GeForce GTX 590 Review Thread

[Roadhog]

Originally Posted by Rollo

My guess is this is why the 590s are selling out and the 6990s gather dust, beyond the comparable performance and far superior feature set anyway.

So, you have sales figures for the 6990? Did your friends at ATI tell you them? Or do you want to make some up too like you did for the 590. lol

Yes, everyone knows the 6990 is loud. At least it doesn't burst into flames when you play a game on it. I'd rather have a loud card that works, than a quiet card that's faulty. TBH, like I said, I wouldn't buy either card as I don't want a hair dryer in my pc, nor do I want a card that needs special drivers to supposedly keep it from going pop.

btw, I love how my joke comment set you off to go find info on the noise of the 6990 for some reason. I bet if I said just marshmallows instead you would have done the same. lololol

[Rollo]

Originally Posted by Roadhog

So, you have sales figures for the 6990? Did your friends at ATI tell you them? Or do you want to make some up too like you did for the 590. lol

Yes, everyone knows the 6990 is loud. At least it doesn't burst into flames when you play a game on it. I'd rather have a loud card that works, than a quiet card that's faulty. TBH, like I said, I wouldn't buy either card as I don't want a hair dryer in my pc, nor do I want a card that needs special drivers to supposedly keep it from going pop.

btw, I love how my joke comment set you off to go find info on the noise of the 6990 for some reason. I bet if I said just marshmallows instead you would have done the same. lololol

I don't have to make up and guess things about the PC gaming industry like you Roadie. I can just talk to the people that shape it.

[Roadhog]

Originally Posted by Rollo

I don't have to make up and guess things about the PC gaming industry like you Roadie. I can just talk to the people that shape it.

what do sales figures have to do with pc gaming?

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...&postcount=295

[Viral]

Originally Posted by Roadhog

what do sales figures have to do with pc gaming?

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...&postcount=295

Oh crap, so this is real then? If you have the wrong drivers the card will burn? I wonder how performance is effected with the new drivers?

[Rollo]

Originally Posted by Roadhog

what do sales figures have to do with pc gaming?

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...&postcount=295

Probably more than your links to forum posts from far away lands....

[Madpistol]

Originally Posted by Rollo

I don't have to make up and guess things about the PC gaming industry like you Roadie. I can just talk to the people that shape it.

A choice of 2 GTX 590's

vs.

A choice of 8 HD 6990's


Notice how the manufacturer with the best warranty/service for AMD cards is currently sold out of HD 6990's. It also has the most reviews, all 5 of which are 5 eggs. Compare that to the 4 egg averages from the GTX 590 choices.

Your BS about sales figures isn't adding up. Keep trying.

[Rollo]

Originally Posted by Madpistol

A choice of 2 GTX 590's

vs.

A choice of 8 HD 6990's


Notice how the manufacturer with the best warranty/service for AMD cards is currently sold out of HD 6990's. It also has the most reviews, all 5 of which are 5 eggs. Compare that to the 4 egg averages from the GTX 590 choices.

Your BS about sales figures isn't adding up. Keep trying.

Ah, so having more brands for sale with one brand sold out equals higher sales than having two brands for sale that are both sold out in your mind?



I think we'll have to wait for the Steam survey appearances of these cards to know for sure.

BTW- why do you think the other seven manufacturers won't warranty cards where the overvolting switch has been used MadPistol? Could it be possible they know overvolting the cards will mean higher than normal incidence of RMA for destroyed cards?

Or do you think that all the vendors except one void the warranty for overvolting just because they don't understand how safe overvolting is?

[Rollo]

Originally Posted by Viral

Oh crap, so this is real then? If you have the wrong drivers the card will burn? I wonder how performance is effected with the new drivers?

Performance isn't affected by the new drivers.

NVIDIA drivers have four possible speeds the GPU runs at based on load, it's part of their power management design. So if you run Quake 1 the GPUs on a 590 will run slower than if you run Crysis by default.

However, you can select full speed always while gaming in the CP under the Power Management category under 3d Settings by deselecting "adaptive".

This is why some people have reported they think the card is throttling to lower levels.

If you think card performance is affected by drivers, shouldn't you link to a reputable review site that says it is rather than post unsubstantiated FUD?

[Madpistol]

Originally Posted by Rollo

Ah, so having more brands for sale with one brand sold out equals higher sales than having two brands for sale that are both sold out in your mind?



I think we'll have to wait for the Steam survey appearances of these cards to know for sure.

BTW- why do you think the other seven manufacturers won't warranty cards where the overvolting switch has been used MadPistol? Could it be possible they know overvolting the cards will mean higher than normal incidence of RMA for destroyed cards?

Or do you think that all the vendors except one void the warranty for overvolting just because they don't understand how safe overvolting is?

