Which GTX 580 to purchase?

[AidanJC]

Hi Everyone,

I'm currently in the process of choosing a GPU for my newly built system. I'm looking for a good solid GTX 580 to purchase (With a factory overclock) Pricing is from $0 - $750 per GPU.

I'm not really looking for suggestions for AMD GPU's as I love the idea of PhysX, and playing games with PhysX enabled is a completely different experience (in my opinion).

I play games as GPU intensive as Crysis and Metro 2033.

My specs are as follows.

[SYSTEM SPECS]

CPU: i7 2600K @ stock speeds (for now)
GPU: A borrowed HIS HD4850 512MB
PSU: CoolerMaster Silent Pro Gold 1000W
Motherboard: ASRock Extreme 7 Gen 3
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws X F3-12800CL9Q-16GBXL (4x4GB) DDR3
Case: HAF X
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1TB (for now) Looking at purchasing an SSD with the Graphics Card

I'm from Australia, so i've been using a site called PC Case Gear (http://www.pccasegear.com)

I was looking around on the site listed above and have come across an MSI GeForce GTX 580 Lightning Edition. The idea is to eventually have two of these in SLI depending on how one performs.

So, can anyone recommend any other GTX 580's that are factory over-clocked that might be a good candidate for my system?

Thanks.

 

[wa1]

About your PSU, you already bought it?
CoolerMaster is not a bad brand, but if you are still not bought it then you should going to better brand like Corsair, Antec, OCZ, PCP&C, Seasonic, SilverStone.

Like this one:
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=15_354&products_id=17776
It's just $35 more than CoolerMaster...

About card(s), well, are you familiar with OC things? If yes, you should get ASUS DirectCU card, it will enable you to change voltage, so theoretically you can OC amazingly with this card:
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=193_1170&products_id=16871
(remember this card is BIG, could have problem when it comes to SLI)

If you want to just "plug and play" and not troubling yourself with OC then get this EVGA SuperClocked card:
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=193_1170&products_id=16060
(surely two of this card will eat anything that you throw at them)

 

[gmcizzle]

If you are planning on doing SLI in the near future, then go with an EVGA with a reference cooler: http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=193_1170&products_id=16060

If you are not planning on doing SLI and want the best cooling and overclock potential, you want one of these:
ASUS Direct CU II: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121429
MSI Lightning: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127579
Galaxy Accelero (the one I have): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814162073&Tpk=galaxy%20gtx%20580
Gigabyte 3-fan: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125379

 

[monsta]

Im from Australia too , and get a lot of my parts from pccassegear.

I agree with Wa1 , the Coolermatser power supplies are hit or miss, the Corsair he has chosen is a great PSU.

The Asus is a great card , the only problem is that its a 2.6 wide slot, if you have the room, I say go for it , the ROG Matrix version is a great card especially for overcloking.
The MSI out of the box is overclocked well and is a 2 slot card, would be preferable for SLI in the future.
The Giggabyte Super OC is a good card too , out of the box it is overclocked at 855mhz, the windforce cooling on those cards are awesome and can be overclocked even further.
Its down to personal choice and how much you want to spend. The MSI is 100 bucks more than the Gigabyte, have a look at these cards and also compare the features.

 

[AidanJC]

About your PSU, you already bought it?
CoolerMaster is not a bad brand, but if you are still not bought it then you should going to better brand like Corsair, Antec, OCZ, PCP&C, Seasonic, SilverStone.

Like this one:
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=15_354&products_id=17776
It's just $35 more than CoolerMaster...

About card(s), well, are you familiar with OC things? If yes, you should get ASUS DirectCU card, it will enable you to change voltage, so theoretically you can OC amazingly with this card:
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=193_1170&products_id=16871
(remember this card is BIG, could have problem when it comes to SLI)

If you want to just "plug and play" and not troubling yourself with OC then get this EVGA SuperClocked card:
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=193_1170&products_id=16060
(surely two of this card will eat anything that you throw at them)

Yeah, everything has already been purchased, except for the graphics card and SSD. The PSU had some nice positive reviews when i last looked, so i just stuck with that. It does hold to its name, as it is pretty damn silent.

