ASUS GeForce GTX 590 3 GB

[mlee49]

So no Quad SLI review?

Nice job Wiz, I personally enjoy it when a well seasoned veteran blows up some expensive gear.

 

[Kreij]

guys out of the the million nvidia is making. just because this one card blew up on wizz doesnt mean every other card will. Ill take the 590 over the 6990 in the sacrafice of the 2-3% for the cooler running card, a little bit more efficient, and quieter card.

You are correct in saying that not all cards may fry, but remember that the people buying the highest end stuff are the speed freaks. They are the most likely to overclock and overvolt things to get max performance.
If there is an inherent weakness in the circuitry or drivers that can cause the card to nuke, these are the people who will find it ... and not be pleased when they brick their cards.

 

[W1zzard]

So no Quad SLI review?

no quad sli drivers

 

[MxPhenom 216]

You are correct in saying that not all cards may fry, but remember that the people buying the highest end stuff are the speed freaks. They are the most likely to overclock and overvolt things to get max performance.
If there is an inherent weakness in the circuitry or drivers that can cause the card to nuke, these are the people who will find it ... and not be pleased when they brick their cards.

well ive been reading up on other threads on other forums and people have been saying reviews that didnt get asus 590s were all completely fine. and other people who got asus cards for reviews probalby didnt ramp up on the fan speed.

 

[mlee49]

no quad sli drivers

No two working cards either


Quad SLI will be up in a week, quote me.

 

[qubit]

I'd take this card over a 6990 and here's why:

It's faster.
It's considerably quieter.
One card failed on overvolting. And so? Defective cards happen, that's what a warranty is for. If it's a design glitch as suggested in the review, they'll recall them and issue ones with improved power circuits. All in all, this incident isn't such a big deal. I'm sure that idiot Charlie Demerjian will jump on it as "proof" that he was right all along though. <sigh>

I think this is the real killer ace up its sleave: The 6990 is running at nearly full speed at stock. From what I can see, even at full speed with the BIOS switch set to turbo it doesn't win, or just equals. However, the 590 wins the benchies when considerably underclocked at stock speed. This is unheard of in performance races. How much untapped performance does the 590 actually have then? Significant, I reckon. The 6990 can't overclock much though, can it?

I'll bet you non-reference boards with non-reference coolers come out that make this beast run at full GTX 580 speeds and beyond. The 6990 will then be a distant second in the performance race. Yes, it will use enormous amounts of power. However, that's to be expected for a card that's gonna be used by top-end enthusiasts. These guys are gonna have the rigs to cope with such a card.

Finally, as I've said in a couple of other places now, both these advanced GPU architectures will only fully realize their potential when they're made with 28nm technology. The current 40nm tech has run into the power wall now.

 

[Frizz]

well ive been reading up on other threads on other forums and people have been saying reviews that didnt get asus 590s were all completely fine. and other people who got asus cards for reviews probalby didnt ramp up on the fan speed.

TPU 1 dead card
Dem Crazy Swedes.. 1 dead card
Lab501 2 dead cards (non -OC'd, default)
T-Break 1 dead card..

Not all were from the same manufacturers, there is obviously a design flaw that needs attention.

 

[Kreij]

no quad sli drivers

I would've thought you had written your own by now.

 

[qubit]

TPU 1 dead card
Dem Crazy Swedes.. 1 dead card
Lab501 2 dead cards (non -OC'd, default)
T-Break 1 dead card..

Not all were from the same manufacturers, there is obviously a design flaw that needs attention.

Ouch, that's a lot of dead cards. I can feel that product recall coming on.

 

[Maban]

I no longer want one...

 

[HalfAHertz]

I'd take this card over a 6990 and here's why:

It's faster.
It's considerably quieter.
One card failed on overvolting. And so? Defective cards happen, that's what a warranty is for. If it's a design glitch as suggested in the review, they'll recall them and issue ones with improved power circuits. All in all, this incident isn't such a big deal. I'm sure that idiot Charlie Demerjian will jump on it as "proof" that he was right all along though. <sigh>

I think this is the real killer ace up its sleave: The 6990 is running at nearly full speed at stock. From what I can see, even at full speed with the BIOS switch set to turbo it doesn't win, or just equals. However, the 590 wins the benchies when considerably underclocked at stock speed. This is unheard of in performance races. How much untapped performance does the 590 actually have then? Significant, I reckon. The 6990 can't overclock much though, can it?

I'll bet you non-reference boards with non-reference coolers come out that make this beast run at full GTX 580 speeds and beyond. The 6990 will then be a distant second in the performance race. Yes, it will use enormous amounts of power. However, that's to be expected for a card that's gonna be used by top-end enthusiasts. These guys are gonna have the rigs to cope with such a card.

Finally, as I've said in a couple of other places now, both these advanced GPU architectures will only fully realize their potential when they're made with 28nm technology. The current 40nm tech has run into the power wall now.

or better yet choose neither because both dual GPUs of this gen have their own little flaws and quirks.

 

[qubit]

or better yet choose neither because both dual GPUs of this gen have their own little flaws and quirks.

You mean wait for 28nm? Yeah, I'll roll with that.

 

[yogurt_21]

You mean wait for 28nm? Yeah, I'll roll with that.

well yeah I'm pretty sure you can *suffer* along with your 580 until then lol

 

[Fourstaff]

I would've thought you had written your own by now.

There are plenty for W1z to do you know, reviews to write, site to manage, Mailmans to ban, and also he is working at bankrupting fraps with TPU Capture. Also, no point writing one since that he killed one of the pair he received.

 

[qubit]

well yeah I'm pretty sure you can *suffer* along with your 580 until then lol

It's an excellent card. It's really fast and doesn't make too much fan noise about it, either. 40nm tech is good enough for one GPU on a card.

I avoid getting dual GPU cards anyway, because of their inherent issues, such as scaling, only half the RAM can be seen and high cost.

 

[MxPhenom 216]

yeah nvidia needs to recall and fix the VRMs and add more phases. 4+1 phase power is not enough for 150-200w GPUs

 

[jamsbong]

The GTX590 is a real disappointment. It just lack speed. On hindsight, I realise the 6990 is a great achievement.

One thing you'll notice is that the 590 runs hotter than the 6990 which led to a noisier 6990. If you need to o/c these cards, you'll want to cool it really well to reduce the power consumption (leakage). I think a watercooled version of the 590 vs watercooled 6990 will see that the 590 winning.

As I am not going to spend that much money for these card. I won't even bother with either of them. I rather wait for a GPU 2 generations down the track or get a SLI/crossfire setups.

If I am going to get these cards. I will water cool it and overclock it. That will release the card's full potential and thus making worthy.

 

[bogie]

You wanna graphics card with a bang for you buck?! Then buy the 590!!

If I could choose I think i'd take the AMD 6990 with a water block or after market cooler. But its out of my price range anyway!

2 modded 6950's is the way forward for now me thinks!

2 x modded HD6950's = £420
2 x HD6970's = £560
2 x 580's = £710
1 x 6990 = £545
1 x 590 = £570

 

[MxPhenom 216]

The GTX590 is a real disappointment. It just lack speed. On hindsight, I realise the 6990 is a great achievement.

One thing you'll notice is that the 590 runs hotter than the 6990 which led to a noisier 6990. If you need to o/c these cards, you'll want to cool it really well to reduce the power consumption (leakage). I think a watercooled version of the 590 vs watercooled 6990 will see that the 590 winning.

As I am not going to spend that much money for these card. I won't even bother with either of them. I rather wait for a GPU 2 generations down the track or get a SLI/crossfire setups.

If I am going to get these cards. I will water cool it and overclock it. That will release the card's full potential and thus making worthy.

uhh in all the reviews ive seen it shows the 590 running cooler on the stock fan profile.

 

[erocker]

yeah nvidia needs to recall and fix the VRMs and add more phases. 4+1 phase power is not enough for 150-200w GPUs

Will never happen. Never, ever. I doubt they are making much money on these cards to begin with.

 

[cadaveca]

Will never happen. Never, ever. I doubt they are making much money on these cards to begin with.

No, gigabyte is making NOTHING with an $1100 card..nothing at all

 

[MxPhenom 216]

Will never happen. Never, ever. I doubt they are making much money on these cards to begin with.

so much for the best card they have ever made

 

[qubit]

Will never happen. Never, ever. I doubt they are making much money on these cards to begin with.

I wouldn't bank on that. The kind of people rich enough to buy a couple of them are more likely to file a lawsuit if it breaks and they don't honour the warranty. Or if they do, the replacements keep breaking the same way. Or sometimes too much bad publicity will do it as their sales start to tank.

It's all grey areas here though, so I'm not going to bet on any outcome.

 

[MxPhenom 216]

I would like to see what MSI and Asus do with their Twin Frozr/Lightning cards and DirectCU non reference cards. I have a feeling they will beaf up on the VRMs and circuitry

 

[mlee49]

Looks like Nvidia is addressing the overvolting 'problem'

http://nvidia.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/nvidia.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=2947