eVGA GeForce 7900 GTO 512MB - $255 shipped from ChiefValue

[Ricochet]

Originally posted by: Zap
I'm not too impatient - after all strictly speaking I don't need this card - only jumping in on it... just because. Kinda sorta.

I'll give Tiger Direct until next week. If by Monday it still hasn't shipped, then I'll cancel and... watch price/availability. If it's available for the $250 shipped such as ZZF had it originally, I'll get it for sure. If it's a lot more than that (what did it peak at, $265 + shipping?) then forget it. In between... maybe.

I do know one thing. I was considering another 7900GT, but with this on the market the 7900GT is no longer being considered.

Status is now "In Process" instead of "backordered". Someone had stated earlier that more would be available today.

 

[InSuboRdiNaTioN]

It is now listed as in stock at Tiger Direct.
My order placed Monday shipped today

 

[NicePants42]

Originally posted by: BIGFOOTPI

Originally posted by: InSuboRdiNaTioN
nero2- Let us know how it goes.

Does anyone know what voltage the GTO memory receives? And what does a GTX receive?

Edit: Just found this:
Don't bother with the GTX BIOS, it will gain you nothing. In fact, it slows things up. The GTO card memory voltage is around 1.85V versus the stock GTX memory at 2.1V. So, you will not get as high of a clock on the memory. Also, the memory timings are tightened up versus the GTX.

The stock BIOS uses 1.4VCore, a 650 core clock and a 50 MHz delta, just like the GTX. There are three speed levels (3D, throttle and 2D) just like the GTX. The only item changed is the memory voltage and subsequent lower memory clocks.

That makes no sense, its usually HIGHER voltage that allows higher overlcoks... so whats up? Seems to me the GTX bios would run the voltage to RAM higher and loosen the timings which would naturally equate to a greater possibilty to overlock the RAM.

@ Insubordination: Your source doesn't seem to understand what he's talking about, or isn't very good (at all) at explaining it.

@ BIGFOOTPI: Thanks for being here.

Check post # 19 in This thread
Johnny has posted a modified GTO BIOS that apparently kicks a lot of ass.

If you need to find the best way to OC something, you go to XS. If it's not on XS, Coolaler is still working on it.

 

[gi0rgi0]

Originally posted by: InSuboRdiNaTioN
It is now listed as in stock at Tiger Direct.
My order placed Monday shipped today

Cool, just checked and my card was shipped to
also ordered it on monday. I think we still qualify for the rebate.

 

[Safeway]

ZZF confirmed my order today via phone. I ordered Wednesday, with FedEx 2-day shipping. Grr, I was thinking those ZZF jerks wouldn't take 2 days to confirm my order.

Either way, if the eVGA warranty covers overclocks, I am definately going to kick some graphical ass.

 

[floydenheimer]

I'm in for 1, great post OP!

Duno if this is the same for everyone, but I ordered from Mwave and 2-day shipping was only like $1 more than regular ground. The total was only $2 more than Chiefvalue, worth it to me!

 

[gamefreakgcb]

Originally posted by: NicePants42

Originally posted by: BIGFOOTPI

Originally posted by: InSuboRdiNaTioN
nero2- Let us know how it goes.

Does anyone know what voltage the GTO memory receives? And what does a GTX receive?

Edit: Just found this:
Don't bother with the GTX BIOS, it will gain you nothing. In fact, it slows things up. The GTO card memory voltage is around 1.85V versus the stock GTX memory at 2.1V. So, you will not get as high of a clock on the memory. Also, the memory timings are tightened up versus the GTX.

The stock BIOS uses 1.4VCore, a 650 core clock and a 50 MHz delta, just like the GTX. There are three speed levels (3D, throttle and 2D) just like the GTX. The only item changed is the memory voltage and subsequent lower memory clocks.

That makes no sense, its usually HIGHER voltage that allows higher overlcoks... so whats up? Seems to me the GTX bios would run the voltage to RAM higher and loosen the timings which would naturally equate to a greater possibilty to overlock the RAM.

@ Insubordination: Your source doesn't seem to understand what he's talking about, or isn't very good (at all) at explaining it.

@ BIGFOOTPI: Thanks for being here.

Check post # 19 in This thread
Johnny has posted a modified GTO BIOS that apparently kicks a lot of ass.

If you need to find the best way to OC something, you go to XS. If it's not on XS, Coolaler is still working on it.

Will it work for the EVGA boards?

 

[InSuboRdiNaTioN]

Very informative post from the eVGA forums:

Mine did NOT have any stickers. It was the full fledged GTO print box. Card works great! The VMEM is lower than a GTX, so I would suspect the memory will be just fine. While you may not be able to clock it as high, stable is much better. These cards are one heck of a deal.

So, they are indeed all Samsung based GDDR3 based GTX cards with the memory at a lower voltage and subsequent lower memory clock. There are three speeds just like the GTX card (3D, throttle and 2D) and they use the 50 MHz delta as the GTX does. So, pure GTX with the RAM slowed down a tad.

One other item. The memory timings. Looks like they have tightened things up versus the GTX

timing-----------GTX---------GTO---------BJ11---------BC14
tRAS-------------24-----------22----------25-----------22
tRC--------------34-----------31----------35-----------31
tRFC-------------43-----------39----------45-----------39
tRCDR------------12-----------10----------12-----------10
tRCDW-------------8------------6-----------8------------6
tRP--------------10------------9----------10------------9
tRRD--------------8-----------10-----------8------------8

So, looks like 1.1 ns GDDR3 may be on there, but, since it only has the 1.4 ns spec voltage(1.7 min, 1.8 spec, 1.9 max) versus the 1.1 ns voltage(1.9 min, 2.0 spec, 2.1 max), the timings have been adjusted accordingly to 1.4 ns just like the GT cards.

