• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

GTX 580 v HD 5970 2GB performance face-off

qubit

Overclocked quantum bit
Joined
Dec 6, 2007
Messages
17,866 (3.00/day)
Location
Quantum Well UK
System Name Quantumville™
Processor Intel Core i7-2700K @ 4GHz
Motherboard Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
Cooling Noctua NH-D14
Memory 16GB (2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance Black DDR3 PC3-12800 C9 1600MHz)
Video Card(s) MSI RTX 2080 SUPER Gaming X Trio
Storage Samsung 850 Pro 256GB | WD Black 4TB | WD Blue 6TB
Display(s) ASUS ROG Strix XG27UQR (4K, 144Hz, G-SYNC compatible) | Asus MG28UQ (4K, 60Hz, FreeSync compatible)
Case Cooler Master HAF 922
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty PCIe
Power Supply Corsair AX1600i
Mouse Microsoft Intellimouse Pro - Black Shadow
Keyboard Yes
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
Performance Summary

Performance seems to be all over the place with the Radeon HD 5970. The type and level of graphical demand inherent to the specific game plays a major factor in performance as you might suspect. We do see some patterns in our testing that we can summarize when making comparisons to the GeForce GTX 580.

The largest issue we had was running into a video RAM wall with the Radeon HD 5970. There is 1GB of RAM available to each GPU on the Radeon HD 5970. This is simply not enough for the latest DX11 games. In F1 2010, now that it supports DX11 using DirectCompute and some fancy post-processing memory intensive 3D effects, we are experiencing a much more demanding game. The Radeon HD 5970 runs into a wall at 8X MSAA at 2560x1600 with all the effects turned up. Performance becomes erratic, inconsistent, and downright unplayable. at 8X MSAA. However, on the GeForce GTX 580, which has more memory on board (1.5GB), performance is smooth, and most importantly playable at identical settings.

Before posting, please read the rest of the article, to get the full picture.

[H]ard|OCP
 
Joined
Apr 21, 2008
Messages
5,250 (0.90/day)
Location
IRAQ-Baghdad
System Name MASTER
Processor Core i7 3930k run at 4.4ghz
Motherboard Asus Rampage IV extreme
Cooling Corsair H100i
Memory 4x4G kingston hyperx beast 2400mhz
Video Card(s) 2X EVGA GTX680
Storage 2X Crusial M4 256g raid0, 1TbWD g, 2x500 WD B
Display(s) Samsung 27' 1080P LED 3D monitior 2ms
Case CoolerMaster Chosmos II
Audio Device(s) Creative sound blaster X-FI Titanum champion,Creative speakers 7.1 T7900
Power Supply Corsair 1200i, Logitch G500 Mouse, headset Corsair vengeance 1500
Software Win7 64bit Ultimate
Benchmark Scores 3d mark 2011: testing
we still say about the games which use more than 1G on 1920x1080 it's bad programing games such as metro 2033 and GTA V, but i see games now going with this shit and i afraid if 1G cards will be not enough anymore with new games that will be a disaster.
so 5970 with 2 GPU should be better and it's really better with all games use less than 1G.
 

Over_Lord

News Editor
Joined
Oct 13, 2010
Messages
764 (0.16/day)
Location
Hyderabad
System Name BAH! - - tHE ECo FReAK
Processor Athlon II X4 620 @ 1.15V
Motherboard ASUS 785G EVO
Cooling Stock
Memory Corsair Titanium 4GB DDR3 1600MHz C9
Video Card(s) Sapphire HD5850 @ 1.049v
Storage Seagate 7200.12 500GB
Display(s) BenQ G2220HD
Case Cooler Master Elite 334
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply Corsair VX550W
Software Windows 7 Ultimate x64
it's not the GPU, it's these programming jerks

if metro 2033 can run soo smooth on outdated consoles, why do they f*ck our HD5850/GTX460 range cards
 

mdsx1950

New Member
Joined
Nov 21, 2009
Messages
2,064 (0.39/day)
Location
In a gaming world :D
System Name Knight-X
Processor Intel Core i7-980X [4.2Ghz]
Motherboard ASUS P6T7 WS
Cooling CORSAIR Hydro H70 + 2x CM 2000RPM 120mm LED Fans
Memory Corsair DOMINATOR-GT 12GB (6 x 2GB) DDR3 2000MHz
Video Card(s) AMD Radeon HD6970 2GB CrossFire [PhysX - EVGA GTX260(216SP) 896MB]
Storage 2x Corsair Perf. 512GB | OCZ Colossus 1TB | 2xOCZ Agilities 120GB SSDs
Display(s) Dell UltraSharp™ 3008WFP [2560x1600]
Case Cooler Master HAF-X + NZXT Temp LCD
Audio Device(s) ASUS Xonar D2X | ONKYO HTS9100THX 7.1
Power Supply Silverstone ST1500 1500W [80 PLUS Silver]
Software Windows 7 Ultimate X64 (Build 7600)
Benchmark Scores Heaven 2.0 with Extreme Tessellation at 1080p - 96FPS
LOL FAIL!