I think that I only buy from that vendor that you speak of because their warranty is better, and all other points that you make concerning that issue are irrelevant because it IS covered by the warranty. As icing on the proverbial cake, that warranty extends not only the lifetime of you owning the card, but also the lifetime of a 2nd hand owner of the card. No Nvidia vendor does that. Having personal experience on RMA's from XFX, I can honestly tell you that their service is incredible.

You don't seem to get it. This "puff of smoke" issue with the GTX 590's has people scared to purchase it. I guarantee that enthusiasts would be willing to pay MORE for a loud, but stable card, as opposed to a quiet, volatile card. The market that both vendors are selling to is the uber enthusiast market. In that market, people read reviews, forums, and editorials before they purchase. One manufacturer has a card that's powerful, albeit loud. Another manufacturer has a card that self-destructs for no reason.

If I had to buy a dual GPU solution, I'd go with the one that's not going to explode on me.

[Rollo]

Originally Posted by Madpistol

I think that I only buy from that vendor that you speak of because their warranty is better, and all other points that you make concerning that issue are irrelevant because it IS covered by the warranty. As icing on the proverbial cake, that warranty extends not only the lifetime of you owning the card, but also the lifetime of a 2nd hand owner of the card. No Nvidia vendor does that. Having personal experience on RMA's from XFX, I can honestly tell you that their service is incredible.

You don't seem to get it. This "puff of smoke" issue with the GTX 590's has people scared to purchase it. I guarantee that enthusiasts would be willing to pay MORE for a loud, but stable card, as opposed to a quiet, volatile card. The market that both vendors are selling to is the uber enthusiast market. In that market, people read reviews, forums, and editorials before they purchase. One manufacturer has a card that's powerful, albeit loud. Another manufacturer has a card that self-destructs for no reason.

If I had to buy a dual GPU solution, I'd go with the one that's not going to explode on me.

I agree XFX has a good warranty, but that didn't really answer my very direct question.

Let me re-state in hopes you'll answer this time.

If over-volting a dual GPU to OC is a "normal and reasonable" expectation, and ATi designed their part with a physical switch on the part to accomplish this, are the 7 of 8 ATi vendors who refuse to warrant the us e of the switch "strange and unreasonable"?

Or could it be XFX is the exception to the rule and has decided to make their warranty terms more generous knowing that the people who use the switch will explode their cards in disproportionate numbers and are only banking on enough people not using the switch to remain profitable on this card?

It's pretty obvious that all vendors view overvolting the cards as hazardous to their health.

You don't seem to get it.

People aren't afraid to buy this card, I have it straight from the only source who can tell us they're selling thousands of them.

Since you seem to think I'm lying for some reason, how about a gentleman's wager? Where I live, I can buy a bottle of Patron tequila or a bottle of Booker's bourbon for around $50., I'd consider either a decent bottle. Let's wager $50 that on 6/30/2011 there are more 590s listed on STEAM than 6990s you pay me $50, and your side will be if there are more 6990s on STEAM on 6/30/2011 I'll pay you $50. USD.

Not much money, but enough to buy a palatable drink in all but the wealthiest man's opinion. You have $50 worth of confidence in your stated positions, or do you just like to post FUD when it's free?

[Madpistol]

What overvolting are you talking about exactly? Each time you post, you throw that word around. I don't see ANY overvolting. All I see is a switch that increases performance on a card by raising clock frequencies with a small voltage tweak that is WITHIN SPEC OF THE CARD. The reason it's not warrantied by 7 of the 8 manufacturers is because flipping that switch takes the card out of PCIe power spec. Allowing users to do such a thing would not only increase power draw to a level that's not acceptable for everyone to use (see 750-watt power supply...), but it also causes the card to become noticeably more noisy. That, by itself, would result in RMA's and loss of business. XFX is taking a risk, but it will more than likely pay off in the long run. Retain your customer base, and you will likely profit from it.

Guaranteed that AMD put that switch on to give users extra oomph, not to make the card unstable to the point that it will croak. If that was the case, AMD would not have done that. These are handpicked chips that are the best of the best in Cayman XT form.

Notice how Nvidia doesn't have a switch like that. AMD did this to make sure that their card is the fastest, regardless of what Nvidia chucks out. Mission accomplished. Notice how Nvidia's card is a lot smaller. I have a theory on that one; less power regulation circuitry, thus resulting in little puffs of smoke. AMD got this one right. Nvidia cut corners, and is paying for it now.

Honestly, do you have nothing better to do than to defend Nvidia? Think logically for once, please. No manufacturer in their right mind would put out a piece of hardware that could be clocked out of spec simply by flipping a switch. The thought of such a thing is absurd.

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/hardwar...rclock-switc/1

The overclock itself amounts to a fairly minor GPU core frequency increase of 50MHz, along with an extra 0.055V added to the vcore of each GPU.

Do you honestly believe that that few extra hundredths of a volt will cause the card to croak? You're mad if you believe that.

[Redeemed]

It's tRollo we're dealing with. Him being mad is a given.