Does getting a used GF GTX 580 for cheap make sense in 2015?

I'll spare you the text wall, so basically as per title. Does it still make sense to pay these days or has it already been eclipsed by lower-end cards from newer generations? (Sig PC.) I wouldn't normally be looking for that card specifically, but there are some used for a good price where I live, much cheaper than a 750ti (even a used 750ti). I'm not really aware of how far it may have become eclipsed by lower-end newer cards.

How much and what are you using it for?

has it already been eclipsed by lower-end cards from newer generations?

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It has, but again pending price it might be worth it.

Mr.Scott said:

How much and what are you using it for?

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I live on this computer. I'm practically always on it when I'm not sleeping. More work than play, hence I don't necessarily want a card that draws a lot of power in idle and especially not one that can't stay silent in idle. One of the things that draw me to the more modern generations is how they can limit power consumption in idle (and go passive when just simply using Windows, Internet browsers and text editors, which is what my work looks like). Also my power grid is far from good (old building), which is a reason to go for less hungry cards.

Games I play tend to be DX9, but this doesn't mean they don't actually support DX10 or DX11, some probably do. If I could get a mostly stable 30 fps with not many deeps below 25 fps, I might want to play one or two newer games, just don't have anything particular in my mind.

It has, but again pending price it might be worth it.

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Say, it can be had for PLN 370-400 (converting makes little sense, as our prices are way different in Poland), whereas the price of a used 7-- or even 6-- series high-end card is gonna be less forgiving even if you're lucky (still having my eye on some, especially as they consume less power), perhaps you could land one at 700, where a 960 costs about 750. And it's probably only a matter of time before 960 starts getting supported by everything out there and taking advantage of tech old cards don't support.

Then again, I don't really have a perfect option. I could get a much weaker card for like PLN 200, and the 200 difference really isn't worth castrating my gaming performance. But there are so many such small 200 steps between the various cards that I'm getting lost in all of it.

I personally don't think so if power consumption and silence is a major factor as a 960 overall has half the power draw and overall better specs.

cpuboss

Price is always a major factor also but to me there is a reason why the prices are going cheaper as it is old tech and people want to get rid of it ASAP to move on to newer tech. But, again, this is just one man's opinion....

For power draw the GTX 580 is a beast of a card, I never measured mine at stock but when it's overclocked it eats voltage.

A GTX 580 will outperform a GTX 750Ti, though The 750 Ti has 2 gb of ram Vs 1.5gb "see note below" and it sips power compared to the 580
(unless you're looking at the 3gb verion of the 580)

GTX 760 will outperform a 580. Uses less voltage also has more ram then the 580.

The GTX 960 is slightly better depending on what benchmarks one is looking at, then the GTX 760.

myndlessdayz said:

I personally don't think so if power consumption and silence is a major factor as a 960 overall has half the power draw and overall better specs.

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Power is kinda important to me because while I have a powerful PSU for my stuff, I still get to see some typical symptoms of weak PSU under extreme or just long loads, more often on a more power-hungry card, so I thought I might as well just pick a card that can't go above 200W even under the largest loads plus my CPU can't really take more than 200W under max load, so 550W/46A (80 bronze) should be safe no matter what. After reading about power draw vs power prices here, it kinda seems the difference in electricity bills in 1-2 years should be comparable to the price of at least the cheaper of these two cards.

I was even attracted to the 750ti for a while for the same power reasons (and being way easier to keep cool.

Price is always a major factor also but to me there is a reason why the prices are going cheaper as it is old tech and people want to get rid of it ASAP to move on to newer tech. But, again, this is just one man's opinion....

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I kinda tend to be attracted to large busses, many ROPS and TMUs, stuff like that, the feel of a high-end card, even if it's an old one. If they could deliver exactly the same performance for the same price and power consumption, I would probably pick the degraded old high-end card over a modern mid-shelf model.

What worries me about the 960 is the 128 bits and perhaps shoddy make in some other regards.

Mandrake4565 said:

For power draw the GTX 580 is a beast of a card, I never measured mine at stock but when it's overclocked it eats voltage.

A GTX 580 will outperform a GTX 750Ti, though The 750 Ti has 2 gb of ram Vs 1.5gb "see note below" and it sips power compared to the 580
(unless you're looking at the 3gb verion of the 580)

GTX 760 will outperform a 580. Uses less voltage also has more ram then the 580.

The GTX 960 is slightly better depending on what benchmarks one is looking at, then the GTX 760.

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Yeah, those tend to be the 3 GB versions.

One question about 960, though, as the prices are quite unstable and change a lot within +/–20% range. Are there any particular partner cards that are generally considered better than most? What about the Gigabyte 1 cooler vs Windforce 2 coolers vs Windforce 3 coolers? Or the MSI Armor (2 fans, custom design for airflow, durable components) or Palit's JetStream thingy, or the ASUS phat blower or their CU2 thingy that's supposed to be so quiet?


Do I want to pay $20–$30 extra to

I would definitely buy a card that has an upgraded heatinsk, they will be quieter then a blower style reference cooler in most cases. As far as the different brands I do not know enough about them to say one is better then another. I can say I have an Evga card with the ACX heatsink and it is quiet unless I'm really pushing it for benching and such.

Mandrake4565 said:

I would definitely buy a card that has an upgraded heatinsk, they will be quieter then a blower style reference cooler in most cases.

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Thanks. Does my case layout change anything here re: blower vs spreader? With a thick fan mounted on an Accelero (or 2 fans if I use 2), the fan is just an inch above case floor. There is no intake fan, but case wings are usually removed.

As far as the different brands I do not know enough about them to say one is better then another. I can say I have an Evga card with the ACX heatsink and it is quiet unless I'm really pushing it for benching and such.

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I've done some research, and it seems the Palit JetStream is the most powerful one, not as power-hungry as some of the other ones (by 10W even) and also one of the quietest at 23 dbA vs Gigabyte WindForce's 21.3 or something, which is the best. However, the Palit has the highest OC, so with its more efficient and quieter cooling perhaps the WF could get better results with some additional OC above of ex factory. Other than these two, I can't really tell the difference much (except that Strix will probably be more expensive). One of the cards boasts of some sort of military-grade certification for its components, but I'm not sure to what extent that's real. But I'd certainly appreciate some stability safeguards due to the bad power grid in my apartment.