Does the deal include MSI tweaks to OC the 580?

9/14/2011 2:46:59 PM

$100 more dollars just to OC?

$500 would get you dual-6950s which would spank any 580

$400 is the sweet spot on the 580

[Edited on September 14, 2011 at 3:29 PM. Reason : .]

9/14/2011 3:23:16 PM

nah brah, Free is the sweet spot on the 580. lol

9/14/2011 3:33:15 PM

The price point I linked is $465, so it's only $65 more to OC, and you can increase the core clock and memory significantly. Nvidia cards are very sensitive to OC, so you'll see more frames.

OR

$600 would get 2x http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127575

and they would be OC, you'd push 100+ FPS in many games, but you wouldn't have nvidia 3D tech capability.

BUT

It sounds like you need the Acer if you want 60+ FPS viewing on a display, which would really make the 6950's a no-go, because of the lack of Nvidia 3D tech.

In conclusion, buy the MSI Twin Frozr II 580, (future-proofing you for 3D gaming @ 120 Hertz) even though I know you won't, lol.

[Edited on September 14, 2011 at 3:47 PM. Reason : -]

9/14/2011 3:35:07 PM

is the firmware hack for the 6950 for all of them, or you have to have a certain model? I haven't researched it, only that I know its possible. I'd ended up just getting another 5870 before I get later generations.

9/14/2011 3:46:47 PM

Around 97% of them can be unlocked, per TechPowerUp 450/471 card models unlockable.

http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/msi_r6950_twin_froz_iii_power_edition_unlocking,1.html

[Edited on September 14, 2011 at 3:51 PM. Reason : -]

9/14/2011 3:51:01 PM

i have no clue how to overclock with these modern BIOSes

i just hit the OC genie button and it took my 2600k to 4.2 instantly

i tried to just push the multiplier or whatever to 4.4 and it wouldn't boot.

I sorta get the voltage concepts and whatnot but there are so many damn settings in the BIOSes now I don't know what needs to be enabled/disabled/left on auto. Trying to determine if it's worth fucking with or just leaving at 4.2.

I have a good cooler so I could go higher, I just need to take the time to figure out what is going on

9/14/2011 3:55:18 PM

stim, wheres the list of these unlockable cards? I don't see it in the link above.

9/14/2011 3:57:25 PM

^ If you scroll down, it just shows that techpowerup found that over 97% of the 6950's are unlockable, but it doesn't provide an actual list. You could dig more at techpowerup, but I'd simply get the MSI line for a myriad of reasons.

^^ What mobo?

[Edited on September 14, 2011 at 4:06 PM. Reason : -]

9/14/2011 4:02:10 PM

Quote :

"The price point I linked is $465"

show me. when i actually tried to click on it, it brought up $499 everywhere.

$400 can STILL get you dual-560Ti's which would spank a 580, so again, not ideal.

i agree with you about Nvidia, I'd much rather stay on Nvidia just for CUDA & PhysX, and 3D, but need to upgrade my monitor next

[Edited on September 14, 2011 at 4:12 PM. Reason : .]

9/14/2011 4:07:34 PM

^ msi gd-80 g3


many 6950s cant be unlocked anymore because ATI started laser cutting the chips to stop the unlocking. Even those that claim to be unlockable -- its a crap shoot. I got lucky my Sapphire Toxic 6950's unlocked, but one of them was missing the 6970 bios

9/14/2011 4:08:22 PM

^shaders may or may not be able to be unlocked, the article is from May 2011, since then yes, they've been cutting off access to the shaders, but nearly all 6850's & 6950's can still be overclocked to their *70 counterparts even if you can't unlock the shaders.

9/14/2011 4:10:54 PM

ah ok....that makes sense

9/14/2011 4:15:04 PM

Ok, so apparently this is the cheapest one I can find... and I know you won't get it. $485

http://www.restockit.com/msi-n580gtx-twin-frozr-ii-oc-graphics-adapter-gf-gtx-580-1-5-gb-%28n580gtxtwinfroz%29.html?source=froogle&utm_medium=comparisonshopping&utm_source=googlebase&utm_term=N580GTXTWINFROZ&bvar7=googleproduct&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=N580GTXTWINFROZ



So, instead, what about this: http://www.amazon.com/MSI-N570GTX-Twin-Frozr-Power/dp/B004XVMAKU $369.99

This MSI Twin Frozr III GTX570 is stable overclocked to 850/1700/2000 @ 1.063v and with a 1%=1*C fan profile, never peaking 70C on AIR.

