Nvidia GeForce GTX 590 3 GB Review: Firing Back With 1024 CUDA Cores

By Chris Angelini
published

AMD shot for—and successfully achieved—the coveted “fastest graphics card in the world” title with its Radeon HD 6990. Now, Nvidia is gunning for that freshly-claimed honor with a dual-GF110-powered board that speaks softly and carries a big stick.

Benchmark Results: Just Cause 2 (DX11)

Just Cause 2 might be a TWIMTBP title, but AMD’s Radeon HD 6990 flips the GeForce GTX 590 on its head here. The dual-Cayman card takes a victory at all three resolutions, outmaneuvering Nvidia’s dual-GF110 contender. AMD’s Radeon HD 5970 even shows off a bit at 1680x1050 and 1920x1080. Once we hit 2560x1600, though, the GeForce GTX 590 slots under the 6990. Performance with anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering is much closer, and the cards underneath Nvidia’s new flagship fall off a lot faster with these demanding settings dialed in.

Chris Angelini
Chris Angelini
Chris Angelini is an Editor Emeritus at Tom's Hardware US. He edits hardware reviews and covers high-profile CPU and GPU launches.
243 Comments Comment from the forums
  • nforce4max
    Nvidia like ATI should have gone full copper for their coolers instead of using aluminum for the fins. :/
    Reply
  • The_King
    The clock speeds are a bit of a disappointment as well the high power draw and the performance is not that better than a 6990. Bleh !
    Reply
  • stryk55
    Very comprehensive article! Nice job!
    Reply
  • LegendaryFrog
    I'm impressed, good to see Nvida has started to care about the "livable experience" of their high end products.
    Reply
  • plznote
    Great card. But low clocks.
    GREAT for overclocking!
    Reply
  • darkchazz
    Wow @ low noise
    Reply
  • rolli59
    Draw! Win some loose some. What is the fastest card? Some will say GTX590 others HD6990 and they are both right.
    Reply
  • Scoregie
    MMMM... HD 6990.... OR GTX 590... HMMM I'll go with a HD 5770 CF setup because im cheap.
    Reply
  • Sabiancym
    You can't say Nvidia wins based on the sound level of the cards. That's just flat out favoritism.

    I'll be buying a 6990 and water cooling it. Nothing will beat it.
    Reply
  • Darkerson
    rolli59Draw! Win some loose some. What is the fastest card? Some will say GTX590 others HD6990 and they are both right.Thats more or less how I feel. They both trade blows depending on the game.
    Reply