The Official OC (OverClocking) Thread!

It's actually based on a large number of reviews and benchmarks. Without some nifty hacks, there is no motherboard that can support SLI and Crossfire. Crossfire has never been up to par unfortunately. You'd think after all this time ATI would have sorted out the flaws, but it doesn't look like they have. They have also been way behind in the performance race. For image quality and a few other reasons most of my graphics cards up until now have been ATI. However, unless they do some serious work, the next card I own will definitely be an nvidia. The 9800 series was probably the best graphics card series ATI has ever made, in the sense that they completely obliterated all opposition for absolutely ages, were solidly built and were very efficient. The fact that every single Geforce FX card ever made was absolutely rubbish helped them out as well! The X800 series, whilst good, was on a par with the 6800 series from nvidia, but still kept the image quality lead. With the 7000 series, nvidia caught up in that sense as well, and when the 8800s came out, nvidia took all the crowns and it has taken nearly a year for ATi to get back up to speed. Even now, there are few manufacturers that make the world-beating 1GB 2900XT. I refuse to buy one because of the obscene power and heat specifications. I simply can't run a graphics card that hot and have my PC as quiet as it is now, not without water cooling it anyway, which I don't want to do, and shouldn't have to.

 

ATI, how ar they today for HTPC w/ more HD media playback through HDMI? back in the day of 9800, it was my fave for media center PC as I was not a serious gamer then either.

So if sticking on nVidia for now, I dont see any GDDR4 offerings yet. Are there any for the 8600's? I dont need an 8800 right now with all I spent already and will do nothing for my type of OC anyways.

When I got my 1st LGA775 on !915X I OC'd an nVidia MX4000 on PCI to beyond what my then ATI PCI-E card could do cause of the chipset lock from Intel (mid 2004). So believe me, I dont need to be sold on nVidia, I love 'em.

 

@theonejrs
The 680 SLI was not my computer...It was a build for a customer...I only had it for the weekend...thats why I didn't get any OC marks with it...

@NuckNFuts
I have that exact HD2600XT card...My brother has one also...So I can borrow his and test them in crossfire...I can use my DFI CFX3200-DR/G that I am using as a HTCP Media Server...It works great for HD/Blueray playback which is all I use it for...I like it better then the 8600GTS that it replaced...

 

I think Nvidia will skip GDDR4 and just go straight to GDDR3. Right now GDDR4 is only on ATI cards.

 

sammorris, good reply, I can agree so much as I stayed w/ "Built by ATI" till the X800 on PCIE. I only moved back to nVidia cause of the later (summer of '05) 6800 Ultra in SLI to play w/. So in your research, what it the best priced 8800 in terms of just good picture quality. Is a low end 8800 gonna be any better then a top end 8600 in area of sharpness and overall quality (not in gaming sence, mostly media work)? Is stepping back to GDDR3 gonna hurt performance all that much if getting faster core and more GDDR?

Lp531 , what do you like about your 2600 v/s the 8600? This what I'm looking for, somebody who has used the same (2) singles cards on the same mobo configuration to compare (not in multi GPU of corse)

 

Abuzar: I'm not so sure, the only reason GDDR4 hasn't taken off yet is there's been very limited supply. That's almost always the case with new technologies.
NucknFuts: The picture quality is the same with all 8800s, same 'machinery' underneath if you like, just variations on bus widths, memory sizes/types and clock speeds. The best 8800 to get right now is the 8800GT, because it's almost as fast as the GTX, is single slot, uses less power, makes less noise, produces less heat, and is ridiculously cheap, cheaper even than a 320MB GTS, despite being far faster. if I was in the market for a graphics card right now, that's what I'd buy.

 

Well Qimonda decided to skip it, and they are the third largest DRAM company.

 

@NuckNFuts
I like the picture quality better...Better GPU uploading of HD/BD Video Playback...ATI has the edge in HD/BD playback in my opinion to Nvidea...in all fairness...both cards saw massive improvements with driver updates...both the HD2600XT & the 8600GTS are immature platforms in those regards...and we should hopefully see additional improvements...with each additional update...

