will a single gtx 580 do this?

[Riddleofsteel]

I just got a 30 inch lcd (2560x1600), and but I have only one video card, a gtx 580. Will a single 580 power MOST of if not all recent games with good eyecandy? If I need to go SLI for the high level bells and whistles, just let me know. Thank you.

 

[Stoly]

I just got a 30 inch lcd (2560x1600), and but I have only one video card, a gtx 580. Will a single 580 power MOST of if not all recent games with good eyecandy? If I need to go SLI for the high level bells and whistles, just let me know. Thank you.

The 580 is plenty for pretty much all games at 2560x1600 with all the bells and whistles.
SLI only in multi monitor.

You might want to read the [H] review.

 

[sabregen]

Best bet: See how the 580runs at that res, no AA/AF, then turn it on and compare. If you get massive dips, you're out of frame buffer and just need more memory (3GB card, for instance). If you see less than 10% impact from enabling it on the games you run, then you'd benefit from SLI

 

[jamhamm]

if you have the hardware - load up your games and play! see if the experience is up to your eyecandy standards

i used a single 5850 when i had 2560x1600 and sure games like metro 2033 were a pain but more of my other ones played just fine / im sure you'll be fine

 

[Riddleofsteel]

Thanks for the replies. I wanted to walk into using my new setup fully prepared, but there's no harm in giving it a test first and then taking action if need be.

 

[Lord_Exodia]

Yes the 580 is enough at that res with high eye candy. Just not max eye candy. If you can go for it, get the 3gb version to avoid having vram be a limitation. This way if a setting is too high you can be sure it's gpu power that is holding you back then SLi may save the day for you. I'm sure a single GTX 580 will hold you down for quite some time at that resolution.

 

[addictedto60fps]

Most games will look/run good with this card. But if you want to play everything at max everything (particularly Metro/Crysis) at high frame rates (60 and above), you need to go sli.

 

[Riddleofsteel]

Does having a card memory of 2gb like the 6950 make a big enough difference over a card with 1.5gb like the 580? At least, at my resolution. I need to weigh all my options. Thank you to all.

 

[darklight_tr]

Like the others said, it is enough to run pretty much every game at 2560x1600 with no problems at all. For heavy hitters such as Metro 2033 and Crysis you can dial back the AA to get the frames up a bit.

 

[samuelmorris]

If you have the means, buy two 6950s instead of a GTX580. Basically the same price, much faster, and not really any more power-hungry.

 

[darklight_tr]

If you have the means, buy two 6950s instead of a GTX580. Basically the same price, much faster, and not really any more power-hungry.

If you read the OP you would have realized that they already have a GTX 580.