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GTX 570 SLI: Base EVGA vs Classified vs Twin Frozr

2K views 22 replies 8 participants last post by  Jarobata 
#1 ·
I'm upgrading to GTX 570 SLI next week. I talked myself down to the base EVGA card but now I'm tempted by some of the upgraded cards like the EVGA classified and the MSI N570GTX Twin Frozr III. My question is, considering the limitations of my rig (PSU/CPU), would the extra 100 upgrading to one of these cards be worth the money? For reference, my buddy just grabbed a GTX 580 SLI setup and I want to get the most out of my 570's as possible as to not embarrass myself.

Thanks
 
#2 ·
Honestly, the MSI Twin Frozr cards are pretty much the bests. They run cool and they are very quiet. If you're gonna overclock, don't buy a reference GTX 570 cause the VRMs are crap so they blow up. In this case, I have to recommend the Twin Frozr. Also, your PSU will be perfectly fine and your CPU shouldn't bottleneck at all.
 
#3 ·
Quote:


Originally Posted by Snowmen
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Honestly, the MSI Twin Frozr cards are pretty much the bests. They run cool and they are very quiet. If you're gonna overclock, don't buy a reference GTX 570 cause the VRMs are crap so they blow up. In this case, I have to recommend the Twin Frozr. Also, your PSU will be perfectly fine and your CPU shouldn't bottleneck at all.

:) I was afraid of this
 
#4 ·
The deal with the reference 570s blowing VRMs was very blown out of proportion, but it is possible. The non-referrence models typically have 6+1 phase power over the 4+1 phase of the reference cards.

However, there are a lot of people with high OCs who overvolt on the reference cards and never had a problem. So it might be a gamble, but I think the odds are greatly in your favor. As far as I know every one who had their VRMs pop got their cards replaced under warranty too.
 
#6 ·
I feel like my question of is it worth the extra 100 dollars hasn't been answered. The MSi may be better, but is it worth it?
 
#7 ·
It depends on whether you're going to overclock it to it's full potential past what most reference GTX 570's can, and if not, whether you prefer a quieter fan and lower temps. If you're answer's no to either of those, then no, it's not worth it.
 
#8 ·
Quote:


Originally Posted by El_Capitan
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It depends on whether you're going to overclock it to it's full potential past what most reference GTX 570's can, and if not, whether you prefer a quieter fan and lower temps. If you're answer's no to either of those, then no, it's not worth it.

I definitely want to overclock as much as possible, though I'm not sure how much of an issue my PSU would be. I'm guessing I'll overclock as much as possible without increasing the voltage to the cards.
 
#9 ·
Quote:


Originally Posted by Jarobata
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I definitely want to overclock as much as possible, though I'm not sure how much of an issue my PSU would be. I'm guessing I'll overclock as much as possible without increasing the voltage to the cards.

Your PSU won't be an issue if you're going to overclock as much as possible without increasing the voltage to the cards (even up to 1100mV's). In that case, no need to spend the extra $100 unless you want lower temps and quieter fans during higher load.

For me, there's a jump in overclocks from stock voltage at 765MHz Core Clock with 963mV's (stock) to 890MHz with 1050mV's. You might be able to get by with temperatures with that overclock, depending on what your fan profile will be set to, and whether your case has good enough airflow to dissipate heat buildup.
 
#10 ·
Quote:


Originally Posted by El_Capitan
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Your PSU won't be an issue if you're going to overclock as much as possible without increasing the voltage to the cards (even up to 1100mV's). In that case, no need to spend the extra $100 unless you want lower temps and quieter fans during higher load.

For me, there's a jump in overclocks from stock voltage at 765MHz Core Clock with 963mV's (stock) to 890MHz with 1050mV's. You might be able to get by with temperatures with that overclock, depending on what your fan profile will be set to, and whether your case has good enough airflow to dissipate heat buildup.