The GTX 580 gets fucked by a card that has equal power consumption and is lower in price.
 
Joined
Oct 1, 2010
Messages
2,361 (0.48/day)
Location
Marlow, ENGLAND
System Name Chachamaru-IV | Retro Battlestation
Processor AMD Ryzen 9 5900X | Intel Pentium II 450MHz
Motherboard ASUS ROG STRIX X570-F Gaming | MSI MS-6116 (Intel 440BX chipset)
Cooling Noctua NH-D15 SE-AM4
Memory 32GB Corsair DDR4-3000 (16-20-20-38) | 512MB PC133 SDRAM
Video Card(s) nVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 FE | 3dfx Voodoo3 3000
Storage 1TB WD_Black SN850 NVME SSD (OS), Toshiba 3TB (Storage), Toshiba 3TB (Steam)
Display(s) Samsung Odyssey G5 27" @ 1440p144 & Dell P2312H @ 1080p60
Case SilverStone Seta A1 | Beige box
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster AE-7 (Speakers), Creative Zen Hybrid headset | Sound Blaster AWE64
Power Supply EVGA Supernova 750 G2 | 250W ASETEC
Mouse Roccat Kone Air| Microsoft Serial Mouse v2.0A
Keyboard Vortex Race3 | Dell AT102W
Software Microsoft Windows 11 Pro | Microsoft Windows 98SE
Oh my god, that's the funniest thing I've read all week.

Now, we just have to see how it compares to the 69xx series.
 
Joined
Feb 8, 2008
Messages
2,665 (0.45/day)
Location
Switzerland
Processor i9 9900KS ( 5 Ghz all the time )
Motherboard Asus Maximus XI Hero Z390
Cooling EK Velocity + EK D5 pump + Alphacool full copper silver 360mm radiator
Memory 16GB Corsair Dominator GT ROG Edition 3333 Mhz
Video Card(s) ASUS TUF RTX 3080 Ti 12GB OC
Storage M.2 Samsung NVMe 970 Evo Plus 250 GB + 1TB 970 Evo Plus
Display(s) Asus PG279 IPS 1440p 165Hz G-sync
Case Cooler Master H500
Power Supply Asus ROG Thor 850W
Mouse Razer Deathadder Chroma
Keyboard Rapoo
Software Win 10 64 Bit
yes true is faster, for now...
 

Tatty_Two

Gone Fishing
Joined
Jan 18, 2006
Messages
25,793 (3.88/day)
Location
Worcestershire, UK
Processor Rocket Lake Core i5 11600K @ 5 Ghz with PL tweaks
Motherboard MSI MAG Z490 TOMAHAWK
Cooling Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120SE + 4 Phanteks 140mm case fans
Memory 32GB (4 x 8GB SR) Patriot Viper Steel 4133Mhz DDR4 @ 3600Mhz CL14@1.45v Gear 1
Video Card(s) Asus Dual RTX 4070 OC
Storage WD Blue SN550 1TB M.2 NVME//Crucial MX500 500GB SSD (OS)
Display(s) AOC Q2781PQ 27 inch Ultra Slim 2560 x 1440 IPS
Case Phanteks Enthoo Pro M Windowed - Gunmetal
Audio Device(s) Onboard Realtek ALC1200/SPDIF to Sony AVR @ 5.1
Power Supply Seasonic CORE GM650w Gold Semi modular
Mouse Coolermaster Storm Octane wired
Keyboard Element Gaming Carbon Mk2 Tournament Mech
Software Win 10 Home x64
LOL FAIL!

The GTX 580 gets fucked by a card that has equal power consumption and is lower in price.

Unless you live in the UK where a 580 can be had for upto 15% less :p

So basically providing you don't game at 25XX (which few do), then there is no memory related issues with the 5970, it's almost as if they are trying to find weaknesses for the comparision though and what they come up with apart from finding it difficult in the odd game to play at 25XX at ABOVE 8xMSAA is the usual multi GPU issues.
 

qubit

Overclocked quantum bit
Joined
Dec 6, 2007
Messages
17,866 (3.00/day)
Location
Quantum Well UK
System Name Quantumville™
Processor Intel Core i7-2700K @ 4GHz
Motherboard Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
Cooling Noctua NH-D14
Memory 16GB (2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance Black DDR3 PC3-12800 C9 1600MHz)
Video Card(s) MSI RTX 2080 SUPER Gaming X Trio
Storage Samsung 850 Pro 256GB | WD Black 4TB | WD Blue 6TB
Display(s) ASUS ROG Strix XG27UQR (4K, 144Hz, G-SYNC compatible) | Asus MG28UQ (4K, 60Hz, FreeSync compatible)
Case Cooler Master HAF 922
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty PCIe
Power Supply Corsair AX1600i
Mouse Microsoft Intellimouse Pro - Black Shadow
Keyboard Yes
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
LOL FAIL!

