Power Consumption & Temperatures

There is simply no denying that the GeForce GTX 590 is a power hungry graphics card, just like the Radeon HD 6990. Although it might have a lower TDP, the GTX 590 consumed 9% more power when playing Crysis as the system power consumption reached 517 watts, 41 watts more than the same system with the HD 6990.

We were disappointed to find a system idle consumption of 191 watts opposed to the 174 watts of the HD 6990. This means when carrying out non-3D tasks the GTX 590 will use 10% more power.

Despite being a gas guzzler, the GeForce GTX 590 runs relatively cool at 84 degrees when under load. Its idle temperature of 45 degrees was also very acceptable, and the card was surprisingly quiet – even under full load.