Inno3D Geforce GTX580 Review

For our testing today we have built two systems specifically to target two markets. While it would be easy for us to test solely at 2560×1600 we believe that a very small portion of the audience have a 30 inch screen.

System One today is a mid range enthusiast system with a Core i7 950 processor overclocked to 3.8ghz – a figure easily achievable by the majority of people reading this review. We are using a 24 inch Dell Ultrasharp U2410 screen with this system build. To many people this will be a high end system, but if you are interested in a GTX580, it can safely be considered ‘mid range'. We will compare the GTX580 against current and last generation mid range boards to document any improvements if you wanted to spend more money on a graphics card upgrade. These review pages are market with a ‘mid sys' in the header.

System Two is a high end enthusiast system with a Core i7 970 processor overclocked to 4.3ghz with liquid cooling. This is a system that not many people will be able to afford, but we need to make sure we cover the higher level audience who will be contemplating a purchase of this card. We are using a 30 inch Hazro Ultra Sharp HZ230Wi screen with this system build. We will compare the GTX580 against other high end boards in the current and last generation. These review pages are market with a ‘high sys' in the header.

System One (Mid Range Enthusiast System).

Validation available here

Processor: Core i7 950 @ 3.8ghz
Cooling: Thermaltake Frio
Motherboard: Asrock X58 Extreme6
Chassis: Antec Dark Fleet DF 85
Power Supply: Corsair AX850
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 6GB (2gbx3) @ 760 MHz (2:8) @ 8-8-8-24
Storage: OCZ Agility II @ WD 2TB HD (storage)
Monitor: Dell Ultrasharp U2410 Rev A00

System Two (High End Enthusiast System)

Validation available here

Processor: Core i7 970 @ 4.3ghz
Cooling: Coolit Vantage
Motherboard: MSI X58A-GD65 (MS-7522)
Chassis: Thermaltake Level 10
Power Supply: Corsair Ax1200
Memory: 6GB GSkill Performance Gaming ram @ 902.9 MHz (2:10) @ 7-8-7-24
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V+ 512GB Gen 2 SSD (Storage) / Crucial RealSSD C300 256GB (OS boot)
Monitor: Hazro Ultra Sharp HZ230Wi

Other graphics cards for comparisons:

Powercolor HD6870 PCS+ (940/1100)
eVGA GTX460 FTW
MSI GTX460 Talon
Nvidia GTX 480
Nvidia GTX470
AMD HD5970
AMD HD6870
AMD HD5870
eVGA GTX460 768MB SC
Nvidia GTX460 reference board (1gb)
AMD HD6850
XFX HD5830 XXX
nVidia GTS 450
AMD HD5770
XFX HD5750 XXX
AMD HD5750

Software:
Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit

Unigine Heaven Benchmark
3DMark Vantage
3DMark 11
Catalyst 10.10 Driver
Fraps Professional
Steam Client
FurMark
TessMark
Forceware 263.09 WHQL
Catalyst 10.10

Technical Monitoring and Test Equipment:
Keithley Integra unit
Thermal Diodes
Raytek Laser Temp Gun 3i LSRC/MT4 Mini Temp
Extech digital sound level meter & SkyTronic DSL 2 Digital Sound Level Meter

Games:
Resident Evil 5
Colin McRae Dirt 2
Lost Planet 2
Far Cry 2
STALKER: Clear Sky
Metro 2033
Alien V Predator
Mafia 2
BattleField: Bad Company

All the latest BIOS updates and drivers are used during testing. We perform under real world conditions, meaning KitGuru tests all games across five closely matched runs and average out the results to get an accurate median figure.

Become a Patron!