Shopping in unfamiliar territory - need help finding best 500-600 Card

[plasticslug]

I have not seriously pc gamed in over 10 years and building a pc from scratch.

My budget is 1500 dollars and looking for a graphics card in the 500-600 dollar price range. (I already have a monitor/speakers)

It will be on the best i5 I can purchase. (I was told for gaming reasons you dont spend the extra on an i7)

To begin my question is I dont really know what a $500 gaming card will bring me...
1. Will I be maxed out on everything that currently available
2. Whats a realistic lifespan on a $500+ card.

These are my choices from most preferred to least

1. EVGA 03G-P3-1588-AR GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) Classified 3072MB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130732


2. EVGA 02G-P3-1569-KR GeForce GTX 560 Ti 2Win (Fermi) 2GB 512-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130737&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=4169931&SID=8pz5bq76e293


Are these overkill?
Are there more favorable choices then these?

 

[refillable]

Yes of course it can max out settings. $500 is a high end budget. The lifespan is probably about 4-5 years on EVGA cards (estimate, I don't use EVGA).

I think 2x 560Ti is better then these both http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130651 X2 Cost: $480

Make sure your motherboard supports SLI and have two x16 PCI-E running at x16. If no I will suggest you some Motherboards.

Or instead wait for the new 6xx or 7xxx.

 

[computadoro]

DO NOT spend 500 dollars on a card or two this close to AMD 7000 series's release. Waste of money to spend 500dollars to get top end ***, when it wont be top end in a month.

 

[plasticslug]

DO NOT spend 500 dollars on a card or two this close to AMD 7000 series's release. Waste of money to spend 500dollars to get top end ***, when it wont be top end in a month.

Googled those cards, what the latest on these? Should I wait a few more weeks?

 

[refillable]

They are planned on Q1/Q2 2012. I don't think there is a real official release date yet.

 

[vitornob]

I think that the high-end AMD cards will be out only in Q2/2012. Don't know if worth the wait.

About the cards:
You CAN'T max everything with these cards. Example:
You can't max Metro 2033, 1080p, everything maxed, 60 fps. (GTX 580 don't have the power, GTX 560 Ti 2win don't have the memory)
You can't max Witcher 2, 1080p, everything maxed, ubersampling, 60 fps.
You can't max Batman Arkham City, 1080p, DX11, Physx Maximum, 60 fps (it drops to 30 fps level in heavy physx benchmark part)
I think you can't max BF 3, 1080p, everything maxed, ultra, AA, 60 fps.

Realistic life span: about hardware life -> hard to predict, it depends on usage, average temperature, etc.
about performance -> it depends the bare minimum quality you accepts to play.

My own history: My GTX 460 SLI sometimes is faster than a single GTX 580, sometimes slower.. basically I have a GTX 580 performance level.
I want to upgrade it due to my 3D Vision usage that is very very very demanding, basically halfs the fps when using it.

 

[Deeks]

My opinion is get the 580gtx i have one myself and cant complain at all. Dont go with the 560ti SLI. one more powerful card is ALWAYS better to go then sli. Sli might give you little bit better performance for the money but now your maxed out!!! with the 580 you could always add another down the road. not to mention that you will have WAY less problems with a single card solution then you will with sli. SLI you can run into Micro stutter, Driver issues, games not supporting sli forcing you to run only one card. Again this is just my opinion. some people will say wait other will say buy now, i honestly think if you want to buy it now then buy it now if you want to wait then your better off on waiting on your whole mobo and go with ivy bridge but again if you want a computer now go with a 2500k and a 580gtx you wont be disappointed i promise you that!

 

[Deeks]

I would disagree with vitornob's comment, and say that yes you can max everything out with a single 580 i play all the games above and i run everything on max full AA and everything. Now on metro, witcher, and bf3 you might not be 60fps+ all the time but your NEVER below 30 fps meaning yes you can max everything out without loosing performance! like i said in the above post if you need more power at a later date then add a second 580 in at that point.

 

[jaguarskx]

What is the monitor's resolution?

If you cannot wait until Q1 (Jan - Mar) or Q2 (Apr - Jun), then go with either the GTX 580 or 560... unless your monitor's resolution is relatively low in which case those graphic cards can be considered overkill.

 

[plasticslug]

What is the monitor's resolution?

If you cannot wait until Q1 (Jan - Mar) or Q2 (Apr - Jun), then go with either the GTX 580 or 560... unless your monitor's resolution is relatively low in which case those graphic cards can be considered overkill.

My monitor is 2048 x 1152

 

[refillable]

My monitor is 2048 x 1152

Me I am still on 2x560Ti SLI. With a SLI compatible motherboard.