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

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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.

Test Setup And Benchmarks

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Test Hardware
ProcessorsIntel Core i7-990X (Gulftown) 3.46 GHz at 4.00 GHz (30 * 133 MHz), LGA 1366, 6.4 GT/s QPI, 12 MB Shared L3, Hyper-Threading enabled, Power-savings enabled
MotherboardAsus Rampage III Formula (LGA 1366) X58/ICH10R, BIOS 0505
MemoryCrucial 12 GB (3 x 4 GB) DDR3-1333, MT16JTF51264AZ-1G4D1 @ 9-9-9-24 and 1.65 V
Hard DriveIntel SSDSC2MH250A2 250 GB SATA 6Gb/s
GraphicsNvidia GeForce GTX 590 3 GB
Row 5 - Cell 0 AMD Radeon HD 6990 4 GB
Row 6 - Cell 0 AMD Radeon HD 6970 2 GB
Row 7 - Cell 0 AMD Radeon HD 6950 2 GB
Row 8 - Cell 0 AMD Radeon HD 5970
Row 9 - Cell 0 Nvidia GeForce GTX 570 1.25 GB
Row 10 - Cell 0 Nvidia GeForce GTX 580 1.5 GB
Row 11 - Cell 0 Nvidia GeForce GTX 480 1.5 GB
Power SupplyCooler Master UCP-1000 W
System Software And Drivers
Operating SystemWindows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
DirectXDirectX 11
Graphics DriverNvidia GeForce Release 267.71 (For GeForce GTX 590)
Row 17 - Cell 0 AMD 8.84.3 Beta 2 (For Radeon HD 6990)
Row 18 - Cell 0 AMD Catalyst 11.2
Row 19 - Cell 0 Nvidia GeForce Release 266.58
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Games
Lost Planet 2Highest Quality Settings, No AA / No AF, 4x MSAA or 32x CSAA / 16x AF, vsync off, 1680x1050 / 1920x1080 / 2560x1600, DirectX 11, Steam version, Test A
Just Cause 2Highest Quality Settings, No AA / 2x AF, 8x AA / 16x AF, vsync off, 1680x1050 / 1920x1080 / 2560x1600, Bokeh filter and GPU water disabled (for Nvidia cards), Concrete Jungle Benchmark
Metro 2033High Quality Settings, AAA / 4x AF, 4x MSAA / 16x AF, 1680x1050 / 1920x1080 / 2560x1600, Built-in Benchmark, Depth of Field filter enabled, Steam version
F1 2010Ultra High Settings, No AA / No AF, 8x AA / No AF, 1680x1050 / 1920x1080 / 2560x1600, Steam version, Custom benchmark script, DX11 Rendering
Aliens Vs. Predator BenchmarkHigh Quality Settings, SSAO, No AA / 16xAF, Ultra Quality Settings, 4x MSAA / No AF, vsync off, 1680x1050 / 1920x1080 / 2560x1600
Battlefield: Bad Company 2Custom (Highest) Quality Settings, No AA / No AF, 8x MSAA / 16xAF, 1680x1050 / 1920x1080 / 2560x1600, opening cinematic, 145 second sequence, FRAPS
3DMark 11Performance Default
HAWX 2Highest Quality Settings, 8x AA, 1920x1200, Retail Version, Built-in Benchmark, Tessellation on/off
World of Warcraft: CataclysmUltra Quality Settings, No AA / 16x AF, 8x AA / 16x AF, From Crushblow to The Krazzworks, 1680x1050 / 1920x1080 / 2560x1600, FRAPS, DirectX 9 Rendering
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