GTX 580 at 1440x900 resolution?

[Random Guy]

If you do go for 24" monitor, then I would recommend a 120Hz one to get the most out of the 580. Anything over 24" will probably need a 580 for the best experience (assuming you want to only go with the Green team).

You are correct that a 580 will future proof you a bit more than a 570.

 

[pmc25]

AMD 7xxx ships in July. So if you're going to be 4-6 weeks with a 580 with no way of remotely testing it, that's a huge waste. You might see it drop £70-100 in price by the time you actually have a new monitor.

 

[Warbie]

Why a 580 is overkill for that res? Frame rates will be better for longer - sounds all good.

I'm thinking of getting a 580 and usually game at 1680*1050. Would even that gurantee a frame rate that never drops below 60fps in Skyrim, BF3, The Witcher 2 ...

 

[nicktay2605]

AMD 7xxx ships in July. So if you're going to be 4-6 weeks with a 580 with no way of remotely testing it, that's a huge waste. You might see it drop £70-100 in price by the time you actually have a new monitor.

Where have you heard July for the 7000 series cards from amd? Most places seem to suggest it's more likely to be late 2011.

 

[Relentless81]

A 580 is overkill at 1080P IMO

 

[=XDC=FluphyBunny]

I usually spend around the £200 mark on a graphics card but that's because I can't afford anything higher

If you have the money for a 580 go for it. It will last longer than a lesser card and your fps should be at a high enough level that you don't start having to lose out on eye candy any time soon.

I would never buy a card with the aim of getting only 60 fps in a game. Partly because I'm firmly in the camp that runs online fps games at lower settings to keep frame rate over 100 (yes monitors 60hz) as it has always felt a lot better and smoother, and partly because I don't want to play tomorrows games at 55fps

 

[Klo]

How long until you are planning on keeping this system? If you won't upgrade for a 2 or 3 years, it might be worth going overkill initially, so that games will still run well in the long term.

My 2900xt at 1440x900 still runs most games to a reasonable standard.

 

[Anesthetize]

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

Well that doesn't make much sense mate. Just because I can afford the 580 only means that as of right now, I have the money to include it in the list of specs for a complete build. That doesn't mean I always have masses of money lying around, just that I saved, and I have just enough to include it at this point without buying anything else, including a new monitor. And as I'm now aware that no damage can be done when under-utilising the GPU, I'd be quite happy sticking with this monitor until I can save up for a new one.

If you do go for 24" monitor, then I would recommend a 120Hz one to get the most out of the 580. Anything over 24" will probably need a 580 for the best experience (assuming you want to only go with the Green team).

You are correct that a 580 will future proof you a bit more than a 570.

Yeah, these replies have me feeling like I should probably aim at something a bit bigger than 24inch. As I don't know much about monitors though, how do the Hz affect the quality? what is it about a higher Hz that makes them better?

AMD 7xxx ships in July. So if you're going to be 4-6 weeks with a 580 with no way of remotely testing it, that's a huge waste. You might see it drop £70-100 in price by the time you actually have a new monitor.

I've given up waiting for price drops mate. When one happens, people keep telling me 'wait a bit longer, and you'll be able to get this or that cheaper too.' I swear, if I listened to everyone, I'd just be waiting and waiting and never actually buying anything.

Are the 7xxx series definately dated for July?

 

[Anesthetize]

How long until you are planning on keeping this system? If you won't upgrade for a 2 or 3 years, it might be worth going overkill initially, so that games will still run well in the long term.

My 2900xt at 1440x900 still runs most games to a reasonable standard.

About 3 years, even more if it can manage it to a standard I'm happy with. As said somewhere else in this thread, I game across a few platforms, so I can't upgrade the PC yearly or every other year, which is why I felt I should go all-out on the initial build. The first may I thought might seem like overkill, not having a decent monitor right away. But once I get one a month or two after the build, and not gaming at ridiculously high resolutions, just pretty high resolutions, I expected the system to be able to last a good few years, which is exactly what I need from it.

 

[Disco Boy]

I don't get the whole "I want to buy it now so it's still good in two years"

Complete madness in my opinion, buy what is good enough for what you want now then upgrade in two years, it's much better value.

 

[Xelene]

A 6950 handles most stuff with good settings at 1920x1200, that's a £200 card. Anything over 60fps is a waste on most monitors as they wont refresh faster than that. If you are a hardcore gamer you can get a 120Hz screen, and either go for 3d (a gimmick IMO) or just general faster refresh rates (good if you are a twitchy FPS player). A 120Hz screen has good refresh rates, but sacrifices in other areas so are best for pure gamers.

