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GTX 580 SLI or save up for Dell U3011

nitromullet

nitromullet

Diamond Member
I don't really usually ask for purchasing opinions, but I'm really kind of torn here...

My step up from EVGA finally came through, so I should be receiving my second GTX 580 in a week or so. I've been gaming quite happily with a single GTX 580 for a bit now, so I started considering selling the still sealed second card when I get it on ebay. I'm pretty sure I could pull in close to $500 for it, so I wouldn't be out much cash. Plus, by being able to apply the full purchase price of the GTX 470 towards the the GTX 580, I think I would actually make out better than had I just sold the GTX 470 on ebay outright.

Anyway, pretty straight forward... Do I keep the second GTX 580 and run overkill SLI for 1920x1200, or do I sell the second 580 and bank that money towards a $1200-1300 Dell U3011?

If I do decide to sell the GTX 580 I've entertained the idea of perhaps selling the one I already have and replacing it with 6950 CF. This would cost me probably about $150-175 out of pocket, but I'd definitely be ready to run a 2560x1600 display once I got the U3011.
 
The 6950CF + 30" plan is the one I would go with, considering that 580SLI and 6970CF or 6950CF are on near performance parity at 2560x1600, if you do switch to that res you will not see the difference in using the 6950 setup.

30" is the best upgrade I've ever made and I would always recommend it to others. 580SLI is a waste at 1920x1200.
 
I recommend a 2560x1600 display as well. It's good for gaming, but great for just general PC usage stuff.
 
You are all sort of confirming what I already was thinking.

I wish it were really a case of either GTX 580 SLI or U3011, but it's not... I'll have to be good and save my pennies for while before I can get the U3011. The money from the GTX 580 would be a good chunk towards it though.
 
Display first..its the longest lasting commodity and will give you greater long term value. Sure a lesser card will yeild lower fps in some bleeding edge titles even a 160 dollar 5850-see hot deals-would hold you over if you use the right settings and no AA.


I love my 3007 and use it more than my eyefinity setup right next to it.
 
I say go for monitor, getting one soon so as well, so many who have gone for it seem to enjoy it so hopefully I will too.
 
Tegeril said:
Why no love for the 2711?
Click to expand...

in my experience the smaller pixel pitch and 16:9 format makes the U2711 better for gaming and media playback, while the larger pixel pitch and resolution make the U3011 better for work, not that either monitor is terrible at anything - ever since I got my XL2410T for gaming my U2711 is now mostly for work, and its great at it, just as the U3011 is good for gaming as well.

basically just comes down to prioritization/preference
 
nitromullet said:
You are all sort of confirming what I already was thinking.

I wish it were really a case of either GTX 580 SLI or U3011, but it's not... I'll have to be good and save my pennies for while before I can get the U3011. The money from the GTX 580 would be a good chunk towards it though.
Click to expand...

I still say sell the 580 and save for the U3011. The monitory will be a lasting investment, not to mention it looks amazing. Just throw that money you make from the 580 in the bank and sit on it until you build up enough to buy the monitor.
 
Sell the 580s and pick up a pair of 6950s and buy the U3011. I love the immersion that comes with a 30" screen. If you don't mind flashing the 6950s, they will perform very comparably to SLI 580s. Even if you keep them stock, the performance delta is still small. Much better value IMO.
 
Elfear said:
I love the immersion that comes with a 30" screen.
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Using iTunes at 2560x1600 was fantastic for me, and putting two browser windows side-by-side and still having 1280 pixels for each one was amazing... but I was actually quite surprised to find I felt weird playing video games on a screen that large, TF2 was disorienting.

I returned my crappy 30" LG and bought the Dell U2410 a while later, don't regret it one bit.
 
Elfear said:
Sell the 580s and pick up a pair of 6950s and buy the U3011. I love the immersion that comes with a 30" screen. If you don't mind flashing the 6950s, they will perform very comparably to SLI 580s. Even if you keep them stock, the performance delta is still small. Much better value IMO.
Click to expand...

I'm thinking very much along these lines. What I'd probably actually do is sell the new GTX 580 when I get it, pick up the two 6950s, bench/compare them to my current GTX 580 as stock 6950s and flashed 6970s (provided that the flash worked), and keep whichever I liked better.
 
Tegeril said:
Why no love for the 2711?
Click to expand...

bunnyfubbles said:
in my experience the smaller pixel pitch and 16:9 format makes the U2711 better for gaming and media playback, while the larger pixel pitch and resolution make the U3011 better for work, not that either monitor is terrible at anything - ever since I got my XL2410T for gaming my U2711 is now mostly for work, and its great at it, just as the U3011 is good for gaming as well.

basically just comes down to prioritization/preference
Click to expand...


I think I would prefer the U2711 also but it should be priced a little lower considering how many deals come up (and so often) for the 30"
 
nitromullet said:
I'm thinking very much along these lines. What I'd probably actually do is sell the new GTX 580 when I get it, pick up the two 6950s, bench/compare them to my current GTX 580 as stock 6950s and flashed 6970s (provided that the flash worked), and keep whichever I liked better.
Click to expand...

Dunno how I feel about dual 6950's (benches are nice, seems like there have been a few niggling issues though), but I know two things:
1. SLI 580's are ridiculous overkill for everything but Crysis in ninja mode and Metro 2033. Unless those two games bring a lot of joy to your life, you don't need them.
2. Dell monitors rock. My 2407WFP has been rock solid for over 5 years. Given the chance to do it over, I would have spent the extra money and gone with the 30.
 
CosmicMight said:
Dunno how I feel about dual 6950's (benches are nice, seems like there have been a few niggling issues though)
Click to expand...

It would be cool to have the first hand experience with the 6950s though. Especially because I could compare them directly the GTX 580 myself. Running your own tests is worth 1000 reviews IMO.

1. SLI 580's are ridiculous overkill for everything but Crysis in ninja mode and Metro 2033. Unless those two games bring a lot of joy to your life, you don't need them.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I kind of came to that realization with running a single one for the past month. A single GTX 580 is providing me with a great gaming experience at 1920x1200, even in Crysis Warhead and Metro 2033. GTX 580 SLI was really only an option because of the step-up I had available from owning dual GTX 470s.

2. Dell monitors rock. My 2407WFP has been rock solid for over 5 years. Given the chance to do it over, I would have spent the extra money and gone with the 30.
Click to expand...

I used to agree with that 100%. I owned a 2005FPW and a 2407WFP, which I was very happy with.

However, when I upgraded to a 2408WFP (I wanted 1:1 scaling, not provided by the 2407) I was very disappointed in the picture and overall quality control of the monitor. I had two of them at the same time, and both had a horrible picture and both were not uniform with each other. I ended up returning both and grabbing the Eizo, which is an absolutely awesome 1920x1200 display.

That being said, I've done my research on the U3011 and it seems that the early wide gamut displays from Dell in 2008 were a low point for color and image quality for Dell. It seems that they had some growing pains with their transition to wide gamut that they have since resolved. I have not seen a Uxx11 monitor in person though, so I can't say firsthand how they compare to the 2408WFP.
 
edplayer said:
I think I would prefer the U2711 also but it should be priced a little lower considering how many deals come up (and so often) for the 30"
Click to expand...

My system at work is a 27" iMac so I'm definitely comfortable with that configuration for work so I guess if it's even better for games and movies... I think I'm sold when tax refund time comes and maybe there will be some better pricing at that point 🙂
 
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