Graphics card for 30" monitor

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blacksci

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http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF05a/382087-382087-64283-72270-3884471-4194577.html?jumpid=reg_r1002_usenc-001&lang=en&cc=us

Above is the link to the monitor im going to buy. Its a HP ZR30w for those who dont like links. I dont plan on buying it until mid Feb. My question is this, what would you do to push this puppy with its native resolution 2560x1600. Im thinking a 7970, but could also convinced to go with a 3 gig 580- and get into the upgrade program so i pay a hunered bucks or so in a few months when the 680 comes out. Opinions?

The rest of the build will be a 3820, 8 gigs, water cooled, samsung ssd, 850 watt psu.

 
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It's always the game of who can release first and yet if it's not ready they just wait and release later and what happens with that is it seems like a constand flow of new cards and you really have to pay attention to what is competeing with what. I just don't understand AMD's thinking here and they should be competeing with the 680 , because if I was in the market for a new card I would not have jumped on the 7970 knowing the 680 hasn't been released yet.
So it's a good idea to wait and see , to make sure you get the top card with the best performance.

digitalzom-b

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If you're looking to game at max graphics... you might want a dual GPU card to be honest.

Take a look at these benchmarks;
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/battlefield-3-graphics-performance,3063-3.html

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/battlefield-3-graphics-performance,3063-8.html

You're looking at 40s with a high end single GPU card, too close to the 'danger zone' of 30FPS. If you want a solid FPS for a solid period of time. That is, if you're looking to game which I assume you are by the build.

So, IMO 590 or 6990 (or 7 series equivalent). However the refresh rate (7ms) is pretty high. For gaming you usually want 5ms or less (preferably 2ms). However, if you're NOT gaming...
 
Yes 3GB of ram would be rather necessary to push that kind of resolution for gaming :)
If you are not under a time constraint then I would wait for the flagship war to begin in April when nvidia comes out with their new cards. I think nvidia has something special waiting for us this time around :)
 
also, if your system specs are true then it will be time for a platform upgrade as well so that your little Q6600 dosnt limit your GPU. Again, if time is not a concern then I would wait for IB to come out before upgrading as you will need a lot of horse power to run that beautiful 'little' monitor
 

blacksci

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Lol, the build is 2011, im not worried about IB, but thanks for the opinion. The build in the quote is becoming a server for anime, g.f. has pushed past the 2 tb territory, lol.

I am building this for gaming that is correct, i was also thinking of a 590, and i can afford it, but the idea of going with the 580 was to upgrade into a 680 when it comes out, with nvidias upgrade program, but i could do this with the 590 <690 (or equivelant) and this is a build that is for the end of FEB. As for refresh this is the best it gets for the 30" arena, and ive already read reviews at AnandTech this is a good as it gets for the size.
 

kyleorsini

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that is only offered by EVGA. just a heads up.
 
Yeah, in general I would recommend the GTX 590 as well since I'm not too keen about installing multiple video cards. I wonder when the HD 7990 will be released...

However, it seems Skyrim simply loves the HD 7970 and hates the GTX 590 and HD 6990; which scored the lowest benchmarks.

skyrim_2560_1600.gif


http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/HD_7970/22.html
 




Evga is the company that has the upgrade program and with the fact that the 580 is out and has very stable drivers that would be my choice and then upgrade to the 680 when your ready. The 580 will support that 30' no problem just make sure you get the 3gb version.
 
In case you didn't know this , the 590 has a stock clock of 612mhz and you have to over clock almost 200mhz to get up top a stock 580 and there must have been a reason that Nvidia released it that way and none of thier partners have released an overclocked vesion above 625mhz. Seems kind of low mhz to me.
 

dharmenparikh

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Your best value will be dual cards...either 7870s cfx or 6970 cfx or 570 gtx SLI 2.5gb versions.

If you aren't into the dual card thing then 7970 is currently the best and Kepler will be out in April or May based on rumours.

The reason why I don't recommend gtx 580 is that the new 7970s are overclocking like mad..and these are just the reference samples with the pathetic AMd cooler and basic vram. once the MSi twin frozer 3 and asus DCU2 cards come out with custom pcb, better mosfets, and vram power and all that good stuff...the 7970 is easily going to go from 925mhz to 1200mhz on the core..and 100-200mhz extra on memory as well.

You can google the 7970 reviews and see that. GTX 580 cannot keep up with that type of overclock...oh and this isn't even some hardcore overclock..this is basic ..slight voltage increase and overclock.

A hardcore overclocker Andre got the 7970 core to push to 1600mhz on liquid nitrogen....which means that the card has high potential..so on air...under safe 24/7 overclocks..1200mhz is gonna be very easy. This should give you 60fps in almost all games nowdays.

