GTX 580 or R9 270x

[Xantac]

So I am building my brother a PC and the last piece is the GPU, I had found both(close prices) GTX 580 and the R9 270x's are selling everywhere. Issue number one is answering my question is I grabbed a 500 watt PSU so If I do get the 580 Ill need a 600ish watt or so and that will cost 50+ more then the 270x.

If based on pure performance what card would you use? Has anyone had experience with both these cards?

I have change from looking for a 470/560 ti 448 to considering the 270x and finally found a reasonable 580 for sale.

 

[Attic]

Performance of these two cards is roughly equivalent.

The GTX 580 going to be with 1.5gb of VRAM or 3gb? Most sold had 1.5gb which is a drawback.

The 270x is going to use a lot less power.

Unless the 580 is substantially cheaper, i'd go 270x in this matchup.

 

[KentState]

270x all the way around.

 

[SlickR12345]

270x uses less power, the standard model comes with 2GB memory and should be faster in newer games.

Nvidia also drops support for graphics once 3 generations or about 4 years have passed from the last, so I'd expect them to actually drop support and drivers for the 500 series next year.

 

[Moe Zart]

270x uses less power, the standard model comes with 2GB memory and should be faster in newer games.

Nvidia also drops support for graphics once 3 generations or about 4 years have passed from the last, so I'd expect them to actually drop support and drivers for the 500 series next year.

Most of the updates already do nothing for the 580, actually no that's not accurate, they often mess it up.

Driver updates for extra performance only affect the current line of cards, When I got my GTX 580 the first year (when it was released) there were constant performance updates, but the next year the performance benefits were only for the 600 series, even though the update applied to all Nvidia cards. It actually caused intermittent stuttering in some games and I had to revert to previous driver versions.

OP: GTX 580 is quite an old card, not worth getting.

 

[blastingcap]

270x all the way. More VRAM and better perf/watt.

 

[RussianSensation]

R9 270X no doubt. Better performance/watt, even faster once overclocked, 2GB of VRAM, free games, continued driver updates for newer games. 580 with 1.5GB should not even be a consideration. If you can stretch it to $210, R9 280s are an awesome deal right now. Overclocked to 1150mhz, you are looking at ~ R9 280X/770 level of performance.

Amazing value considering 770 4GB usually goes for $350+.

 

[nurturedhate]

The 270x without question. Though I would also make the same suggestion as Russian did and step up to the 280 as the price difference between it and the 270x is rather small but the performance jump is large.