The GTX 580 gets fucked by a card that has equal power consumption and is lower in price.

You mean the 5970 is fucked? The article shows the 580 as having smoother gameplay.
 
Joined
Oct 1, 2010
Messages
2,361 (0.48/day)
Location
Marlow, ENGLAND
System Name Chachamaru-IV | Retro Battlestation
Processor AMD Ryzen 9 5900X | Intel Pentium II 450MHz
Motherboard ASUS ROG STRIX X570-F Gaming | MSI MS-6116 (Intel 440BX chipset)
Cooling Noctua NH-D15 SE-AM4
Memory 32GB Corsair DDR4-3000 (16-20-20-38) | 512MB PC133 SDRAM
Video Card(s) nVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 FE | 3dfx Voodoo3 3000
Storage 1TB WD_Black SN850 NVME SSD (OS), Toshiba 3TB (Storage), Toshiba 3TB (Steam)
Display(s) Samsung Odyssey G5 27" @ 1440p144 & Dell P2312H @ 1080p60
Case SilverStone Seta A1 | Beige box
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster AE-7 (Speakers), Creative Zen Hybrid headset | Sound Blaster AWE64
Power Supply EVGA Supernova 750 G2 | 250W ASETEC
Mouse Roccat Kone Air| Microsoft Serial Mouse v2.0A
Keyboard Vortex Race3 | Dell AT102W
Software Microsoft Windows 11 Pro | Microsoft Windows 98SE
Yes, I thought that too. Obviously he didn't read the article properly.
 
Joined
Jan 2, 2008
Messages
3,296 (0.56/day)
System Name Thakk
Processor i7 6700k @ 4.5Ghz
Motherboard Gigabyte G1 Z170N ITX
Cooling H55 AIO
Memory 32GB DDR4 3100 c16
Video Card(s) Zotac RTX3080 Trinity
Storage Corsair Force GT 120GB SSD / Intel 250GB SSD / Samsung Pro 512 SSD / 3TB Seagate SV32
Display(s) Acer Predator X34 100hz IPS Gsync / HTC Vive
Case QBX
Audio Device(s) Realtek ALC1150 > Creative Gigaworks T40 > AKG Q701
Power Supply Corsair SF600
Mouse Logitech G900
Keyboard Ducky Shine TKL MX Blue + Vortex PBT Doubleshots
Software Windows 10 64bit
Benchmark Scores http://www.3dmark.com/fs/12108888
Was having framedrops in GTX295 with AA blasted way back.. I can now see its maybe a memory issue and not a dual gpu related issue i guess..


it's not the GPU, it's these programming jerks

if metro 2033 can run soo smooth on outdated consoles, why do they f*ck our HD5850/GTX460 range cards
Thats because in the console, they strip down rendering effects that laymen wont recognize. Subtle rendering effects that is not really noticable until its focused upon on (DX11 stuff to be specific, or total number of light sources, etc).. those things can consume an amount of rendering cycle.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Oct 1, 2010
Messages
2,361 (0.48/day)
Location
Marlow, ENGLAND
System Name Chachamaru-IV | Retro Battlestation
Processor AMD Ryzen 9 5900X | Intel Pentium II 450MHz
Motherboard ASUS ROG STRIX X570-F Gaming | MSI MS-6116 (Intel 440BX chipset)
Cooling Noctua NH-D15 SE-AM4
Memory 32GB Corsair DDR4-3000 (16-20-20-38) | 512MB PC133 SDRAM
Video Card(s) nVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 FE | 3dfx Voodoo3 3000
Storage 1TB WD_Black SN850 NVME SSD (OS), Toshiba 3TB (Storage), Toshiba 3TB (Steam)
Display(s) Samsung Odyssey G5 27" @ 1440p144 & Dell P2312H @ 1080p60
Case SilverStone Seta A1 | Beige box
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster AE-7 (Speakers), Creative Zen Hybrid headset | Sound Blaster AWE64
Power Supply EVGA Supernova 750 G2 | 250W ASETEC
Mouse Roccat Kone Air| Microsoft Serial Mouse v2.0A
Keyboard Vortex Race3 | Dell AT102W
Software Microsoft Windows 11 Pro | Microsoft Windows 98SE
That and games console work at almost 100% efficiency towards the end of their lives. Were lucky if we get 50%.
 
