GTX 580 Gigabyte Triblade within my grasp, should I go for it?

[draegunstrife]

Don't mind. Go with what you feel is right at the moment. Should you wait (will be at least a couple of months anyway), due to everyone trying to get one, or should you upgrade now and later down the road upgrade again?

I just bought my EVGA Classified GTX 580 Ultra for less than 300 and I'm pretty happy with it. Gotta love the 3gb =D

[Ti3Kob]

Originally Posted by HamsterCrispy

Thanks for pointing that out. That's another +1 for the 580.

The card literally is huge. It is, more or less, twice the size of my 550 Ti.
The CUDA core jump is also massive.

But I still don't understand the proper function of these CUDA cores.

The Keplers have well over 1300+ CUDA cores but the 670 is only marginally faster than the 580.

The "CUDA cores" are the shaders processing units of the GPU. In today's games using shaders massively, it's more or less what will define the GPU's raw power.

Since the architecture is very different between Fermi and Kepler, you can't really compare them on the CUDA cores count.

Though, for example on Fermi the CUDA cores are running @ two times the GPU core clock, when it's running at the same clock on both with Kepler (very much like AMD GPUs).
So without talking about efficiency of those cores or parallelism, on the paper 512 cores @ 2GHz would be more or less equal to 1024 cores @ 1GHz.

That alone explains much.

Now, since the architecture is different, the cores aren't directly comparable and won't have the same power clock for clock.

[visine]

I got a gigabyte gtx 580 super overclocked card and it gives me pretty much the same fps and performance as a gtx 670. I have OC my card some more though. But my brother got a gtx 670 and our cards are identical at fps.

[Neo Cyrus]

A GTX 580 for an entry-level card like a GTX 550 + $150 seems alright. If you get any sort of warranty with that I say go for it unless you're really keen on paying $300 (or whatever the 660 will cost) for a bit more performance.

[-Tj-]

@HamsterCrispy

If you can trade that 550ti + 150$ then go for it!

580gtx is still a strong card, here is a raw estimate compared to your 550Ti
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/541?vs=517


Imo GK104 is old news, rather hold on @ 580gtx until GK110 geforce variant.

[crap daddy]

Originally Posted by visine

I got a gigabyte gtx 580 super overclocked card and it gives me pretty much the same fps and performance as a gtx 670. I have OC my card some more though. But my brother got a gtx 670 and our cards are identical at fps.

Something must be wrong with that GTX670 or you both play games with vsync on so 95% of the games will show you both 60FPS at 1080p.

[HamsterCrispy]

Originally Posted by draegunstrife

Don't mind. Go with what you feel is right at the moment. Should you wait (will be at least a couple of months anyway), due to everyone trying to get one, or should you upgrade now and later down the road upgrade again?

I just bought my EVGA Classified GTX 580 Ultra for less than 300 and I'm pretty happy with it. Gotta love the 3gb =D

I agree. When the 660 Ti comes out I'm pretty sure the availability and the pressure on getting one will be a pain.

I mean come on! Its a 580 right? 5 months ago this was the king

Originally Posted by Ti3Kob

The "CUDA cores" are the shaders processing units of the GPU. In today's games using shaders massively, it's more or less what will define the GPU's raw power.

Since the architecture is very different between Fermi and Kepler, you can't really compare them on the CUDA cores count.

Though, for example on Fermi the CUDA cores are running @ two times the GPU core clock, when it's running at the same clock on both with Kepler (very much like AMD GPUs).
So without talking about efficiency of those cores or parallelism, on the paper 512 cores @ 2GHz would be more or less equal to 1024 cores @ 1GHz.

That alone explains much.

Now, since the architecture is different, the cores aren't directly comparable and won't have the same power clock for clock.

Wow. Thanks a lot for explaining that. I forgot that Kepler CUDA cores are now clocked the same as the core speed.

Originally Posted by visine

I got a gigabyte gtx 580 super overclocked card and it gives me pretty much the same fps and performance as a gtx 670. I have OC my card some more though. But my brother got a gtx 670 and our cards are identical at fps.

