Does Nvidia's 590 BURNOUT Crisis make AMD the big winner?

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vjcsmoke

Supreme [H]ardness
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We've all heard of the value of the 'halo' product. In this case, Nvidia's new flagship 590 videocard has been found to 'burn' out when overclocked and pushed to the maximum. Such is not true of AMD's 6990 which also features a dual bios feature that is overclocker friendly and allows quick recoveries from 'bad' overclocking excursions. The severity of Nvidia's 590 downclocking has made the stock 590 perform below expectations. Certainly performance at the level of dual 570 SLI was not what enthusiasts were seeking.

And those who dare to push the clocks any higher risk burning up their new $700 investment. Considering that the 6990 has more VRAM per gpu, 2gb vs 1.5 gb, is overclocker friendly, and has greater availablity, has AMD won this round of the dual GPU wars? All indications point to yes for now. Nvidia made the 590 quiet, yes. Did Nvidia give the 590 bleeding edge performance to justify the price. No. And pushing for that performance is a risky bet. Let's not even talk about the memory limitations.

Bottom line:
Best single GPU video card: GTX 580 3GB
Best dual GPU video card: Radeon 6990
 
My opinion is that AMD is getting really good on Dual GPU solutions ... i can even say that they project their GPU's with the dual gpu solution always in count ...

So for me

Single GPU's = Nvidia
Dual GPU's = AMD
 
I don't know if I'd say that, but it's certainly a huge blow to a halo card and Nvidia's rep. There'll be all sorts of FUD and not-so-FUD for months.
 
It does if you consider an underdog as AMD made long awaited comeback,
making dual GPU card on a performance level that matches Nvidia.

But if you stand back and look at the both cards without knowing who made them - HARDLY.

At the same price tag, besides being cooler, quieter and smaller card,
one card brings goodies like 3D Surround, CUDA, and PhysX.

And other brings possibility to run 5 or 6 monitors.

As for the memory limitations... You can bring GTX 580 3GB running Half Life 2 1920x1080 on its knees if you want to, but from what I've seen on net, both cards are pretty even in multi monitor performance.

But OK, I agree. Lets also add 500MB VRAM to a 6990 pile, for those cases when 590 runs out of VRAM, and 6990 doesn't.

So there you go, take a pick :D
 
I disagree with the dual-GPU winner that vjcsmoke picked. I'd say the 6990 and 590 are equal, or the 590 is better. Realistically, 90% of the people who buy a 590 or 6990 will overclock the. The 590 was made to be overclocked, using 610/3400 speeds was a formality to get PCIe certification. Once you overclock both the 6990 and the 590, the 590 will be around 10% faster (I predict), until you pass 5760 x 1200, at which point RAM will bottleneck, and the 6990 will be faster. But until then, the 590 will be the faster card.

580 SLI > 6970 CF.

EDIT: And to clarify that's if you're going by maximum performance. In maximum performance, nVIDIA wins. In everything else, bang/buck, perf/watt, etc. AMD wins hands down. AMD has a much more forward-thinking agenda to my eyes.
 
XacTactX said:
I disagree with the dual-GPU winner that vjcsmoke picked. I'd say the 6990 and 590 are equal, or the 590 is better. Realistically, 90% of the people who buy a 590 or 6990 will overclock the. The 590 was made to be overclocked, using 610/3400 speeds was a formality to get PCIe certification. Once you overclock both the 6990 and the 590, the 590 will be around 10% faster (I predict), until you pass 5760 x 1200, at which point RAM will bottleneck, and the 6990 will be faster. But until then, the 590 will be the faster card.

580 SLI > 6970 CF.

EDIT: And to clarify that's if you're going by maximum performance. In maximum performance, nVIDIA wins. In everything else, bang/buck, perf/watt, etc. AMD wins hands down. AMD has a much more forward-thinking agenda to my eyes.
Click to expand...

Once you overclock the 590 it will blow up. Bang for buck = GTX 590
 
Vexerz said:
Once you overclock the 590 it will blow up. Bang for buck = GTX 590
Click to expand...

LMAO good one with the Bang :D.

