Got my GTX 580 :-)

[zod96]

Well I got my GTX 580 installed today. This is coming from a 6950 2GB. Well on BF3 I can now play at:

1920x1200
All HIGH
SSAO
HIGH Post AA
No Deferred AA
16xAF
Vsync

I can play any map indoor or outdoor and my frames never move from 60 its solid. Even with lots of stuff going on it never moves. I tried Ultra and then it would go up and down from 50-60. But I really didn't see a difference in quality so I just went with HIGH. I also tried HHAO and 2x differed Aa and then again it would start to dip between 50-60. After playing for an hour my load temp was 62, not bad. The card is not quiet on load, but it is not loud either. I was expecting it to be worse than it was. With the speakers on I didn't notice it really. Someone said it was like a flowing river, that is pretty much what it is like. And mine has no buzzing noise either. And this is with the first set of drivers that Nvidia have released, so I am sure it will only get better. Very pleased Not at the price of course :-( But you want the best you have to pay for it I guess

 

[Elfear]

Did you see a noticeable performance difference between your 580 and your 6950 at 1080p?

 

[toyota]

and what kind of gtx580 is that because only 62C under load does not sound possible?

 

[zod96]

Its the standard Evga GTX 580. And yes I noticed a huge difference from the 6950 to 580. On the load temp thing. I did have to exit the game and quickly check the load temps right after I exited the game and it was 62. So it may be higher from the time I get out of the game to when I read it. Their is about a 15 second gap.

 

[blackened23]

Did you see a noticeable performance difference between your 580 and your 6950 at 1080p?

There's definitely a noticeable difference with both cards at stock

 

[toyota]

Its the standard Evga GTX 580. And yes I noticed a huge difference from the 6950 to 580. On the load temp thing. I did have to exit the game and quickly check the load temps right after I exited the game and it was 62. So it may be higher from the time I get out of the game to when I read it. Their is about a 15 second gap.

temps must have dropped quickly before you looked then then because there is zero chance of the reference card hitting only 62C under heavy load. you know that pretty much any monitoring app keeps track of temps so you could see what its actually hitting. saying your gpu only hit a max of 62C was pretty misleading after all. mid to upper 70s would be the lowest I would think you would see unless you live in an igloo.

 

[blackened23]

temps must have dropped quickly before you looked then then because there is zero chance of the reference card hitting only 62C under heavy load. you know that pretty much any monitoring app keeps track of temps so you could see what its actually hitting. saying your gpu only hit a max of 62C was pretty misleading after all. mid to upper 70s would be the lowest I would think you would see unless you live in an igloo.

True, a reference card can hit mid/high 80s at load. At least thats what i've seen.

 

[sep]

Did you see a noticeable performance difference between your 580 and your 6950 at 1080p?

Yeah...curious here too as my 6950 is coming tomorrow.

 

[rgallant]

welcome to the 580 club

http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=351678
-use msi-ab for on screen display
-and auto fan profile

 

[cmdrdredd]

There would be a performance difference on paper for sure, but I wonder if you can tell in the actual gameplay. Sometimes you just can't, depending on the game.

 

[houe]

My MSI 580 only gets up to about 70C-72C max.

 

[toyota]

My MSI 580 only gets up to about 70C-72C max.

well you don't have a reference model.

 

[BD231]

So do you 580 owners feel like you're getting your money worth?

 

[Termie]

and what kind of gtx580 is that because only 62C under load does not sound possible?

And the reason is...

Well I got my GTX 580 installed today. This is coming from a 6950 2GB. Well on BF3 I can now play at:

1920x1200
All HIGH
SSAO
HIGH Post AA
No Deferred AA
16xAF
Vsync

I can play any map indoor or outdoor and my frames never move from 60 its solid. Even with lots of stuff going on it never moves. I tried Ultra and then it would go up and down from 50-60. But I really didn't see a difference in quality so I just went with HIGH. I also tried HHAO and 2x differed Aa and then again it would start to dip between 50-60. After playing for an hour my load temp was 62, not bad. The card is not quiet on load, but it is not loud either. I was expecting it to be worse than it was. With the speakers on I didn't notice it really. Someone said it was like a flowing river, that is pretty much what it is like. And mine has no buzzing noise either. And this is with the first set of drivers that Nvidia have released, so I am sure it will only get better. Very pleased Not at the price of course :-( But you want the best you have to pay for it I guess

He's probably barely at 80% load with vsync on at those settings. Combine that with the task-switching to get a reading and 62 is easy.

Did you see a noticeable performance difference between your 580 and your 6950 at 1080p?

The 6950 would only hit around 50fps at those settings. He's getting 60+. Not a huge upgrade but significant for playability in BF3.