Joined
Mar 6, 2007
Messages
720 (0.12/day)
Processor i9 9900k @ 4.8 Ghz
Motherboard Asrock Z370 Taichi
Cooling Xspc raystorm direct die, 2x 480 swiftech rads + 2x 120 block ice rads D5, Monsoon Dualbay Res
Memory 32gb G.Skill DDR4 3200mhz CL14
Video Card(s) Gigabyte Aorus 3080 Ti Waterforce WB shunt mod
Storage Samsung Evo 860 500gb, Samsung Evo 860 1Tb x2, WD White 12tb x2
Display(s) Acer xb270hu 144hz 2560x1440
Case Enthoo Primo
Audio Device(s) Schiit Modi Multibit/Magni3 - M1060 (fuzzor+LQi cable+Eikon suede)/ATH-W1000X (Purrin's mod+suede)
Power Supply EVGA SuperNova 1300w
Mouse Razer Orochi
Keyboard Tesoro
Software TeamOS W10 Pro/W7 Pro
You know, color me a fanboy but this article doesn't make sense to me. If you want to game at 2560x1600 with 8xaa and you're only pushing 40 frames with these monster cards in a dx11 title,wouldn't your first reaction be to drop the aa a level to grab another 10 to 20 frames to truly get a "smooth" experience? Hell the main argument of the article is the word smooth. You can add as much motion blur you want but without a framerate that matches your refresh rate you are going to get frame skips. Even if I owned a 580 I would be at 4xaa to hopefully hit 60 frames and with vsync with triple buffering. But then wouldn't I be happier with a 5970 that can hit higher frames both min and Max in these new titles?
Also, to actively suggest people to buy a 580, or even a 5970 for that matter, is just plain deceptive. With a new line of high end gpus landing in what? Less than 30 days? Telling people they'd be happy with their purchase when prices on these gpus is likely to fall makes me lose faith in this so called "tech site." End rant. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
 

3volvedcombat

New Member
Joined
May 10, 2009
Messages
1,514 (0.28/day)
Location
South California, The desert.
System Name My Computer
Processor Core 2 Q9550 4Ghz 1.23volts
Motherboard Gigabyte
Cooling Corsair
Memory OCZ
Video Card(s) Galaxy
Storage Western Digital
Display(s) Acer
Case Lian li
Audio Device(s) Asus
Power Supply Corsiar
Software Microsoft
Benchmark Scores 25,000 3dmark06 at 4.35Ghz processor, 835core card!
People read the article, its basic 3d acceleration optimization flaws, which makes the GTX 580 stand out as overall a smoother card.

In many of todays games, and architectures when it comes to video cards there is 1 slight flaw. When you have a dual GPU you have 2 cards on 1 pci-e express slot, but every gpu needs there dedicated memory. So a HD 5970 having 2x HD 5870 on board and 2gb of total memory, is nice for video games, but the gpu can only use 1gb of memory dedicated to its self.

Basically in words, a HD 5970 is like two people, these two guys don't like sharing, they will only use 1gb of vram for them selfs.

The optimazation in many games isnt great at all when it comes to dual gpu setup's of any kind. You have issue's of micro stuttering, and memory caps. Most 3d applications are going to use a HD 5970 to the best of the ability. But if the application slams down and the first gpu with 1gb of vram gets swallowed up, it falls down, starts to stutter, and really starts slowing down. The second gpu will try to keep up, but its a domino affect.


With a GTX 580, you have no optimization tricks. So a 3d application will run perfectly on it. Only 1 Core of 512 shaders, 1.5gb dedicated ONLY to the 512 cuda core, and decent clocks to back it up.

For a 3d application, this is gold. A GTX 580 wont have micro stuttering problems, Lack of memory Issue's nor will it cause conflicts in many applications. Meaning way smoother game-play and more compatibility and possibility

You will get solid performance in every single game, and you wont be let down because of game optimization or future vram hogging titles coming 2011-2012.

Many people ditch sli-crossfirex solutions because of this. Sometimes, Even for the enthusiast, you just want to start a game and get smooth performance.



*** Basically***
In summary you can either have a HD 5970, but go threw driver issue's, optimization issue's and some times just sit in your chair, because the game you want to play is getting terrable performance, and AMD has to hotfix/patch the driver in a couple of days.

Or you can get a GTX 580, a little more expensive, overall more smoother game-play, Every game should start up and run great on release without a hotfix/patch driver.

The cons of a GTX 580:
More expensive then HD 5970's.
Slightly Slower then a HD 5970's.
Runs Slightly Warmer then HD 5970's.
Doesn't Support Triple Monitors.

The Con's of a HD 5970:
Driver/Optimization Issue's
Slight Memory Bottlenecks.
HD 5970 is the longest card in earth. (bad for PCI-e slots sometimes)



It just depends on what video card you want to get, Even the final decision, it could come down to the exact length of these video cards. a HD 5970 is to large and just slightly dangerous.

a GTX 580 is a bit shorter at a regular length.


Many enthusiast might go for the GTX 580, because there Green team, and its fast fast fast(overclockable)

Many enthusiast might go for a HD 5970 because in benchmarks, the HD 5970 is technically faster in frame-rate then a GTX 580. (Better for Benching in vantage and getting e-peen scores)

We can go back and forth in discussion of which one is better, a Essay of 20 pages infact. Eventually there will be a answer for every one.


