reason to upgrade from GTX 295 yet?

[cmdrdredd]

Still holding on to the 295, any reason to upgrade yet? Most people told me the 570 was marginally faster but not worth it and only if I wanted to pony up the cash for the 580 should I do it. That was a while back, is there anything in the pipe hardware wise that I really want to look at soonish? How about software wise, any game I gotta have more muscle for? Haven't tried Crysis 2 yet but I hear it runs pretty well on older stuff.

 

[alcoholbob]

Well you could run pretty much any game on medium settings, max is a different issue.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Well you could run pretty much any game on medium settings, max is a different issue.

What games? Honestly I haven't run into any problems running max in every game I have tried. I haven't tried every game out there though. My resolution is stuck at 1920x1200 due to desktop space constraints lol.

 

[mnewsham]

the 28nm GPU's expected later this year are what you should be looking at, but expect high end parts around q4

 

[cmdrdredd]

the 28nm GPU's expected later this year are what you should be looking at, but expect high end parts around q4

Ok so I have a while, unless Rage or Duke Nukem Forever need more power than my 295.

 

[T101]

Try witcher 2....

 

[lavaheadache]

I would say wait. A 295 is almost a 580 in terms of power, and dx 11 is mostly moot at this point, save the money for now. I'm sure there is a new king of the hill around the corner that will be more worthy of your buck and hopefully there will be a need for it

 

[vrait]

Wait for the 600 cards.

 

[RussianSensation]

What games? Honestly I haven't run into any problems running max in every game I have tried. I haven't tried every game out there though. My resolution is stuck at 1920x1200 due to desktop space constraints lol.

Then in your specific case, there is no reason to upgrade. Sure we can find benchmarks online where your setup is too slow, but if it's fast enough for you, might as well wait and save your $$. GTX6xx and HD7000 are going to launch this year; so you will have plenty of time to upgrade. There is always something faster around the corner.

 

[CFP]

I'm going from 2 295's to a single 580.

But my reasoning is that I'm sick of having 2 cards in the system, heating it all up, and increasing restriction in my loop.

 

[nanaki333]

I'm going from 2 295's to a single 580.

But my reasoning is that I'm sick of having 2 cards in the system, heating it all up, and increasing restriction in my loop.

i can't imagine that case being very quiet either...

 

[Necc]

What games? Honestly I haven't run into any problems running max in every game I have tried. I haven't tried every game out there though. My resolution is stuck at 1920x1200 due to desktop space constraints lol.

So if you'r happy with your 295 why are you asking the question?

 

[Dkcode]

I tried a GTX 480, Radeon 6970 and finally settled on the GTX 580 and I also upgraded from a GTX 295.

All cards were a significant improvement, especially the 580 and I would say its well worth it if your up for spending the cash.

The 295 is quick but minimum frame rates suffered somewhat, Bad Company 2 runs so much better on the 580; no microstutter, much better average frame rates (never drops below 60FPS) with 4x AA @ 1920x1080. The 295 could not handle AA without some grumbling.

 

[skipsneeky2]

if you hate the noise the gtx295 puts out the lack of dx11 the possibility the games you play wont support sli alas making your card perform like a gtx260 i say go gtx580,this coming from a prior gtx295 owner i think its a worthy upgrade much better lower fps too and the framerate is very solid not so much jumping all over the place

 

[cmdrdredd]

So if you'r happy with your 295 why are you asking the question?

So gathering information and opinions from others is against your rules? Why are you responding to my thread? Seriously...some people amaze me.

I did say I haven't tried every game didn't I? What does that mean? Well, there might possibly be something out there that is not that good on a 295 these days. I asked because I didn't know. You replied because you wanted to be a jackass.

SLI sucks to deal with generally speaking. I am anxious to go back to a single GPU. However, the fact remains that there isn't enough reason to spend the money right now. The noise and all that doesn't matter to me, I don't notice it any more than I notice a fly buzzing. I think I'll wait for the next gen and go to that.

 

[CFP]

i can't imagine that case being very quiet either...

Well that's the thing. I had sacrificed thermal performance for quietness. As such, my 2 cards idled at 46 degrees in the same loop with my CPU which also idled at 40 degrees. Madness. 2 PA 120.2's and a single BI SR120. To compound things, one of my pumps died, meaning a single DDC3.2 was pushing through 2 FC WB's and an Apogee XT - a restriction nightmare.

Finally got the 295's out of the system yesterday, and a GTX580 in its place. CPU temps have dropped 10 degrees, and the 580 outperforms the 2 295's in games that I play. Also, no more microstuttering!

All in all, super happy I made the move. Some may consider it a lateral move, as the 295's in SLI can outperform a 580, but it was worth it. Hated the heat and restriction.

SLI sucks to deal with generally speaking. I am anxious to go back to a single GPU. However, the fact remains that there isn't enough reason to spend the money right now. The noise and all that doesn't matter to me, I don't notice it any more than I notice a fly buzzing. I think I'll wait for the next gen and go to that.

Yeah, I've been CF (4870x2) then quad-sli (2x295) and, though the former was ok, I did not have much success with the latter. Saw microstuttering, and the 896MB or whatever the 295 has for VRAM just doesn't cut it anymore.

If you had the money, I'd advocate the move to a 580 / 6970. If you don't, you should be able to hold out with the 295 for a while yet.

 

[taltamir]

if the noise bothers you, get watercooling. You certainly seem to have the money for it. And microstuttering is an issue so get a monolithic single GPU.

A single GTX580, watercooled seems just the thing for you, and on Q4 you can upgrade it to next gen if needed.

 

[skipsneeky2]

if the noise bothers you, get watercooling. You certainly seem to have the money for it. And microstuttering is an issue so get a monolithic single GPU.

A single GTX580, watercooled seems just the thing for you, and on Q4 you can upgrade it to next gen if needed.

Water cooling on modern pcs i think is a waste,especially on a gtx580.

My gtx580 housed in my antec 900 has never seen over 64cel load.

Its been folding for 15 hours straight with my room at a cool 70 or so,its sitting at 54cel fully loaded.

Now for 3 gtx580 cards sandwiched together in sli,thats another story .

 

[taltamir]

Water cooling on modern pcs i think is a waste

Good for you, but the OP has the money and is bothered by the noise... frankly I find the noise on my GTX260 (which is lower then yours) to be unacceptably loud and if I had the money I would watercool.

If the OP thinks its too loud than that is his choice and I am going to suggest methods to fix it (watercooling), if you think it isn't then don't bother.

 

[skipsneeky2]

Good for you, but the OP has the money and is bothered by the noise... frankly I find the noise on my GTX260 (which is lower then yours) to be unacceptably loud and if I had the money I would watercool.

If the OP thinks its too loud than that is his choice and I am going to suggest methods to fix it (watercooling), if you think it isn't then don't bother.

Well if noise is the main concern ,sure water cooling is a good option.

 

[nenforcer]

BF:BC2 is the only DX11 game I want to play now that could use a DX11 card.

I can hold off on Metro 2033 and what else, Civilization 5?

As much as I want a DX11 card I will probably hold off until September when BF3 and Rage are out.

 

[GotNoRice]

There is little reason to upgrade from a GTX295 at this point, especially when you consider that most DirectX11 games run directly on DirectX10 hardware by design. The only thing DX11 hardware gives you are DX11 specific features such as Tessellation, but otherwise you're already 90% there with DX10.