Hey guys,I'm in the process of putting together a new box. It will be the usual SB rig with a 2600K and 8GB of RAM. What I'm wondering about is weather its its worth spending an extra $100 and getting a 3GB version or just get the standard 1534MB version?Would FSX make use of this much video RAM?Cheers,Kael

Nah, FSX uses up to 500-600mb.

I had the gtx 580 phantom 3gb, my hope was it would vastly improve performance in overcast situations when using supersampling hybrid aa modes. It did not.

I think the 3GB 580 may prove useful for those wanting to take advantage of the better AA modes on triple-monitor configurations, like 3 x 1920 x 1080. The 1.5GB standard version doesn't have enough VRAM to do AA for such a large display.Now just to get a CPU that can run at 10 GHz to drive all that... ;-)RegardsBob ScottColonel, USAF (ret)ATP IMEL Gulfstream II-III-IV-VColorado Springs, CO

I have two 1.5 gb 580s driving a 5040 x 1050 display and the vram usage at 8xS AA gets up to 1.2 GB in heavy clouds, with high def repaints etc...3 gb might allow me to go to higher AA with 4096 clouds, it all depends on how many pixels you will be pushing and how high you want to crank the IQ settings, and what weather engine you want to run(ex. The REX weather engine loves to paint the sky with clouds).For a single monitor(unless it's a 30 inch Super Hi Def), I would guess that the 1.5 gb is enough.

I have two 1.5 gb 580s driving a 5040 x 1050 display and the vram usage at 8xS AA gets up to 1.2 GB in heavy clouds, with high def repaints etc...3 gb might allow me to go to higher AA with 4096 clouds, it all depends on how many pixels you will be pushing and how high you want to crank the IQ settings, and what weather engine you want to run(ex. The REX weather engine loves to paint the sky with clouds).For a single monitor(unless it's a 30 inch Super Hi Def), I would guess that the 1.5 gb is enough.

Hey PP, can I please ask you a favour? could you test your SLI at 5040x1050 and on a single monitor resolution with Transparency Antialiasing set to 4x Sparse Grid Supersampling AA? Thanks

Thanks for the replies guys,Its going to be running a Triple Head 2 Go setup with 3 22" screens, so perhaps the 3GB version would be handy. Its around $100 dearer so in the big scheme of things its not too bad..

I just noticed that the 3GB phantom has a memory speed of 2000MHZ, where as the 1536MB versions have twice that memory speed at 4000MHZ. I note though that the memory bandwidth on both cards is the same, at around 193GB/s. Should is make a difference? I assume the memory bandwidth is what matters??

Hey PP, can I please ask you a favour? could you test your SLI at 5040x1050 and on a single monitor resolution with Transparency Antialiasing set to 4x Sparse Grid Supersampling AA? Thanks

Sure, what does the test entail?, do I fly a certain scenario and check frame-rates or note the memory usage in MSI afterburner?Tell me what to do precisely and I'll do it and give you the results.

Sure, what does the test entail?, do I fly a certain scenario and check frame-rates or note the memory usage in MSI afterburner?Tell me what to do precisely and I'll do it and give you the results.

Thanks man. It's just to try these settings...Simply select a flight, change weather to major thunderstorm and slew into the clouds. I just want to know if SLI helps here with this demanding 4x Sparse Grid Supersampling Transparency Antialiasing setting in clouds. It looks terrific IMO, but it's very taxiing on a single card.If you could test it with your current 5040x1050 resolution and also with a smaller single monitor res it would be awesome. Just let us know what's you performance like in that scenario compared to your regular AA

I have two 1.5 gb 580s driving a 5040 x 1050 display and the vram usage at 8xS AA gets up to 1.2 GB in heavy clouds, with high def repaints etc...3 gb might allow me to go to higher AA with 4096 clouds, it all depends on how many pixels you will be pushing and how high you want to crank the IQ settings, and what weather engine you want to run(ex. The REX weather engine loves to paint the sky with clouds).For a single monitor(unless it's a 30 inch Super Hi Def), I would guess that the 1.5 gb is enough.

By "better" AA modes, I was referring to FSAA, transparency AA etc...I really like the image quality I get using SUPERVCAA_64X_4v12 mode on my 480 and single 26" 1920 x 1200 monitor. I have a 30" 2560 x 1600 SHD monitor arriving today, and wonder if the 480's 1.5 GB of VRAM will be enough to run FSAA modes on the big monitor. I guess I'll know soon, but it's comforting to know that the 3GB 580 is there if it turns out more VRAM is needed.@Airbumps--I bought a 2GB GTX285 a few years ago, and the VRAM on it was a fair bit slower than the 1GB version of the card. I wouldn't recommend buying the 3GB version unless you're using a very large video array...it's probably going to be less performance for more money if you don't have a real need for the additional VRAM.CheersBob ScottColonel, USAF (ret)ATP IMEL Gulfstream II-III-IV-VColorado Springs, CO

@Airbumps--I bought a 2GB GTX285 a few years ago, and the VRAM on it was a fair bit slower than the 1GB version of the card. I wouldn't recommend buying the 3GB version unless you're using a very large video array...it's probably going to be less performance for more money if you don't have a real need for the additional VRAM.Thanks Bob,I'm a little confused why they would sell a card that has double the memory but has the memory running at half the speed? I did see a review on this card (Gainward GTX 580 3GB Phantom) a while back and it indicated the memory was at the regular 4020 MHZ - perhaps my information was wrong and it does run at 4020 not the 2010 I saw. Will have to check the details.Cheers,Kael

I have a 580 and with the most demanding AA modes I think I recall it peaking at 1.4 GB of VRAM usage, but I typically see around 600 to 1.2 MB depending on which add-on aircraft I fly.

airbumps, dont worry about frequencies here, that memory will be running on the regular clocks. it`s common ddr frequency numbers get messed up on some hardware sites. it`s actually a feature that allows ddr memory to communicate multiple times per cycle

@ Dario:Scenario:default yeager airport Charleston, WVAddicitve PittsMajor ThunderstormHigh FSX settings(Max Autogen and complexity)Nick N settings:Widescreen in clouds 23- 24single screen 29 - 40 fpsIncreased AA:4x Sparse Grid SupersamplingWidescreen in clouds 9 - 11single screen 25 - 27 fpsGPU usage went to 100% usual @ 60%VRAM usuage went from 400 mb to 855I found a scenario where I exceeded 1.5 GB Vram: Las Vegas Megascenery + Aerosoft Las Vegas + FSDT KLAS + McPhat HD repaint on the CS 757. I got up to 1.6 - 1.7 GB Vram meaning that the Card was caching textures from System Ram and therefore stuttering like crazy.

Edited May 7, 201115 yr by PingPong