So a 580 would perform equal to a 670 but the power draw of the 670 would be much lower right? If I get the 580 then would I really need to upgrade to a 750W PSU?

Originally Posted by Neo Cyrus

A GTX 580 for an entry-level card like a GTX 550 + $150 seems alright. If you get any sort of warranty with that I say go for it unless you're really keen on paying $300 (or whatever the 660 will cost) for a bit more performance.

Sad to say it only has 1 week personal warranty but I've examined the card physically and it looks brand new. It was just used as a showcase in a computer shop.

Originally Posted by -Tj-

@HamsterCrispy

If you can trade that 550ti + 150$ then go for it!

580gtx is still a strong card, here is a raw estimate compared to your 550Ti
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/541?vs=517


Imo GK104 is old news, rather hold on @ 580gtx until GK110 geforce variant.

^ This!

[clawhamer]

No question about it, the 580 is still an excellent card that will last a long time.

Not to mention the deal you can get it for, it’s really almost too good to pass on; if you didn’t have to purchase a capable PSU to go with it. But if you have the funds, up-grading the PSU is actually a plus.

Gigabyte 580, new PSU, your system will offer a new level of performance that will keep you smiling for a long time.

[HamsterCrispy]

Originally Posted by clawhamer

No question about it, the 580 is still an excellent card that will last a long time.

Not to mention the deal you can get it for, it’s really almost too good to pass on; if you didn’t have to purchase a capable PSU to go with it. But if you have the funds, up-grading the PSU is actually a plus.

Gigabyte 580, new PSU, your system will offer a new level of performance that will keep you smiling for a long time.

I'm so tempted to buy it right now. But I would really need to upgrade to a 750W PSU and that would again take time as I do not have the cash to purchase one right away

Does it really need a 750W PSU? Its that power hungry?

[Brendruis]

I bet that silverstone 500W can handle a single 580.. two of them, no.

A crappier 500W wouldn't fly but that one would work for you since you aren't doing massive overclocking.

Here's how I figure:

GTX 580 TDP: ~244W
i5 2400 TDP: ~95W

That leaves plenty for your board, add in cards, drives

[HamsterCrispy]

Originally Posted by Brendruis

I bet that silverstone 500W can handle a single 580.. two of them, no.

A crappier 500W wouldn't fly but that one would work for you since you aren't doing massive overclocking.

Here's how I figure:

GTX 580 TDP: ~244W
i5 2400 TDP: ~95W

That leaves plenty for your board, add in cards, drives

I'm getting a sigh of relief from this.

This is my exact PSU by the way.
Silverstone Strider Essential 500w

Well my PSU does have an 8-pin and a 6-pin power connector so that would mean that is is confident enough to power a card that requires both right? Why would they put those connectors anyway

[Brendruis]

Originally Posted by HamsterCrispy

I'm getting a sigh of relief from this.

This is my exact PSU by the way.
Silverstone Strider Essential 500w

Well my PSU does have an 8-pin and a 6-pin power connector so that would mean that is is confident enough to power a card that requires both right?

I would say it is good for pretty much any single card setup.. dual GPU card excluded.. an SLI or Crossfire setup would require a more substantial PSU.

[-Tj-]

What's the other PSU 600W specifications?


Idk this Silverstone has only one 12v rail with max 34A and 580gtx needs at least 38-42A.

[clawhamer]

@ HamsterCrispy

While I think you could possibly get away with using the SilverStone for some time while saving for an up-grade; there are several things to consider:

Age of the SilverStone
Only 34A on the 12v
Other system components being powered: fans, HDDs, ODDs, etc

Possible problems that could happen (C&P from guru3d.com)

What would happen if your PSU can't cope with the load? Here are a few possible issues:
• bad 3D performance
• crashing games
• spontaneous reset or imminent shutdown of the PC
• freezing during gameplay
• PSU overload can cause it to break down

Worst case, the PSU could blow taking other components with it.

