Nvidia GTX 580 Reviews

[cold2010]

http://nvision.pl/GeForce-GTX-580-GF...etails-18.html

[bamtan2]

fermi-done-right versus amd/ati's biggest and best chip ever -- a battle for the ages

[Andrew LB]

Trending steady. We have seen a few sales here in Canada which brought the price down from $539 to $499 though Newegg continues to gouge for some reason.

Newegg has really gone to hell over the past couple years. They used to have the lowest prices online, and were typically 25% below what I'd pay if I walked into Fry's Electronics, MicroCenter, or CompUSA (when they had stores). Sad to say, but I usually drive 15 miles to MicroCenter in Tustin, CA to buy most computer parts since most of their prices are easily on par with the online e-tailers, plus I don't have to wait for UPS to come. They even price their CPU's according to the best prices at the internet stores. I paid $199 for my i7 860 a year ago, while Newegg is still $279 right this moment.

And FYI.... Microcenter isn't charging a dime over MSRP for this video card.



I'm quite surprised how nVidia (and ATi) even put up with retailers adding markups over MSRP to their products. A very common practice when drafting a contract between manufacturer/distributor and retailer is to have it contain a clause stating that authorized retailers are not permitted to charge over MSRP. In addition, contracts tend to contain rules about much below MSRP (above dealer cost) a product can be sold. We did that at Oettinger GmbH (a VW and Audi tuner) in order to keep our nationwide dealer network from killing each other, and their own businesses if one shop had a distinct advantage because of low overhead costs. It also ensured we could prevent gray market goods from sneaking in as well as making sure parts were sold and installed via our dealers. Inexperienced body shops tended to do horrible jobs on body kit fit, even simple exhaust installs would wind up crooked.

[onethreehill]

Disable GeForce GTX 580 Power Throttling using GPU-Z
NVIDIA shook the high-end PC hardware industry earlier this month with the surprise launch of its GeForce GTX 580 graphics card, which extended the lead for single-GPU performance NVIDIA has been holding. It also managed to come up with some great performance per Watt improvements over the previous generation. The reference design board, however, made use of a clock speed throttling logic which reduced clock speeds when an extremely demanding 3D application such as Furmark or OCCT is run. While this is a novel way to protect components saving consumers from potentially permanent damage to the hardware, it does come as a gripe to expert users, enthusiasts and overclockers, who know what they're doing.

GPU-Z developer and our boss W1zzard has devised a way to make disabling this protection accessible to everyone (who knows what he's dealing with), and came up with a nifty new feature for GPU-Z, our popular GPU diagnostics and monitoring utility, that can disable the speed throttling mechanism. It is a new command-line argument for GPU-Z, that's "/GTX580OCP". Start the GPU-Z executable (within Windows, using Command Prompt or shortcut), using that argument, and it will disable the clock speed throttling mechanism. For example, "X:gpuz.exe /GTX580OCP" It will stay disabled for the remainder of the session, you can close GPU-Z. It will be enabled again on the next boot....

http://www.techpowerup.com/134460/Di...ing-GPU-Z.html

[ChinStrap]

W1zzard is the man. period.

[Dainas]

Almost all of neweggs 580s have a 10% off promo and free shipping. Stupid I know but it still works out to msrp.

Both GTX 480 & GTX 580 clocked at 701/924. The game tested was Metro 2033
at a resolution of 1920x1200 (also 1280). At 1920:
580: 39.33 FPS
480: 38.00 FPS
This is a difference of 1.33 FPS. I only wished they tested more DX11 games.
source

Metro 2033, to put it kindly, has problems with drivers. All that tells you is how poorly optimized it is. Same thing happens with fallout3 and oblivion... should rename their exe to falloutNV.

[Johnny87au]

doesnt seem all that much better SLI then the 480s in SLI, wonder if ATI 69XX series will rape the 580??

[Dahmer]

dude you can't talk crap about his rig, if the specs in his sig are true it's a total beast. when you have that kinda money you expect massive performance and 480 SLI delivers the best performance (and game support) for the price he paid.

That's not talking crap? I just thought the typo of watercooled vs wattercooled was hilarious on a rig with 2 480's. I also know very well that those cards deliver, sadly at a high price but they still deliver.
As for the 8800GT for physx that was mainly a test and I took it out not long after since I think it's a waste of power. *removes from sig*

@Johnny87au :
I was thinking the same, wonder how much that will change with never drivers.
Really love the fight nvidia & amd are having, giving us something interesting to look at and more hardware to play with

[Olivon]

Overclocking the ASUS GTX 580 Voltage Tweak Edition - Hardware Canucks

[Monstru]

A liitle update from us, GTX 580 article number 3:

GTX 580 vs HD 5970 - The gamer's test | LAB501 | Google Translate

Performance tests in 21 games, with min/max/avg fps.

[safan80]

A liitle update from us, GTX 580 article number 3:

GTX 580 vs HD 5970 - The gamer's test | LAB501 | Google Translate

Performance tests in 21 games, with min/max/avg fps.

