Nvidia’s GF580 versus GF480 review
Posted by Webmaster on March 8th 2011 | Discuss
Categories:
Hardware Review
Tags:
nvidia
pmark
benchmark
We've been running a 3D Surround Vision system for a while that was originally built using GeForce GTX 480 AIBs. No complaints, they do a great job
This week we decided to do run some caparison with dual Nvidia AIBs in stereo and with SLI on and off to see if the Nvidia GTX580 is OK, better, or a whole lot better than the GTX480
It's a whole lot betterWe ran four benchmarks without S3D on a single processor Core i7 980 3.33 GHz machine, and two benchmarks with and without S3D on a dual processor Core i7 960 3.67 GHz system.
Single processor tests no stereo
We ran four benchmarks (Heaven, Metro, Stalker, and Lost Planet) at three resolutions (1650x1050, 1920x1200, and 2560x1600) and took the average of those 12 scores to arrive at a performance value for each AIB and pair of AIBs.
The Pmark for the two AIBs shows the GTX580 to be better than the GTX48 by 15.5%, and the SLI GTX 580 versions to be better than the GTX 480 by 13.9%. However, a SLI configuration gets a significantly lower Pmark score, as shown in the following chart.
The performance per dollar for a SLI configuration is what drags down the Pmark, as the following chart shows.
A SLI configuration can't win a performance/dollar test because two AIBs don't give you double the performance but they do give you double the cost and the power draw, so one has to forget about economics when committing to a SLI configuration.
The actual average gain in performance for the GTX 480 in SLI mode was 37.3% and for the GTX 580 it was 35.3%.
Stereovision dual processor
We ran the 3D Surround tests comparing the GTX 480 against the GTX 580. The results weren't surprising, but interesting.
The average improvement from the GTX 580 over the GTX 480 in surround display (S3D on and off) was 25%, which is quite significant.
What do we think?
No economic model can justify a SLI configuration. The performance per dollar just isn't there. Likewise, only those with high discretionary income can rationalize a 3D Surround system. A Surround system with GTX 580s is the best, and make a console experience look like B&W TV.
Pros
For raw power and pure enjoyment you can't beat dual GeForce GTX 580s with 3D Surround vision — period. When backup with a super high-performance pair of Core i7 processors, and three 24-inch 1920x1080 120 Hz monitors, this IS the dream machine and experience.
Cons
A dual GTX 580 system, with a core i7 or dual core i7 processors is expensive to buy and to operate. Each monitor draws 40 watts, a Surround system is 120 W. The dual processor system with dual GTX AIBs draws (from the mains) 670W making the total load 790W.
