CPU requirement for GTX 580?

[Maverickman]

I stepped up from an EVGA GTX 470 to a 580 in my secondary system. However, I have not noticed that much of a performance increase in my games I'm wondering if it is my slower CPU that could be holding me back. I have a Core i7 920 running at 3.07GHz. I thought this would be more than enough, but it looks like this is not the case. I get P5710 in 3DMark '11 and P28460 in 3DMark Vantage. My games run well, but not as well as I had hoped. I thought the GTX 580 would be WAY faster than a GTX 470. Maybe my expectations were too high?

[Roadhog]

your cpu isnt holding you back. Your expectations are too high.

[Maverickman]

Thanks. I don't think it was really worth the upgrade. I paid $200 plus shipping both ways which brought the total upgrade to almost $300. I originally paid $299 for the GTX 470, so it's like I paid $600 for the GTX 580! It's still a nice card, but certainly not worth that! I don't think it's even worth $499! Maybe $399 at the most. I hope if I overclock it a bit I'll get better results. I thought the GTX 580 would be at least 40% faster in games, but that is NOT the case for me. Many reviewers seem to use superclocked Core i7 CPUs that I can't match.

[Roadhog]

It probably is a bit faster. But its 150fps vs 100fps faster.

[Rollo]

Originally Posted by Maverickman

Thanks. I don't think it was really worth the upgrade. I paid $200 plus shipping both ways which brought the total upgrade to almost $300. I originally paid $299 for the GTX 470, so it's like I paid $600 for the GTX 580! It's still a nice card, but certainly not worth that! I don't think it's even worth $499! Maybe $399 at the most. I hope if I overclock it a bit I'll get better results. I thought the GTX 580 would be at least 40% faster in games, but that is NOT the case for me. Many reviewers seem to use superclocked Core i7 CPUs that I can't match.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/N...TX_580/27.html

The 580 is 29% faster than the 470, whether that's worth $200 to you only you can say.

You could get another 470 for $209 AMIR, which would probably be your biggest "bang for buck" upgrade on a 470.

Originally Posted by Maverickman

I stepped up from an EVGA GTX 470 to a 580 in my secondary system. However, I have not noticed that much of a performance increase in my games I'm wondering if it is my slower CPU that could be holding me back. I have a Core i7 920 running at 3.07GHz. I thought this would be more than enough, but it looks like this is not the case. I get P5710 in 3DMark '11 and P28460 in 3DMark Vantage. My games run well, but not as well as I had hoped. I thought the GTX 580 would be WAY faster than a GTX 470. Maybe my expectations were too high?

OC that 920 a few hundred

The 470 is a fine card, but this is why I hung on to my 480. Yes, the 580 is more powerful, but not near enough to warrant the lost $$ on selling the 480.

[turdhat]

Originally Posted by grey_1

OC that 920 a few hundred

The 470 is a fine card, but this is why I hung on to my 480. Yes, the 580 is more powerful, but not near enough to warrant the lost $$ on selling the 480.

Same here and little did I know that I could run it 24/7 at 850 core and 2103 mem. That makes it as fast or damn close to a stock 580. It is a loud mother though. I want to get one of those zalman vf series coolers for it because they really curbstomp the stock cooler but I am also thinking sli by getting another 480 and that cooler may not give me clearance to run sli. Geesh.. 2x 480's would be very loud and hot I bet. Now I could run that cooler on the lower card but again I would still have one loud 480..

Originally Posted by turdhat

Same here and little did I know that I could run it 24/7 at 850 core and 2103 mem. That makes it as fast or damn close to a stock 580. It is a loud mother though. I want to get one of those zalman vf series coolers for it because they really curbstomp the stock cooler but I am also thinking sli by getting another 480 and that cooler may not give me clearance to run sli. Geesh.. 2x 480's would be very loud and hot I bet. Now I could run that cooler on the lower card but again I would still have one loud 480..

Look up reviews on the cooler in my sig on the 480. $60 well spent. temps never breach 64c while gaming with fans at 50%.

Fans at 85% are still silent and temps never go above 55c. So worth it.

[turdhat]

Originally Posted by grey_1

Look up reviews on the cooler in my sig on the 480. $60 well spent. temps never breach 64c while gaming with fans at 50%.

Fans at 85% are still silent and temps never go above 55c. So worth it.

Thanks man. Clearance for SLI is my main concern. With this 2600k at 4.6 the 480 is the bottleneck. No kidding, 10 mhz boost on core (which is just on the outskirts of unstableville for this card) give an increase of a couple fps on the min fps side (the most important side) on just about every game I have benched. The cpu is yawning at my 480 even at 850 core and 2103 mem!

Need to update sig. That 4.8 didnt turn out to be stable. The new i7 chips are really weird. It can be stable in a game at 4.8 all day long but bsod in IE or firefox ?!?!?! Others report the same. Prime stable 12hrs only to have it BSOD in word and have to back off one multi step or up the volts !! hahah

Originally Posted by turdhat

Thanks man. Clearance for SLI is my main concern. With this 2600k at 4.6 the 480 is the bottleneck. No kidding, 10 mhz boost on core (which is just on the outskirts of unstableville for this card) give an increase of a couple fps on the min fps side (the most important side) on just about every game I have benched. The cpu is yawning at my 480 even at 850 core and 2103 mem!

Need to update sig. That 4.8 didnt turn out to be stable. The new i7 chips are really weird. It can be stable in a game at 4.8 all day long but bsod in IE or firefox ?!?!?! Others report the same. Prime stable 12hrs only to have it BSOD in word and have to back off one multi step or up the volts !! hahah

I have no advice for ya I'm hoping to upgrade after all the smoke clears when bulldozer hits the shelves, but I hope I don't run into a problem like that. That makes no sense at all...

On the other hand it is good to hear that the 2600K is more than a match for the 480.

Best of luck with that bsod issue too

[turdhat]

Originally Posted by grey_1

I have no advice for ya I'm hoping to upgrade after all the smoke clears when bulldozer hits the shelves, but I hope I don't run into a problem like that. That makes no sense at all...

On the other hand it is good to hear that the 2600K is more than a match for the 480.

Best of luck with that bsod issue too

Oh, that BSod is fixed. I just backed to 4.6. This chip is just relaxing at every game I throw at it. There is just no need to run it at 4.8 for what ? Maybe 2 fps on the min side ?

[tweaked]

OC your 580. many will do 950/2200 24/7 stable.

that's where you see real benefits over the 470/480.