GTX 580 Which one to get?

[Reefsmoka]

Hey all, thinking of getting a GTX 580 but I'm unsure of which one to get.

If I'm going for the reference design I was thinking of going with zotac, simply because I've read they do a free 5 year warranty which I don't think any other graphics card manufacturer does.

Other than going with reference there were 2 others I was eyeing up, one being the asus direct CU II and the other being the gainward "GOOD" edition.

Can anyone offer any advice on which to get? I don't want to buy it from overclockers (ocuk) for the simple fact i cant stand them.

 

[EvanDavis]

Can't find the post now, but V_R is in the 580 department so he would probs give the best advice.

 

[floppybootstomp]

I'd take a five year warranty with a pinch of salt as graphics card manufacturers come and go, sometimes they dissolve and reform under a different name purely to wiggle out of any commitments they've made with extended warranties.

BFG went bust/folded up just three years into my five year warranty and the registration for that five year warranty was complicated to say the least.

I'd go for EVGA, Asus or MSI, in that order, but that's just me.

 

[Reefsmoka]

I am leaning towards EVGA, but i do like the look of the asus direct CU II as its supposed to do a hell of a better job than the reference cooler

 

[V_R]

Reference cards are all the same bar the warranty and box contents. Go for one you like the look of.

That Asus DCU is good and all but, its a triple slot cooler. Its a big bastid, make sure it fits.

Think about the MSI Twin Frozr, if i was buying now, that would be high on my list.

I know you know like OcUK but the links are for ease, you dont have to buy from there.

The Gainward GOOD card is worth a look too.

 

[Reefsmoka]

Ordered the twin frozr from scan. Chose the MSI because the asus does sound crazy big and read that MSI have one of the best RMA services going and there customer service is supposed to be good. Chose scan simply because flopps recommended it in a past post so if it all goes wrong i can blame him

 

[Reefsmoka]

I was pretty worried about me cheap corsair CX600 powering my rig and the new GTX580 so i've ordered a Corsair TX850 from ebuyer just to give me some piece of mind. Sold me old 6870 to a friend for a very reasonable £120. Just gotta wait for crysis 2 to come out now

 

[TriplexDread]

Just need to change ya Puter specs below now then?

 

[Reefsmoka]

Got the Corsair TX850 and GTX580 installed now, it fired up 1st time which i am surprised about, i'd been dreading fitting them all day, i just thought something would go wrong .

Gave it a good spanking on metro 2033 all settings very high in direct x11 mode, the card didnt go above 62c which is nice, only around 10c more than me processor.

 

[EvanDavis]

Got the Corsair TX850 and GTX580 installed now, it fired up 1st time which i am surprised about, i'd been dreading fitting them all day, i just thought something would go wrong .

Gave it a good spanking on metro 2033 all settings very high in direct x11 mode, the card didnt go above 62c which is nice, only around 10c more than me processor.

Nice one, are you going to post some pics ???

 

[Reefsmoka]

my cable management is embarrassing, but i will get a pic of the beast! Its idleing nicely at around 32c which is around 10-15c lower than my processor, its crazy for such a powerful gfx card.

 

[V_R]

Good stuff, is your CPU OC'ed?

You should bump it up a bit if not, give the 580 a bit of room to stretch its legs.

Pics please!

Thats good temps, what case have you got? My reference 580 idles at about 42-44 so thats a nice drop.

 

[Reefsmoka]

Well heres some picks, i bet you cant see a single PSU cable

The case is a cheap and nasty Xigmatek Asgard and the CPU cooler is a Xigmatek Dark knight.

 

[V_R]

That is a tasty looking card. Nice going reef. You treid clocking it yet? Should hit 900+ on the core and keep temps down easy.

 

[Reefsmoka]

I think it comes overclocked as standard, the clocks at the moment are: 800Mhz Core clock and 2048Mhz memory clock according the msi after burner, im sure the standard core clock is 780ish not sure about memory. I may overclock in the future when theres something to test it

 

[floppybootstomp]

Chose scan simply because flopps recommended it in a past post so if it all goes wrong i can blame him

Were they alright then?

I do like the e-mails keeping you updated on the order's progress.

They've mostly been good over the years, you can speak to them on the phone and rma's are easy.

I did have one problem, a misunderstanding on their part which they eventually admitted and all was sorted in the end. That was about three or four years ago and involved a Creative Fatality sound card.

Nice card you got there

 

[Reefsmoka]

Scan were terrific. The packaging was well done, plenty of bubble wrap, they threw in a couple catalogues as well, they keep you up to date with your order extremely well and even dropped me a text when the parcel was going to arrive at me house. I received the text at around 7am saying that the parcel will come between 7:15am and 8:15am and it came at around 7:30am. Cant argue with that.

I ordered the PSU from ebuyer and they didn't mess around either, the PSU packaged alright, could of been better but the box was undamaged and it showed up on time. Scan are number 1 in my book from now on, and the graphics card I bought was £30 cheaper than overclockers.

 

[V_R]

Yeah thats a mild OC Reef, Go on give it a work out!

 

[Reefsmoka]

I'm a newbie when it comes to overclocking! might break summut

Heres me idle temps after comp being on around an hour just browsing the net:

 

[V_R]

Looks good, surprised the fans run that fast though, as there's two of them, sure its still very quiet.

Heres mine at the moment....