That card is a friggin monster! I like EVGA's warranty of 10 years (I think) though. But ultimately i will be looking at an SLI configuration. Two of the ASUS cards taking up 6 slots, might be a little much, as i would like to install a wireless networking card.

This is my first build, so you'll have to forgive me for my questions

I would really like to learn to over-clock GPU's properly, and i feel that i could learn easier with the ASUS card as it has quite a good cooling solution.

I'll have a look when this case arrives either today or tomorrow whether or not a SLI option with the ASUS card is viable.

 

[17seconds]

Here is an excellent review comparing several custom GTX 580's:
http://www.behardware.com/articles/840-1/roundup-a-review-of-the-super-geforce-gtx-580s-from-asus-evga-gainward-gigabyte-msi-and-zotac.html

If you can afford one, I would go for Asus Matrix Platinum.
http://www.guru3d.com/article/asus-gtx-580-matrix-review/

 

[AidanJC]

Im from Australia too , and get a lot of my parts from pccassegear.

I agree with Wa1 , the Coolermatser power supplies are hit or miss, the Corsair he has chosen is a great PSU.

The Asus is a great card , the only problem is that its a 2.6 wide slot, if you have the room, I say go for it , the ROG Matrix version is a great card especially for overcloking.
The MSI out of the box is overclocked well and is a 2 slot card, would be preferable for SLI in the future.
The Giggabyte Super OC is a good card too , out of the box it is overclocked at 855mhz, the windforce cooling on those cards are awesome and can be overclocked even further.
Its down to personal choice and how much you want to spend. The MSI is 100 bucks more than the Gigabyte, have a look at these cards and also compare the features.

I got a recommendation to use PC Case gear, and they're great with small parts, costs me like 12 bucks for overnight shipping to Cairns.
Had to go somewhere else for the HAF X though, as they wanted like 100 bucks for standard and 400 for overnight.

I've generally heard good things about the Coolermaster PSU's. If it blows up, i'll be sending it right back though and going with the corsair one suggested.

I'm curious as to differences between they ROG Matrix and the Direct CU II, i've only seen the higher clock rates on the ROG Matrix, and even then it's probably not enough to warrant an additional 100 dollars.

 

[monsta]

Coolermaster are great , the only thing I find with them is that some of them can be noisy.
Pccasegear are awesome, never had a problem with them.

The ROG Matrix is more for overclocking and there is also switches on the card to overclock as you go , I have to say I like the Matrix logo that lights up on the side.LOL
Either Asus card is good to get, The Matrix is like the MSI its got good bragging rights

 

[AidanJC]

Coolermaster are great , the only thing I find with them is that some of them can be noisy.
Pccasegear are awesome, never had a problem with them.

The ROG Matrix is more for overclocking and there is also switches on the card to overclock as you go , I have to say I like the Matrix logo that lights up on the side.LOL
Either Asus card is good to get, The Matrix is like the MSI its got good bragging rights

Ooh, yeah. That's true. Plus, i might even get a decent resale value when the 600 series are released.

Another quick question, if i get two of these ROG GPU's, will i need to consider an overclock? Because in that case, i'll need to upgrade the CPU cooler from stock. And will the PSU be able to handle it?

 

[AidanJC]

Best answer selected by AidanJC.

 

[monsta]

You wont need to overclock , set it on turbo and leave it at that if you like, you can overclock it some with the standard cooler.
The PSU can definately handle it.

 

[AidanJC]

You wont need to overclock , set it on turbo and leave it at that if you like, you can overclock it some with the standard cooler.
The PSU can definately handle it.

Alright, sweet. Thanks for your help (And everyone else) It is greatly appreciated.