Also, the 580 doesn’t make SilverStone’s own GPU support list.
Specs from your ST50F-ES link

In good conscience I can’t recommend using the SilverStone for your setup and a 580, especially an overclocked one. I always and only recommend using a high quality PSU such as:

CORSAIR Professional Series Gold AX650
SeaSonic X Series X650 Gold

A good 600w – 700w with 50+ amp 12v would do much better. Just my own personally thoughts on the power supply, I have no experience with it so I'm only going by what information I was able to find on the netz.

[Strikerx80]

Originally Posted by kanej2007

When running high resolution and using AA then the GTX 580 WILL beat a 660 and almost ties to a 670.

On games such as Crysis, using 1900x1200 & higher with high AA, the 580 goes head to head with a 670 meaning it will easily beat a 660.

Look:

lol 0% difference. oh and btw im running my 670 memory at 3500mhz (7000mhz) enough to overcome the 580's 384 bit bus. not to mention the extra 512mb memory it has. 670 beats handily the 580, sorry to break it to you. a 660ti will be atleast as fast or faster than 580. not sure about the bandwidth but the core should be a decent jump over the 580's 512cores.

also as i remember the geforce 460 was equal to a 285 so i bet we will see similar results with 660ti vs 580

[crap daddy]

No matter how much people here still love the GTX580 it is not a card to buy anymore only if you want to SLI with a 580 that you own. And for the OP, that PSU, while a quality product, will not be enough for a GTX580 let alone an overclocked one.

Best bet is to wait two more weeks. The GTX660Ti will be a better card than the 7950 let alone the 580. For 300$ you will get a new card, 2GB VRAM and far lower power consumption which will fit nicely with your PSU.

[Noisiv]

[---TK---]

Originally Posted by clawhamer

@ HamsterCrispy

While I think you could possibly get away with using the SilverStone for some time while saving for an up-grade; there are several things to consider:

Age of the SilverStone
Only 34A on the 12v
Other system components being powered: fans, HDDs, ODDs, etc

Possible problems that could happen (C&P from guru3d.com)

What would happen if your PSU can't cope with the load? Here are a few possible issues:
• bad 3D performance
• crashing games
• spontaneous reset or imminent shutdown of the PC
• freezing during gameplay
• PSU overload can cause it to break down

Worst case, the PSU could blow taking other components with it.

Also, the 580 doesn’t make SilverStone’s own GPU support list.
Specs from your ST50F-ES link

In good conscience I can’t recommend using the SilverStone for your setup and a 580, especially an overclocked one. I always and only recommend using a high quality PSU such as:

CORSAIR Professional Series Gold AX650
SeaSonic X Series X650 Gold

A good 600w – 700w with 50+ amp 12v would do much better. Just my own personally thoughts on the power supply, I have no experience with it so I'm only going by what information I was able to find on the netz.

I would not recommend running a 580 on a 500 watt psu either. a quality 600 watt should do.

[Brendruis]

Combined 12V on that PSU is 408W/34A. 580 TDP is 244W. Even a ridiculous OC would probably be ok on it even with a dozen hard drives.

Keep in mind she is not really OC'ing that i5-2400 much or at all and I doubt she is going to go up to 1.15 or 1.2V on that 580.

Buying a new PSU I don't think is a good use of money unless she knows she is going multi GPU in the future.

[HamsterCrispy]

Originally Posted by -Tj-

What's the other PSU 600W specifications?


Idk this Silverstone has only one 12v rail with max 34A and 580gtx needs at least 38-42A.

Cooler Master Silent Pro M600W

There's my cooler master. Its 80+ Bronze but Pill Monster said that the Silverstone would be better than it.

Originally Posted by clawhamer

@ HamsterCrispy

While I think you could possibly get away with using the SilverStone for some time while saving for an up-grade; there are several things to consider:

Age of the SilverStone
Only 34A on the 12v
Other system components being powered: fans, HDDs, ODDs, etc

Possible problems that could happen (C&P from guru3d.com)

What would happen if your PSU can't cope with the load? Here are a few possible issues:
• bad 3D performance
• crashing games
• spontaneous reset or imminent shutdown of the PC
• freezing during gameplay
• PSU overload can cause it to break down

Worst case, the PSU could blow taking other components with it.

