580M SLI vs (1) 7970m?

Which is better? Obviously 7970m Crossfire >>> 580M SLI, but how does a single 7970m fare against a 580m SLI setup?


*debating what to get for me AW*

 

The GTX580M SLI is only marginally better than a single 7970M which is why I'd probably opt for the single 7970M.

 

I am not particularly an AMD fan, but performance offered by 7970M cannot be debated. It's a fast card. If I were you, the OP, I'd wait for 680M, but if you want to pull the trigger now, go for 7970M. 580M are last year/gen cards. You can always add second 7970M later and go crossfire.

 

HD7970 for sure. without a doubt

 

You can get an idea of the power of the 7970m by having a look at this thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m18x/661918-m18x-r1-7970m-crossfire-17.html#

Although its in a M18x R1, the last few pages show what the card is capable of as a single or in CFX configuration. These figures are likely to be improved upon when better driver support comes out.

So, yes. a CFX 7970m setup should be far superior in terms of benchmarks to that achieved by the GTX 580m SLI setup.

The only thing to factor in would be driver support - I had AMD cards for a while and hated the poor driver support - I havent had that problem since going Nvidia....kind of a gamble if AMD's driver support continues to be of poor quality.

Saying that, if AMD do release and support these new cards with good drivers, they would be the pick of the crop and by far the fastest mobile gpu solution we have EVER seen.......maybe until Nvidia release the 680m anyway

 

I agree, Steve and DarkSkies.

ZombiePikmin - don't cripple yourself buying a laptop that cannot support SLI or CrossFire. I have not seen an M18x offered with one 7970M. The fact that one 7970M is about as powerful, or maybe a bit more so, than GTX 580M SLI is only relevant for those that want a laptop with only one GPU and no capability to upgrade to CrossFire or SLI.

Those that can be patient and wait for GTX 680M SLI may be glad they did. While the 7970M is a beast, it's not ready for prime time due to poor driver support and there is no way to predict how much faster GTX 680M will be until we see it. If the GTX 680M actually materializes before long, we can get a better comparison of performance and perhaps the 7970M will have decent driver support by then.

At this point in time, I am not sure that giving up the better NVIDIA driver and gaming support, and Cuda, is the best option for me. As tempting as the 7970M beast is looking, I'm waiting and watching to see what happens a little bit longer.

 

Thank you for your very helpful responses guys. I fully understand the situation with the awesomeness of the 7970m's being dependent on AMD's driver support...so right now it really seems like a gamble.
'
But im aware that though last gen, 580m SLI still packs quite a hell of a punch.

...now onto my next question...

say I get a laptop with 2820qm and 580m SLI...on a m18x R1 of course...will I be able to easily upgrade it to any Ivy Bridge CPU and the inevitable 680M SLI? ...or are the 680m SLI only going to be compatible with the m18x R2's?

 

Correct, the GTX 580M SLI setup is extremely powerful and it's very stable. It will handle all the current games and should handle new game releases for the next couple of years without any problem.

You would have to install an M18x R2 motherboard in the M18x R1 to have Ivy Bridge. Our Sandy Bridge chipset does not support Ivy Bridge processors. The cost to do that would be excessive considering that Ivy Bridge offers very little benefit over Sandy Bridge. If you want Ivy Bridge, you would be better off buying a new M18x R2 if you don't already own an M18x R1.

The GTX 680M (if and when it is released) should be backward compatible with the M18x R1 and M17x R3. There is no reason for it not to be that we know of.

 

Awesome!!

Im not too concerned with the SB > IB upgrade. Researching more into it, as far as gaming as concerned (which is what im about...not too much concerned with benching), the difference is neglible. Could definitely live without. I guess a 2820qm would still be a viable choice today as far as gaming is concerned.

Good to know that upgrading from a 580m SLI setup to a 680M SLI setup on an M18x R1 will most likely be possible. So I guess i'll upgrade to those when I feel the need to.

I dont know why, but I have a feeling that the 680m will be better than the 7970m...and im not just talking about driver support.

*orders 'discounted' AW setup*
(i7 2820qm, 580m SLI, 16gb RAM, 750gb hdd x2, killer)
heres hoping it arrives this time around lol

 

There are a number of us that suspect the same. It has been NVIDIA's M.O. to release a more powerful GPU on the heels of a AMD/ATI flagship product. What remains to be seen is how the cost will compare. Assuming it is released, and it is more powerful than 7970M, I would gladly pay and extra $100 per GPU to have the features NVIDIA offers (Cuda and PhysX) in addition to better game and driver support.

 

I'm betting its gonna be a bit more than $100 per GPU over the 7970m's.

 

Will have to wait and see, and then decide how much more I am willing to pay. I might pay well more than $100 per GPU if the performance gap is wide enough to suit me. In the end, the 6990M and 580M were selling for almost the same price, but not at the launch of the 580M. We can expect scalping and overpricing at launch of most new tech no matter what brand it is. Early adoption is bad for the wallet, LOL. Waiting a bit will help with money and driver support. Will let others go first and absorb the cost and frustration.