Come on, you want to OC your GPU!

[Edited on September 14, 2011 at 4:23 PM. Reason : -]

9/14/2011 4:16:15 PM

570 is definitely an option, but for only $40 more I can get 560Ti's in SLI which is about 40% faster

Quote :

"Come on, you want to OC your GPU! "

i have an OC'd 9800GX2 already!!! you can OC almost any GPU! i've been OC'ing GPU's every since custom Zalman GPU coolers came out for the 6600GT

[Edited on September 14, 2011 at 4:25 PM. Reason : .]

9/14/2011 4:23:48 PM

In 1 year, a second one of the OC MSI 570's will slay the 560ti's, and be much cheaper. MSI Afterburner makes OC a breeze, you can use Genie too.

You have a lot of options, but I'd always go for a better single card with OC temperature controls and hardware customizations beyond the stock card, rather than 2 lesser cards in SLI, all at once.

[Edited on September 14, 2011 at 4:28 PM. Reason : -]

9/14/2011 4:25:05 PM

Come on dude, it's $370 now, even if it were to be $200 in a year, you're talking $570+ (pure speculation) whereas I'm talking $410. It's not just about performance, it's about performance for the dollar. Otherwise, I might as well just buy a 590 or 6990

^all you need is Nvidia Performance and you can OC any Nvidia card, I don't need to buy MSI to make OC any easier.

[Edited on September 14, 2011 at 4:28 PM. Reason : .]

9/14/2011 4:26:54 PM

MSI hardware makes the stock cards run much colder, so it's not just the incredibly easy OC, but actual manufacturer custom hardware differences, plus they come pre over-clocked above factory.

$410 for 2x 560ti's, or $410 for 1x 580, without buying another for SLI?

I thought you were entertaining the idea earlier of an eventual second 580 for SLI?

[Edited on September 14, 2011 at 4:48 PM. Reason : -]

9/14/2011 4:32:15 PM

You'd have to because right now the two 560's would destroy the 580.

9/14/2011 4:45:26 PM

Yeah, they win outright:

http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-560-ti-sli-review/4

I thought the point was to discuss which single GPU to buy now, under the assumption the second would be purchased later.

9/14/2011 4:46:49 PM

Options B thru D were, not E... I was just thowing that option out there. I wish I could afford 580 in SLI

9/14/2011 4:50:06 PM

In that case, B:

Can I convince you on this though:

MSI N560GTX-Ti Twin Frozr II/OC Geforce GTX 560 Ti 1GB GDDR5 256bit PCIE 2.0 SLI Support Video Card
$224.00 After Rebate

http://www.mwave.com/mwave/SKUSearch.asp?px=FO&scriteria=BZ00017

MSI is more than easy OC, it's very cold compared to stock cards, it's overclocked already before it arrives, and they typically run colder and quieter under load than stock.

$448 too much?

[Edited on September 14, 2011 at 5:02 PM. Reason : -]

9/14/2011 4:58:55 PM

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-560-ti-roundup-asus-engtx560-graphics-card-overclocking,2858-21.html

I'm telling you man, any GPU can be OC'd and it all comes down to the manufacturing differences, heatsink design and fans. BOTH eVGA & Gigabyte come stock OC'd to 900Mhz, faster than the MSI and better warranties and same price or LESS.

Does the Twin Frozr II & Twin Frozr III have excellent reviews for overclocking potential, ABSOLUTELY, but that doesn't mean it's always the best option on the market. The one thing the MSI cards have though is press... which means more sold... and would make it a LOT easier finding an identical card in the future for SLI.

Have you ever used Nvidia's Performance for overclocking? It's not that difficult if you have a head on your shoulders.

I really wish the 560Ti came with Dirt3 instead of Batman though

[Edited on September 14, 2011 at 5:21 PM. Reason : n/m]

9/14/2011 5:06:46 PM

Quote :

"I really wish the 560Ti came with Dirt3 instead of Batman though "

Oh I can't wait for Batman in 3D that's going to be awesome. I need to re-install the old one and try it out in 3D. Apparently it's great.

9/14/2011 5:20:24 PM

^^
I'm partial to MSI video cards, been using them for quite some time, and they do have excellent reviews. The biggest selling point is their temperature control, they have a reputation of being the coldest in the industry.

I haven't used the Nvidia Performance Utility yet, is it's better than afterburner, GPU-Z, Genie, Precision, or the other several OC programs out there?

Downloading/Installing now.

[Edited on September 14, 2011 at 7:18 PM. Reason : -]

9/14/2011 6:58:29 PM

There is a noob OC program for EVGA cards called Precision It does work.

