Should this be a tough decision?

[AbundantLack]

Trying to decide which GPU to pick.

MSI R6990-4PD4GD5 Radeon HD 6990 4GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

OR

ASUS MATRIX GTX580 P/2DIS/1536MD5 GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) 1536MB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card


There is about $100 difference being that the MSI is more expensive. But is that $100 dollars a pure purchase of performace?

 

[AbundantLack]

Ok maybe i lied. $170

 

[57udl3y]

Whats your monitor set up? on a 24 inch or lower, you wouldn't really be using all the power of the 6990.

 

[AbundantLack]

I actually havent bought a monitor yet. But I am definitely getting at least a 27". But have no plans to split screen right away. Good possibility in the future though. So with future possibilities in mind i am not sure if its better to gear up or settle.

 

[manu2b]

I'd wait for the 7970 next week:

http://www.overclockers.com/amd-radeon-hd-7970-graphics-card-review/

 

[MattNo5ss]

The 6990 is actually two GPUs on one card, whereas the GTX580 is one GPU. So, the 6990 will be quite a bit better. However, it also depends on the resolution you'll be running, not the inches b/c a 60" 1080p and 23" 1080p are both the same 1080p resolution and would produce the same performance on a given system.

If you'll be running 1920x1200 or lower go with the GTX580 for sure, if you are going 2650x1600 or higher then a dual GPU setup would be best.

The HD7970 is coming out soon and will be better than the GTX580 and sometimes on par with the 6990, so you may want to wait if you can.

 

[diaz]

Sweet! Now waiting for the nVidia answer.. maybe in the next couple months or so.. Takes too long

 

[Mjolnir]

The 6990 is actually two GPUs on one card, whereas the GTX580 is one GPU. So, the 6990 will be quite a bit better. However, it also depends on the resolution you'll be running, not the inches b/c a 60" 1080p and 23" 1080p are both the same 1080p resolution and would produce the same performance on a given system.

If you'll be running 1920x1200 or lower go with the GTX580 for sure, if you are going 2650x1600 or higher then a dual GPU setup would be best.

The HD7970 is coming out soon and will be better than the GTX580 and sometimes on par with the 6990, so you may want to wait if you can.

+1 to everything here.

If it makes a difference to you OP, i run a single GTX 580 on a Dell 27 inch, 2560x1440 Res. Only the really graphically intense games are those I cannot max out. In which case the first thing I do is turn off AA (at this res/pixel density, you don't need AA really); and if that doesn't work, turn shadows to the next level down, etc.

But generally I can still play most games at full settings (perhaps with AA off) no sweat with 50+ fps. I run Skyrim on ultra (no mods yet) with only AA off. I average 60, but some more dense areas do drop it to 40-50.

But I would definitely wait for a HD 7970. If the prices are within 50-100 dollars of the GTX 580; it'd be worth the buy IMO. Less power consumption, for ~20% better performance? (Vs the GTX 580), sounds good to me! And the 3GB VRAM will definitely be a plus over a standard GTX 580 1.5gb model. Especially at 2560x1440(1600).

@diaz; I don't believe Nvidia will be offering anything for at least 3 months, and I believe their roadmap shows their lower cards arriving first; with the high-end cards arriving late 2012 :\

 

[AbundantLack]

Hmmmm. Well I am only in a process to deciding which components I want currently. But when that 7970 comes out. I am sure i will definitely be in a deep thought. Hope the price is reasonable. Id be very tempted to get two of them then.

Thank you all for your input. Wait i shall!!!

 

[Mjolnir]

Hmmmm. Well I am only in a process to deciding which components I want currently. But when that 7970 comes out. I am sure i will definitely be in a deep thought. Hope the price is reasonable. Id be very tempted to get two of them then.

Thank you all for your input. Wait i shall!!!

The ONLY reason you would need 2 of these is to run multi-1080p monitors..

Though if you run 2560x1600; HD7970 does guarantee the ability to max everything in every game with AA on, etc.

At 1080p; a Single HD 7970 is actually probably overkill lol. But would guarantee full settings all the time.

 

[AbundantLack]

I am thinking I am going to just go with a single 7970. When I make the upgrade to Multi-screen on my system, I can make the appropriate upgrade of adding a second.