[Solved] GTX 560 Ti- ASUS DCII/MSI Hawk

[TheyCallMeGunny]

I've been talking about getting my second apartment leased out for so long, nobody probably believes me by now lol.. But, it finally happened. Today is the day a new tenant moves in.

 

So I finally have the money for my long awaited GPU upgrade. Been sitting on this GTS 250 since about the time they came out, and I'm excited to be replacing it. I know what I want, but I have small reservations as to which of two versions to buy.

 

My main reason for wanting the ASUS model is the power saving, I have a pretty drastic overclock and like leaving my computer on.. But I hate having unnecessary programs running or installed. So having a single program that manages power saving on my CPU, RAM, HDD, and GPU all at once is something I want to keep.

 

For this reason (and my experience with ASUS in general) I'm really leaning towards the ASUS model. BUT on this site I saw reviews about the MSI Hawk being successful far more often at 1GHz+ overclocks, and even claiming lower temperatues. (which I'm not sure I believe, one person buying 7 models of one GPU and 2 of the other, and overclocking them all for his own regular use? Not really sure I want to trust that.)

 

I believe the OC capability may be better on the Hawk, but I completely think the lower temperatures is made up.. As he was reporting 70C and well above, as opposed to many of the ASUS product reviews claiming well below that. But that user did get me thinking about the other card as an option, and i just wanted to know from people who have used/own them the reviews of these two cards.

 

--Edit: I had considered the GTX 570 for a while, but for a ~%20 performance increase it's not worth the price to me. Anyways, my gaming monitor is 1080p, the other one I don't plan on spanning as it isn't matching size or resolution. So basically, I doubt I really need it for single monitor 1920x1080 gaming.

Edited March 29, 2012 by dragonsdontfly

[Rofltroll]

I won't claim to be an expert but I'm not sure OC capability matters from one manufacturer to another and the real difference is the cooling solution, and even if it did it would be a minor difference at best. I think your best bet might be to get either a twin frozr or a Hawk as they have great cooling capabilities and i also hear they are quite silent. As for the card i think the 560Ti is a great choice. I have a GTX 470 Stock which is roughly the same as a 560 Ti and I'm happy with it on my one 1080p monitor setup.

[bp9801]

If you don't mind buying used, have you considered some of the offerings El Capitan has?

[TheyCallMeGunny]

Thanks bp9801! Sent him a message, going to buy one of his GTX 580's. Can't believe he's selling them cheaper then refurb with free shipping.

[bp9801]

Thanks bp9801! Sent him a message, going to buy one of his GTX 580's. Can't believe he's selling them cheaper then refurb with free shipping.

 

You're welcome! Cap always has great deals and ships fast on any item.

[TheyCallMeGunny]

Yeah I noticed.. Never even considered a GTX 580: Too expensive, the "cheap" one were by crappy manufacturers. Looked over on his page, took me about 5 minutes to say "Yep.. I'm selling my kidney!" Lol, no I have room to comfortably buy it off him, but you get the joke. Wasn't something I was passing up on.

 

Btw, any of you guys know where to find a high-flow bracket for an EVGA GTX 580? I always put in the extra few bucks to tweak my stuff for that little boost.

[ir_cow]

check the OCC martket, someone is selling 4 580s, i think 2 have waterblocks and 2 don't. it will save you $$$$.