can Crysis do 16X AA full settings at 1920 x 1200 on a 580? Not that I'm aware, so not really overkill + reason for an upgrade if he wants the best and a better future device.
 
2Entropy said:
Can Crysis do 16X AA full settings at 1920 x 1200 on a 580? Not that I'm aware, so not really overkill + reason for an upgrade if he wants the best and a better future device.
Click to expand...

People who try to "Future Proof" their PCs should smash their face into a wall. It's a less painful experience. I suspect a 680GTX will be more powerful than 2 580GTXs in SLI.

And for the record 16xAA (4 MS + 4 CS right?) can be done with a 580 at 1920x1200.
 
The only way up from the 580 you just sold will be a 2xGPU solution. Whichever route you go (6990/GTX 590(?) or 2x69xx/5xx) you'll end up with a noiser, hotter, more power hungry system. You sold a fantastic card -- and I'm not just saying that since I have one. I'll sell it, like I always do, once something much better comes along (end of this year possibly).

Also, at 19x10/12 resolutions a single GTX 580 isn't "overkill".
 
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4209/amds-radeon-hd-6990-the-new-single-card-king/18

6950 XFire has lower idle power consumption than a GTX580, that is true...idle and load noise are a wash.

-but-
-81W more load power consumption (20% higher than 580 on a comparable system)
-7C higher idle temp
-10C higher load temp

If you mean just chilling on the desktop and watching some videos and surfing, yes 6950 CF will use less power than GTX580, because ATI clocks the first GPU at 250MHz and sets the second to idle. For gaming it will definitely consume more though.
 
I somehow managed to edit my earlier post instead of respond :s Either way, see above :p
 
samuelmorris said:
Not really true. Two HD6850s from a good brand are very little noisier than the GTX580, use the same power or less, run cooler, and are better performers, as well as being cheaper. What you say is true for the vast majority of dual-GPU setups however.
Click to expand...

The GTX 580 variant the OP sold idles and loads at least 20+ watts less than a reference designed board. It's also much cooler, quieter, and has 2x8pin connecters (greater stability and overclock potential) -- it really is just about the best air-cooled GTX 5xx produced at the moment.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/asus-gtx580-directcu-ii-sli-review/8

As for 2x6850s: unfortunately they only have 1gb VRAM and less tessellation / overall single card performance (for when a game doesn't support xfire) That setup does cost considerably less however so there is a positive towards going that route.

Still, a single GPU solution will always be inherently "better" than a dual card solution in regards to overall game compatibility, noise (unless watercooled -- but typically 2 spinning fans vs 1) and input lag (if you're one to notice such things).
 
A pair of 6850 instead of GTX580 DirectCU II hahaha.

LOL that just might do, since OP has no idea wtf he wants.
 
At 1920x1200, the 1GB of video memory isn't an issue. Two 6850s are faster than the GTX580, quite substantially so, in addition to being a lot cheaper, and overclock potential is not an issue either. The only valid criticism you raise is tesselation, which has yet to show any real world impact in gameplay. The only area AMD seem to fall down on with tesselation is Unigine. In much the same way as nvidia winning at 3dmark, them winning at Unigine is largely irrelevant.
 
At 1920x1200 1GB is not an issure for an average user.
Since OP is clearly [H], presumably he would want to run games MAXED out visualy, which wouldn't be quite possible with 1GB.
For example he could forget upscaling GTA IV
He would run out of VRAM in STALKER's at lowly 2xMSAA + 2xSS provided AMD can do AA in xrayengine etc etc.

Main thing would be to know wtf you want from your PC. Not buy a hardware which surprises you. With its dimensions, performance etc.
But enough of this. I'm surprised no1 called BS so far. "poor overclocker" LOL WTF he had to overvolt and underclock it to get the poor thing runing??
 
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Is this guy seriously trolling?

I mean 1 580 Asus CuCore is more then enough for 1920x1200.

But i mean if he REALLY wants the best of the best, with 1 single PCIe card, a 6990 is the way to go.

Or the 590 GTX when it comes out in a few weeks, but that will probably be slower and more expensive then the 6990.

Either way, use that 295 GTX.....still a damn good card with Nvidia surroud on 1 card!
 
Vagrant_Zero said:
People who try to "Future Proof" their PCs should smash their face into a wall. It's a less painful experience. I suspect a 680GTX will be more powerful than 2 580GTXs in SLI.

And for the record 16xAA (4 MS + 4 CS right?) can be done with a 580 at 1920x1200.
Click to expand...

Well, I did say for a better, not future proof device. And as most seem to suggest here such a device would only be out at the end of the year.

Maybe I should have specifically said, run it at a silky smooth framerate. I don't see why anyone would want to run 16XAA choppy. I don't know of 16X benches but even this indicates that 580 is lagging slightly at 4x:

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/GPU11/188
 
I got the asus direct 2 cu 580 and I get mid 30's idle and upper 70's load with the stock fan profile. This is with it at 902mhz on the core and 1.1v. I think that's pretty darn good from what I've read. What's a good overclocking 580? Is mine at 902mhz at 1.1v a good overclocker?
 
magoo, thanks for the reply ;) i'm glad you got the main idea of my doubts ;)

---

DASHIT, i sold the GTX 295, wanted DX11 capable card for 2011. And if you say 1 GTX580 CuCore is more than enough ... maybe... but again... i don't quite understand why ppl get so f**** up when someone say " i didn't fell in love with the GTX580"

If you guys like oc and try to get the max of your hardware... and buy your hardware with x or y specs for that purpose and not just to brag about having higher spec'ed hardware ... you know that, if you have a plan and a expectation about some hardware due to it's specifications, and in the end you get kind of frustrated that your hardware didn't performed as expected ... you think about selling it and getting something new/different sample.

So YES i didn't like this Direct CU 2 sample i got ... and YES i still think that the GTX580 is really good but i don't make it an "untouchable god" ... As everything there are good samples and bad samples ...
I mean, i had a 480 Lightning that was supposed to be the best for sub-zero benching and when i went sub-zero it was crap! ... and it still was a Lightning version!

So... guys ... if you are here just to mess around and "WTF? This guy got a GTX580 and he didn't like it? what a troll ... "
Please... think twice before you reply to the topic ... and at least, post something interesting ...
I know lots of users get really pissed that someone says that he didn't like a Nvidia card.. but what the hell ...

For the others users... thank you all for your interaction :)

I will wait one more week to see if any news will come to public in terms of pricing of the GTX590, MSI Lightning & Gigabyte SOC versions of GTX580 ... if not, i think i will go with the GTX560Ti SOC Sli solution ...

:)

Thank you all for the attention.
 
Oilfield,
well, mine at 1.15v was doing 965Mhz core ... memory was just on the 4315Mhz ... even with a flash bios to get the 1.21v i couldn't get any more core speed... i mean... yes, i could get 973Mhz but ... not worth the hassle ...

So just pump it to 1.15vcore, don't clock your memories and just try to push your core speed and run a furmark benchmark... if it's stable push 5-10mhz up and redo the bench ... check the max your core can do ... Your card can handle 1.15v just great with that cooler :) That way you will know if you have a good sample ;) Some gpu's have a low vid ... but they can't scale that great ... and sometimes you find "walls" that need lots of vcore just for a 5 mhz more ... so ... you never know :)
 
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