 

[lavaheadache]

temps must have dropped quickly before you looked then then because there is zero chance of the reference card hitting only 62C under heavy load. you know that pretty much any monitoring app keeps track of temps so you could see what its actually hitting. saying your gpu only hit a max of 62C was pretty misleading after all. mid to upper 70s would be the lowest I would think you would see unless you live in an igloo.

My reference 580 stays at about 77c I don't think I have ever seen higher. Then again, I don't think I've looked in the dead of summer on the hottest of days while gaming.

 

[Jhatfie]

and what kind of gtx580 is that because only 62C under load does not sound possible?

My Galaxy GTX 580 at 930/2250 @ 1.1v would only get into the low 60's under load in BF3. Not sure why, but games like Crysis 2 and Witcher 2 heated it up at least another 6-8C.

It's funny the OP went from a HD 6950 to a GTX 580. I actually just sold my 580 because my 6950 performed pretty much exactly the same in BF3 at 2560x1600, Ultra Details, MSAA off, 16xAF. Actually in my bench, my 6950 was a couple fps higher with both in the low 40's average, but I also only did one run through so there was certainly some margin of error possible there but likely only a couple fps. This was with my 580 at 930 core and 2250 memory and my 6950 w/unlocked shaders and at 970/1370.

 

[toyota]

My Galaxy GTX 580 at 930/2250 @ 1.1v would only get into the low 60's under load in BF3. Not sure why, but games like Crysis 2 and Witcher 2 heated it up at least another 6-8C.

It's funny the OP went from a HD 6950 to a GTX 580. I actually just sold my 580 because my 6950 performed pretty much exactly the same in BF3 at 2560x1600, Ultra Details, MSAA off, 16xAF. Actually in my bench, my 6950 was a couple fps higher with both in the low 40's average, but I also only did one run through so there was certainly some margin of error possible there but likely only a couple fps. This was with my 580 at 930 core and 2250 memory and my 6950 w/unlocked shaders and at 970/1370.

but your card is not a reference now is it?

 

[Jhatfie]

but your card is not a reference now is it?

You are correct sir, neither card is.

 

[houe]

So do you 580 owners feel like you're getting your money worth?

Of course not, who buys a 580 for value?

 

[toyota]

Of course not, who buys a 580 for value?

yeah I was thinking the same. I would have really liked more gpu power but the jump in price to the gtx580 over the gtx570 made little sense. I did get lucky and catch the non reference cooler Galaxy gtx570 for $260 with Batman Arkham City though which made the price gap to the gtx580 look even bigger. I almost wish I would have saved 80 bucks and gotten a Galaxy gtx560ti at that time though. I could have oced it close to gtx570 speeds since they seem to oc pretty good. sadly my gtx570 does not oc worth a crap and I am just going to be content with leaving it on stock speeds.

 

[theattrox]

I thought I was over paying for my GTX 570 and was considering to drop down to the 6950 and OC it to a 6970.

 

[lavaheadache]

Of course not, who buys a 580 for value?

Considering I paid $395 for my 580 early December last year and could still turn it right now for less than a $50 dollar hit. I consider that a value.

 

[penske2298977]

Actually, I feel as if I definitely got my money's worth with a pair of sli'd gigabyte 580's SOC. Everything, just plain works (yes, there are exceptions) -- but a way better ownership experience from a pair of HIS 5970's crossfired that gave me nothing but headaches --- please note, I'm not in any way trying to flame AMD/ATI, the 5970 was/is a great product, but my user experience with those cards (crossfired) was less than ideal. Whereas 580's rock, particulalry the non-reference boards like the gigabyte 580 SOC.

 

[videopho]

temps must have dropped quickly before you looked then then because there is zero chance of the reference card hitting only 62C under heavy load. you know that pretty much any monitoring app keeps track of temps so you could see what its actually hitting. saying your gpu only hit a max of 62C was pretty misleading after all. mid to upper 70s would be the lowest I would think you would see unless you live in an igloo.

If you use MSI afterburner you could see the gpu temps pretty far back in time when the rig was in gaming mode.

 

[WT]

So do you 580 owners feel like you're getting your money worth?

I personally never get my money's worth on a video card upgrade. I tend to enjoy playing my older games (TF2, Company of Heroes, Borderland) rather than the new ones coming out such as BF3 or Skyrim. This was the third card in a row I plunked down $400 for, and each time I sorta regret it a bit.

After building a 2500k/Z68/GTX580 rig a month ago, it is still sitting on my workbench and I'm using my old Q6600/GTX280 for now until I actually make the switch.

I did want to buy the Toxic 6950, but after getting the 580 I don't regret buying it until the monthly electricity bill shows up.