580 vs 590 vs first time ATI

[hashemg]

Hey guys,

So I'm almost done with my new PC build, all I have left is to buy RAM and graphics cards.

So here are the options:

2x590's (3GB each)
or
2x580s (Hydro 2, 3GB each)
or
2x Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 6990 4096MB

The main reason I'm considering the 580s is because I heard reports that the 590s were not very stable and also that particular model comes with a waterblock on it already which I was worried about installing for myself. The reports that I heard were from May however, so I'm not sure if that has changed.

I've never used an ATI graphics card before, so I'm a bit hesitant to make the jump, but it's on the table.

I would really appreciate any advice anyone could give me.

 

[Toothy1911]

What resolution will you be using. And what's the rest of your setup?

2x 590's or 2x 6990's are over kill for the majority of systems

 

[OCPete]

Hey guys,

So I'm almost done with my new PC build, all I have left is to buy RAM and graphics cards.

So here are the options:

2x590's (1.5GB each GPU)
or
2x580s (Hydro 2, 3GB each GPU)
or
2x Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 6990 (2GB each GPU)

The main reason I'm considering the 580s is because I heard reports that the 590s were not very stable and also that particular model comes with a waterblock on it already which I was worried about installing for myself. The reports that I heard were from May however, so I'm not sure if that has changed.

I've never used an ATI graphics card before, so I'm a bit hesitant to make the jump, but it's on the table.

I would really appreciate any advice anyone could give me.

Amended it for clarity.

 

[Andrew Moore]

Resolution would still be a nice pointer

Also.. the 590 has 1536MB per GPU. The 6990 has 2048MB per GPU. That leaves the 580 with 3072MB per GPU so if your looking to be gaming at 2560x1440/1600 then the 580s are what you want.

 

[Ezyryder]

I would go for 2 x 580 3GB models.

 

[hashemg]

I'll be using my current monitor so 1080p but with a view to getting a new monitor soon at 2560x1440.

Current system is:
Asus Rampage 3 motherboard
Intel 990x CPU
12GB Corsair DDR3


The more I think about the 580's the more I like the idea of not installing my own VGA waterblock. I'd be tempted to wait until november for a classified hydro but my current setup can't run most of the games that come out between now and the release date and I'm impatient.