I guess then my question is can my PSU handle it? On another thread someone said don't increase the voltage with only 750w. Am I missing out by not going down that path?
 
#11 ·
If you plan on overclocking with default voltage, i'd save the money and buy reference cards. If you want to push the cards to the limit with 1.2v, I'd go with one of the non reference options. I'd lean towards the non-reference options either way, but if the $100 is that much of a concern, buy reference.

Another thing is that stigma on the reference models. If the time comes to sell, you'd have better success selling those twin frozr models than a reference.

I've had 3 reference 570s and none blew up. I ran the first two at 1.2v almost all the time, but for benchmarks only. I ran one card passed 1100 core with no issues.
 
#12 ·
Quote:


Originally Posted by Jarobata
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I guess then my question is can my PSU handle it? On another thread someone said don't increase the voltage with only 750w. Am I missing out by not going down that path?

You're fine.

This is a copy/paste from another thread:

I have the two GTX 570's SLI under water at 1050mV's Core Voltage with 890MHz Core Clock and 2000MHz Memory Clock (still plenty of room for overclocking). I have 4x4GB memory, 16 fans, 1 pump, 4 SSD's, 4HDD's, a sound card, and an optical drive. My PSU is the Corsair AX1200, we're about the same efficiency (mine's a few % higher).

These are watts being read from the wall with a Kill-a-Watt meter:

219W's Idle

335W's CPU 100% load using Prime95 Blend test with an i7 2600k at 4.9GHz

601W's CPU not being stressed, GPU's being benchmarked by Unigine Heaven V2.1 default settings but with Anisotropy: 16; Anti-aliasing: 8x; and Full Screen at 1920 x 1200. 501W's with stock clocks and voltages on the GTX 570's.

687W's CPU 100% load using Prime95 Blend test and GPU's being benchmarked by Unigine Heaven V2.1 default settings but with Anisotropy: 16; Anti-aliasing: 8x; and Full Screen at 1920 x 1200. 595W's with stock clocks and voltages on the GTX 570's.

This is drawing from the wall with a PSU at about 90% efficiency. You have room.
 
#13 ·
Your PSU will be fine with either option overclocked to the max they could take on air.

Something that I don't think anyone else has considered is the fact that you must run these cards sandwiched together because of the PCIe spacing on your motherboard. In that case I would recommend the reference cooler on either the EVGA Classy or reference (I would prefer the Classy) over the MSI. The MSI will have a harder time keeping the top card cool as well as you could run into issues with the fans of the top card hitting the back of the bottom card as the fan blades are pronounced above the shroud on that card. I've heard of this happening before and Newegg has denied the return as they called it user installation error, I don't know if MSI would RMA but that's not something I'd like to find out.

I do agree that the reference 570 VRM problems appear to be mostly behind us but I still don't like recommending the reference card when there is a better option available, so in my opinion the Classy is worth the $100 more (total, I don't think I'd pay $100 more per card).
 
#14 ·
Quote:


Originally Posted by juano
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Your PSU will be fine with either option overclocked to the max they could take on air.

Something that I don't think anyone else has considered is the fact that you must run these cards sandwiched together because of the PCIe spacing on your motherboard. In that case I would recommend the reference cooler on either the EVGA Classy or reference (I would prefer the Classy) over the MSI. The MSI will have a harder time keeping the top card cool as well as you could run into issues with the fans of the top card hitting the back of the bottom card as the fan blades are pronounced above the shroud on that card. I've heard of this happening before and Newegg has denied the return as they called it user installation error, I don't know if MSI would RMA but that's not something I'd like to find out.

I do agree that the reference 570 VRM problems appear to be mostly behind us but I still don't like recommending the reference card when there is a better option available, so in my opinion the Classy is worth the $100 more (total, I don't think I'd pay $100 more per card).

It would actually be less than 100 more and I'm a big eVGA fanboy so I do like that option...
 
#15 ·
Well excellent! Classy all the way is my recommendation then. OCN I am disappoint that nobody else picked up and the cards being sandwiched and therefore the MSI not being ideal here.
 
