More VRAM or Faster Cards in SLI/Xfire to run a 27 inch?

[redrage]

I'm building a new rig ordering the parts today on black friday with the goal of running bf3 at ultra settings with 60+ fps. The current specs i have planned to get are:

Intel 2500k CPU
Cooler Master Hyper 212 120mm CPU fan
ASrock Fatality z68 Mobo with PCI 3.0 support
16 GB Corsair Vengence DDR3 1600Mhz RAM
Mushkin Enhanced SATA III 120 GB SSD
640 GB 7200 RPM HD
1000 watt corsair(hx i think) PSU
Antec 900(possibly v2) case


Then for video cards i'm open to a few options as i currently have two working computers that can run the game at medium settings in dx10 with no hiccups so i could wait until the 7000 series is released but don't want to wait for the 600 series.

Video Card options:
570 GTX 2.5 GB SLI
580 GTX 1.5 GB SLI
7970 (maybe Xfire depending on price when released)
7950 (same as above, possible xfire)

I'm wondering which of those setups would be able to run BF3 at ultra with no sweat on a 27 inch monitor for the least amount of money, of course it'll be hard to tell due to the 7000 series not being out yet. I'm leaning toward the 570 GTX at 2.5Gb due to EVGA being a great company from the reviews ive seen and also proving to have solid benches in SLI(the 570s in general). If i can find the 580 GTX 1.5GB today for around the same price(400 a card) then i may go with that route but don't know if it'll be able to support the higher resolution with all the eye candy on in SLI with the lower vram. Insight into the matter will be greatly appreciated!

 

[AbdullahG]

What is your resolution? Knowing the size of the monitor isn't important technically.
I assume you have a 1080p monitor (1900x1080). A single GTX 580 will max out BF3 at that resolution, while getting around 50 to 60FPS.
The 1.5GB of VRAM is fine. BF3 will use as much available, even though you won't see the boost in performance. VRAM doesn't make up performance. Architecture, clocks, and so on do.
You should usually start off with one card, and then move onto multi-card setups once the single card setup is exhausted (not meeting your needs/too weak for you).
The price for the HD 7970 is supposedly around $500 (Rambus is expensive), but then again, it's said to have 2x the performance of the current cards.
Wait until December. That's the paper launch, or basically the release of official benchmarks, of the HD 7XXX series.

 

[redrage]

My bad, what i was getting at was the higher resolution not exactly the 1920x1080 but the one that can be seen on 30 inch monitors or even triple monitor setups, i.e. 2560x1600+

You're correct to assume i have a monitor with that 1920x1080 resolution though, as that's what i currently run on both my computers, i believe each are only 22 inches possibly 23. The 30 inch+/triple monitor setup would be a future investment so i want something that can easily run the game at 60+ fps on ultra at 1920x1080 but could do the same on a bigger monitor and or triple monitor setup(i think it's currently bugged in game though)

Is the 7000 series is suppose to double to performance of all current video cards including the 6990 and 590 GTX or single cards like the 580 gtx/6970? If so for only 500 i'll definitely wait... that seems like the far better deal.

 

[AbdullahG]

My bad, what i was getting at was the higher resolution not exactly the 1920x1080 but the one that can be seen on 30 inch monitors or even triple monitor setups, i.e. 2560x1600+

You're correct to assume i have a monitor with that 1920x1080 resolution though, as that's what i currently run on both my computers, i believe each are only 22 inches possibly 23. The 30 inch+/triple monitor setup would be a future investment so i want something that can easily run the game at 60+ fps on ultra at 1920x1080 but could do the same on a bigger monitor and or triple monitor setup(i think it's currently bugged in game though)

Is the 7000 series is suppose to double to performance of all current video cards including the 6990 and 590 GTX or single cards like the 580 gtx/6970? If so for only 500 i'll definitely wait... that seems like the far better deal.

If you can wait a month, then go ahead. If the numbers show a significant performance boost, then it'll be worth it (I assume).

If you want a setup that will offer great performance at 1080p and beyond, then go for the GTX 570 2.5GB SLI setup. In the GTX 580 1.5GB SLI setup, the VRAM could cause a bottleneck (runs out of framebuffer/VRAM, causing memory leakage). A pair of 570s should still be enough for any/every game. If you want to get AMD, a pair of HD 6950s 2GB are great as well (they start at around $270 each).

Correction: it's supposedly has 2x the memory bandwidth. Power usage and thermals may lower by about 30%, and performance should increase significantly as well. The HD 7970 is said to equal an HD 6990. I cannot confirm this. Either wait till December for more info (hopefully), or get a pair of GTX 570s 2.5GB (with nonetheless offer tremendous power).