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Setting up this system isn't quite as straightforward as a standard build. As Nvidia don't officially support 3 monitor gaming with a single GTX580, KFA2 have had to come up with the procedure themselves.
The software supplied with the KFA2 MDT X4 contains the drivers and the overclocking tool.
We were quite surprised to see such an old driver bundled with the card and decided to head over to the official KFA2 site to check the revisions, as we were told this card might need specific drivers. Their main product page lists all the cards in the MDT range but we need to head over to the support page to check out the software. They say “NVIDIA released their new official 285.54 drivers, these new drivers enable 1080p gaming on our MDT Graphic Cards.”
We decided to ignore this and went with a much newer set direct from Nvidia, ForceWare V290.36.
On this page KFA2 have created software for the card which they call ‘EZY display‘. I found their website painfully slow, taking almost 30 minutes to get the software downloaded. Sadly it wasn't included on the optical disc either, which seems an oversight. At least this way they force the user to get the newest version.
A quick recap on how this is meant to work. There are three mini HDMI ports on the rear of this card and a DisplayPort. For gaming, the user has to connect three screens to the HDMI ports, leaving the four slot free for a main ‘desktop' panel. As a quick test we connected two screens to two of the mini HDMI ports and a Dell U3011 to the Displayport connector.
As the Nvidia display panel above shows, the Dell U3011 connected via the DisplayPort shows separately, which is how it should be.
‘GM-Quadrant-B' is the listing for the two 1080p panels we have connected to the mini HDMI ports. Combined they measure 3840×1080, which is correct. We decided to fire up the EZY software.
The software shows the two linked monitors and the single screen (C). These can be split up into 3 separate resolutions via the software.
We rebooted with three screens attached to the mini HDMI ports. The three monitors were correctly detected in the EZY software package.
The system detected these correctly, configuring them into a single spanned panel. The only problem is that the resolution is set to 3840×720. We need to set up a custom configuration in the nVidia driver panel at the right resolution.
Custom resolutions can be created via the Nvidia driver panel and only takes a few minutes.
We manually set a resolution of 5760×1080@50hz. We tested with 60hz, and although the monitors might support the refresh natively, it has to be 50hz via this card or it won't work. It is worth pointing out that not every game supports 5760×1080 over 3 screens, so some of our testing today will focus on single screen performance.
very impressive bit of hardware, but it might be released at a weak time for sales. I think a lot of people are expecting new cards from nvidia in the next 60 days……
then again 580 is a brilliant card, I own one. have for a year.
Thats a very good card design. Three fans, and metal backplate. looks like they went the full monty on this release. Dont see it for sale anywhere yet to confirm the price. I cant see them getting this out for £400.
Never seen many reviews on KFA2. Are they the replacement for BFG? the artwork looks similar.
They put a lot of work into their coolers, but its a shame they didnt use arctic again for this product. their fans are better.
Wow, that is one serious mofo of a card.
Yeah thats what im talkin about Nvidia ! cant wait for the new gen of hardware.
While its nice, its still a last gen card. going to be hard for KFA2 to sell that today, IMO. I like the cooler, they put a bit of thought into the design. Tri SLI anyone?
behind the 7970 and scores 7970 is in 3D mark 11 hahahahahaha
Pointless card is pointless:
1. Cause the 7970 stock is a better choice
2. Cause nvidia is rumoured to paper launch GK 104 card in a month and have it available on the market in a few weeks after that. The word on the streets is the GK104 might be a major improvement over the GTX 580 despite the rumoured smaller bus width.
Sure, it could happen. But to call this product ‘pointless’ is a little harsh. Its one of the best 580s on the market.
Without a doubt this is one of the fastest moving industries, almost every piece of hardware will be replaced by a faster or better product within a couple of months anyway. Its difficult to review something solely on what might happen a month or two down the line. I did mention the upcoming range however in the review….
just got this for $210 on craigs. this is the sickest graphics card ive ever owned!!!!! it tops out at about 880mhz core wich is INSANE!!!and the voltage comes pretweaked! and did i forget to mention it lights up on top??