6800GT, 7600GT and 7600GS (UPDATED Jan 1 2k8)

[MegaVovaN]

Hello all!

My system:
AMD 3200+ Socket A 32 bit
Soltek nForce2 mobo
2x 512 mb Corsair DDR400 ram
WinXP
Thermaltake 550 (?)w PSU with 18A on +12 rail.


I bought a Leadtek 6800GT (AGP) in summer 2004. After about a year and half it broke, so I RMA'd it and received replacement 6800GT. This replacement died several months after, so I RMAd it again and just recently received second replacement 6800GT. It died in less than a week!

While I was waiting for that 2nd replacement I used 7600GT. Good card, but I just sold it when got 6800GT back from RMA.

I have a friend who will loan me 7600GS tomorrow, and I can either buy it from him and keep, or use it while I order 7600GT again.

Would 7600GS be sufficient for games like CS:Source, Guild Wars: Nightfall and GTA:SA at resolution 1680x1050? The 6800GT handled them fine, can a 7600GS do the same? Or should I buy 7600GT? (7600GT can do it for sure, I tried). This question is, uh...academic, since tomorrow evening I'll be able to try 7600GS for myself.


I think either:
a) All 6800GT cards are faulty (3 of same card died!)
or
b) My computer kills the video cards :Q
Maybe it is aging PSU, motherboard that gives me few glitches now and then (for example BIOS settings would reset if I unplug computer from the wall while it's turned off), or something else, I don't know :Q

I'm thinking to buy 7600GS (much cheaper than 7600GT) from a friend, and if my computer kills that 7600GS, I'll just build a new system from ground up, salvaging case/HDD/DVD.
Is that a good idea?


Thank you very much!



EDIT: Jan 1 2008

Update: I have been running 7600GS in my computer for 10+ days.
The random OS freeze turned out to be broken SATA cable - replaced it and all is good, except after a while of playing games they slow down to crawl...after like a minute I can play normally again, and it slows down after some time. I am just going to blame this on a weak card.

I ordered C2D set-up with 8800GT, though shipping may take more than I expect (wtfbbq tracking says it will be here on Jan 7? I ordered on Dec 28 with 3 day ship....). My old PC will be handed down to somebody in the family.

So I think Leadtek is sending me bad cards, not that my PC is killing video cards (it would have killed the 7600GS already if it did).

I am waiting on approval of yet another (4th?) RMA.

 

[zeroburrito]

nobody is that lucky. seems something else on your computer is causing the cards to fail. hats off to leadtek.

 

[Denithor]

BIOS resetting to defaults when system is unplugged is not a faulty PSU, it's a dead motherboard battery.

7600GS is probably going to disappoint you even in those games. In a lot of comparisons the 7600GT is about equal to the 6800GT but the 7600GS is a really nerfed card from a performance standpoint.

I have to agree with Zero, hats off to Leadtek to allowing you to RMA that many times.

If you decide to rebuild, post here and we will make suitable recommendations. It might be a lot cheaper than you expect, especially if you sell off your old cpu/mobo/ram on eBay. ($225 --> great motherboard, e2160 - easy OC to 3GHz - and 2GB DDR2)

 

[boatillo]

hehe not all 6800GT cards are faulty, my BFG one is still running just fine.

If anything I would have to say that it is a PSU issue. 6800GT's require a molex power connector, could be a bad line damaging the card? Do you continue to use the same molex on each of these dead cards?

 

[DSF]

How high do you expect the settings to be, and do you intend to play with AA and AF?

I have perfectly smooth framerates in CS:S with my 7600GS playing at 1024x768, high quality, HDR, 4xAA and 16xAF. I don't know how well that would translate to 1680x1050, and I don't know about your other games.

 

[MegaVovaN]

-Yes, hats off to Leadtek.
-Yes, I use same molex connector for last 2 cards, it is a separate line from PSU with only video card on it. Don't know if the line is bad.
-I thought BIOS reset was a battery failure too, but didn't bother replacing the battery.
-When I said All 6800GT cards could be faulty I meant the ones from Leadtek.

I will test 7600gs tonight, and if it disappoints me, then I will buy AGP 7600GT for $145?

If you decide to rebuild, post here and we will make suitable recommendations. It might be a lot cheaper than you expect, especially if you sell off your old cpu/mobo/ram on eBay. ($225 --> great motherboard, e2160 - easy OC to 3GHz - and 2GB DDR2)

Please make these recommendations. I already found out that if I want to build a power gaming system, it will be $700, but I have trouble coming up with that much money (no job atm).
So I would like to explore cheaper alternatives.

If my computer kills any card different from Leadtek 6800GT, then I will want to replace the PSU.

edit: for CS:S, I don't really care about AA and AF. I want framerates that are 60 on average, since my LCD's refresh rate is 60. (Framerates vary wildly from map to map) I think with 6800GT I had 4xAA, HDR, high quality and no AF (not sure). Like I said, I will be able to test 7600GS in about 5 hours from now.

edit2: I played CS:S at 1440x900 with my 6800GT because I could live with that resolution, and framerates were way better than 1680x1050.

 

[evolucion8]

For that amount of money you can get a X1950GT which will outperform soundly the 7600GT.

 

[MegaVovaN]

Originally posted by: evolucion8
For that amount of money you can get a X1950GT which will outperform soundly the 7600GT.

I agree, but I am not sure if my 18A PSU will power it?

 

[MegaVovaN]

I got the 7600GS, and played some CS:S at 1440x900. It was completely satisfactory, and "recommended" graphics are not bad. The Video Stress Test gave 65 fps avg with recommended settings.

Here's a screenshot: CS Source 7600GS

On other note, the power supply is now super loud, I don't remember it being this loud before. But maybe it sounds the same, I just blocked it in my mind, like white noise.

