GTX 580 at 1440x900 resolution?

Anesthetize · 19 May 2011 at 08:25

So, I'm buying a new gaming rig soon. I'll be able to buy a 580, so I'm going to, but as of right now, I have a pretty poor monitor. Highest resolution is 1440x900, and while I plan on buying a new monitor a month or so after I buy the computer, is there going to be any issues running the 580 at that resolution? Like, running it that far below it's capacity, could it cause any problems beyond just not running correctly? any damage etc.?

If so, I'll buy a monitor first. Thanks for any help.

paradigm · 19 May 2011 at 08:26

Of course not. It'll be fine, completely overkill, but fine.

Sgt Tackleberry · 19 May 2011 at 08:29

Yes a complete overkill! but it will be fine!, if you want to save some money (£200) buy a 5850 as that will be fine at res.

subbytna · 19 May 2011 at 08:31

yeah but if the OP is buying a new monitor then the 580 is a good future proof exercise. To the OP...if you are buying a new monitor then go at least a 24" screen and you'll have your socks knocked off at the gaming experience with a larger screen and a 580

Anesthetize · 19 May 2011 at 08:38

Cheers guys. Definate overkill, but it won't be long after I buy it before I can pick up a monitor worthy of the card. I did consider less powerful cards when planning the build, but I'm too indecisive for my own good, so just decided to save up some more and go for the 580.

But yeah, I'd much prefere to get the computer first anyway, so thanks again for the replies!

Anesthetize · 19 May 2011 at 08:39

subbytna said:
yeah but if the OP is buying a new monitor then the 580 is a good future proof exercise. To the OP...if you are buying a new monitor then go at least a 24" screen and you'll have your socks knocked off at the gaming experience with a larger screen and a 580

Aye, 24inch is exactly what I have in mind. I've actually got a thread going in the monitor section asking about potential buys, so any contributions there are very much appreciated too!

Admiral Huddy · 19 May 2011 at 08:50

I would only consider the 580 if you have a monitor running at 2560x1440px such as the Dell UltraSharp U2711 or higher.

A 24" monitor has a native resoloution of 1920x1200px so the 580 is a massive overkill. The 570 on the other hand is £150 less and more than capable of playing most games at this res with decent AA/AF high settings.

Disco Boy · 19 May 2011 at 08:59

a 580 is overkill for even a 1080p monitor in my opinion. Unless you're planning on getting a huge monitor or multiple monitors save a bit of money and get a cheaper card imo.

Anesthetize · 19 May 2011 at 09:07

Admiral Huddy said:
I would only consider the 580 if you have a monitor running at 2560x1440px such as the Dell UltraSharp U2711 or higher.

A 24" monitor has a native resoloution of 1920x1200px so the 580 is a massive overkill. The 570 on the other hand is £150 less and more than capable of playing most games at this res with decent AA/AF high settings.

So running a game at 1920x1200px on a 580 wouldn't produce better framerates than a 570?

I wouldn't mind spending less on the GPU, but when I was looking around, it seems the 6950/6970s perform better than the 570 for under or around the same price, and the reason I decided against them was the noise they produce. I just can't have high noise levels, but wouldn't feel content with a 570 knowing I could have gotten better performance for my money.

paradigm · 19 May 2011 at 09:11

Anesthetize said:
So running a game at 1920x1200px on a 580 wouldn't produce better framerates than a 570?

Of course it will, but assuming you are getting 60+ FPS anyway, you won't physically see a difference.

No point in spending over the odds to gain a few more FPS that you can't see.

Anesthetize · 19 May 2011 at 09:13

Disco Boy said:
a 580 is overkill for even a 1080p monitor in my opinion. Unless you're planning on getting a huge monitor or multiple monitors save a bit of money and get a cheaper card imo.

Yeah I was going to run higher than 1080p, but I don't really need a massive monitor. Multiple monitors is something I never really considered, but I suppose if I was going to go multi, I'd use ATI GPUs.

The 580 was just my attempt at a bit of future proofing. I'm gaming across a few platforms, so I'm not going to be upgrading every year, or every other year. So I thought going all-out on the initial build with the 580 would keep me going with even the most demanding games for the next few years. The benchmarks I've seen show the 580 outperforms lesser cards at lower resolutions aswell as high, so I figured as I had the money to spend, I might aswell go 580.

