6800GT watercooled overclocking, how high?

imported_michaelpatrick33

Platinum Member
Jun 19, 2004
2,364
0
0
I am sitting on the proverbial fence between the x800xt and the 6800gt for my next graphics card.

I will watercool it. Does anyone have numbers for either of these cards cores watecooled?
 

Nebor

Lifer
Jun 24, 2003
29,582
12
76
Originally posted by: michaelpatrick33
are those volt modded scores or just straight overclocks?

The Gainward comes with a warranty, gauranteed to run at those speeds. Stock voltage.
 

imported_michaelpatrick33

Platinum Member
Jun 19, 2004
2,364
0
0
I don't just want to play DOOM 3 but a lot of direct x games where the ati seems superior. HMMM. I am leary of volt mods. I am not good with torches (due to the high school burning down incident (just kidding, please no Flaming me haha). Darn, decisions, decisions.

Anyone with a high water overclock of a x800xt out there?

I already have a watercooling rig waiting

FX-53 939
Corsair PC3200 2-2-2-(5-11 with the Nforce) 1gig
MSI Neo Platinum 939 Nforce 3 board (darn it become available lol)
Audigy 2
Raptor
etc

I am debating only the video card
 

Zebo

Elite Member
Jul 29, 2001
39,398
19
81
Originally posted by: RussianSensation
Review - 6800gt vs. x800pro - overclocked

I just linked this because it shows x800pro voltmodded getting to 630mhz from 475

So with a volt mod, I imagine x800xt will get even higher

But....considering that 6800gt costs $100-150+ less, is widely available, and is faster in Doom 3...you might want to consider it instead

6800GT - $340



Hows PNY Russian? Warranty and support? Thanks.

I've been waiting for a BFG to hit $300 again but it's getting harder to wait day by day.
 

jinu117

Member
Aug 23, 2003
171
0
0
Originally posted by: Nebor
Originally posted by: michaelpatrick33
are those volt modded scores or just straight overclocks?

The Gainward comes with a warranty, gauranteed to run at those speeds. Stock voltage.

Have a feeling it isn't as stock as you think. Probably bios is different to use 1.5v vcore instead of 1.4v typical of ultra. (1.3v GT)
We will find out once someone buys it and supplies us with bios :p
 
Jun 7, 2004
100
0
0
vr-zone has a bios that ads .1 volt...

they also have a volt mod guide that uses a 100k resistor...ads about .3 volts

edit: this is with 6800 cards
 

RussianSensation

Elite Member
Sep 5, 2003
19,458
765
126
Originally posted by: Zebo

Hows PNY Russian? Warranty and support? Thanks.

I've been waiting for a BFG to hit $300 again but it's getting harder to wait day by day.

I dont personally own either of those cards. I know that PNY only covers their lifetime warranty assuming they still produce the videocards in questions. So I imagine production stops within 2-3 years of the cards introduction ... so it is up to you if you need warranty longer than that. BFG cards also come slightly overclocked, so that is an added bonus. But Provantage, I think, still has the pny 6800gt on sale for $340 (that is a good deal i guess if you want to buy right now). I personally do not care if i get to play doom 3 in august or in december so I am gonna wait a bit for the prices of these new cards to come down and for the price of doom 3, so I could get both cheaper just for christmas time (unless i find a good deal on a videocard soon)

I know a lot of ppl own the new cards now for bragging rights, but between you and I, there aren't really many new games that truly take advantage of them. And I am not going to buy $400US videocard for Doom 3 and Far Cry alone; because after they are beaten in 1 week or less, you'll have to wait for the next powerful game (HL2 which wont come till September at the earliest). But everyone is different so I don't want to tell you to keep waiting for price drops, because you could be waiting a long time.
 

RussianSensation

Elite Member
Sep 5, 2003
19,458
765
126
Originally posted by: michaelpatrick33
I am still leaning toward the x800xt but I just don't know. I have had good cards from both sides. HMMM.

If your CPU is 2.8ghz or 3800+ read this article which helps to show some cPU limitation upon the new end cards. It seems unless your cpu is above 3000+/3.0ghz 6800gt is just as fast as the x800xt.
CPU Limitation
Of course other cpu/gpu related articles are featured on firingsquad and hardocp.com ..... if this one doesnt help you enough

If your cpu falls somewhere in between teh 2 above - ie. 3.2ghz p4 then this article will hopefully shed some light on which gpu to get.
Top cards on P4 3.2ghz

Now if price is not an issue, you can clearly see that on a 3.2ghz p4 x800xt is faster than 6800gt and sometimes by as much as 30-40%. Since x800xt is faster already than 6800gt, even if you overclock the 6800gt, and x800xt, xt should still be faster assuming equal % of overclocks. You'll probably need to push 6800gt to 480 on the gpu just to match the x800xt at 575 (which is achievable on air cooling). That's 350 to 480 overclock!!!! Of course if you are comparing x800xt, it is only fair to compare it to 6800ultra since they are the same price and 6800ultra will hold higher overclocking room.

On another note, 6800gt is faster in doom 3, supports ps3.0 (but the problem with this is that it has not proven any visual difference whatsoever, and x800xt is faster than 6800 series cards in 1 game that support ps3.0 (far cry)). But 6800gt is only $340 at Provantage --- that is roughly $200 cheaper than x800xt. This pretty much covers your cpu or ram or watercooling, etc. If money is no object though, i'd probably take the x800xt. But for the best bang for the buck, 6800gt.

EDIT: the provantage sale has just ended, unfortunately. So the cheapest 6800gt is still about $160 less ($389 on pricewatch).
 

Keysplayr

Elite Member
Jan 16, 2003
21,219
55
91
Originally posted by: jinu117
Originally posted by: Nebor
Originally posted by: michaelpatrick33
are those volt modded scores or just straight overclocks?

The Gainward comes with a warranty, gauranteed to run at those speeds. Stock voltage.

Have a feeling it isn't as stock as you think. Probably bios is different to use 1.5v vcore instead of 1.4v typical of ultra. (1.3v GT)
We will find out once someone buys it and supplies us with bios :p

Then again, it's just a feeling.
 

jinu117

Member
Aug 23, 2003
171
0
0
Yeah its just a feeling ;P
My 6800GT with bios mod is chugging along at 445-1.15. Even with variation of chip binning, I think they will need the extra volt to make sure it does run at speed they claim to :)
 
Apr 14, 2004
1,599
0
0
jinu, do you have a link to where and how you perform this bios volt mod? I've flashed ATI bioses before but never Nvidia ones. Is it a GT or an Ultra bios? One thing I want to do is flash my card into a true 6800 Ultra, but I am not sure how it will react to the single molex connector.

I don't just want to play DOOM 3 but a lot of direct x games where the ati seems superior. HMMM. I am leary of volt mods.
Voltmodding x800s is as simple as drawing some pencil lines and checking voltages with a multimeter. I bumped my core up from 1.3 to 1.45 V.