9/14/2011 7:03:11 PM

I'm geeking out, got in a little box'o upgrades Can't wait to see how big a scale difference this makes!



(2x Kingston V100 256gb SSDs, 8x8gb DDR3 1333 memory) I an still such a geek at heart

[Edited on September 14, 2011 at 8:07 PM. Reason : dur forget picture]

9/14/2011 8:07:22 PM

I got dat 1600 DDR3 memory :E-PEEN-SO-BIG:

9/14/2011 8:27:51 PM

^^Minecraft?

9/14/2011 9:17:04 PM

How much did you spend on the SSD and the memory? I mean the cheapest I've seen that 256 SSD for is like 370/each? Serious business!

9/14/2011 9:32:12 PM

The kingston 256 V100 has been seen as low as $289 AR last month on amazon, alternatively newegg had them for $299 AR recently as well. They aren't the speediest ssd's, but put a pair in raid 0 and it will almost match the speeds of more modern ssd's without paying an extra $100 per ssd.

9/14/2011 9:56:25 PM

I know you'll see a benefit from the SSD's but what apps are you going to utilize 64GB of memory with?????

9/14/2011 10:55:34 PM

CAD? SETI? lol

9/14/2011 11:18:19 PM

CAD doesn't use 64GB, heck even BIM doesn't use 64GB

Guess it doesn't matter if you want it and have the money for it, why not...

[Edited on September 14, 2011 at 11:21 PM. Reason : .]

9/14/2011 11:21:01 PM

he's working on a googletv replacement

9/14/2011 11:22:20 PM

Virtual RAM drive?

9/14/2011 11:23:18 PM

JBaz: yep, I got that 289.99 deal. Fortunately I needed two, and the rebate is good for two drives

Prospero: All this stuff is going into the Dell PowerEdge T610 sitting under my desk. I run a VM Server for our 25 person design team

Until now, we've been memory limited to 5-6 VM's, now I can open it up to running 15-20. The SSD's aren't going in RAID, they are going to free up the multi-vm per disk bottlenecks we're getting today. This server has been awesome and really inexpensive. Dual quad core xeon's (16 logical cores) doesn't hurt either!

9/14/2011 11:44:46 PM

just make sure the V100's firmware is recently updated. There's a known issue and had been patched.

9/14/2011 11:53:17 PM

I still think it's for his secret Minecraft server he's going to be running.

9/15/2011 12:29:53 AM

^ 64gb of memory might be enough to support 4 players

9/15/2011 12:50:25 AM

ha it is quite the hog.

9/15/2011 12:59:33 AM

ok, so just pondering. Anyone have ideas on building a dual cpu killer rig just for fun? Lets see what we come up with. AMD? Xeon? etc...

9/15/2011 2:17:18 AM

I just realized a question I wrote to maxpc last summer about cs5 gpu acceleration was printed in the 2010 holiday edition in the comments section. I was just re-reading some old articles and noticed "JBaz" while flipping through the pages. A year late... lol

9/15/2011 3:21:19 AM

Quote :

"I'm geeking out, got in a little box'o upgrades Can't wait to see how big a scale difference this makes!"

You should have went with OWC's SSD. There's no degrade over time with their SSD, but there is normal wear and tear.

9/15/2011 3:29:33 AM

owc's are quite a bit more expensive than the V100's that neon got. The 240gb owc's are $379 for the 3gb/s or $519 for the 6gb/s versions. They aren't widely available from various vendors either.

9/15/2011 5:40:18 AM

Decent drives, they will be much faster in RAID 0.

I do plan on doing RAID 0 with my current Vertex 3 6g Sata III SSD eventually, but not for 2-3 years.

SRT/cache is plenty fast for Data/Storage, and the Vertex 3 6g Sata III for OS/Games is one of the fastest SSD's on the market. So when I go RAID 0 with 2 Vertexs, it will be nuts fast.

E-P33n, you'll get the hottest downloadable women.

Once you get everything setup, report back your windows boot in seconds (Power ON -> Desktop Appears)

[Edited on September 15, 2011 at 8:26 AM. Reason : -]

9/15/2011 8:16:42 AM

I made this for you...

9/15/2011 9:57:23 AM

ok, that made me chuckle a bit

9/15/2011 10:13:35 AM

15 seconds - MBP 13.3 2010 (older gen)

9/15/2011 10:17:49 AM

my brain reboots every 2 milliseconds... beat that ssd

9/15/2011 10:18:31 AM