For our testing, we used standard game settings and one display with maximum resolution 2560x1600.

Aliens vs. Predator

The GTX 580 3GB UC kartica outran the refefence version by 6%. Although you can't tell from the results, GTX 580 3GB UC provided a much smoother gaming experience at the highest tested resolution, most likely because minimum fps was better than on the reference card.

We've noticed that the video buffer on our GTX 580 was almost always topped out, whereas the GTX 580 3GB UC had memory to spare. You can see that on the GPUz screens below.

 

We noticed that the game requires more than 2GB on many occasions (up to 2268MB), which is more than reference GTX 580 cards can offer.

GTX 580 1.5GB


GTX 580 3GB UC

Dirt 2

The GTX 580 3GB UC card outperformed the reference GTX 580 by up to 8%. Dirt 2 is playable on slower cards with 1GB of memory, so we didn't notice any gaming difference between  the reference GTX 580 and GTX 580 3GB UC.




As you can see, 3GB of memory is not a prerequisite for playing Dirt 2 at 2560x1600.


GTX 580 1.5GB


GTX 580 3GB UC

Metro 2033

The GTX 580 3GB UC only showed minimum advantage over the reference GTX 580, up to 3% in total. 2560x1600 with 16AF and 4xAA requires more than 1GB but although we had 3GB, GPU limitations were at fault for low results. 





As you can see, Metro 2033 used up only 1.8GB of memory on our GTX 580 3GB UC.


GTX 580 1.5GB

GTX 580 3GB UC

Crysis 2

We took the new Crysis 2 DX11 with high texture packages out for a spin, but the game used only 1.7GB of memory. Playing Crysis 2 at 2560x1600 with all effects on was much better with GTX 580 3GB UC than with the reference card.






GTX 580 1.5GB


GTX 580 3GB UC

3DMark 2011 and Unigine Heaven

3DMark 2011 and Unigine Heaven reported that the GTX 580 3GB Ultra Charged is up to 8% faster than the reference GTX 580.





Overclocking, noise and thermals

The GTX 580 3GB Ultra Charged comes factory overclocked to 841MHz. TGT handpicked the crème of the crop GPUs or these cards but the cooling is not adequate for additional overclocking.



The GTX 580 3GB Ultra Charged uses reference cooling that has a tough time tackling such high clocks. GPU temperatures can hit 98°C, which is about 10°C higher than on reference cards. Such temperatures coupled with fan noise discouraged us from attempting further overclocking.