@theonejrs
I was shocked at how much faster & cooler the 8800GT 512MB card is compared to a 8800GTS 640MB card...It is a No Brainer...these New Cards make the old 8800GTS cards obsolete...my only complaint about the 8800GT cards were the noise level...however...an after market cooler should fix that...

@Sam
I found that the 8800GTS in stock form was a quieter card then the New GT cards...they have the single slot cooler...however...it has a smaller...and I am assuming higher RPM fan...that is noisier then the GTS solution...

 

XFX 7950GT Anyone own one of these??? I'm thinking about getting one to replace my XFX 7600GT.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150197
At best I'm only a casual gamer. It would more than likely speed up my 3D renderings for my air turbine work, but I'll have to get new drivers from AutoCad for AutoCad 2004. We use special custom software from Autocad that's engineered for our purposes. The people I do the work for would love to "steal" my computer as the 64x2 4400+ Toledo is getting a little long in the tooth, and they've noticed that the amount of time it takes me to do things now is much shorter than before with the 4300 and way faster than the AMD they have at the office.

Clockin On at the Speed of Light,
theone

 

Well I have a 7900 GTX, which is almost like that card, although the 7950 GT would be more equal in performance with a 7800 GTX. If you really are that close to that point, why not wait a few weeks and nab a 8800GT for 200? I really cant stress this enough, that IS the BEST deal you can get. Other than that I guess I have a similar performing card and I love it!

 

@theonejrs
I would wait for the 8800GT 256MB versions over the 7950GT...It might even be cheaper then the 7950GT when it comes out next month...

It will definitely be more future proof...and capable of meeting your gaming needs...

 

Really? I know that's the assumption, but a review said the 8800GT is actually quieter than the GTS by a couple of dB. Plus of course one of the loudest stock graphics coolers ever made (the X1900 series PCIe) was a dual slot.

 

@sam
The GT is considerably louder then the GTS...I did not test it with a meter...however...it was obviously louder...had both systems running side by side...No Comparison...

 

K, so I see a lot of comparing the GT to GTS. I see RAM amt is less on the ?GT wich is gonna be easier to OC if at same core clock to start out but what about a GTS @ core of 712MHz to a GT @ 620MHz and same RAM amt? Are you guys saying you are OC'n these GT cards to speeds of GTS on a clock to clock thing?

I've never been a GPU overclocker, but no reason I cant' start now for the fun of it. Closest I came was OC'n the PEG link cause of early !925X chipset with no 33/100 lock so PCI & PCIE got overclocked w/ 248MHz FSB so I had to go w/ nVidia since ATI could only take about 225 on the PCIE w/ X800.

 

NuckNFuts,
I've overclocked my XFX 7600GT from 560 core/1450 memory to 650/1600. It does improve the 3DMark scores a fair bit, and idles at 50C. It will overclock higher, but the heat begins to climb so I've left it at 650/1600. That's a decent enough OC for me!

I was smart enough to e-mail nVidia and ask about what I wanted to do and they were kind enough to send me the best Forceware version and CoolBits for my particular model card. I figured that if I was straight with them they would either help me or tell me not to do it! LOL!!

Best Regards,
Russ :>)

 

K, So I'm thinking of sticking w/ my nVidia for now (BFS GeForce 7900GT OC 512MB GDDR3).

Although, any word that current or newer 8800GT's may be 2.0 PCIE complient? If so, I may just stay on this for the price (under $300.0 compared to expensive HD2900, as 2.0 in single slot will at least improve my CAD imaging graphics, and I'd take that over Crossfire anywayz.

 

Well, it looks like I'll be on the old Dell laptop for a few days! I guess I should have realized right from the start that I had a voltage regulation problem. I just didn't snap to it! I had to push the voltage setting to 1.50 to get 1.36 under load. A couple of days ago when I started the computer up, the PS kept turning on and off till it finally booted. I finally realized that the memory wasn't getting enough volts to post. I set everything to stock and discovered that at a setting of 1.350v, I was only getting 1.280 under load.