Seriously, read the press release. Going by what it says, that should only happen if you play with the voltage using the driver version that you are specifically NOT supposed to use. You have to disobey official instructions on two separate occasions for that to occur. Frankly, I'm not surprised it would happen, they told them to not do those things for a reason. What I'm saying is, it's not nVIDIA's responsibility to account for overvolting with pre-release drivers and negligent behavior by hardware enthusiasts. You have to draw the line somewhere.

But there's no doubt that this will mar nVIDIA's reputation, whether or not they are to blame for it or not.
 
XacTactX said:
But there's no doubt that this will mar nVIDIA's reputation, whether or not they are to blame for it or not.
Click to expand...

Let's see, Nvidia is the only producer of the 590. Only reference 590s will be produced. And Nvidia shipped out the bad driver disk along with the video card to reviewers. Nvidia also failed to engineer hardware safeguards onto the video card that would activate regardless of the software that THEY provided. Who else is to blame, the tooth fairy?

I've owned plenty of Nvidia products in the past and I bought two 480s on release because they were the FASTEST products at the time but I'm not willing to turn a blind eye to the 590 fiasco. Since the 590 doesn't have the performance edge out of the box over the 6990 and it burns up when you overclock it, that puts Nvidia in quite a bind. Low noise alone is not enough reason for an enthusiast to plunk down $700.
 
2 GTX 590s blew up? I read they were using older drivers, newer ones were out and they used the ones from before. Techspot, fucking morons, 1.2V on a card that is stock at 0.9 or 0.95? Seriously are you fucking retarded :rolleyes:

Other one, no idea what volts they had but they used the older drivers.

Honestly, I wanna see the EVGA watercooled cards reviewed with OC's. If you spend this much money, why not go all out?

Btw, I am pretty dissapointed in the current gen dual cards. The HD 4870x2 and GTX 295 blew away the other cards at the time. This GTX 590 and HD 6990 aren't really worth it, GTX 590 is worth it more due to being like GTX 570 sli but higher ram so it performs better at times.
 
vjcsmoke said:
Let's see, Nvidia is the only producer of the 590. Only reference 590s will be produced. And Nvidia shipped out the bad driver disk along with the video card to reviewers. Nvidia also failed to engineer hardware safeguards onto the video card that would activate regardless of the software that THEY provided. Who else is to blame, the tooth fairy?
Click to expand...

I read that in the instructions that they sent to the review sites, they said to not use driver 267.xx and instead use another one that was WHQL certified, I believe 270.xx. Yes, they should have provided the most stable driver on the disk, but they clearly advised against those drivers, and voltage modifications that would cause cards to become unstable. Had the review sites followed the initial directions to use the 270 drivers, I believe none of this would have happened. They didn't really follow directions.

To me, this is like the manufacturer having to take responsibility for overclocking and overvolting. The end user clearly acted negligently and did not follow directions, I don't see why it's nVIDIA's fault.
 
I cringe giving less voltage to my 1.012V OC friendly 460.

But running old manufacturer supplied drivers,

overvolting the card by a healthy 30%

AND

disabling power limiter on a brand new, you know nothing about - SINGLE PCB DUAL GPU MONSTER

= dumbass who doesn't care if he's gonna fry the card, because he knows they'll just send him a new one
 
but Nvidia's drivers are just so perfect, never cause any issues and AMD just always right sucky drivers !!!! oh wait .............. Maybe AMD get some respect now
 
KaptainKhaos said:
but Nvidia's drivers are just so perfect, never cause any issues and AMD just always right sucky drivers !!!! oh wait .............. Maybe AMD get some respect now
Click to expand...

That's some real solid logic I see there. :rolleyes:

Nvidia releasing crappy drivers (and frankly that wasn't the cause of the 590 death, morons overvolting to 1.2 was) doesn't somehow magically make ATIs shitty drivers awesomesauce.

I had a 5870 once. Terrible experience.
 
For one I've never been an advocate of dual gpu cards. I will agree with the OP that AMD definitely won this gen of dual gpu cards. It has nothing to do with the clocks, performance or the severaly over-exaggerated in only 2 days blowing up GTX 590 issues. It's the pricing and the VRAM.