Also, the 580 doesn’t make SilverStone’s own GPU support list.
Specs from your ST50F-ES link

In good conscience I can’t recommend using the SilverStone for your setup and a 580, especially an overclocked one. I always and only recommend using a high quality PSU such as:

CORSAIR Professional Series Gold AX650
SeaSonic X Series X650 Gold

A good 600w – 700w with 50+ amp 12v would do much better. Just my own personally thoughts on the power supply, I have no experience with it so I'm only going by what information I was able to find on the netz.

Thanks. I don't think I could afford those PSU's you just recommended, I need to save up. Im not good at PSU's so could you please check the link above for my Cooler Master PSU if its good enough?

Originally Posted by crap daddy

No matter how much people here still love the GTX580 it is not a card to buy anymore only if you want to SLI with a 580 that you own. And for the OP, that PSU, while a quality product, will not be enough for a GTX580 let alone an overclocked one.

Best bet is to wait two more weeks. The GTX660Ti will be a better card than the 7950 let alone the 580. For 300$ you will get a new card, 2GB VRAM and far lower power consumption which will fit nicely with your PSU.

I would also love to get the 660Ti, but the problem would be the availability. The 580 isn't even available from where I live, the only video cards for sale here on the shelf is a 550 Ti (hence my current video card lol)

Originally Posted by Brendruis

Combined 12V on that PSU is 408W/34A. 580 TDP is 244W. Even a ridiculous OC would probably be ok on it even with a dozen hard drives.

Keep in mind she is not really OC'ing that i5-2400 much or at all and I doubt she is going to go up to 1.15 or 1.2V on that 580.

Buying a new PSU I don't think is a good use of money unless she knows she is going multi GPU in the future.

Hey thanks for all your help guys. I'm really thinking hard about getting the 580 or just to wait for the 660 Ti.

The power consumption of the Kepler really sounds amazing to think that a 660Ti can come on par with the previous generation 580 beast but with lower power consumption.

I also think that my Silverstone can power the 580 but Im not too confident that it will last long or perform properly. As what ---TK--- mentioned above, I really dont want to experience those problems.

[---TK---]

http://www.*********.com/reviews/486...iew/index.html

[-Tj-]

^
But once you enable high AA levels, etc., it gets crippled by 145gb/s. And they didn't include 580gtx by few tests, i wonder why lol :].

The only game that really stands out is Bf3, i bet they build this GK104 with BF3 in mind, FrostByte engine loves FP16 texture performance

Originally Posted by HamsterCrispy

Cooler Master Silent Pro M600W

There's my cooler master. Its 80+ Bronze but Pill Monster said that the Silverstone would be better than it.

Imo this one should do the trick.


It has 40A (480W) by 12V rail

[Brendruis]

Originally Posted by -Tj-

Imo this one should do the trick.


It has 40A (480W) by 12V rail

Dude CoolerMaster is a worse brand for PSUs so I would consider that to be a downgrade.. 40A vs 34A who cares it is not going to net more performance. 400W on 12V is just plenty of power man. People are overly careful about getting a beefy power supply because of the horror stories out there. There are some brands that sell a 600W PSU that cannot nearly sustain that and will likely pop and kill your motherboard... Silverstone is not one of those brands.

[-Tj-]

Idk i thought gpu benefits more from higher amps then wattage and both use single 12v rail.

She has both at home, so she can always switch back..

[clawhamer]

You are correct. The PSU has to have enough amps and wattage to sustain the load that is placed on it. Fact is, both are important but unfortunately most people only look at the wattage and assume if it meets the recommended amount they are good to go without even checking the finer more important specs.

Build quality and amperage are what matter most, for example, Gigabyte recommend a 750w PSU when a 600w – 650w with 50+ amp on the 12v will easily handle that card and anything else in a basic system.