580/6970 Video Cards with Silent/Low Temp Coolers for Surround Gaming

[El Topo]

I'm looking for a silent/low temp 580/6970 model, so what are my best options?

It seems only the MSI N580GTX Lightning XE 3GB or the MSI R6970 Lightning are any good. I can't seem to find a online store that sells the MSI R6970 Lightning.

[Supergrover]

ASUSTeK Computer Inc. - Graphics Cards- ASUS EAH6970 DCII/2DI4S/2GD5

[El Topo]

Originally Posted by Supergrover

ASUSTeK Computer Inc. - Graphics Cards- ASUS EAH6970 DCII/2DI4S/2GD5

Those Asus cards have a 50% negative customer review rating from what I have seen.

It appears the MSI 6970 Lightning has been discontinued, although I could be wrong.

[Supergrover]

Originally Posted by El Topo

Those Asus cards have a 50% negative customer review rating from what I have seen.

It appears the MSI 6970 Lightning has been discontinued, although I could be wrong.

If you are talking newegg I take NE ratings with a huge grain of salt, when I was looking about a month ago it came down to these 2 cards, msi and the asus both are good cards, quiet, overclockable ( YMMV of course) the problem with the asus is the trislot. I tried to get a msi but they were sold out when I went to finalize my order and ended up going with the asus.

If you can find a lightning grab it but if not the Asus isnt far off, neither is the HIS:HIS HD 6970 IceQ Turbo & HD 6950 IceQ X Turbo X Review

[El Topo]

Most of these Video Cards take up 3 pci slots, so I need to know if they would work on the below motherboards:

ASUS P8Z68 Deluxe Z68

MSI Z68A-GD80-B3 Z68

Gigabyte Z68XP-UD5-B3

A common problem with these cards is they obviously take to much space. Making it hard for cables to get where they need to go. I'm also interested in spacing since the bottom card will be blowing hot air into the PCB of the top card. After awhile I've heard the PCB warps. Another common problem is the cards start off fine, but get progressively hot after a few weeks, or the fans become load at a certain speed. The fans can also be underpowered, so u have to set fan speed yourself. Sometimes fans become jerky, and consistently go from high to low and back again.

In otherwords I'm looking for a solid model with a good warranty, good fan drivers, and high quality parts. That will fit into the above motherboards without issue.

[The RealRollo]

Originally Posted by El Topo

I'm looking for a silent/low temp 580/6970 model, so what are my best options?

It seems only the MSI N580GTX Lightning XE 3GB or the MSI R6970 Lightning are any good. I can't seem to find a online store that sells the MSI R6970 Lightning.

Newegg.com - EVGA 025-P3-1579-AR GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) HD 2560MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Two 2.5GB GTX570s are the bang for buck surround gaming champs hands down these days.

2.5GB VRAM for high AA in surround gaming resolutions, trades blows with the 6970s on benchmarks, and you'll be set if you want to try PhysX or 3D Vision Surround. Not bad for a hair over $700..

I'm using 2 X 2Gb GTX560Ti's on my Surround Rig these days. Quiet, low temp, and does 3d Vision Surround for $560..

Newegg.com - EVGA 02G-P3-1568-KR GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card