My final thoughts? Go for both cards, Dream for both cards, and respect both the GTX 580 and HD 5970, because there both really in there own performance range, and just extremely fast in all applications in all resolutions on common monitors.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

cadaveca

My name is Dave
Joined
Apr 10, 2006
Messages
17,232 (2.63/day)
Thsi is simply a lead-up review into the 6970 2GB. Carefully crafted to show memory limitations, that very shortly, will be overcome.

While many may think the reasoning for the settings used is not good, as a user with 2560x1600 panels, I understand why the focus is there.

If you are not a high-end user, of course it makes no sense. High-end features aren't important to you. I don't understand why people think running high-end rigs is useless...just be honest and say you cannot afford such a beast of a machine. It's no big deal, but for me personally, I demand the best, and am willing to pay for it. Cost effectiveness isn't any of my concern.

:shadedshu

This is a review of the current top-end products, and it's purpose is to expose a failing in AMD's cards, so that the inclusion of 2GB on the new cards "makes sense".
 

mdsx1950

New Member
Joined
Nov 21, 2009
Messages
2,064 (0.39/day)
Location
In a gaming world :D
System Name Knight-X
Processor Intel Core i7-980X [4.2Ghz]
Motherboard ASUS P6T7 WS
Cooling CORSAIR Hydro H70 + 2x CM 2000RPM 120mm LED Fans
Memory Corsair DOMINATOR-GT 12GB (6 x 2GB) DDR3 2000MHz
Video Card(s) AMD Radeon HD6970 2GB CrossFire [PhysX - EVGA GTX260(216SP) 896MB]
Storage 2x Corsair Perf. 512GB | OCZ Colossus 1TB | 2xOCZ Agilities 120GB SSDs
Display(s) Dell UltraSharp™ 3008WFP [2560x1600]
Case Cooler Master HAF-X + NZXT Temp LCD
Audio Device(s) ASUS Xonar D2X | ONKYO HTS9100THX 7.1
Power Supply Silverstone ST1500 1500W [80 PLUS Silver]
Software Windows 7 Ultimate X64 (Build 7600)
Benchmark Scores Heaven 2.0 with Extreme Tessellation at 1080p - 96FPS
Unless you live in the UK where a 580 can be had for upto 15% less :p

So basically providing you don't game at 25XX (which few do), then there is no memory related issues with the 5970, it's almost as if they are trying to find weaknesses for the comparision though and what they come up with apart from finding it difficult in the odd game to play at 25XX at ABOVE 8xMSAA is the usual multi GPU issues.

I do game at 2560x1600 :p Saving to get two more screens and a couple of HD6970s or a HD6990 :D :rockout:

You mean the 5970 is fucked? The article shows the 580 as having smoother gameplay.

The HD5970 still offers high framerates than that of the GTX580. Other than F1 2010 at 8XMSAA, the HD5970 kicks ass. :rockout:

Yes, I thought that too. Obviously he didn't read the article properly.

Oh i did. Seem likes you didn't though. You just read the conclusion without actually taking a look at the figures. :rolleyes:
 
Last edited:

the54thvoid

Intoxicated Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Dec 14, 2009
Messages
12,378 (2.37/day)
Location
Glasgow - home of formal profanity
Processor Ryzen 7800X3D
Motherboard MSI MAG Mortar B650 (wifi)
Cooling be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4
Memory 32GB Kingston Fury
Video Card(s) Gainward RTX4070ti
Storage Seagate FireCuda 530 M.2 1TB / Samsumg 960 Pro M.2 512Gb
Display(s) LG 32" 165Hz 1440p GSYNC
Case Asus Prime AP201
Audio Device(s) On Board
Power Supply be quiet! Pure POwer M12 850w Gold (ATX3.0)
Software W10
I agree with Cadaveca. And i had Bjorn's problem with my GTX 295, it had 1792Mb memory i think but that was 896 per gpu. I've seen a similare comparison using a 5870 2GB and it held it's own at 2560 res.

I think it's okay for NV to have gone with 1.5Gb Ram. And i also like to have as much eye candy dazzling on my screen as possible.

But i'll not be impressed until i can see blood spatters slapping into dust particles or swishing through fogs of gunsmoke.

Roll on the GTX 999 and the HD 9999
 
Joined
Jul 19, 2006
Messages
43,585 (6.74/day)
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Motherboard ASUS TUF x670e
Cooling EK AIO 360. Phantek T30 fans.
Memory 32GB G.Skill 6000Mhz
Video Card(s) Asus RTX 4090
Storage WD m.2
Display(s) LG C2 Evo OLED 42"
Case Lian Li PC 011 Dynamic Evo
Audio Device(s) Topping E70 DAC, SMSL SP200 Headphone Amp.
Power Supply FSP Hydro Ti PRO 1000W
Mouse Razer Basilisk V3 Pro
Keyboard Tester84
Software Windows 11
if metro 2033 can run soo smooth on outdated consoles, why do they f*ck our HD5850/GTX460 range cards

Lower the graphics settings down to a console's graphics settings (720p as well) and it should do much better. It's simple really.
 