Hope this helps.
 

blacksci

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Thanks, yeah im aware of the 7970, the two things that have always kept me gun shy is..
1. Driver support, as a avid gamer i dont want to wait for a week or 2 to get new drivers released so i can play a game i just bought.

2. I have never owned a ATI card that the fan hasnt died on, im not talking reference boards, I had a XFX 4870, fan died, And a few years ago i went with a sapphire card and had the same thing happen, so at the price im paying, ATI has a few detractors.

As far as clock speed for the 590, im aware of the clock difference, im just wondering if its viable to get one now and wait for the 590 equivalent, or should i just go 580 3 gig and upgrade when that comes out, since we have a release date, that is only 2 months after i intend to purchase.

And pertaining to sli- quite honestly im trying to stay away from it. I had originally planned on getting 3 27" monitors and setup a 2d surround display with some 580's, but could never settle on a monitor. I'm not a fan of the resolution dropping while the price does not. And while I would gain more viewing area, i would be again- into sli land, and if i loose a monitor there goes the setup.
 
EVGA 03G-P3-1596-AR GeForce GTX 590 (Fermi) Classified 3072MB 768-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
$749.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130693

Evga has released a Classified version of the 590 that looks pretty good and is clocked at 630mhz on the core , but the price is a little high and you would be able to do the step up program provided they released the 690 with 90 days of you purchase.

EVGA 03G-P3-1595-AR GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) Classified ULTRA 3072MB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
$619.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130751

This is the Classified version of the 580 from Evga and if I didn't already have three of the regular 580's I would have gotten these.
 

dharmenparikh

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The 7970 is now out...look at the overclocking review from HARDOCP...it will change you mind from buying the GTX 580.

And this is with the current drivers....GTX 580 has 1yr of driver refinements...so once more updates come in you can expect even more.

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/01/09/amd_radeon_hd_7970_overclocking_performance_review

There's gonna be a gigabyte triple fan card with custom pcb and more powerful vram/chokes/circuits very soon...basically one of those super overclock cards...get the 7970 for it..and hit 1250/1600mhz...no GTX 580 will be able to keep up. Now if the price of 580 falls to $400 then its a good buy..but not at $450-$500.
 

blacksci

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Well ive already seen some supposedly leaked reviews of the 680- and if, and i have my reservations with everything.... well be seeing double the performance of a 580- in which case id be kickin myself in the pants for going ati.
 

dharmenparikh

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Yup best thing is to wait for Kepler leaks...their charts made it look like 7970 is equal to GTX 770...so amd might slash prices because Nvidia ain't selling GTX 780 for $650..no one's gonna buy it. So if GTX 780 is $550...then 7970 has to lower prices...and GTX 770 can't be $50 cheaper...gotta be $100 cheaper..so 7970 might fall to $450.

Wishful thinking perhaps..but its very possible.
 
It doesn't make sense to release a card to compete with one that has been out for so long and with the benchmarks that I have seen the 7970 is only outperforming the 580 by 10-15 or 20 fps , I'm sorry I was expecting a lot more out of AMD and once again they failed to deliver. The performance difference is close enough to make you stop and look at which card do you want when it shouldn't be like that it should be a clear winner to make you not even consider the 580 , what's AMD going to do when the 680 comes out.
 

blacksci

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Yeah, while i understand people who have the budget to keep up with the now, i dont see the 7970 being the say all champ this round, it is faster then a 580 by a sizeable amount, but nvidia has been pretty hush until these leaks started. And if i have to be patient and wait a few weeks for a kick butt gpu upgrade, ill make due. Hopefully well start hearing more from the nvidia camp since ati has put its cards on the table, i have about a month yet, so well see.
 
It's always the game of who can release first and yet if it's not ready they just wait and release later and what happens with that is it seems like a constand flow of new cards and you really have to pay attention to what is competeing with what. I just don't understand AMD's thinking here and they should be competeing with the 680 , because if I was in the market for a new card I would not have jumped on the 7970 knowing the 680 hasn't been released yet.
So it's a good idea to wait and see , to make sure you get the top card with the best performance.
 
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blacksci

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Yeah, that is what im thinking. Hopefully im looking more the middle of feb before i get ready to buy, and if i can get some good news by then, and we have some reliable leaks out, hopefully well have a better idea of what is coming down the nvidia pipe. But on a off note, wouldnt be the first time nvidia has stumbled, so well have to wait and see. BTW I have downgraded slightly to a 27" 2560x1440 doublesight S-IPS monitor, 200-300 bucks cheaper, and a little kinder on the power bill.
 
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