Which gtx 570

[gorocketcat]

My situation: I'm headed back to Europe in a couple days and am hoping to take my new sandy bridge pc parts with me. I've picked out a cpu, mobo, ram, everything except my video card.

I've decided to go with sli gtx 570s. While 580s are within my budget, I'm thinking that the increase in performance would be marginal and not worth the $300+ price increase.

Since I only have a couple days left before I leave, my choices are limited. I'm thinking of grabbing the PNY 570s for $346 each, bringing my total to just under $700. I did notice however that newegg had the EVGA gtx 570 superclocked in stock. They retail for $370 plus $15(ish) shipping. With expedited shipping they'd end up costing $100-150 more than the PNYs.

Would I notice a significant increase in performance? This is a gaming oriented PC. I have never OC'ed myself, and have no real interest in doing so.

Thanks in advance.

 

[geofelt]

1) Unless your monitor is 2560 x 1600, or you are planning on triple monitor surround gaming, I would get a single GTX580. It will run any game out there well at 1920 x 1200.

2) Regardless, I would get GTX570 or GTX580 with double slot direct exhaust cooling. Other coolers are good at getting heat off of the gpu die, but they just dump the heat back into the case where case cooling has to deal with it. That will increase both the gpu AND the CPU temperatures by 5c(in my experience).

3) Use the savings from the single GTX580 to get a SSD for the OS and apps. It will be the best performance purchase you ever made.

 

[willmalcom]

I would tend agree with geofelt.

The only reason I might be tempted to SLI the 570 in your case is because of the Sandy Bridge parts and the super rad scaling I keep hearing about.

My 2500k and mobo just got here (I can't put it together yet because I am working ), but I too have a 570, I just don't know if I will SLI because I play at 1900x1200 and the 570 runs everything on high maxed out.

I would also get the double slot direct exhaust cooling.

But the SSD will make a huge difference also, and I definitely recommend leaving room in your budget for it!

PS: I would avoid Powercolor cards (idk if they even make a 570), and I haven't heard great things about Palit, but someone yesterday (that knows more than me probably) said that Palit wouldn't be a bad choice and they have a non-reference 570. I have and love my Gigabyte.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125354&Tpk=gigabyte%20570

 

[gorocketcat]

Well, I've been looking at reviews and tests, and it seems that even a single 580 struggles with games like Metro 33 running at max, dx11, at 1920 x 1200. A pair of 570s seem to handle almost everything.

Since I'm interested in gaming I was thinking of spending the extra cash and going sli.

 

[gorocketcat]

I've taken your advice into consideration, and am looking at 580s. EVGA's Superclocked version, to be precise.

I have an old 9800 gtx+ that I'll try using as a physx card. Hope it's not a huge problem.

 

[geofelt]

I've taken your advice into consideration, and am looking at 580s. EVGA's Superclocked version, to be precise.

I have an old 9800 gtx+ that I'll try using as a physx card. Hope it's not a huge problem.

I do not know how valuable Physx will be in games. I think it depends on the game. You can try it, it might be good. If it does not help much, sell the 9800GTX and use the funds for something more worthwhile.

 

[gorocketcat]

I've been looking at benchmarks for a bit now, and I'm going nuts. I was about to pull the trigger on a 580, but then read guru3d.com's 570 sli review. Seems like the pair is significantly better than a single 580 in most games, and comes pretty close to a pair of 580s.

Still don't know what the best move is.

 

[geofelt]

I've been looking at benchmarks for a bit now, and I'm going nuts. I was about to pull the trigger on a 580, but then read guru3d.com's 570 sli review. Seems like the pair is significantly better than a single 580 in most games, and comes pretty close to a pair of 580s.

Still don't know what the best move is.

The last words of the review:
Now the question remains trivial whether or not you need SLI in this category. Unless you want the excruciating nearly unneeded framerates in your gaming experience, have an extensive e-peen, or just want to impress... really it's your call to make. High-end SLI is expensive and does not make any sense value for for money wise. But everybody knows this right? ... RIGHT?!

Once you get past 60 frames, you get diminishing returns for your dollar.

If you have a budget consider a single card. If you have the funds, spend it wisely.