Another great example of this was the PSP 3D Display that some folks were goo-goo eyed about when it was released and paid $500 for it. Now, about 6 months later, it's only $300 and will likely drop a little bit more in the next few months.

 

Same here. I somehow doubt that it will be that closley priced to the 7970m's given the last batch of AMD v Nvidia gpu's had a massive initial price difference....I recall that the Nvidia 580m option was something like $1200 for SLI which was something like $700 more than the AMD Crossfire 6970m/6990m option....

I expect to see (when it hits) similar kinda pricing but I hope I am proven completely wrong!!! (if so, put me down for a pair of 680m's if they ARE that cheap LOL)

 

In the end I would rather have a nvidia card over an AMD, but the price gap that has been prevalent has made it so the AMD card is the much better value. I hope this changes with the 680m, but I'll believe it when I see it.

 

Let's just hope that the reduction in the manufacturing process will bring about lower consumer costs!

Wether or not this article is anything to go on, I don't know but it suggest Nvidia 680m very soon....... NVIDIA preparing GTX 680m for presentation at Computex

 

I just hope that they fix the DPC latency, if they do I will buy the 680M.

 

I almost hope that article isn't telling the truth, the 7970m stomps all over the 3dmark score that "680m" card got.

+rep for the nice read though

 

I guess at this stage, its anyone's guess as to how it will all pan out....AMD or Nvidia as king of the mobile hill.....all I know is that before I chuck hard earned at new tech, its gotta be proven to be better....one way or the other! - age and experience has taught me not to be an early adopter....no matter how tempting it may seem....

 

This is a smart man talking here. +1 Rep. If I were wealthy and could afford to spend money indiscriminately, I think I would still be a bit of a miser when it comes to early adoption of expensive tech. Splurging is OK when I have a good idea what I'm going to get out of the deal. When it's still somewhat up in the air, not so much.

 

Always the driver raggin!

Havn't had one issue with the AMD drivers with my dual 6990m in my M18x, had a couple of issues with the Nvidia driver with the GT555 in the M14x tho...sooo the plot thickens...

 

580M SLi should be on average 15-25%+ faster than a single 7970M. In some games this is a significant difference, in others minuscule. The 7970M is a great card, I just can't stand AMD drivers.

 

that definitely seals the deal then. Cant wait for my 580m's to arrive.

 

yes when the drivers and games are up to it, otherwise stuck on 1 580m mucho slower then 1 7970

 

The issues we are seeing with 7970M drivers is already bring back bad memories for me, LOL. It's a shame that such a nice piece of hardware is cripple by the lack of support from the company that made it. I know it will get better, but I have a hard time excusing the release of a product with half-baked driver support. Oh, wait. AMD drivers are always half-baked.

Part of me wants to grab a pair of 7970M's and go for it, because they are such powerful beasts. The other part of me says, slow down and watch. Good things come to those that wait.

 

Yup, I'm Certainly not in a hurry to upgrade either. This crappy 900p display doesn't really push my 6990m in most of my games, so I don't really need the upgrade. I'm itching for a new machine, But I will prob just wait till the next revision before shelling out a huge chunk of cash again. (watch me change my mind next week.)

 

I know how you feel, I was tempted for a little bit to grab a pair myself but then I remembered all those frustrating times I had with AMD drivers and that desire evaporated quickly. Based on Speedy's results, it'll probably take AMD a few revisions to get these drivers right. Plus we still haven't even seen how they perform in games, I surmise that the AMD drivers will see exhibit similar behavior as Vantage (sudden dips in FPS etc) and we'll see a lot of threads with frustrated owners.

 

I think we all have been "tempted" with the raw power of the 7970m - but that's all it is at the moment and even that hasnt been harnessed correctly. Just like yourself and Mr. Fox, I too recall lots of anguish and frustration when I had AMD cards - I dont think I would ever go back to them and that's not because I'm an "Nvidia Fanboy", its because having experienced Nvidia and the sweet bliss of far less hassles, I would always think that I could be shooting myself in the foot.....

So, although I wont completely rule it out, it's highly unlikely I would be tempted back - unless I have concrete proof that they work properly! - and we could be in for a bit of a wait!!

 

The best part about people upgrading from the 580m to what ever is I'll get to upgrade from my 560's to the 580's for a good price.

 

Hahaha - quite true....every cloud has a silver lining, eh?

Just had a look on Flea-Bay.....someone is selling x5 used Dell 580m's for $449.00usd each, its not LaptopMonkey Or Shirley's so I couldnt comment on the seller's reputation (they are in China) but not a bad price....

 

I bet you're right. Someone with an out-of-warranty machine will be itching to recoup some of their money and sell theirs for a great price. Those of us that still have a warranty left will need to hang onto their video cards. By the time mine runs out it will be time for an M18x R3.

 

Some people upgrade computers every time a new release comes out and I upgrade mine with parts till it's no longer feasible.

