GTX 570 vs GTX 580

580 has more Vram 1.5Gb vs the 570's 1.2Gb

Has more cuda cores etc

Performance wise there's a reasonable difference, especially when overclocked. The 570 is a great performer - but unsurprisingly - the 580 is better. Depending on game/config the difference could be a solid 60FPS vs a non solid 60FPS.

Price difference warranted? There was for me, but that's just my opinion.

I went with the 570 recently myself, Got the eVGA reference design version. It runs BF3 beautifully between High and Ultra at 1920x1080. Smooth as can be. And card is very very quiet.

And my card is now $289 with rebate, I paid $329 and I have been thrilled with it;
Newegg.com - EVGA 012-P3-1570-AR GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

The 580 is the better card for the reasons smarteyeball pointed out.

However, if 1) Price is a major concern & 2) the rest of your PC is somewhat dated
Then the difference in price may not be justified or you will not be able to benefit from what it offers.

It really comes down to what your putting it in and your expectations.
I to have a eVGA 570 SC, and its a amazing GPU. Runs everything I play at higher settings without issue, and i can honestly say 1 of the best GPUs Ive ever had.
Either of these two cards will be a good choice though IMHO.

Now if you are looking towards the highest end GPU, it may also be worth considering the GTX 680. Much more powerful than the 580, and about 60-70$ USD more.
If your going to spend $430ish on a GPU, another $60 is not really that much more in the grand scheme of things.



Anyway, for the price the 570 is amazing, you will not be disappointed. The 580 is better, but really your call if its worth the extra and if you really need it.

You'll make use of the 580 or 680 for sure, provided your Ok with the cost.
If you do not upgrade that often, thats another good reason to go with one of them as well.


But as mentioned, the 570 is a fine GPU. I went the 570 route and couldn't be happier.
The only reason I got it over the 580 was simply budget wouldnt allow it at the time. Still do not regret it though.

If for you the budget itself is not really a issue .. then the 680 or 580 would be my recommendation.

Chips,
This report shows you the difference of a reference 570 and a reference 580. Now, keep in mind there are a sea of versions beyond reference for both cards. I know you are looking at a full build, and you want to do the most with your money, so that being said, you should basically get the most powerful card you can possibly afford. After you have finalized all of your choices, look at your budget, and see how far you can stretch it. A single 580 is always going to be better that a single 570. As I had previously mentioned to you, brand is important. A lot of the members, myself included, recommend EVGA for Nvidia GPUs. They have amazing customer service, and I have yet to have one of their cards fail.

James

Basically, the DS is a superclocked version, which means from the factory it is overclocked. The DS also has two fans built in which means the card should run cooler. I'd say, if you can stretch your budget to pick up that card, you would do much better than the 570 originally discussed.