Nvidia GeForce GTX 590 3GB Review

Asus GeForce GTX 590 3GB Review 

Despite a tradition of releasing range topping dual-GPU graphics cards since 2006, it’s been over two years since we’ve seen a new multi-GPU graphics setup from Nvidia. Back then it was the GeForce GTX 295 1,792MB, tearing up the benchmarks with its dual GT200b GPUs and going head-to-head with the Radeon HD 4870 X2 2GB.

Since then, though, Nvidia’s fortunes have dipped and risen like the metaphorical rollercoaster. The first generation of Fermi GPUs, based on the GF100 architecture, proved much too hot, power hungry and noisy even on single-GPU cards. This left the dual-GPU Radeon HD 5970 2GB uncontested as the fastest single graphics card for some time. 

GeForce GTX 590 3GB Specifications:

The GTX 590 3GB is equipped with two full size GF110 GPUs. As each has the maximum amount of 512 stream processors possible with the Fermi architecture, this means the GTX 590 3GB boasts a whopping count of 1,024 stream processors. With a core frequency of 607MHz, these stream processors run at 1,214MHz. Both these clock speeds are roughly 20 per cent less than those of the GTX 580 1.5GB.

The use of two full-specification GF110 GPUs also means the GTX 590 3GB boasts eight rasterisers, (2 x 4) and 32 tessellation units (2 x 16). It also sports 120 texture units (2 x 60) and 96 ROPs (2 x 48).

Meanwhile, the 3GB of GDDR5 memory is split between the two GPUs, so each GPU can still only address 1.5GB. The memory is clocked at 853MHz (3,414MHz effective), which is roughly 16 per cent lower than that of the GTX 580 1.5GB and 10 per cent lower than the GTX 570 1.3GB's RAM. The card has a combined memory bandwidth of 327.8GB/sec (2x 163.9GB/sec), running via dual 384-bit memory interfaces.

 The decision to use such conservative clock speeds might seem odd, but it has allowed Nvidia a good deal of flexibility elsewhere. The most obvious is the card’s cooling system, which shares similarities with both the HD 6990 4GB and Nvidia’s single-PCB version of the GTX 295 1,792MB. The two 520mm² GPUs are arranged symmetrically at either end of the card, with the power delivery circuitry in the middle. Each GPU is topped by its own vapour chamber heatsink assembly, with a single radial fan in the centre of the card blowing air over both. This does mean that half of the card’s heat is exhausted directly into your case, though.

Peeking underneath the cooler, you can see that the card’s power delivery circuitry is suitably meaty. Each GPU is serviced by five power phases, with each GPU’s 1.5GB of GDDR5 memory powered by two phases. This means the card boasts a huge 14+1 power phases, all fed by the pair of 8-pin PCI-E power connectors. Like the HD 6990 4GB, the GTX 590 3GB breaks the PCI-E power spec of 300W combined board power, but it seems as though manufacturers are now attaching less importance to this standard. Nvidia recommends a 700W PSU for systems running a GTX 590 3GB.