EastCoasthandle

New Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2005
Messages
6,885 (1.00/day)
System Name MY PC
Processor E8400 @ 3.80Ghz > Q9650 3.60Ghz
Motherboard Maximus Formula
Cooling D5, 7/16" ID Tubing, Maze4 with Fuzion CPU WB
Memory XMS 8500C5D @ 1066MHz
Video Card(s) HD 2900 XT 858/900 to 4870 to 5870 (Keep Vreg area clean)
Storage 2
Display(s) 24"
Case P180
Audio Device(s) X-fi Plantinum
Power Supply Silencer 750
Software XP Pro SP3 to Windows 7
Benchmark Scores This varies from one driver to another.
You mean the 5970 is fucked? The article shows the 580 as having smoother gameplay.

Yes, I thought that too. Obviously he didn't read the article properly.

Both of you are wrong. This was a review showing the limitations of 1Gig of vram at 2560x1600 using 8xAA, etc. Nothing more. Remember, the 5970 shares that 2gigs of vram making it effectively 1Gig of vram. While the 580 using 1.5 Gigs of vram. But have a look at this (regarding a 2 Gig vram 5870):




As you can see it's very obvious with F1 2010 as the 580 shows absolutely no improvement over the 5870 with 2 Gigs of vram. As for BC2 only a 6 FPS improvement. So that's 2 out of the 5 games they provided benchmarks that shows the 580 in a very bad light here. The other 2 games: Metro and MOH, don't use 8xAA. And for civilization, there is so much hard drive thrashing going on I simply omitted the results as the graphs shows extreme dips down to 1-0 FPS on all cards. So that's the gist of the review (concerning vram) which doesn't make the 580 a appealing card.
 
Last edited:

mdsx1950

New Member
Joined
Nov 21, 2009
Messages
2,064 (0.39/day)
Location
In a gaming world :D
System Name Knight-X
Processor Intel Core i7-980X [4.2Ghz]
Motherboard ASUS P6T7 WS
Cooling CORSAIR Hydro H70 + 2x CM 2000RPM 120mm LED Fans
Memory Corsair DOMINATOR-GT 12GB (6 x 2GB) DDR3 2000MHz
Video Card(s) AMD Radeon HD6970 2GB CrossFire [PhysX - EVGA GTX260(216SP) 896MB]
Storage 2x Corsair Perf. 512GB | OCZ Colossus 1TB | 2xOCZ Agilities 120GB SSDs
Display(s) Dell UltraSharp™ 3008WFP [2560x1600]
Case Cooler Master HAF-X + NZXT Temp LCD
Audio Device(s) ASUS Xonar D2X | ONKYO HTS9100THX 7.1
Power Supply Silverstone ST1500 1500W [80 PLUS Silver]
Software Windows 7 Ultimate X64 (Build 7600)
Benchmark Scores Heaven 2.0 with Extreme Tessellation at 1080p - 96FPS
Both of you are wrong. This was a review showing the limitations of 1Gig of vram at 2560x1600 using 8xAA, etc. Nothing more. Remember, the 5970 shares that 2gigs of vram making it effectively 1Gig of vram. While the 580 using 1.5 Gigs of vram. But have a look at this (regarding a 2 Gig vram 5870):

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a154/eastcoasthandle/1289507336SzLWKc8bvR_1_1.gif
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a154/eastcoasthandle/BC2.gif

As you can see it's very obvious with F1 2010 as the 580 shows absolutely no improvement over the 5870 with 2 Gigs of vram. As for BC2 only a 4 FPS improvement. So that's 2 out of the 5 games they provided benchmarks for that shows the 580 in a very bad light here. The other 2 games: Metro and MOH, they don't use 8xAA. And for civilization, there is so much hard drive thrashing going on that I simply omit the results as the graphs shows extreme dips down to 1-0 FPS on all cards.

So in the end it won 2 (as 8xAA @ 2560 wasn't used). While it either tried or beat the 5870 2Gig version (by 6 FPS) using 8xAA @ 2560. That's the gist of the review regardless of how they "wrote it". Which doesn't make the 580 an appealing card.

Thank you for that fine post! :D
 
Last edited:

qubit

Overclocked quantum bit
Joined
Dec 6, 2007
Messages
17,866 (3.00/day)
Location
Quantum Well UK
System Name Quantumville™
Processor Intel Core i7-2700K @ 4GHz
Motherboard Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
Cooling Noctua NH-D14
Memory 16GB (2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance Black DDR3 PC3-12800 C9 1600MHz)
Video Card(s) MSI RTX 2080 SUPER Gaming X Trio
Storage Samsung 850 Pro 256GB | WD Black 4TB | WD Blue 6TB
Display(s) ASUS ROG Strix XG27UQR (4K, 144Hz, G-SYNC compatible) | Asus MG28UQ (4K, 60Hz, FreeSync compatible)
Case Cooler Master HAF 922
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty PCIe
Power Supply Corsair AX1600i
Mouse Microsoft Intellimouse Pro - Black Shadow
Keyboard Yes
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
The HD5970 still offers high framerates than that of the GTX580. Other than F1 2010 at 8XMSAA, the HD5970 kicks ass. :rockout:

That's the point: the answer is yes and no; a classic grey area. The 5970 dips much lower, due to running out of memory, which causes annoying hitches in the game, therefore the 580 gives smoother gameplay, which is where it counts. Remember, the most important parameter is the lowest FPS, not the highest.