#16 ·
Quote:


Originally Posted by juano
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Well excellent! Classy all the way is my recommendation then. OCN I am disappoint that nobody else picked up and the cards being sandwiched and therefore the MSI not being ideal here.

Feedback on this forum for the classified isn't exactly positive...many of them are actually very negative vs the MSI which are basically 100% positive. And when you it comes to close proximity, the side vent on the classified will have some of the same issues.
 
#17 ·
Side vent? We're talking about the 570 classified here, which is like 99% external exhaust. I haven't heard anything bad about the 570 classified and see no reason to think that it would be a bad card. What exactly have you heard that makes you think the 570 is a bad card?
 
#18 ·
Quote:


Originally Posted by juano
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Side vent? We're talking about the 570 classified here, which is like 99% external exhaust. I haven't heard anything bad about the 570 classified and see no reason to think that it would be a bad card. What exactly have you heard that makes you think the 570 is a bad card?

They added a port that blocked the external exhaust so they moved some of the ventilation to the side which vents hot air into the case:

http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1692/14/

If you read the newegg reviews there are a number of people who have to down clock or increase voltage just to get the card stable.

I think a lot of the negativity came from uninformed people who thought it was just an overpriced 570, not realizing the increase in power and cooling allows you to get to much higher speeds than most 570 cards.
 
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#19 ·
Ah I missed the stupid DP port they added and the increased side vent + rep. I think that only makes a minor difference though to be honest and when sandwiched together I would still choose it over the MSI. The problem with the cards sandwiched and the MSI isn't the exhaust, which is the minor change I missed, but the intake which the EVGA will still fair much better than the MSI in.
 
#20 ·
Quote:


Originally Posted by juano
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Ah I missed the stupid DP port they added and the increased side vent + rep. I think that only makes a minor difference though to be honest and when sandwiched together I would still choose it over the MSI. The problem with the cards sandwiched and the MSI isn't the exhaust, which is the minor change I missed, but the intake which the EVGA will still fair much better than the MSI in.

I think I might just go for it and assume with OCN help I'll be able to stabilize it with proper voltage and maybe even squeeze out some extra hertz
 
#21 ·
I've had the gtx 570 classified for about a week now. So far I'm dissapointed. Anything much over the default clock (822 Mhz) and I get artifacting and freezing/crash. I can't get it stable at 850, even when I raise the voltage to 1100. But im going to try an RMA and get a second Classified for SLI.

Hopefully this is just a horrible overclocker and it'll be resolved with replacement.
 
#22 ·
If I were you, I would save the cash and buy reference. The reference design is not as bad as people make it out to be. My DirectCU II Asus is actually paired with a Zotac reference due to space issues, and its a great card. It actually overclocks better than my Asus and requires less voltage.

Besides, your CPU is gonna bottle neck 570s in SLI in some games, so you shouldn't even need the non-reference design for extreme overclocking. I notice some bottle necking with my 570s and I've got a 4.5Ghz sandy bridge CPU!
 
#23 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Evo X;15232870
If I were you, I would save the cash and buy reference. The reference design is not as bad as people make it out to be. My DirectCU II Asus is actually paired with a Zotac reference due to space issues, and its a great card. It actually overclocks better than my Asus and requires less voltage.

Besides, your CPU is gonna bottle neck 570s in SLI in some games, so you shouldn't even need the non-reference design for extreme overclocking. I notice some bottle necking with my 570s and I've got a 4.5Ghz sandy bridge CPU!
It's really starting to look like the classifieds are a bad call. I'm also back to second guessing the VRAM limitations of the 570, I had gotten myself to a point that I felt confident 1280 would be enough for 1920x1200 but I'm now I'm not so sure and if I got 570 SLI and couldn't play BF3 on ultra at full resolution I'd be seriously pissed. Can anyone who really knows what they're talking about give me some input on this?
 
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