I also have some random, short slowdowns, but it might be just STEAM updating itself.

I am thinking to keep 7600GS. If it dies, I either:

a) buy new PSU
b) ask for $700 for upgrade which would give me kickass gaming machine
c) explore cheaper alternatives


edit: I meant keep 7600GS.

edit2: Tried GTA:SA, and at 1680x1050 it was slow....so I bumped res down to 1440x900 but kept all settings maxed. It still looks good and is NOT slow.
Text
Text 2

I talked to parents and on a set of conditions, in a week or 2, I might have $700 for the complete upgrade! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

I will sell my AMD 3200+ skt A CPU and 2x512mb DDR 400 RAM as well as 6800GT (when it comes back from ANOTHER rma [if Leadtek lets me do it]) to offset cost.

 

[hans007]

if you are actually debating a 7600gt agp, you could look at a radeon 2600 xt agp also unless you are reall anti ATI.

honestly at this point i'd just upgrade everything.


2gb ddr2, and e2140 + board, + some video card, would probably not even be that much more than $145 + cost of video card and you could sell your old stuff too.

 

[MarcVenice]

Heh, 145$ for a 7600gt ? That almost buys you a frigging HD3850, which blows a 7600gt out of the water. Get rid of that AGP junk and do yourself a favor hehe. I'm stuck with s939, but at least I've got a PCI-e 16x slot

 

[Puffnstuff]

Yeah and while you're at it buy a good ps with at least 36A on the 12v rail.

 

[MarcVenice]

Why ? A antec Earthwatts 430w will be plenty for his rig, I think you made a typo though, must have ment 26a ? That's sufficient for a 8800gts or HD3870.

 

[MegaVovaN]

Yeah guys, at this point I am gonna just build a new PC from scratch.

hans007 - thanks for inexpensive PCI-E recommendation!
Puffnstuff - in thread I linked above (here's link: http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2132943&enterthread=y )
There is a decent PSU if I am going to have $700 in a week or two!
Specifically, 17A+17A 500W SeaSonic PSU.

edit: to clarify: for a week or two I'll use this 7600GS (I don't know what is the problem, but it would randomly slow down to crawn in games and even when not playing...maybe it overheats?), then just build a new thing, either $700 all-out game monster or ~$220 or so for inexpensive. Then I will sell old parts.

 

[MegaVovaN]

Bump Jan 1 2008.

Update: I have been running 7600GS in my computer for 10+ days.
The random OS freeze turned out to be broken SATA cable - replaced it and all is good, except after a while of playing games they slow down to crawl...after like a minute I can play normally again, and it slows down after some time. I am just going to blame this on a weak card.

I ordered C2D set-up with 8800GT, though shipping may take more than I expect (wtfbbq tracking says it will be here on Jan 7? I ordered on Dec 28 with 3 day ship....). My old PC will be handed down to somebody in the family.

So I think Leadtek is sending me bad cards, not that my PC is killing video cards (it would have killed the 7600GS already if it did).

I am waiting on approval of yet another (4th?) RMA.

 

[Syntax Error]

Have you tested the cards in other computers by any chance? I haven't read your entire post, so forgive me if I'm incorrect in that assumption, it just seems to me that I'm a bit skeptical of a company sending you 3-4 bad cards in a row, I feel that it's gotta be something in your computer that causes it.

 

[MegaVovaN]

Originally posted by: Syntax Error
Have you tested the cards in other computers by any chance? I haven't read your entire post, so forgive me if I'm incorrect in that assumption, it just seems to me that I'm a bit skeptical of a company sending you 3-4 bad cards in a row, I feel that it's gotta be something in your computer that causes it.

No, I have not tested in other computers. Thing is, they were not DOA (Dead on Arrival) - they died eventually, after some time. Latest died in about a week, and one before it held up a few months.

I have only one other AGP-based computer here with sktA motherboard and AMD 1600+ in it. I am not sure if voltage on AGP is same in both motherboards, so I have not tested there.

 

[HexiumVII]

Leadteks US RMA department seems to be run from a basement or something. Every time i rma something, they send back something that is in worst shape than something i've previously sent them. At least they are responsive though, and don't really care about the warranty. I guess they just keep cycling the same stuff to RMA.

 

[MegaVovaN]

The cards I got were brand new (very clean, no dust, no finger prints, nothing). I think they send broken card to Taiwan, then Taiwan sends new card to them, they send it to me.

 

[DeathSniper]

Originally posted by: HexiumVII
Leadteks US RMA department seems to be run from a basement or something. Every time i rma something, they send back something that is in worst shape than something i've previously sent them. At least they are responsive though, and don't really care about the warranty. I guess they just keep cycling the same stuff to RMA.

lol!

 

[Puffnstuff]

Originally posted by: MarcVenice
Why ? A antec Earthwatts 430w will be plenty for his rig, I think you made a typo though, must have ment 26a ? That's sufficient for a 8800gts or HD3870.

That's no typo. 36a gives some headroom and more margin for cold boot inrush current related problems. I run 121a across 5 12v rails.

 

[MegaVovaN]

Originally posted by: Puffnstuff

Originally posted by: MarcVenice
Why ? A antec Earthwatts 430w will be plenty for his rig, I think you made a typo though, must have ment 26a ? That's sufficient for a 8800gts or HD3870.

That's no typo. 36a gives some headroom and more margin for cold boot inrush current related problems. I run 121a across 5 12v rails.

Well, the PSU on C2D set-up I ordered is 34A on +12

But 121A? :Q That's shocking! What do you do? Triple SLI?

 

[Skunkwourk]

man, I thought I had it bad with electronics.