My main points are

1. Why a dual card if your not gonna use that horsepower where it counts. (Uber high surround resolution) If you want to max 2560x1600 you can do that with a GTX 295 or 4870x2 for the most part. Nvidia lacks the Vram this round to make it's card matter when I believe it should matter the most. Vram will be an issue in scenarios where the res is only 5760x1080 with moderate IQ (4x AA Super Sample) and up. Win AMD (Major Win)

2. Neither manufacturer offers warranty on the overclocking out of box performance and experience win AMD

3. both cards cost the same while the GTX 590 is slower out of the box and is Vram crippled

4. Less Microstutter and better overall game performance and support from the driver Win Nvidia. I simply don't trust dual gpu cards and the driver support for them only seems solid for the first year, after that you feel like the unwanted redheaded stepchild of customers

AMD wins 3 out of 4

On the positive, if you must have the highest settings on single screen it's very possible the GTX 590 may overclock to close enough to GTX 580 speeds with an aggressive fan profile to overtake a 6990 even with it's bios switch on 6970 speed mode.

The burnt out card issue is IMO blown out of proportion right now as only a few facts are out and people are grabbing whatever little is there are running with it to have their fanboy fun with this issue. Fact is the problem only happens with a specific driver. The card is not designed for such a high voltage on the stock cooler and without disabling the power limiter function. Current story is ONLY that one driver can kill your card, that driver was never supposed to be released as it was a beta driver to use for testing early engineering releases. Some are speculating that the driver delay forced alot of manufacturers to burn the only driver available at the time (the fucked up one) to get their retail packages done and ready on time. Until the other facts come up, I wouldn't be quick to pass judgement. I however would not be quick to buy one of these cards either and dont recommend anyone else do either.
 
Dunno if u noticed, but 3 out of 4 are saying the same thing:

"6990 is a faster card".
 
I can't consider the 580 a winner, unless you're 100% stuck on single card. With all the crazy sales, 2 6950s can be had for what, $40 more than a single GTX580? :/ that's a win for me.

price needs to come down on the 580 and 570.
 
Digital Viper-X- said:
I can't consider the 580 a winner, unless you're 100% stuck on single card. With all the crazy sales, 2 6950s can be had for what, $40 more than a single GTX580? :/ that's a win for me.

price needs to come down on the 580 and 570.
Click to expand...


damn right!

:D
 
vjcsmoke said:
We've all heard of the value of the 'halo' product. In this case, Nvidia's new flagship 590 videocard has been found to 'burn' out when overclocked and pushed to the maximum. Such is not true of AMD's 6990 which also features a dual bios feature that is overclocker friendly and allows quick recoveries from 'bad' overclocking excursions. The severity of Nvidia's 590 downclocking has made the stock 590 perform below expectations. Certainly performance at the level of dual 570 SLI was not what enthusiasts were seeking.

And those who dare to push the clocks any higher risk burning up their new $700 investment. Considering that the 6990 has more VRAM per gpu, 2gb vs 1.5 gb, is overclocker friendly, and has greater availablity, has AMD won this round of the dual GPU wars? All indications point to yes for now. Nvidia made the 590 quiet, yes. Did Nvidia give the 590 bleeding edge performance to justify the price. No. And pushing for that performance is a risky bet. Let's not even talk about the memory limitations.

Bottom line:
Best single GPU video card: GTX 580 3GB
Best dual GPU video card: Radeon 6990
Click to expand...

By the way, in your thread title, don't you mean...





Burnout Crysis
?

AWWWW YEAH!
 
Nvidia wasn't shooting to be the dual gpu king, if so they missed by a long shot. Then tired to covered it all up with BS about caring about fan noise and power requirements. Out of the box performance is what counts due to overclocking is never a given. The review sites have been all over the place with final overclocks and not hitting stable 580 core speeds. AMD is just faster out of the box with no BS requirements attached.
 
I will just continue to wait patiently for a proper MAX OC head to head between the 6990 and 590. :rolleyes:

Hopefully they will watercool them, or just keep the cards cool as hell on stock coolers to see what they are actually capable of with proper aftermarket (water) cooling.
 
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