If you are thinking of 27"/30" screen then a 580 makes more sense.

Nothing is future proof, but you can flip graphics cards on auction sites pretty easily. I got a good chunk back towards my 6950 by selling my 4950.

 

[Xelene]

I don't get the whole "I want to buy it now so it's still good in two years"

Complete madness in my opinion, buy what is good enough for what you want now then upgrade in two years, it's much better value.

This. You can spend £200 now to get something that is good enough for 2 years, and £200 in 2 years time to keep you going for another 2 years. Or you can spend £500 for 3 years. There's no point buying an expensive card unless you are superloaded as a) graphics are tied to consoles and b) pc's are increasingly dominated by laptops.

Short of a couple of techdemo type games, my 4 year old laptop edition 8600GT runs most things decently.

 

[Anesthetize]

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.

I would have thought that too at the beginning on the year. But despite the release of Battlefield 3 across consoles aswell as the PC, the PC version doesn't even support DX9, so there's advancement there despite the consoles getting the same game. That's something I wouldn't have predicted in January (havn't not read anything about BF3 or Frostbite 2 at that point), so who knows where PC gaming could be next year, or the year after...

 

[Anesthetize]

I don't get the whole "I want to buy it now so it's still good in two years"

Complete madness in my opinion, buy what is good enough for what you want now then upgrade in two years, it's much better value.

Well even though I have a ton of games dating from about 2005 onwards to play as I've not owned a capable gaming rig since back then, I was building with the focus of Battlefield 3 in mind. I figured because there's no support for DX9, and they're putting a lot of focus on DX11 that to even consider maxing the game out, I'd need one of the better DX11 cards out there. Perhaps I'm wrong in thinking that? if so, what cards do you suggest to keep games running at near maxed out settings for the next couple of years?

 

[Anesthetize]

A 6950 handles most stuff with good settings at 1920x1200, that's a £200 card. Anything over 60fps is a waste on most monitors as they wont refresh faster than that. If you are a hardcore gamer you can get a 120Hz screen, and either go for 3d (a gimmick IMO) or just general faster refresh rates (good if you are a twitchy FPS player). A 120Hz screen has good refresh rates, but sacrifices in other areas so are best for pure gamers.

If you are thinking of 27"/30" screen then a 580 makes more sense.

Nothing is future proof, but you can flip graphics cards on auction sites pretty easily. I got a good chunk back towards my 6950 by selling my 4950.

I was looking at the 6950 originally, figured I'd flash it as most people seem to. But I've read of a few people not being able to do it recently, which put me off it. I then considered a genuine 6970, but after hearing what it sounded like when the fans get just over 50%, it'd be like being sat next to a jet engine. Some benchmarks for it also had the temps looking pretty high, which always worries me for long-term use.

I'd still consider a 6950/6970 now though, it's just the noise...

 

[Anesthetize]

This. You can spend £200 now to get something that is good enough for 2 years, and £200 in 2 years time to keep you going for another 2 years. Or you can spend £500 for 3 years. There's no point buying an expensive card unless you are superloaded as a) graphics are tied to consoles and b) pc's are increasingly dominated by laptops.

Short of a couple of techdemo type games, my 4 year old laptop edition 8600GT runs most things decently.

Put that way, it sounds fair. FYI, I never would spend no £500 on the GPU though, the 580 I was looking at was £384.

 

[schnipps]

Not really directed at the OP but it baffles me the amount of people running mid to high end cards with tiny monitors around the 21" size, surely your better saving up and investing in a good hi-res screen that will last a good amount of years then getting a card.

 

[Cycrow]

buying a top end card just for future proofing isn't really worth it tbh

instead of spending £400-500 on a gpu that u wont make full use of for a few years.
you can spend £200 that will do everything you need, then in a few years time, spend another £200 and u'll end up with something far better than the top end card u would have got.

a 480 can handle everything fine at 1080p

 

[pcAnywhere]

buying a top end card just for future proofing isn't really worth it tbh

instead of spending £400-500 on a gpu that u wont make full use of for a few years.
you can spend £200 that will do everything you need, then in a few years time, spend another £200 and u'll end up with something far better than the top end card u would have got.

a 480 can handle everything fine at 1080p

Agreed 100%

 

[schnipps]

Or save another few quid, get a 27" screen that can run a higher rez or heck get a 30" that will last you 5+ years THEN look at top end cards.