Nice review, but you are missing 2560x1600. That res would not be a "draw".

[saaya]

no 1600? spending 550-700$ on a 5970 to play at 1080/1200 is a bit weird imo
there are cards that cost 1/3 and do the job
with 8aa you CAN push those cards at 1080/1200, but it doesnt really make sense...
your better off getting a 1600 display and playing with 4aa or even 2aa... better experience if you ask me

if you spend this much on a vga, spending less than that on a display is an unbalanced decision imo

interesting numbers nevertheless... at high aa the 580 is doing well... too bad theres no 480 in there to compare to

[tajoh111]

no 1600? spending 550-700$ on a 5970 to play at 1080/1200 is a bit weird imo
there are cards that cost 1/3 and do the job
with 8aa you CAN push those cards at 1080/1200, but it doesnt really make sense...
your better off getting a 1600 display and playing with 4aa or even 2aa... better experience if you ask me

if you spend this much on a vga, spending less than that on a display is an unbalanced decision imo

interesting numbers nevertheless... at high aa the 580 is doing well... too bad theres no 480 in there to compare to

More than you would think. 1600*2560 monitors are still pretty expensive at 1200 dollars+. But I do agree, they do need to test at both resolutions. I guess it is somewhat understandable that they only tested at one because of the amount of games.

Are 5970 still 700 dollars in romania?

[Manicdan]

i looked at all the average fps, quite a few were way past 60 average, but a decent chunk still were under or around 60, meaning 1920 is still very stressable.

but i do agree that if your going to spend 500+ on a gpu, get a 1000$ monitor that will last for many generations.
however it might mean you need to spend more on gpus just to use that resolution.
(ps, im really mad that gateway stopped making their 30", when it was going away the price was 940$ with free shipping, nothing is even close to that anymore)

[Monstru]

Nice review, but you are missing 2560x1600. That res would not be a "draw".

Guys, the launch review I made has 1920x1200 8x/2xAA and 2560x1600 with 4x/noAA. That is my type of review, which I consider much more accurate then this one we are talking about. This was a "gamer's review", so I had to choose the best case scenario for these boards. Now as far as my Analitycs satistics tell me, and as far as Steam statistics tell me, very few people have 30" monitors.

I thought about it like this:

1920x1200 with everything maxed out, UD7 + i950, HD 5970 or GTX 580 = tipical high-end machine

2560x1600, UD9, i980X, 2xGTX 580 or more = extreme enthusiast machine


I simply had to choose the best scenario for these two cards, in order to be able to test 21 games. Also, this is a test for our readrs, so they can say which review they like the most, this one or our initial GTX 580. My point in the end is that both reviews have the same results (GTX 580 vs HD 5970 is pretty much a draw), even if you test in 6 or 21 games. The part I like the most about our first review is the fact that it is much more accurate, using 2 AA setings an 2 resolutions, no fraps, and so on.

Thing is both reviews take the same ammount of time to work on if I make them like this. If I would do the 21 games review with 2 res and 2 AA settings and 3cards, it would take me an enormous ammount of time we do not have. So this is pretty much a question of choice for our readers. Which one do you preffer, the acuurate launch review with less games, or the 21 games review with only one setting, min/max/avg fps with Fraps and so on.

[saaya]

More than you would think. 1600*2560 monitors are still pretty expensive at 1200 dollars+. But I do agree, they do need to test at both resolutions. I guess it is somewhat understandable that they only tested at one because of the amount of games.

Are 5970 still 700 dollars in romania?

wow wtf??? 30" prices went up by 30%??? when did that happen?
and what happened to the 27" 1600 panels?
but there are 13" 1600x900 panels for laptops... the disp industry is weird lol

i looked at all the average fps, quite a few were way past 60 average, but a decent chunk still were under or around 60, meaning 1920 is still very stressable.

well with 8aa...

monstru, your right... good research!
i didnt notice that 1600 panels were almost dead... i really wonder what happened...

<200$ 1080
300$ 1200
>3500$ 1536
1200$ 1600



so the only thing above 1080/1200 is basically dual 1080/1200?
but that sucks for most games... 3 displays is much better than 2... but it still sucks and its so many pixels it will be hard to feed again...

sigh... this shows how disconnected videocard makers and the display makers are... or could it be that this is some weird transition phase and we will have very cheap 1600 panels soon?

both nvidia and ati really need that, cause a 580 really doesnt make much sense for 1080/1200... and neither will a 6900 or 5970 make sense...

[Monstru]

Coming up....

[onethreehill]

PALIT recalling their GTX 580 Sonic?

Dear customer

Thank you for purchasing Palit product.

We found few GPUs seem have unstable status in factory clock so we issue the recall notice.
Most of the GTX 580 Sonic products don't have such an issue but we rather to have more conservative consideration so we issue the recall notice.
Please contact your vendor to proceed further recall steps.
Thanks.

Palit Support

http://www.evga.com/forums/tm.aspx?m=694378

[E30M3]

GeForce GTX 580 vs. Radeon HD 5970 2GB Performance

The HD 5970 delivers faster gaming framerates compared to the GeForce GT 580. However, if you look at the actual usability of those frame the picture is a bit different. The GeForce GTX 580 allows a consistently higher level of the gameplay experience compared to the Radeon HD 5970. We were able to game at higher settings with the GTX 580 than we were with the Radeon HD 5970. The most important factor, beyond framerates, is the visual quality and experience returned by the product. The GeForce GTX 580 allows a more immersive, smoother, and consistent quality of gameplay.



http://www.hardocp.com/article/2010/...gb_performance

[zalbard]

Smoother gameplay, huh?.. I think I've seen it before...

[cegras]

wow wtf??? 30" prices went up by 30%??? when did that happen?
and what happened to the 27" 1600 panels?
but there are 13" 1600x900 panels for laptops... the disp industry is weird lol


well with 8aa...

monstru, your right... good research!
i didnt notice that 1600 panels were almost dead... i really wonder what happened...

<200$ 1080
300$ 1200
>3500$ 1536
1200$ 1600



so the only thing above 1080/1200 is basically dual 1080/1200?
but that sucks for most games... 3 displays is much better than 2... but it still sucks and its so many pixels it will be hard to feed again...

sigh... this shows how disconnected videocard makers and the display makers are... or could it be that this is some weird transition phase and we will have very cheap 1600 panels soon?

both nvidia and ati really need that, cause a 580 really doesnt make much sense for 1080/1200... and neither will a 6900 or 5970 make sense...

Changing standards and EOL. Just like those rogue 2900XT's you see on NCIX for $700 or something.

[[XC] hipno650]

Nice review, but you are missing 2560x1600. That res would not be a "draw".

if anything they should have reviewed with a triple 1080p surround/eyefinity considering buying 3 23inch 1080p monitors is still half as expensive as one 30inch...

and lets be honest if you have the money for a 1600p screen you should have the money and smarts to be running SLI GTX 470's or Crossfire 5870's at a MINIMUM. more like GTX 480 SLI with that kind of cash...

[trinibwoy]

People avoid multi GPU setups for reasons other than cost. Being able to afford something doesnt make it an automatic purchase.

[safan80]

and lets be honest if you have the money for a 1600p screen you should have the money and smarts to be running SLI GTX 470's or Crossfire 5870's at a MINIMUM. more like GTX 480 SLI with that kind of cash...

When the 5970 launched I purchased 2 5970s but I sold the second one later for cash. The 480 was not the full fermi, so I refused to buy it. The 580 GTX was late to the part and it is not even a thought at this point because it would not be an upgrade because it performed the same as my year old 5970.

Now as far as my Analitycs satistics tell me, and as far as Steam statistics tell me, very few people have 30" monitors.

I thought about it like this:

1920x1200 with everything maxed out, UD7 + i950, HD 5970 or GTX 580 = tipical high-end machine

2560x1600, UD9, i980X, 2xGTX 580 or more = extreme enthusiast machine


I simply had to choose the best scenario for these two cards, in order to be able to test 21 games. Also, this is a test for our readrs, so they can say which review they like the most, this one or our initial GTX 580. My point in the end is that both reviews have the same results (GTX 580 vs HD 5970 is pretty much a draw), even if you test in 6 or 21 games. The part I like the most about our first review is the fact that it is much more accurate, using 2 AA setings an 2 resolutions, no fraps, and so on.

Thing is both reviews take the same ammount of time to work on if I make them like this. If I would do the 21 games review with 2 res and 2 AA settings and 3cards, it would take me an enormous ammount of time we do not have. So this is pretty much a question of choice for our readers. Which one do you preffer, the acuurate launch review with less games, or the 21 games review with only one setting, min/max/avg fps with Fraps and so on.

If I use the drop down menu in your review on the translated page it changes languages. I don't see why you don't have an embedded translation link on your page similar to other non-English sites.

On to your point. Have you seen my sig? Why would i go out and buy 2 Nvidia cards when ATI's new cards (Cayman) are just around the corner and I would be able to make a clear decision. I have brains to not go out and waste my money. Who in their right mind would paid for a ud9 and 4 580GTX when SLI does not scale well beyond 2 cards. You basically did the same thing that guru3d did 9 days before you with there 580GTX review
http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-580-review/15

honestly there was no new information in your review.

People avoid multi GPU setups for reasons other than cost. Being able to afford something doesnt make it an automatic purchase.

+1 exactly power consumption being one of those.

[Iconyu]

wow wtf??? 30" prices went up by 30%??? when did that happen?
and what happened to the 27" 1600 panels?
but there are 13" 1600x900 panels for laptops... the disp industry is weird lol

There is a huge difference between 1600x900 and 2650x1600 (about 2,656,000 pixels) also 30" displays have pretty much always been around $1200. Unless you're thinking about 1600x1200 which is pretty much a dead resolution.