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    GTX 580M or 2x GTX 560M

    Discussion in 'Gaming (Software and Graphics Cards)' started by Devilkiss, Dec 5, 2011.

  1. Devilkiss

    Devilkiss Newbie

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    2.0GB nVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 580M - DirectX® 11

    or

    2 x 1.5GB nVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 560M - DirectX® 11 (SLI) ?
     
    Devilkiss, Dec 5, 2011
    #1
  2. Ari3sgr3gg0

    Ari3sgr3gg0 Notebook Consultant

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    If it were me I'd go with the two 560m to save some money and gain a little performance. I'm sure plenty others will chime in about getting a 580m now and buying a second one later on but I say later on will have something better than a 580m so go with the 560m in sli
     
    Ari3sgr3gg0, Dec 5, 2011
    #2
  3. Mechanized Menace

    Mechanized Menace Lost in the MYST

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    I would get the 580m, Two 560m's will be equivalent or about 15% better. With an OC on a single 580m you can easily reduce that difference, and probably even surpass it and later on add the second 580m.

    I do agree though that later on there will be better cards coming out Kepler (GTX 6xx 2012) is said to have 3-4x the performance of Fermi(GTX 4xx/5xx), and Maxwell(GTX 7xx) which is going to be released around 2013 will have 16x the performance of Fermi per watt.

    NVIDIA reveals Fermi's successor: Kepler at 28nm in 2011, Maxwell in 2013
     
    Mechanized Menace, Dec 5, 2011
    #3
  4. DEagleson

    DEagleson Gamer extraordinaire

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    If i needed to choose between a 580m or two 560m in SLI i would have gone with the single GPU solution.
    Usually it works better to have less.
     
    DEagleson, Dec 5, 2011
    #4
  5. TomJG90

    TomJG90 Notebook Evangelist

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    I have to agree with DEagleson on that... SLI can bring issues with drivers etc and since GTX580M can easily do that job, I would get that too.
     
    TomJG90, Dec 5, 2011
    #5
  6. __-_-_-__

    __-_-_-__ God

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    a single gpu is also much more energy efficient, it increases battery time.
    I see no reason whatsoever to buy 2x560M...
     
    __-_-_-__, Dec 5, 2011
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  7. Mechanized Menace

    Mechanized Menace Lost in the MYST

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    This is not an issue with Alienware dual GPU units. The second video card is automatically disabled on the M17x R2 when running on battery, and on the M18x you can switch from dual 580m's/6990's to the intel integrated and have 5 hours of battery life. Pretty sure it's the same for other dual GPU DTR's one way or the other.
     
    Mechanized Menace, Dec 5, 2011
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  8. idiot101

    idiot101 Down and Broken

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    A single GPU solution is always better. When you have SLI, there is microstuttering that really irritates you. This is because of driver inefficiencies. And scaling is never perfect.

    When a new game is released, SLI support always comes later.
     
    idiot101, Dec 5, 2011
    #8
  9. ValkerieFire

    ValkerieFire God Follower

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    I would take the single 580m vs 2x560m. All the reasons above pretty much surmise the logic behind this.
     
    ValkerieFire, Dec 5, 2011
    #9
  10. reaversedge

    reaversedge Notebook Evangelist

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    580m, you don't always benefit on sli.
     
    reaversedge, Dec 5, 2011
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  11. long2905

    long2905 Notebook Virtuoso

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    580 hands down. even if you decide to upgrade later that card will still retain its worth unlike the 560M.
     
    long2905, Dec 5, 2011
    #11
  12. Meaker@Sager

    Meaker@Sager Company Representative

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    580M just for the sake of less driver headaches and more consistent performance.
     
    Meaker@Sager, Dec 5, 2011
    #12
  13. imglidinhere

    imglidinhere Notebook Deity

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    The 580M is better. More usable Vram, clearly overclocks well, will use less power, etc...
     
    imglidinhere, Dec 6, 2011
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  14. __-_-_-__

    __-_-_-__ God

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    not really. One example. Alienware M17 R2. 2x3870 or 2x4850 on battery. Didn't known it would disable, what happens if you are playing a game with 2 gpus and you remove the power cord? it crashes?
     
    __-_-_-__, Dec 6, 2011
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  15. SlickDude80

    SlickDude80 Notebook Prophet

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    i second, and third and quad etc all the opinions above...

    Go with the 580m single card solution. SLI is fabulous (WHEN IT WORKS)

    You are pretty much dependant on drivers and driver updates for SLI functionality on games. Often times, it could be weeks to months later from the time a game is released before driver support is out for it
     
    SlickDude80, Dec 6, 2011
    #15