Gigabyte was real nice about it though, as they picked up the tab for next day shipping. All I had to do was drop it off at FedEx. I requested Rev. 2.0 which I think I really should have gotten in the first place. Yes they were giving me something, but it was still my $50! LOL Still, things like this do happen and they did take care of it swiftly. Their tech had me increase the memory voltage, but I soon discovered that it wouldn't go over 1.8v no matter and my memory is 1.9 to 2.0v. no matter what I set it at! I must be getting senile! LOL!! I was pretty thorough checking it out as I tried different memory (Corsair XMS) and a new Thermaltake power supply and it made no difference. The Rev. 2.0 showed none of these problems so I guess they have to go back to the drawing board. Probably something with the new Mossfets. Still, getting the problem addressed and the MB on it's way back to GigaByte in less than 2 days on their dime, is pretty darn impressive. Especially with the one I sent back to Brand X at my expense, that did the same thing it was sent in for when I finally got it back 29 days later! I've also been promised that the new board would be shipped Friday at the latest, so it's not that bad!

Clockin On at 1.2GHz on the old P-III,
theone :>)

 

theonejrs, Interestingly enough this has been a prob with mine too and just wrote it off to as it was. It workd as long as you tweak it to make up for th big vdroop, and yet floppy vdimm overvolting out of the blue. I can only imgine what is going on with the NB, SB, SB1.5 and so on since we dont get to monitor it at all.

I have the 1st earlier rev 1.?? (see pic way bk in post), the version w/ com and LPT ports on I/O pannel, so do you think it is worth sending in for a new one since I am gonna leave this extra as a play station for the kids and I want to know it's working when I'm away and my brother has to service it for me.

What they need from me as I am having trouble locating my sales slip from Fry's but the serial NO. should indicate where it was sold, I think. It was so for Creative Audigy stuff.

Clockin' On!

 

NuckNFuts,

That should be enough. I've only had 1 MB manufacturer ask for a receipt, and that was on the P5P800 SE. I think it was because it was an old model that I bought near the end of it's production. In fact the replacement was from the last batch ever shipped as it's production ended in Nov 06.

Like you I had to push the crap out of the vcore to get to 1.36v under load. The tip-off was when it wouldn't post below 50F. That is something that indicated a Mosfett problem as they are somewhat sensitive to the cold. It wasn't until I looked into it further that I discovered that the memory voltage wouldn't go up or down no matter what the setting. Once it did post and you re-set the bios, it would run forever, but you couldn't get more than 1.8v, and it had to warm up to get that. Yes, it bothered me but I saw your post about the VDrop so I just thought this was the way it was! LOL!!

We have the same Revision with the Printer and Com ports fixed to the MB out the back panel. Next time I'll demand the latest Revision if it's my money spent! It is strange that none of the reviews indicate the same problem with the Rev. 2.0, so it could be connected with something else in those circuits. It did only seem to affect the vcore and the memory voltages. Like you, I would have accepted the condition until it wouldn't post.

What was really a surprise was the phone call I got from them less than an hour after I had talked to the technician by a very nice and helpful representative. I had the pre-paid FedEx form within 20 minutes. All I had to do was drop it off. I consider that kind of service outstanding! I think the fact that I had done considerable testing before I called them helped a lot too.

I'm thinking about buying a pair of 1066 Ballistix Tracers to replace the 800's that are in there now. Problem is, no one seems to know if they will work. Crucial says yes, but I wonder! LOL!! I see that with th X-38 chipset they've added multipliers in-between the current 2.0, 2.4, 2.5, etc! It will definitely make life easier for those using 800MHz memory. The Tracers have a good reputation for overclocking, and for me at 3.6GHz it should be able to OC better and run at 1125MHz!

Clockin On at the Speed of Light,
theone :>)

 

I'll touch on the brief subject of GPUs since we're talking about GPU overclocking. Has anybody noticed the sudden appearance of the Radeon HD3850 and HD3870? I received an email (from Alienware of all people) mentioning a PC that used a pair of the cards and I thought "what, now? When did this happen?" and a brief bit of googling tells me the cards are due for release tomorrow. Has anybody heard what they're going to be like?