Project Reality Forums

i7 2600k
P8P67 Pro B3 MOBO
GTX 460 2GB
8GB G.Skill Ripjaw X Series RAM
Corsair 650TX PSU
1TB Seagate HDD
Antec Illusion 300 Case


That's my current build but now I'm looking to drop the single 460 and pick up a single MSi 580 lightning. Can my PSU handle it? Can my PSU handle any 580?


just looking to be able to max BF3 at max res 4x aa.
i heard the rig they use to show gameplay uses a 2600k with a single 580

Video Card Comparison - GPUReview.com

Note that link is using the 1GB 460 for comparison...

Point is, WHEN UNDER FULL LOAD COMPARATIVELY, 580 adds at least 85 W max power draw. Once you overclock the 580 you are looking at a card using at least 180 W more than your GTX 460 gpu.

The Lightnings come at reference clocks btw, you have to manually OC them, and the power draw increases drastically...

check out this review and the power draw numbers:

Power, Heat, Fan Noise - MSI N580GTX Lightning Video Card Review | [H]ard|OCP

Power - Temperature - Noise - MSI N580GTX Lightning XE 3GB Video Card Review | [H]ard|OCP

NOTE: those are two different reviews using two different base PC systems.

IDK what the Wattage difference will be at regular usage levels.

Also will matter on how old your PSU is and ow much degradation your caps have endured.

IF you do buy the 580 Lightning please post a followup here, I was looking at the reviews this week too.

regards.

Hey thanks for the detailed reply. I'm actually going to go for this card
Newegg.com - Palit NE5X5800F10CB GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) 1536MB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
my aunt works at Palit so she said she can get me a nice discount. I'm not a huge tech/computer guy(I know some stuff but not detailed stuff). So I was wondering with my rig including my cpu and everything plus this Newegg.com - Palit NE5X5800F10CB GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) 1536MB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card could my PSU handle everything decently without any problems even at 100% load? Also she asked me if I wanted a 3gb model or that 1.5 gb model I linked you guys. Is there a major difference? Whats the difference? And last would I need a strong PSU for a 3GB model? I wont be oc'ing ANY of my parts btw

Honestly, it may just be able to cope, but you'll be loading your PSU a lot, which of course means it will last a shorter time and will be massivly inefficient (remember the efficiency ratings are at 50% max effeciency and 80% rated use).

The 3GB version does not add a whole lot more other than bragging rights. There have been benchmarks comparing the two, and there's no noticeable difference (1 or 2 fps).
http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews/1 ... rhead.html

Also may i ask why the 580, and not an OC'd 570? IIRC palit do a nice 800mhz 570GTX which gives pretty much the same performance as a stock 580 and is a hell-of-a-lot cheaper.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814261097

Either way, if your going for the 580, id recommend an upgrade to 750W or 850W.

Good choice of card I have it myself and its not let me down

Pedz wrote:Honestly, it may just be able to cope, but you'll be loading your PSU a lot, which of course means it will last a shorter time and will be massivly inefficient (remember the efficiency ratings are at 50% max effeciency and 80% rated use).

The 3GB version does not add a whole lot more other than bragging rights. There have been benchmarks comparing the two, and there's no noticeable difference (1 or 2 fps).
ASUS GeForce GTX 580 DirectCU II vs Gainward GeForce GTX 580 Phantom 3 Graphics Card Review - Crysis: Warhead

Also may i ask why the 580, and not an OC'd 570? IIRC palit do a nice 800mhz 570GTX which gives pretty much the same performance as a stock 580 and is a hell-of-a-lot cheaper.
Newegg.com - Palit NE5X570HF10DA GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) Sonic Platinum 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Either way, if your going for the 580, id recommend an upgrade to 750W or 850W.

Damn. I was hoping I didn't need to upgrade my PSU.... and I guess I'd get a 570 but I don't know how to OC

if you do get a new power supply, the thing to watch for is high amps on a single rail, theres are dual rails even quad rails, but if you make sure your getting at least 40 AMPS on a single rail then you should be fine,

rails are simply how the energy/ electricly is divided, a single rail simply means all your power comes from one sline or one system, this is easy to use as you can connect all your parts in the pc and not worry about anything..

dual rails, means your energy is divided into two lanes, so yuou have to amke sure your not over laoding one of the lanes/ rails.. so makes for more complications.. just get a high wattage on a single rail with at least 40 AMPS ( amounty of energy that can be pumped through at any given time) then your ok

Pedz wrote:The 3GB version does not add a whole lot more other than bragging rights. There have been benchmarks comparing the two, and there's no noticeable difference (1 or 2 fps).

Also may i ask why the 580, and not an OC'd 570? IIRC palit do a nice 800mhz 570GTX which gives pretty much the same performance as a stock 580 and is a hell-of-a-lot cheaper.

The extra memory is comes into play when running at higher resolutions, mostly in multi-monitor setups.

Why get an OC'd 570 just to meet a stock 580 when you can OC a 580 and go above and beyond the reach of any 570? He obviously has the money if he'd even consider it.

upgrading before a game comes out never is smart

Pesticide wrote:upgrading before a game comes out never is smart

What's the reasoning behind this statement?

whatshisname55 wrote:The extra memory is comes into play when running at higher resolutions, mostly in multi-monitor setups.

Why get an OC'd 570 just to meet a stock 580 when you can OC a 580 and go above and beyond the reach of any 570? He obviously has the money if he'd even consider it.

Because its $150 dollars cheaper!!!! (he could buy the better PSU for that, or buy an extra PhyX card)

Also the graphics card i suggested is PRE-overclocked. I.e No need for you to do anything, all done in a factory, all under warranty to run at that OC and fully replaceable and no need for you to know anything about overclocking.

If I were him I'd just get two 580's and a 590 for PhyX!