| ASUS ENGTX580 GeForce GTX 580 Video Card |  |
| Reviews - Featured Reviews: Video Cards | |
| Written by Olin Coles | |
| Monday, 22 November 2010 | |
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Page 19 of 19
ASUS GeForce GTX 580 ConclusionIMPORTANT: Although the rating and final score mentioned in this conclusion are made to be as objective as possible, please be advised that every author perceives these factors differently at various points in time. While we each do our best to ensure that all aspects of the product are considered, there are often times unforeseen market conditions and manufacturer changes which occur after publication that could render our rating obsolete. Please do not base any purchase solely on our conclusion, as it represents our product rating specifically for the product tested which may differ from future versions. Benchmark Reviews begins our conclusion with a short summary for each of the areas that we rate. Beginning with frame rate performance, the ASUS GeForce GTX 580 video card competes at a level comparable to the dual-GPU ATI Radeon HD 5970 and occasionally matched up well against a pair of AMD Radeon HD 6870's in CrossFireX configuration or GeForce GTX 460's in SLI. All of these options share a similar premium price point, and offer similar DirectX 11 functionality. In comparison to the Fermi GF100-powered GeForce GTX 480, the GF110 proved that GeForce GTX 580 was far more than an added streaming multiprocessor and clock speed increase; it was the perfect blend of tessellation, shaders, and texture units we first witnessed with the GF104 inside GeForce GTX 460. In our DirectX 10 tests, 3D Mark Vantage had the 782 MHz GeForce GTX 580 trailing slightly behind the Radeon HD 5970 and CrossFire 6870's in Jane Nash, but then it comes back and matches or exceeds them in New Calico. Overclocked to 925 MHz, the ENGTX580 struggles to keep up with the two overclocked GTX 460's in SLI, but it matches or beats the others. Crysis Warhead matches the GeForce GTX 580 to the Radeon HD 5970 equally at stock speeds, yet both trail behind the Radeon 6870's in CrossFire. In our DirectX 11 tests, Aliens vs Predator puts the GeForce GTX 580 video card behind the Radeon 5970 and CrossFire 6870's, and then positions it between them for Battlefield: Bad Company 2. Then BattleForge, Lost Planet 2, and Mafia II all report the GeForce GTX 580 even with, or outperforming, the Radeon HD 5970 and CrossFire 6870's. Testing with Metro 2033 the GeForce GTX 580 takes a turn South, and both Radeon contenders surpass it. Tom Clancy's HAWX2 clearly works better with GeForce tessellation, putting the GTX 580 and all other NVIDIA products way ahead of AMD Radeon video cards. Finally, the Unigine Heaven benchmark confirms the trends we've seen in all the tests leading up to this, and position the ASUS GeForce GTX 580 slightly ahead of the dual-GPU ATI Radeon HD 5970 and trailing shortly behind a pair of AMD Radeon HD 6870's in CrossFireX. Further overclocking to 925 MHz sends the ENGTX580 past the competition.
Appearance is a more subjective matter since the rating doesn't have benchmark scores to fall back on. Partners traditionally offer their own unique twist on the design, with improved cooling solutions and colorful fan shroud designs. NVIDIA doesn't allow this to happen with the GeForce GTX 580, primarilty because the video card operates so efficiently that improving an already effective cooling solution would be superfluous. The reference design allows nearly all of the heated air to externally exhaust outside of the computer case, which could be critically important to overclockers wanting the best possible environment for their computer hardware. This deep shroud chamfer also preserves the Fermi GF110 GPU in SLI sets. Aside from some branding decals, the ENGTX580 is identical in physical appearance to the reference design. The GTX 580 might not look as tough as the GTX 480 on the outside, but it doesn't need to overcompensate by exposing a few heat-pipes. Defining value at the premium-priced high-end segment isn't easy, because hardware enthusiasts know that they're going to pay top dollar to own the top product. Even still, value is a fast moving target because the price on these products literally changes by the minute in this industry. Even with a factory overclock and plenty of extra headroom, the ASUS ENGTX580/2DI/1536MD5 model sell for $520 (Amazon and NewEgg) and matches the most-affordable GeForce GTX 580 models. In summary, the GF110 GPU inside the ASUS ENGTX580 clearly contrasts how far off the mark GF100 was when it launched with GTX 480, possibly lending credibility to the leap in series number (GeForce 400 vs 500). The GeForce GTX 580 redeems the Fermi architecture with performance results the enthusiast community can finally appreciate, along with reduced power consumption and thermal output everyone can be grateful for. These are all impressive enhancements to the series, and some will argue that it's what NVIDIA should have done with Fermi from the start. ASUS further extends performance with their Voltage Tweak feature, which allowed us to overclock the ENGTX580 up to 925 MHz completely stable. Taking all aspects of the ASUS GeForce GTX 580 into consideration, there's really a lot more to like about the Fermi architecture now. The GF110 graphics processor finally has its priorities straight, and the dramatically efficient power consumption levels have reduced heat output to their lowest level in many years. The expensive price tag on the GTX 580 is something consumers of premium top-end graphics products might already be used to, but it's hard to like a $500 price point. I find myself reminded that this video card matches performance with a dual-GPU Radeon HD 5970 that was priced at $700 for the longest time, and the few remaining models still cost nearly $600. And while the ASUS GeForce GTX 580 proves itself a solid contender against the Radeon HD 5970, there's still the small matter of two GeForce GTX 460's in SLI or two AMD Radeon HD 6870's combined into CrossFire to consider. This will ultimately be a decision for the consumer, who either wants the best overall performance a single card can offer along with several proprietary features benefits only available from NVIDIA, or they'll settle for two lesser products that produce comparable frame rates. If the ASUS GeForce GTX 580 video card was yours, would you overclock it using Voltage Tweak? Leave comments below, or ask questions in our Forum.
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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.