Card Advice (non-sli) -Nvidia Gtx 580/590 Watercooled?

Mad Dog 2112

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Jul 23, 2011
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Hello,

I am building a new system within the next 2x weeks. The system will be used for Gaming atm. I just wanted to know which Nvidia graphics card would be best for my new system. I will be buying through Newegg. I need a Single Card....not going to SLI... I am running a Single Monitor setup as well. Money is Not an issue but I am looking for the long term, reliability, heating issues etc. My question really is whether or not I need the 3g card vs 1.5g 580 vs 590, Water cooled or not? Any help would be most appreciated.

System
cpu Intel I7 2600
MBO - ASUS Maximus IV Extreme-Z LGA 1155 Intel Z68 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Extended ATX Intel Motherboard
Ram - CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 15000) Desktop Memory Model
PSU 1000w
case - full tower...not an issue


Some Card Choices
EVGA 03G-P3-1584-AR GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) 3072MB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130655


EVGA SuperClocked 015-P3-1582-AR GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) 1536MB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130590


I am aware there are Water-cooled cards as well:


EVGA 03G-P3-1591-AR GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) Hydro Copper 2 3072MB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130665

EVGA 015-P3-1589-AR GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) FTW Hydro Copper 2 1536MB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130601
 
In order to consider the water cooled models, you need to have already decided that you are going to go with water cooling for the rest of your computer. If so, then one of the water cooled models is best. PNY and Zotac make self-contained water cooled models that do not require the rest of your system to be on water cooling.
http://www3.pny.com/GTX-580-Liquid-Cooled-Graphics-Card-font-colordc0431LIMITED-TIME-BUNDLEfont-P3015C470.aspx

3gb memory is not necessary at all. I would consider the EVGA Superclocked with air cooling if you are not going to water cool the system. The Superclocked models have chips that have passed a higher level of quality assurance, so they should be more reliable and stable at higher clock speeds.

If you are really into having a top performing rig, you could go for the GTX 590 and install an aftermarket water cooling unit. Here is a roundup of several water blocks for the GTX 590:
http://www.pureoverclock.com/article1340.html
 

Mad Dog 2112

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Jul 23, 2011
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18,510
Thanks Matto17secs for your reply. I guess my choice will now be either the Super-clocked 580 1.5g version vs the standard 3gig 850x card. about 100+ dollar diff from new egg. Not sure if I really need the 3g...was just looking down the road.

Great info...and I really appreciate your reply.

Have a Great Day :hello: