AMD HD6970 vs nVidia GTX 580

[phr3ak]

Hey everyone,

I've decided to upgrade my video card, just so I can get some good FPS on newer games.

I'd like some help deciding between the PowerColor AMD HD6970 880MHz 2GB or the EVGA nVidia GTX580 1536MB.

I hear good things about both, but the GTX580 is about $130 mroe expensive than the HD6970. Is it worth the extra spending? Which card will give me most bang for my buck?

Any other suggestions?

Cheers!
-phr3ak

 

[Indigo]

The GTX 580 is an insane card, but the 6970 has its merits as well. You get a lot for the money, and if you don't mind saving yourself $130, you can't go wrong with a 6970. If money is no object, and you don't mind spending it, get the GTX 580.

 

[TechieAbe]

If you can spend the extra money, definitely go with the GTX 580, it looks like it scores the highest on the Videocard Benchmarks. It looks like the GTX 580 even scores higher than the Radeon HD6990.

 

[connchri]

Here's an Idea, if you wish to save some pennies....

See if you can get hold of an old 2GB AMD HD6950. They're hardware identical to a HD6970 and can be flashed with a HD6970 ROM.

That's what I did with my killer PC when I built it 4 months ago. And I came 1st, momentaraly, on the CF computer forums benchmark league. I don't know where I'd stand now, as I haven't checked. The only thing holding me back was my Hard Drive.

I know you might feel uncomfortable with the idea of flashing ROMs, overclocking, etc, but it's another option if cost is an important factor.

Otherwise it's simply a case if you, personally, can justify the additional cost/saving with choosing either the GTX580 or HD6970.

Chris.

 

[Indigo]

PassMark is such a horrid benchmark. I wish they'd revamp it so that it was closer to real world results. It's worse than recommending products based on 3DMark.

 

[TechieAbe]

Yeah, I see what you're saying, but I can't really find anything else to go off of besides websites with benchmarks.

However I do a lot of research before buying something, I review various websites for reviews and things like that.

 

[NeXuS1]

If you're getting the GTX 580 may I recommend the MSI Lightning GTX 580. I just upgraded to the Lightning Xtreme the 3GB one, and may I say the cooler is out of this world!

I idle at 30C and on load while gaming it doesn't go over 64C (39C idle 84C Load on my eVGA GTX 570), that's with a bump to 850MHz at the core. It comes stock with a noticeable overlcock (836MHz core/2100MHz memory). Be advised its a monster card its soo hige it barely fit on my Antec 902.

Here is the link from the webpage you're buying: BUY MSI GTX580 832Mhz 1536M DDR5 384BIT HDMI DVI ATX SLI Dual Fan | MegaBuy Computer Parts

 

[dorfman]

Newegg.com - ASUS ENGTX580 DCII/2DIS/1536MD5 GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) 1536MB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card ASUS 580

I've heard really good things about this card and that it runs really cool. Though it takes up 3 slots.

 

[niiko101]

+1 on the GTX 580

 

[NeXuS1]

Newegg.com - ASUS ENGTX580 DCII/2DIS/1536MD5 GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) 1536MB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card ASUS 580

I've heard really good things about this card and that it runs really cool. Though it takes up 3 slots.

Rather get the lightning cools better and it doesnt take up 3 slots.