I saw an example of exactly this effect with my hardware. I had a 4870 512MB and was quite pleased with it. It worked nicely and was quite powerful and is a good card. One saw glitches with PC games, like one does, though.

Then I got a used 8800 GTX (these have 768MB RAM if you remember) for about £60, to play with. And yes, you guessed it, despite it benching lower FPS in tests, it offered noticeably smoother gameplay than the 4870, with less of those annoying hitches. In fact, some games actually had a higher FPS when I unlocked vsync, which really surprised me.

It wasn't long until that 4870 found itself on eBay and I was the proud owner of a Zotac GTX 285, which I have to this day. As you can imagine, gameplay is very smooth with this card and I don't see so many issues with my games.

Of course, it would have been nice to do a three way comparison between the 8800 GTX and 512MB & 1GB versions of the 4870, to see if the extra memory would have made a difference to the ATI card. However, I tend to doubt it, as I was only running at something like 1024x960 resolution on my aging CRT monitor at the time and that wouldn't max out 512MB anyway.

And before you brand me an "ATI fanboi", I had bought ATI for years before that. However, my loyalty was not rewarded by ATI with better products, so I switched to nvidia. So far, I can see now reason to switch back. I'll be looking to get the GTX 580 when the Cayman cards come out and the 580 has dropped in price a bit.
 

Tatty_Two

Gone Fishing
Joined
Jan 18, 2006
Messages
25,793 (3.88/day)
Location
Worcestershire, UK
Processor Rocket Lake Core i5 11600K @ 5 Ghz with PL tweaks
Motherboard MSI MAG Z490 TOMAHAWK
Cooling Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120SE + 4 Phanteks 140mm case fans
Memory 32GB (4 x 8GB SR) Patriot Viper Steel 4133Mhz DDR4 @ 3600Mhz CL14@1.45v Gear 1
Video Card(s) Asus Dual RTX 4070 OC
Storage WD Blue SN550 1TB M.2 NVME//Crucial MX500 500GB SSD (OS)
Display(s) AOC Q2781PQ 27 inch Ultra Slim 2560 x 1440 IPS
Case Phanteks Enthoo Pro M Windowed - Gunmetal
Audio Device(s) Onboard Realtek ALC1200/SPDIF to Sony AVR @ 5.1
Power Supply Seasonic CORE GM650w Gold Semi modular
Mouse Coolermaster Storm Octane wired
Keyboard Element Gaming Carbon Mk2 Tournament Mech
Software Win 10 Home x64
I do game at 2560x1600 :p Saving to get two more screens and a couple of HD6970s or a HD6990 :D :rockout:



The HD5970 still offers high framerates than that of the GTX580. Other than F1 2010 at 8XMSAA, the HD5970 kicks ass. :rockout:



Oh i did. Seem likes you didn't though. You just read the conclusion without actually taking a look at the figures. :rolleyes:

Your kind of missing my point, in most things even at that res it's shown that the 5970 is faster than the 580, in the linky the Op provided it pointed out that at those resolutions in a couple of DX11 games more than 1GB of memory may well be needed therefore the 5970 struggles in comparision to the 580, I am not disputing that fact and I am not sure anyone else is, my point with the review is simply that it, are choosing to focus on inferior performance in a handful of games rather than acknowledgeing the 5970's superior performance in the majority of games which most reviews do show.

I qualified my non fanboi comment by stating that in the UK however the 580 appears to be a better value for money prospect as it is up to 15% cheaper for just a 5% average loss in pereformance across games against the 5970. The argument to a certain degree is mute, if you wanted more performance than either of the 2 cards you could simply buy two HD6870's, yes you would still have the memory issues with those odd games but generally you would spank both to death whilst discharging warm substances in awe of the performance.
 

mdsx1950

New Member
Joined
Nov 21, 2009
Messages
2,064 (0.39/day)
Location
In a gaming world :D
System Name Knight-X
Processor Intel Core i7-980X [4.2Ghz]
Motherboard ASUS P6T7 WS
Cooling CORSAIR Hydro H70 + 2x CM 2000RPM 120mm LED Fans
Memory Corsair DOMINATOR-GT 12GB (6 x 2GB) DDR3 2000MHz
Video Card(s) AMD Radeon HD6970 2GB CrossFire [PhysX - EVGA GTX260(216SP) 896MB]
Storage 2x Corsair Perf. 512GB | OCZ Colossus 1TB | 2xOCZ Agilities 120GB SSDs
Display(s) Dell UltraSharp™ 3008WFP [2560x1600]
Case Cooler Master HAF-X + NZXT Temp LCD
Audio Device(s) ASUS Xonar D2X | ONKYO HTS9100THX 7.1
Power Supply Silverstone ST1500 1500W [80 PLUS Silver]
Software Windows 7 Ultimate X64 (Build 7600)
Benchmark Scores Heaven 2.0 with Extreme Tessellation at 1080p - 96FPS
That's the point: the answer is yes and no; a classic grey area. The 5970 dips much lower, due to running out of memory, which causes annoying hitches in the game, therefore the 580 gives smoother gameplay, which is where it counts. Remember, the most important parameter is the lowest FPS, not the highest.

