| ASUS ENGTX580 GeForce GTX 580 Video Card |  |
| Reviews - Featured Reviews: Video Cards | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Written by Olin Coles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Monday, 22 November 2010 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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VGA Power ConsumptionFor power consumption tests, Benchmark Reviews utilizes an 80-PLUS GOLD certified OCZ Z-Series Gold 850W PSU, model OCZZ850. This power supply unit has been tested to provide over 90% typical efficiency by Chroma System Solutions. To measure isolated video card power consumption, Benchmark Reviews uses the Kill-A-Watt EZ (model P4460) power meter made by P3 International. A baseline measurement is taken without any video card installed on our test computer system, which is allowed to boot into Windows 7 and rest idle at the login screen before power consumption is recorded. Once the baseline reading has been taken, the graphics card is installed and the system is again booted into Windows and left idle at the login screen before taking the idle reading. Our final loaded power consumption reading is taken with the video card running a stress test using FurMark. Below is a chart with the isolated video card power consumption (system without video card minus measured total) displayed in Watts for each specified test product:
* Results are accurate to within +/- 5W.
The factory overclocked ASUS GeForce GTX 580 video card surprised us with chilly idle and lukewarm loaded temperatures, and the surprises keep coming as we measure power consumption. The GeForce GTX 580 requires one eight-pin and one six-pin PCI-E power connection for proper operation. Resting at idle with no GPU load, the ASUS GeForce GTX 580 consumed a modest 31W by our measure. Compensating for a small margin of error, this falls roughly in-line with idle power draw from the GeForce 8800 GT and slightly less than the GeForce GTX 280 or GTX 465. Most notably, it's considerably lower than the GF100 inside the GeForce GTX 480... by nearly 26%. Once 3D-applications begin to demand power from the GPU, electrical power consumption climbs. Because the GeForce GTX 580 uses a new hardware power monitoring technology not included on previous GeForce models, we've had to work around the power-throttling effects enabled with FurMark or OCCT. To do so, we merely renamed Furmark.exe to Crysis.exe and changed some file names and locations. Measured at full throttle with FurMark's 3D 'torture' load, the GeForce GTX 580 topped out at 245W maximum power draw. NVIDIA's stated max TDP is 244W, which is falls within our measurements - even once efficiency rating and margin of error are factored in. Oddly enough, using ASUS Voltage Tweak to over-volt the ENGTX580 up to 925 MHz didn't exactly translate into higher power consumption. In fact, our average maximum readings were only 1-2 watts above the standard TDP. I realize that increasing from 962 mV to 1145 mV isn't a huge change, but I actually expected the power consumption to rise accordingly. While the idle power draw is identical to older models like the GeForce 8800 GT, it's better than the GeForce GTX 280 and more recent GTX 465 models. At full power load the GeForce GTX 580 matches up to the ATI Radeon HD 5870, but still operates well below the levels of a Radeon HD 5970.
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Comments
Using your own example, if someone is to purchase a new motherboard simply for the benefit of a new PCI-E 3.0 specification, which entails a new processor and possibly memory, why wouldn't they also buy the best graphics card now? You can't have it both ways, Harry.
Just take a look inside any ATI/nvidia release notes and you'll see that the vast majority of bugs are in multi-card configurations.
I'm willing to sacrifices 10% performance and pay 10% more for the more simple/compatible option.
( not only in resolution but in pure/massive imaginary scope )
This attitude is very de-moralizing.
Why even read a graphic card benchmark review if you live for the "status quo"? Just git yerself a console and button mash to that.
The graphic card arms race assures me a future with tesselation, vsm soft shadows, and
global illumination:
##youtube.com/watch?v=Dd8yMPZzWfE&feature=related
none of which is or will be ready for prime time if we don't fan the flames.
The product is coming.
Its clear its not worth yet buying it unless you dont thrust SLI and you have power consuption/heat issues.
BUT, since SLI is only relevant in few games its a factor to be considered.
Many already rushed to the market to buy the vanilla 580, i suppose many more will go to the premium that are coming.
Additionally, you claim that software doesn't exist to warrant the need for products like the GTX 580, and I believe this to be untrue. Have you ever tried playing Crysis with all the graphical glory it was designed with? How about Metro 2033, Lost Planet 2, or Mafia II? Sure, you can play them with PhysX disabled and AA/AF turned down low, but that's like watching movies in standard definition. The logic of this argument also means that DVD and Blu-ray are unnecessary technologies, and VHS was 'good enough'. Not everybody wants to stand still... some of us enjoy the slow march forward.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH for this review. I hope you get a raise.
Curious to see how far partners can push this card though. The improvements made to the 480 from release to now have been pretty impressive, so wondering if similar gains can be made with the 580, or if this is already pushing the limit (without causing a massive increase in power consumption and removing throttling).
GTX 580 in India is for 770$ !!!
GTX 570 will be at 520$ for me....
i saw ferrari ships for 20$-84$ if u order some merchandise...
So is there any chances i can get that GTX 580 in 550$ here???
As you rightly mention, Ferrari do not make cars that are the most fuel efficient at 60Mph, they know that there are buyers out there who want the best at any price.
Also it would be interesting to see the scores mapped to a dollar/performance index to see where the best gain is to be had.
Further its interesting that the cf/sli scores are slightly different with other reviews where the 580 consistently (well almost) had scored lower than the 5970.
I know many think hey its a dual gpu card but hey it costs less and you can still cf/sli it so I dont really see the point they are trying to make.
Imo Nvidia is on the right track and the 460 and 580 is really good cards but atm they are basically catching up and I am waiting to see what the response from AMD is before I commit to an upgrade.
If the Radeon HD 5970 can clear it by 35-40% in Crysis and Heaven, then look at where the GTX 580 sits against the Radeon 5970 on those tests in this article.
Sadly they make only high end chips these days too, then crippling them down to a price category.
So these new cards are fast but far less than they should be - and they should be 50-100% faster in everything, especially in 'future' games that really use their new feats.
Hey, so to clarify I was only trying to make what Harry was saying a little more clear as I assumed there was some misunderstanding. I agree with you in every way as to what you replied, and I should say that your comparison to Ferrari and Lamroghini was spot on. I am definately in the casual group but not by choice, lol. I would, if i could afford, like to stay up with all the newest hardware as I am a firm believer that your rig is only as strong as its weakest component. My gtx 260's: Do they play even Crysis on appealing settings at a decent enough frame rate? Yes I can push them to relatively high settings and play at about 30 or more FPS. BUUUUUT I want a GTX 580 so I can crank that up just as much as the next guy HAHA. Either way I liked your review and found it very informative.