I was going to buy one of these last month since I saw it on novatech for a discounted price - but I my bank balance said no. roll on the 25th so I can order this bad boy.
I can vouch for these cards. Absolutely amazing, especially in SLI.
The only thing that's changed from the review samples that were sent out is the GPU Tweak software. The option to 'Burn' (as they put it) your new OC to the cards BIOS is now omitted for the time being, although not sure why.
Not really a problem though as GPU Tweak remembers your last OC profile and can be set to load on startup.
Is it just me that thinks triple-slot cards should be penalised a bit? I know the cooling performance is there, and they look good, but there's also the problem that they take up half your motherboard's slots (SR-2 owners, no need to brag - we know it's only a third for you guys). It also hampers SLI connectivity, as with cards like these, you'd want a slot free between the cards minimum, so unless you have a motherboard with that sort of spacing, you're somewhat out of luck.
I know some may see this as me being picky, but a quick glance at Bit-Tech's Buyer's Guide gives me a recommended P67 and Z68 motherboard (the MSI P67A-GD53 and the Asus Maximus IV Gene-Z), the former of which couldn't give any space between two of these cards, and the latter of which couldn't even fit two of these cards. So it is a problem for some top-notch motherboards.
Why bother buy it when the MSI Lightning XE comes with 3gb. For a premium premium product, it seems a huge mistake to not give it 3gb when people using this for gaming will be cranking the AA and run 2560 screens.
It's substantially more expensive than an MSI lightning XE as well, which is already very expensive. Pretty stupid card to be honest.
For this card though Autti, its the super quiet, super cooling that's the huge difference. OK, only a slight overclock but you can push a little more out yourself.
It will still play everything you throw at it today for most gamers and probably most of next year as well.
Originally Posted by Autti Why bother buy it when the MSI Lightning XE comes with 3gb. For a premium premium product, it seems a huge mistake to not give it 3gb when people using this for gaming will be cranking the AA and run 2560 screens.
It's substantially more expensive than an MSI lightning XE as well, which is already very expensive. Pretty stupid card to be honest.
Erm, the MSI Lightning XE is £499 where I can find it. A £400 one would indeed be tasty.
It's too bad that your Value rating of this videocard belies your comments in the article.
"As such, the Asus more than justifies its price as a fast card that will last for ages. It's too large to fit inside many cases, but so much performance at such a low noise level makes it a very desirable card." And then you give it only a Value Score of 23/30?
Which is it? You can't have it both ways and still maintain your supposed journalistic neutrality and also the integrity of your review.
Originally Posted by kzinti1 It's too bad that your Value rating of this videocard belies your comments in the article.
"As such, the Asus more than justifies its price as a fast card that will last for ages. It's too large to fit inside many cases, but so much performance at such a low noise level makes it a very desirable card." And then you give it only a Value Score of 23/30?
Which is it? You can't have it both ways and still maintain your supposed journalistic neutrality and also the integrity of your review.
The card justifies its price premium over a bog-standard GTX 580 card, but is it the best buy for everyone? Probably not.
I think the conclusion and scores make it clear enough that if you're looking for a top-end, single-GPU card this card is excellent, but if you're just looking for a graphics card this should merely be on your short-list.
I noticed that the MSI 580GTX wasn't in the graphs, I pulled its review to check where it was and when comparing to this one, no sign of it.
Back on topic: Powerful and great engineering in there and a good value for the graphics it is! Normally, this kind of editions boosts price towards 500 but this one is tickling the sweet spot! I've only 2 nudges to it, the triple slot (it's necessary alright but it will be heavy and look cramped) and the fact that it has a custom pcb which means no water block for it which is a shame.
sorry for the n00b question but with the card already running cool and quiet at 816 ( 920MHz with OC ) what would be the gain with water cooling? realistically with a good 580 what frequencies could you reach with water cooling? would they be significantly higher than this card??
Originally Posted by mediapcAddict sorry for the n00b question but with the card already running cool and quiet at 816 ( 920MHz with OC ) what would be the gain with water cooling? realistically with a good 580 what frequencies could you reach with water cooling? would they be significantly higher than this card??
It wouldn't be the case of a higher overclock rather a case of even lower temperatures and even quieter operating sounds.
350 watts to dissipate media.. it is still interesting to me how far over spec these things are.. ati should do the same with the 6970 stock (currently at spec 300w)
if you can't beat em in sucking the wall socket dry, join em.. doesn't look like nvidia even cares about specs anymore =]
Why wasn't the MSI N580GTX Lightning Xtreme in the graphs? Seems a bit pointless making a comparison with it on the first page, only to exclude it in the actual numbers.
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ReplyThe only thing that's changed from the review samples that were sent out is the GPU Tweak software. The option to 'Burn' (as they put it) your new OC to the cards BIOS is now omitted for the time being, although not sure why.
Not really a problem though as GPU Tweak remembers your last OC profile and can be set to load on startup.
I know some may see this as me being picky, but a quick glance at Bit-Tech's Buyer's Guide gives me a recommended P67 and Z68 motherboard (the MSI P67A-GD53 and the Asus Maximus IV Gene-Z), the former of which couldn't give any space between two of these cards, and the latter of which couldn't even fit two of these cards. So it is a problem for some top-notch motherboards.
It's substantially more expensive than an MSI lightning XE as well, which is already very expensive. Pretty stupid card to be honest.
It will still play everything you throw at it today for most gamers and probably most of next year as well.
Erm, the MSI Lightning XE is £499 where I can find it. A £400 one would indeed be tasty.
"As such, the Asus more than justifies its price as a fast card that will last for ages. It's too large to fit inside many cases, but so much performance at such a low noise level makes it a very desirable card." And then you give it only a Value Score of 23/30?
Which is it? You can't have it both ways and still maintain your supposed journalistic neutrality and also the integrity of your review.
The card justifies its price premium over a bog-standard GTX 580 card, but is it the best buy for everyone? Probably not.
I think the conclusion and scores make it clear enough that if you're looking for a top-end, single-GPU card this card is excellent, but if you're just looking for a graphics card this should merely be on your short-list.
I think so mate. Temps are lower, overclocks higher. GPUs are specially binned for the Matrix model.
for the extra voltage options...
Back on topic: Powerful and great engineering in there and a good value for the graphics it is! Normally, this kind of editions boosts price towards 500 but this one is tickling the sweet spot! I've only 2 nudges to it, the triple slot (it's necessary alright but it will be heavy and look cramped) and the fact that it has a custom pcb which means no water block for it which is a shame.
It wouldn't be the case of a higher overclock rather a case of even lower temperatures and even quieter operating sounds.
Plus Watercooling is simply beautfiul to behold.
if you can't beat em in sucking the wall socket dry, join em.. doesn't look like nvidia even cares about specs anymore =]
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