I saw an example of exactly this effect with my hardware. I had a 4870 512MB and was quite pleased with it. It worked nicely and was quite powerful and is a good card. One saw glitches with PC games, like one does, though.

Then I got a used 8800 GTX (these have 768MB RAM if you remember) for about £60, to play with. And yes, you guessed it, despite it benching lower FPS in tests, it offered noticeably smoother gameplay than the 4870, with less of those annoying hitches. In fact, some games actually had a higher FPS when I unlocked vsync, which really surprised me.

It wasn't long until that 4870 found itself on eBay and I was the proud owner of a Zotac GTX 285, which I have to this day. As you can imagine, gameplay is very smooth with this card and I don't see so many issues with my games.

Of course, it would have been nice to do a three way comparison between the 8800 GTX and 512MB & 1GB versions of the 4870, to see if the extra memory would have made a difference to the ATI card. However, I tend to doubt it, as I was only running at something like 1024x960 resolution on my aging CRT monitor at the time and that wouldn't max out 512MB anyway.

And before you brand me an "ATI fanboi", I had bought ATI for years before that. However, my loyalty was not rewarded by ATI with better products, so I switched to nvidia. So far, I can see now reason to switch back. I'll be looking to get the GTX 580 when the Cayman cards come out and the 580 has dropped in price a bit.

Lol i'm not gonna brand you as a fanboi or anything and i hear what you say. The GTX 580 does give smoother game play but only F1 2010 and at 8XMSAA and in one benchmark of Bad Company 2, but by a very little gap. All other games the HD5970 is on top. Now in my case where i have a HD5970 with 2GB VRAM per gpu.. The GTX 580 will be walked on.

Your kind of missing my point, in most things even at that res it's shown that the 5970 is faster than the 580, in the linky the Op provided it pointed out that at those resolutions in a couple of DX11 games more than 1GB of memory may well be needed therefore the 5970 struggles in comparision to the 580, I am not disputing that fact and I am not sure anyone else is, my point with the review is simply that it, are choosing to focus on inferior performance in a handful of games rather than acknowledgeing the 5970's superior performance in the majority of games which most reviews do show.

I qualified my non fanboi comment by stating that in the UK however the 580 appears to be a better value for money prospect as it is up to 15% cheaper for just a 5% average loss in pereformance across games against the 5970.

OH ok. I get your point and i do agree with what you say. Though IMO i still think the HD5970 is a better value for money if it's cheaper like $469 as [H]OCP says.
 
Last edited:

EastCoasthandle

New Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2005
Messages
6,885 (1.00/day)
System Name MY PC
Processor E8400 @ 3.80Ghz > Q9650 3.60Ghz
Motherboard Maximus Formula
Cooling D5, 7/16" ID Tubing, Maze4 with Fuzion CPU WB
Memory XMS 8500C5D @ 1066MHz
Video Card(s) HD 2900 XT 858/900 to 4870 to 5870 (Keep Vreg area clean)
Storage 2
Display(s) 24"
Case P180
Audio Device(s) X-fi Plantinum
Power Supply Silencer 750
Software XP Pro SP3 to Windows 7
Benchmark Scores This varies from one driver to another.
Lol i'm not gonna brand you as a fanboi or anything and i hear what you say. The GTX 580 does give smoother game play but only F1 2010 and at 8XMSAA and in one benchmark of Bad Company 2, but by a very little gap. All other games the HD5970 is on top. Now in my case where i have a HD5970 with 2GB VRAM per gpu.. The GTX 580 will be walked on.

The problem (and disconnect here) is that this isn't a performance review and that should have been made clear IMO. This is a vram review nothing more. So the gist is very simple, when you don't have enough vram you don't get smooth game play at 2560 res using higher levels of AA, IQ, etc. Although we can only guess, if the results were at 1920 I'm guessing that the results would be consistent with the 5970 winning most if not all the time. While the 580 handily beating the 5870 2Gig. But that's just a guess on my part looking at other reviews.
 
Last edited:

nesco1801

New Member
Joined
Nov 15, 2010
Messages
53 (0.01/day)
Lower the graphics settings down to a console's graphics settings (720p as well) and it should do much better. It's simple really.


At max DX11 settings, 4xMSAA, Very High textures are cra***er then High textures.

How's that for a simple
 
Top