Am I right taking a GTX 580 over a 5970?

[jacktesterson]

Yep, Just scored one for $260 used. Guy wanted $300 and was talked down to this... He was parting his PC locally.

http://fredericton.kijiji.ca/c-buy-...-580-high-end-Graphix-card-W0QQAdIdZ334472367

He had it up and running before I bought it (showed me it running Starcraft II @ 1080p everything maxed with a i3 2100)... EVGA model, came with box and everything.

I met him at his house, have his phone #, he demonstrated it before taking it out of his setup... said was just parting it out for Cash.

So I'm confident.

So now my question, I just bought a 5970 on Black Friday. Its still not opened (Just arrived today). Am I making the right choice in taking the 580 over it?

My reasoning's:

-- Single GPU
-- 1.5GB VRAM
-- Minimums are same
-- Lower Cost to me

 

[lavaheadache]

580 for the win

 

[SolMiester]

yes!

 

[TemjinGold]

Hell yeah.

 

[OVerLoRDI]

Great price

 

[jacktesterson]

Great price

Lucked out. I negotiated by Text messaging haha (before I went to get it)

 

[tviceman]

Heck yeah. The hd5970 is a tad bit faster on average, but the gtx580 is more consistent and won't have any of the problems associated with SLI/Crossfire, it will be quieter, and you'll get the physx perk for supporting games.

 

[mrjoltcola]

Wow $260, I'm so happy for you I'm not even jealous - that would have been a steal on a 570 even!

In any case, the 580 will make a believer out of you once you run it. So don't open the other one, take it back.

As for VRAM, well that is debated ad nauseum on the forum by people who don't own the card, nor do they own larger resolution displays.

The only reason you'd need to worry about 1.5GB is if you plan to run 2560x1600 and/or multiple displays or SLI with 2 cards. At 1080p single display or lower, you aren't going to come close to 1.5GB.

 

[spinejam]

Congrat's on a great buy -- enjoy the 580!

 

[Vesku]

Go for the single GPU solution when they are close in price, definitely the right choice.

 

[Nintendesert]

I'd always take a fast single GPU solution over the multi-GPU setups. At that price you really can't go wrong. Send the 5970 back!

 

[Strange Famous]

Double the power per card at a fraction of the price? You got a steal, man, congratulations.

 

[RussianSensation]

I am going to say that HD5970 will smoke a GTX580 assuming there is proper scaling. When there isn't, it'll perform as fast an HD5870 if you overclock it.

In Bulletstorm, it's 80% faster. But then in F1 2010 it has poor scaling. The problem is there are many instances where HD5970 doesn't have great scaling. Just take a look at this review:

http://www.legionhardware.com/articles_pages/gigabyte_geforce_gtx_590_3072mb,4.html

In this case, it's really a toss up. I'd take the 580 for $260 since unlike HD6990/GTX590, the scaling of 5970 is less than stellar. GTX580 for $260 is a great deal. Keep it and then upgrade to next generation.

 

[Silverforce11]

gtx580 for that price is a steal, its always a good idea to try get a used gpu, sometimes the deals are awesome.

 

[BrightCandle]

I have a 5970 and given the choice again I would take the Nvidia 580.

The 5970 has been behaving very badly this winter in games, because its no longer the latest and greatest I have found AMD neglecting it in the driver updates and game profiles. Without a profile many games are unplayable slow (sub 20fps on low graphics) not just limited to the speed of one core. Custom tweaking was required for F1 2011, Rage and Skyrim just to get them playable let alone running well. It unfortunately also microstutters a lot in certain games and it lacks enough GPU RAM to do eyefinity in anything recent. IMO its a lemon of a card despite how well it often does in benchmarks. It has made the games this winter look positively difficult to run, despite the supposed great performance.

I want rid of this card as soon as the next gen cards are out and I wont be buying a dual core card again. Ideally I want NVidia with my next card, the faster single core is a much better approach, but in practice if its really a year away I wont wait for it.

 

[skipsneeky2]

Nice price on the gtx580

 

[RavenSEAL]

Darn Canadians and their stellar GPU deals

 

[lavaheadache]

I have a 5970 and given the choice again I would take the Nvidia 580.

The 5970 has been behaving very badly this winter in games, because its no longer the latest and greatest I have found AMD neglecting it in the driver updates and game profiles. Without a profile many games are unplayable slow (sub 20fps on low graphics) not just limited to the speed of one core. Custom tweaking was required for F1 2011, Rage and Skyrim just to get them playable let alone running well. It unfortunately also microstutters a lot in certain games and it lacks enough GPU RAM to do eyefinity in anything recent. IMO its a lemon of a card despite how well it often does in benchmarks. It has made the games this winter look positively difficult to run, despite the supposed great performance.

I want rid of this card as soon as the next gen cards are out and I wont be buying a dual core card again. Ideally I want NVidia with my next card, the faster single core is a much better approach, but in practice if its really a year away I wont wait for it.

I know all too well what you are saying. Multigpu is a novelty and it does wear off. For me it's single gpu or bust.

 

[Dkcode]

+1 for the above.

Sacrificing my 30" monitor and ridding my system of the GTX 295 in favour of a 1080P 120Hz with a single GTX 580 was the best decision I made for gaming.

Running dual monitors has its own benefit too.

Congrats to the OP for sealing such a deal. The 580 is the only card you will need for a while.

 

[BD231]

I wouldn't say no to dual GPU's if I had them but if you care to save the cash that's about as good a way to do so as you're going to get.

 

[Silverforce11]

CF/SLI is not for everyone, we all know the benefits and disadvantages. You require extra effort to troubleshoot issues.

Currently, if one wants to game in multi monitor or 1600p, multi-GPUs are required. Single gpus just dont have the power.

 

[Gikaseixas]

Keep the GTX 580 and sell the 5970 on Ebay. You can always jump on the SSD wagon with the extra $$

 

[Zanovar]

yes,great sig pic btw

 

[lavaheadache]

CF/SLI is not for everyone, we all know the benefits and disadvantages. You require extra effort to troubleshoot issues.

Currently, if one wants to game in multi monitor or 1600p, multi-GPUs are required. Single gpus just dont have the power.

while I see your point, I get by just fine with a lone 580. I'm definately going to pick up the next latest and greatest when they hit but till then my 580 and I will truck on.

 

[MrK6]

CF/SLI is not for everyone, we all know the benefits and disadvantages. You require extra effort to troubleshoot issues.

Currently, if one wants to game in multi monitor or 1600p, multi-GPUs are required. Single gpus just dont have the power.

I disagree.

Great deal, OP. eBay that 5970 now! :thumbsup: