Is it worth to upgrade from a 6870 to SLI 580 at $355?

[Shaqalac]

Hi LTT.

 

I was just browsing secondhand graphics cards, as I for a long time have considered to upgrade my current AMD Radeon HD 6870, and I found one who is selling 2 Sparkle GTX 580. It's from a Danish website and he is selling both of these cards for 1950 DKK ~ 355 USD. To give you something to compare it to, the price he is selling both of his 580s for (355 USD) could buy you a single GTX 670 or R9 280X, if you wanted a GTX 770 you would have to add another 20 USD.

 

The reason I'm asking whether this is something I should consider or not is, that I fell my computer is starting to lack in power. From my profile you can see the specs of my system, but in short I run a i5 2500K @stock (planning on overclocking in the next week or two) and a single Radeon 6870. As it is right now I wont be able to run both cards without replacing my PSU, which is something to consider as well. I want make a completely new build at some point, with custom water loop, the lot. That's obviously going to be expensive, so I don't want to waste a bunch of money right now on something I'm going to replace within the next year or two.

 

I've had the 6870 for a couple of years now and it served me well and I haven't really felt like I wasn't able to play the games out there, until know. BF4 is running with low FPS, so I need an upgrade.

Lets say I'm able to get one GTX 580 for 175 USD, would that be worth the money, or should I try find a PSU I could use for my future build as well and just go for both cards?

Could a GTX 580 last me for a year or two. I don't have demands on running everything in ultra and 80+ FPS. I prefer FPS over details, so I rather run at medium settings and getting a higher FPS to take some advantage of my 120Hz monitor. Right now I run BF4 with all on low and everything disabled, so I'd be happy just to take this up a notch.

 

Cheers Shaqalac.

[Ryan Leech]

Yes. SLI 580s will perform better than a 770 in most games.

[Excon]

Just get a single newer card, that really isn't a great deal.

[voaz]

I'd buy a 770 for that price, SLI uses much more energy and they don't even support nVIdia's new software features.

Any similar single GPU over these 2 in SLI.

[Alterlai]

I usually avoid crossfire and SLI at all times. If i were you i'd go with a single card like 770

[JAMlE]

Get a single card, less issues.

[ZmanFTW]

The power of 2 580s will show rewards at that price. Problem is that many 500 series were hotter and louder than 600/700 series. Many games will not work with SLI, at that price I would be looking for a GTX 770.

[Hans Christian | Teri]

GTX 580's are still nice cards but 1950,- is a tad above what I would pay for the couple here in Denmark, they usually go for 750-800,- a piece. That being said I would much rather spend another couple hundred and get a GTX 770. Having run 580 SLI (both triple and dual card setups) I realized how many problems it brings with it and I will not be going back in the near future. A good single card setup is by far superior.

[Shaqalac]

I should probably have mentioned this. As it is a secondhand deal, I will of course try to push the price down as I think 355 USD is still a lot.

 

I'm well aware that I will avoid a lot of problems and possibly get more out of a single card.

 

Lets say I'm able to get a single GTX 580 for 150 USD, would that be worth it or is there a better solution at 150 USD?

[lachyman]

Get a 770 or 280X instead.

[AMW1011]

2 GTX 580s will require a shit ton of power and produce a lot of heat.  Keep that in mind.

[TB-303]

I would definitely go for a newer generation single card, then have the option to crossfire/sli it later.

[kevinheinrich]

I just went through this myself. Do i get a 2nd 560ti or upgrade? I bought a GTX 780 thanks to newegg changing its gift card rules (im sure due to massive complaints) and letting you stack them. It helps to announce to your family and friends you are a pc nerd and use NCIX or egghead several dozen times before Christmas. I was also leaning towards a single 760/770 card purchase with intentions to sli in 6 months. My opinion is get a can and keep throwing money into it till its filled with enough money to get your dream card.

[Shaqalac]

I just went through this myself. Do i get a 2nd 560ti or upgrade? I bought a GTX 780 thanks to newegg changing its gift card rules (im sure due to massive complaints) and letting you stack them. It helps to announce to your family and friends you are a pc nerd and use NCIX or egghead several dozen times before Christmas. I was also leaning towards a single 760/770 card purchase with intentions to sli in 6 months. My opinion is get a can and keep throwing money into it till its filled with enough money to get your dream card.

Kind of the whole point of this. I want to make a dream build in a year or two, with the newest high-end card at that time. So I looking at a cheap solution that will last me till then. $360 for a graphics card is not a cheap solution, but a single 580 at $150 or less could be the right solution?

[kevinheinrich]

Sorry I misunderstood I thought your budget was $355. A single 580 stock would be double the performance of your current card stock so if you can grab one for $150 I would not hesitate buy it today.

[Shaqalac]

Sorry I misunderstood I thought your budget was $355. A single 580 stock would be double the performance of your current card stock so if you can grab one for $150 I would not hesitate buy it today.

Sorry about that, my first post might have been a bit confusing and as everybody said "go for a single card", I turned away from SLI 580 pretty quick. That would result in a PSU upgrade as well = $$$.

 

I'm not completely sure I can get it for $150. A lot of the sellers want a bit more, so I'll have to negotiate with them.