 

That's pretty smart homank. For those that have an addiction to new tech, especially competitive benchmarking, being frugal is the last thing that comes to mind.

I'm an early adopter in concept, but do have a limited budget and I've been in this game long enough to, at least, consider the possibility of avoiding becoming a guinea pig for lazy product developers that like to use the public for R&D. My right-brain impulse was to jump onto the 7970M bandwagon almost immediately, and my left-brain wisdom caused a "system freeze" to observe the fallout first. I'm still observing, and my 580M SLI setup is still a beast while I'm watching what happens next.

 

Hi All,

I wanted to resurrect this post as I find myself in a similar position as I am purchasing a new Alienware system. I can purchase an M18x (not sure which revision) via the oulet store for little less than £1000, it comes with a 2790QM CPU and 580M SLi. For a few hundred pounds more I can purchase an M17x R4, brand new with a single AMD 7970m and 3630QM CPU. I really just wanted to know which was the better option, it seems to be the M18x on the surface but im really not sure how the two systems compare.

I will mostly be playing Star Wars: The Old Republic and I hear this game doesnt do so good with SLi or Crossfire so a single card may actually be better, im not sure through.

Some other differences between the two are the amount of RAM and HDD. The m18x is being offered with 8GB, I was going to purchase the M17x R4 with 12GB and the M18x has a 320GB HDD wheras the 17x has a 500GB drive but these wont really impact performance, just the price. I guess it's more to do with the combination of CPU and graphics.

I want to run SWTOR on max settings.

 

Get the M18X...that way you can run two 7970's down the road and have it real good. Also the build quility is better.

 

Can you advise if there is going to be much of a performance difference with the 560m cards? Also, what about the differences with the CPU? I can't find any clear comparisons via google.

 

I use to have 560's in my system and upgraded to the 580's....560's are fine for basic gaming...but the 580's are just 1000 times better.

 

Hmm I really want to hit max, or as close to max settings as possible. From what I have read, a single 7970 seems to be way better than 560m in SLi. Of that is the case, I may get the m17x. I'll consider holding out to see if any other m18x systems show up on the outlet as I cannot affoard one of those machines in SLi / Crossfire

 

The 7970 makes the 560's look like the Atari 2600 compared to the Xbox 360. But imagine what dual 7970's would do for you in the M18x...

 

How much would those cost though for a seperate upgrade?

 

Are you talking Dell prices or doing it on your own?

 

Doing it on my own

 

You'll be looking at the price of the card from EBay, but buy the fan. heatsink, and cable from Dell.

 

They are pretty expensive so will probably avoid that route

 

7970's are cheap compared to 680's.

 

Indeed they are, the only places to buy cards is dell, ebay or on here. Heatsinks are even harder to find sometimes.

 

I went with a brand new M17x R4 in the end. The refurb was certified dented and scratched so I guess its been involved in some kind of accident, I also saw several debated about Crossfire v Single Cards and there seems to be some debate over which is better. If a game is not coded properly for Crossfire/SLi then the performance can be worse than running a single card. Not sure if thats true but thats what I read so decided to stick with the single card .

Bummer is though several parts are out of stock with no ETA and I put the order in on 21st November. They reckon it will be after the 20th Dec, possibly into the New Year before I get it. I am flirting with the idea of cancelling the order and buying an XMG laptop as they are now have an office in the UK. I defo prefer the Alienware but I dont wish to wait forever for one.

 

I take it there are no close swaps for the components on back order?

 

It's unfortunate when folks get mislead by that kind of silly, uninformed chatter. I'm sure the folks making those comments did so with good intentions, but they are simply inaccurate. At best, that information is only partially accurate.

When new games are occasionally released by sloppy software developers, (or poorly supported older games are encountered,) the simple solution is to use just one GPU... problem solved. Switching it over to single-GPU mode is only a matter of a couple of mouse clicks.

Having owned a bunch of single-GPU and multi-GPU systems (currently and presently) it is a no brainer that SLI and CrossFire are better than a single GPU. More often than not, people making those statements either (a) had a bad experience with a malfunctioning system and assumed all multi-GPU setups are problematic; (b) did not know how to use or work around sloppy software programming with what they had; or, (c) haven't actually owned one and are simply repeating what misinformation they have read or heard.

There is nothing inherently wrong with having only one GPU and that may provide all the horsepower some folks want. It may also be all their budget will allow them to purchase. That's fine if they are happy with what they end up with. The unfortunate part is when people make a buying decision based on flawed information and settle for something less than what they really wanted and could afford to purchase. The performance improvement with SLI and CrossFire versus having only one of the same GPU is truly phenomenal.

 

Sorry I don't understand what you mean by close swaps?

 

Thanks for posting this, I will consider this in future. I couldnt affoard a new M18x anyway and the only refurbished one I saw was certified scratched and dented which I did not wish so, decided to go for the M17x. I could affoard a Clevo based system with Crossfire but I really dont like the look of those systems compared with the Alienware.

I'm going to be playing SWTOR mainly and I reckon a single 7970m is more than enough to run this game in high settings.