Conclusions and Final Thoughts
Performance
The performance on EVGA’s new GeForce GTX 560 Ti 2Win is actually pretty impressive and more than lived up to the claim of being 30% faster than the GTX 580 reference card from EVGA. In my testing, only our Civilization V game showed less impressive results but likely due to a more CPU-limited engine than most titles. Metro 2033, Lost Planet 2 and Bad Company 2 showed that when a game really takes advantage of multi-GPU scaling, the added GPU computing power of 768 CUDA cores on the dual GTX 560 Ti GPUs versus the 512 on the GTX 580 card can really shine.
Also, just for fun, go look at our GeForce GTX 590 3GB card review and you’ll find that in most cases, the new EVGA GTX 560 Ti 2Win is competing in similar performance levels but for $200 less!
What might concern you is our results in Battlefield 3 – even though the performance was better the *experience* in the game wasn’t as good as the single GPU GTX 580. This is not a previously unseen result for multi-GPU solutions though it is less common than it used to be. Sometimes, due to game engine issues or driver issues, two GPUs can produce an experience that is less than ideal. That is why in some cases you have seen us recommend a single GPU card versus dual-card solutions when performance is equal. However, in this case, with a 30% performance BOOST for the GTX 560 Ti 2Win 2GB compared to the GeForce GTX 580 1.5GB card, we would be more likely to lean towards the multi-GPU solution and await the inevitable software fix.
Features
Besides the normal features of all NVIDIA GPUs like support for 3D Vision technology and PhysX (being revitalized with the upcoming Batman: Arkham City game), the EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti 2Win offers support for NVIDIA Surround multi-monitor gaming on a single card as well as 3D Vision Surround. Even if you don’t want to do multiple display gaming you will likely find a way to utilize three or four monitors for daily usage – something you can’t get on many other NVIDIA graphics solutions.
Pricing and Availability
The EVGA GTX 560 Ti 2Win is coming in just over the price of the GTX 580 (by about 8%) though performance tends to be 25-30% faster. Seems like a good deal, right? Let’s see that pricing tree again:
- EVGA GTX 560 Ti 2Win 2GB – $519
- GeForce GTX 580 1.5GB – $489
- GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1GB SLI – $480
- Radeon HD 6970 2GB – $350
Compared directly to the GTX 580, the EVGA card seems like a pretty good deal. The only concern might be for users that are comfortable with SLI configurations as you can get a pair of the GTX 560 Ti single GPU cards for about $40 less than the EVGA multi-GPU card. And considering you can’t expand the 2Win model with further upgrades anyway, it might be a debate worth having.
Final Thoughts
The EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti 2Win card is another unique addition to the graphics card market thanks to the clever and risk-taking people at EVGA. At PC Perspective we are always fans of products that push the status quo forward – we hate stagnation and that is something the graphics market has seemed for the past 6 months or so. Even better, EVGA didn’t create a product that only a thousand people will get or that costs $1500; instead the $520 dual-GTX 560 Ti card actually appears to be reasonably priced and offers advantages over current competition solutions in the same price segments. It isn’t all roses as any time you move from one GPU to a pair of them for your game rendering it introduces some additional potential headache, but for the most part I came away completely impressed with a card competing in performance with the GTX 590 at about $200 lower cost. See, it really is a win.
The reason products like this
The reason products like this arnt common cause it seems they cant make them cheaper then 2 cards. They need to price this 400-500, not over 500…
While I am sure that would
While I am sure that would help them sell more cards, look at where it performs – better than a GTX 580 and close to the level of the GTX 590. I think its pricing is pretty much justifiable from that.
I think the performance is
I think the performance is great for the price point. I personally would be hard pressed to consider this card though. I would rather go with 1 580 and look at going SLI further down the road, when they become cheaper. It is a good solution for those with only one PCIE over the 590, with out a doubt. I just doubt it will be plausible to put in those cases that only have one PCIE with it’s considerable length in mind. If you’re going to go with a 560ti, spend a little more and get this if your case & psu supports it. Overall nice review.
Hmm good idea but has 1 major
Hmm good idea but has 1 major flaw… and its a MAJOR flaw… 1Gb of memory is not enough for SLI systems which usually are for people who run large resolution monitors.
BF3 for example uses over 1GB on High settings and a lot more on ultra with 4x MSAA
The card 1Gb memory per chip,
The card 1Gb memory per chip, giving it 2 Gb memory in total.
It doesn’t work that way
It doesn’t work that way tardo.
Hey now, no need to get mean
Hey now, no need to get mean
SLI and Crossfire both do not
SLI and Crossfire both do not work that way. You do not have 2Gb of total framebuffer space. Each GPU needs to contain the entire contents of the scene since they both render the same thing. Even 4 way SLI with 1Gb cards would result in 1Gb of total vram.
Yeah but with SLI enabled you
Yeah but with SLI enabled you have 1GB in Total.
“This card can even run
“This card can even run NVIDIA Surround and 3D Vision Surround modes with three displays”
So where are the benchmarks with three displays?
Due to the quick launch we
Due to the quick launch we didn’t do any. I can hook it up and run some tests next week if you want.
Too bad you can’t run 2
Too bad you can’t run 2
Agreed. Or at least add in a
Agreed. Or at least add in a third 560 Ti single GPU card.
Ryan,
Great job once again.
Ryan,
Great job once again. It behooves me to understand why other reviewers do not get the importance of minimum frame rate. It is probably the most important metric for me.
On that score, do you think the better smoothness you saw with the 580, despite the lower frame rates, was a result of lower min on the 2Win, or is it related to SLI?
If I had to put my house on
If I had to put my house on it one way or the other, I would bet on SLI.
They should have made this
They should have made this SLI compatible for people with mid-tower cases it’s nice to have 4-way SLI in a compact space.
Interesting comments on BF3.
Interesting comments on BF3. I use a GTX 570 SLI system and it has been butter smooth at 2560×1440 even with 4xMSAA on, though MSAA does slow it down. It’s best to turn this off anyway when using Nvidia cards as FSAA is just as good without a large the performance hit.
Regarding the GTX 560 Ti 2Win, my feeling is that this is likely a combination of a tiny lack of speed but largely the limitation of 1GB onboard memory when 4xMSAA is applied.
I bet it is a folding
I bet it is a folding monster. Nice review 😀
Hey Ryan, did you ever hear
Hey Ryan, did you ever hear back from EVGA or Nvidia regarding the BF3 results?
You might want to try the following to smooth out gameplay…http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,852914/Solved-Battlefield-3-lag-issue-with-DirectX-10-Geforce-cards/Practice/
I read it gives off twice the
I read it gives off twice the heat as a GTX580 So if you have a large case with plenty of out-let fans you may be ok, Id prefer the GTX 590 OR GTX 580 Personally.
the GTX 460 2 Win is much,
the GTX 460 2 Win is much, much cheaper at £300 compared to £419 FOR THIS GTX 560 2 Win. okay the 560 has the edge but for an extra £119… Dunno? what do you guys think?
Can i install N.2 EVGA
Can i install N.2 EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti 2Win in order to work in SLI (4xSli)?