So it looks like I'm gonna have to look into some higher res monitors if I wanna get the most out of the 580. Thanks for the replies

olivier renault · 19 May 2011 at 09:23

Anesthetize said:
So running a game at 1920x1200px on a 580 wouldn't produce better framerates than a 570?

Quite likely, but unnoticeable. It's a law of diminishing returns. Unless you go for high res setups, you won't benefit much from a 580 and money saved would be better spend towards, hmm say a better or secondary display?

It's your money in the end.

570 vs 580.
570 vs 6970.
570 vs 480.
570 vs 6950.

Anesthetize · 19 May 2011 at 09:27

paradigm said:
Of course it will, but assuming you are getting 60+ FPS anyway, you won't physically see a difference.

No point in spending over the odds to gain a few more FPS that you can't see.

Which is fair, but this way I'm set up for a few years because I said in my other reply how I won't be upgrading yearly, or every other year, I need a card that's going to keep the FPS and visuals settings high for a few years. A cheaper card, though better for right now, may not fair as well in two years or so, but the 580 should hold me over until I feel like I need to upgrade again.

I appreciate the help though

OCPete · 19 May 2011 at 09:30

If you get a 120Hz 24 inch 1920*1080 panel you can actually enjoy the 120+fps you will get with full detail in all the latest games.

Go for it, it will be EPIC to run all the latest games like that! :cool:

TBH on a 60Hz 1920*1080 screen a 580 is overkill however.

edit, some nice looking (awaiting reviews) new 27inch 120Hz screens coming out soon. Still same res, but would be great for games!

Admiral Huddy · 19 May 2011 at 09:37

Anesthetize said:
Which is fair, but this way I'm set up for a few years because I said in my other reply how I won't be upgrading yearly, or every other year, I need a card that's going to keep the FPS and visuals settings high for a few years. A cheaper card, though better for right now, may not fair as well in two years or so, but the 580 should hold me over until I feel like I need to upgrade again.

I appreciate the help though

Game development hasn't exactly pushed the boundaries of graphic cards of late. Unless anything changes drastically in the console world, a 560 or 570 will still be performing just as well in two years and maybe even more.

Anesthetize · 19 May 2011 at 09:37

olivier renault said:
Quite likely, but unnoticeable. It's a law of diminishing returns. Unless you go for high res setups, you won't benefit much from a 580 and money saved would be better spend towards, hmm say a better or secondary display?

It's your money in the end.

570 vs 580.
570 vs 6970.
570 vs 480.
570 vs 6950.

I understand. So I'm gonna need to look into some higher res monitors, cause the 580 is the card I feel most comfortable about purchasing for long-term use. I love the performance of the 6970, and it's the only other card I'd consider but the noise complaints I read of everywhere are very off-putting. I just can't have silly amounts of noise as I don't game with a headset on.

So while the 580 is fine at lower resolutions, I'm not getting the most out of it until I get a higher res monitor. I'm okay with that, now all I need are some monitor recommendations (of which I have a thread in the monitor section)

Nodiggidy123 · 19 May 2011 at 09:54

do what i did and get crossfire 6950's. the msi ones can be flashed to 6970's too.

i only game at 1680x 1050 atm but to much power is never a bad thing if u can afford it imo.

paradigm · 19 May 2011 at 10:32

Nodiggidy123 said:
do what i did and get crossfire 6950's. the msi ones can be flashed to 6970's too.

i only game at 1680x 1050 atm but to much power is never a bad thing if u can afford it imo.

Surely "if you can afford it" you upgrade your cruddy display?

OCPete · 19 May 2011 at 10:42

paradigm said:
Surely "if you can afford it" you upgrade your cruddy display?

I'd have to agree with that! If eyefinity is not for you, and space is an issue go for 120Hz 1920*1080 at least!

Nodiggidy123 · 19 May 2011 at 10:57

paradigm said:
Surely "if you can afford it" you upgrade your cruddy display?

im happy enough with it for now but ill be picking up a new one up in the next couple of months. few things i need to do with my rig atm. need to get a smaller cpu heatsink so i can fit a side fan etc.

tbh with all eye candy on i think it doesnt look bad. and id rather a lower res with all eye candy then having a higher res and less.