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BFG 6800 Ultra OC Power Clarification Please

R

rickshobbies

Member
All,

I have been reading through the posts and it seems like the stated power requirements are not as high as some would like you to believe. However, I am still unsure if my system will handle the BFG 6800 Ultra OC or if I should go for the BFG 6800 GT (or X800XT PE).

My system:

Pentium 4 3.06
Seagate Baracuda
DVD Drive
CD ROM Burner
SB Live Gamer
1 GB RAM
Antec True Power 430 (20a 12 volt rail)

Since the BFG is overclocked and they state that the min is a 480 PS, it would suggest that I need to spring for a new PS. But, some posts suggest that anything over 18a on the 12v rail will work. Is that still the case with BFG?

Basically, I don't have the cash for a PS AND a 6800 Ultra, but I can get the 6800 Ultra alone. If it won't work without problems or stability issues, perhaps the 6800 GT or the X800XT PE is a safer choice.

I know this issue has been discussed many times, but I was hoping to get clarification on my specific system.

Regards,

Rick
 
Well you can do 4 things.

#1 Wait for them to come out in a quantity that actually resembles a release. That way your chances of finding somone that has tested a similar setup increases.

#2 Order it from a site or purchase from a store that doesn't charge restocking fees and does refurnds or exchanges. Try the card out to see if it runs well in your system without drawing to much power. If it does return it for a GT or X800.

#3 Save yourself some time and money and go with the X800XT or the GT

#4 Purchase a new power supply with the card and see if you can sell your current one to help make up for the purchase. A $40 upgrade instead of a $100 dollar purchase makes quite a difference. Maybe see if you can return your current one or maybe do a trade in with antec.
 
Yeah, that makes sense. I guess I was hoping that someone who has already started using the 6800 Ultra and overclocking it to or above what BFG does with a similar system might chime in. Or maybe someone who has done some testing.

You know, I really haven't found any reviews that shows the difference between the BFG 6800 GT OC and a standard 6800 Ultra. The clock speeds are closer and perhaps the performance isn't too different. At least I know a GT will work in my system.

Regards,

Rick
 
Don't worry... it WILL work stable.
480W specification is if you had some cheap no name brand generic PSU. With the quality of an Antec, you don't need to worry. Even a 350W will work fine. I would buy the 6800 Ultra without hesitation....
 
Originally posted by: virtualgames0
Don't worry... it WILL work stable.
480W specification is if you had some cheap no name brand generic PSU. With the quality of an Antec, you don't need to worry. Even a 350W will work fine. I would buy the 6800 Ultra without hesitation....
Click to expand...

he's probably right, quality psu's are what matters (although i usually recommend 400watt min for new system builders and 430 antec as a good choice if you want good quality, 350 should do the job as a minimum atleast in most cases)
i believe the video card uses 5v 3.3v and 12v power (one site says 5v and 3.3v). usually top quality psu's have more 5v and 3.3v amps which is nice for a good video card overclock 🙂
 
i think you will be ok. just make sure you use to seperate leads when you plug them in. make sure one is kinda free and the other can be loaded.
 
Good info. Thanks guys.

I am still wondering just how much of a difference in performance there is between a stock 6800 Ultra (which we have seen plenty of benchmarks on) and a BFG 6800 GT OC.

Are there any decent comparisons on this out there?

Thanks again,

Rick
 
Originally posted by: rickshobbies
Good info. Thanks guys.

I am still wondering just how much of a difference in performance there is between a stock 6800 Ultra (which we have seen plenty of benchmarks on) and a BFG 6800 GT OC.

Are there any decent comparisons on this out there?

Thanks again,

Rick
Click to expand...

Whats the clock speeds on the GT OC? is it 370/500? The ultra is 400/550. If so, the Ultra will still be ahead a bit but not by a huge amount. Definately not 100.00 plus dollars faster.
 
the bfg 6800 is 425/1100 so the core is 6.2% faster....basically that is the biggest increase in performance you could get but since the memory is the same speed it's probably a 3-5% increase......

I theorize it will consume approximately 6.2% more power as well so knowing that you'd want at least a good 370w ps like antec or enermax.....430 should be fine if you don't oc....
 
Hey guys I was wondering what PSU you guys would recommend to run a BFG 6800 GT OC on my cpu
I have:
3.0 gig p4
1 GIG ram
A lite-on dvd burner 851s + yamaha F1 cd-rw
250 gig maxtor ATA and 120 SATA seagate (onboard)
promise fast trak tx2 100 pci - 2+0 RAID0 maxtor/WD 200 gig ATA HD
I'm running a ATI 9600pro 128 meg + creative audigy sound currently also

I'm pretty sure I currently have a 430 watt antec btw (system runs smooth right now)
I'm guessing I definitly need a new PSU to run this power hog, but I'm wondering how big of an upgrade am I looking at? (if its to large I'll probably just let my card go on ebay for $150 more then I paid for it 🙂 )
 
It should run on your current PSU, use the reccomendations a few posts up to ensure stability.

Make sure you put them on seperate leads (the connectors to the cards)
 
Well thanks for the reply guys, I took ur advice and I tried to replace my current graphics card with the 6800 GT OC
I first made sure that any ATI and Nvidia drivers where completely removed prior to installing, using Driver cleaner 3.2
So when I installed the card I used my y-splitter to split the power from my yahama drive (I have no more free connectors left, but I tried using a dedicated one though too)
After installing everything seemed ok since my computer did POST fine but as soon as it tried loading windows xp pro (sp2rc2 installed) my computer's RAID0 hd just like powered themselves off I got a BSOD
So I decided to disconnect my yamaha drive and use that dedicated cable to the graphics card and sure enough windows BSOD and restarted but at the least the HDs didn't shutdown this time
I tried safe mode with everything connected and it loaded fine (I tried loading the drivers then and restart but sure enough as soon as windows tried booting to the desktop, windows BSOD
My conclusion is that my PSU just can no longer handle all the load... any thoughts?
BTW I did notice that my radlinker from my omega install was still installed but I figured that it woudln't have made a difference since it should have been smart enough (or too dumb) to effect the nvidia card
 
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