So, bottom line, DO NOT flash a 7900 GTX BIOS onto these cards. You will simply hurt performance, void your warranty, and gain nothing.

 

[dr150]

How much of an improvement is this card over an Nvidia 6800?...Is it worth the upgrade?.....

 

[acegazda]

I think someone just said that their GTO doubled their 3dmark score from a 6800gt, so it's got to be substantial, especially @ higher reolutions. The cooler is a lot better as well. Think about how much you paid for your 6800. Around $250 right? Seems like a worthwhile upgrade if you're not considering dx10.

 

[spinejam]

just rec'd mine today from zzf -- yippy!

 

[NicePants42]

Originally posted by: gamefreakgcb
Will it work for the EVGA boards?

It's a modded BIOS, so YMMV in all cases. The manufacturer of the card doesn't matter, as long as the hardware is the same [as a 7900GTX/GTO in this case].

@ Insubordination: That post, while informative, is arguable, and draws an unsubstantiated conclusion.

 

[hydroponik]

Well just received my 7900 GTO from ZFF. So far, so good. Able to get 703/778 just from the auto-detect, and noticed no artifacts when running 3D mark 05.

6600gt = 4044
7900 gto @ stock = 9602
7900 gto @ 703/778 = 10240

 

[InSuboRdiNaTioN]

Originally posted by: NicePants42@ Insubordination: That post, while informative, is arguable, and draws an unsubstantiated conclusion.

Agreed. But if his numbers are correct, it's pretty interesting. It helps explain why the performance margin between the two are so minimal despite such different memory clocks.
Granted, higher bandwidth at the sacrifice of looser timings is probably preferable, but now I won't be so eager to flash mine.

 

[emilyek]

I went from 6800 to 7900gto.

As you might expect, it's a pretty nice upgrade.

CS:S stress test Max everything 4aa 16af @ 1024 x 768 = 200fps.

Can run oblivion with HDR and 16 AF now too.

Haven't really overclocked yet.

 

[CrazyGamer]

Weekend sale at Newegg, back down to $246 + s/h for anyone interested.

 

[Woofmeister]

Got both of mine installed and am up and running in SLI. Memory refuses to clock above 705 using Coolbits autodetect. I'm sure I can manually get higher, but that doesn't bode well for getting close to 800 MHz.

I'm a little dissapointed but the price was sure right and my 3D Mark score is nothing to be ashamed of.

 

[MrC4]

Forgot to call Tiger Direct to cancel my order, after I switched my order this week to Newegg. Received my Newegg order on Thursday and now I received a tracking number from TD.

I guess I will just have to go SLI............=)

 

[videopho]

Got mine two days ago from ZZF but...
I finally have my GTO installed last night.
Using x64 Tweaksrus 91.48 driver. With the aid of coolbit the GTO is instantly turned into a GTX while being overclocked at 691/1600, temps is 45c idle and low to mid 60c depending on certain game.

3dmark06 = 5624 @ stock clock

3dmark06 @ 691/1600

3DMark Score 6249 3DMarks

SM 2.0 Score 2782 Marks

SM 3.0 Score 2626 Marks

CPU Score 1750 Marks


3dmark06

 

[gvayl]

First time running 3dsmark06. I was running at resolution of 16x10
These were my first results: stock
3DMark Score 4126 3DMarks
SM2.0 Score 2173
HDR/SM3.0 Score 1978
CPU Score 764

Then I overclocked using coolbits reg thing to: 700/1520 gpu/ram and I got:

3DMark Score 4025 3DMarks
SM2.0 Score 1802
HDR/SM3.0 Score 2199
CPU Score 764

I might be doing something wrong? Looking here the overall score went down, but the HDR/SM3 went up a bit?

Am I doing something wrong or is this normal?

Thanks

 

[XNice]

What gpu speed would i have to reach to make up for the loss of memory bandwidth if I cant reach 800mhz?

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: MrC4
Forgot to call Tiger Direct to cancel my order, after I switched my order this week to Newegg. Received my Newegg order on Thursday and now I received a tracking number from TD.

I guess I will just have to go SLI............=)

Noooo, don't tempt me!

 

[ThinJ]

Anybody getting funky driver related errors?

I went into safe mode, uninstalled the old cards, ran driver cleaner to kill all the old nvidia drivers, and then went back in and installed the drivers that came on the disks with my GTO's (they seem to be the WQHL 91.47's).

But today playing CS: Source I got a BSOD and a STOP error related to nv4displ.dll

*edit*

Actually, the BSOD/STOP error is persisting in all 3d games The cards aren't overheating. Is anyone else having driver issues of any kind using the 91.47's ?

Is it possible this could be power related? I'm still wondering if my 550watt supply is enough for these cards along with my 2 hd's, 2 optical drives, the X-Fi and all that :|

 

[NicePants42]

Originally posted by: InSuboRdiNaTioN

Originally posted by: NicePants42@ Insubordination: That post, while informative, is arguable, and draws an unsubstantiated conclusion.

Agreed. But if his numbers are correct, it's pretty interesting. It helps explain why the performance margin between the two are so minimal despite such different memory clocks.
Granted, higher bandwidth at the sacrifice of looser timings is probably preferable, but now I won't be so eager to flash mine.

His numbers are correct. I did not mean to imply that higher clocks with looser timings are always better. It's usually a crap-shoot, especially since nothing OC's to the same degree. All I said was that testing should be done before making blanket statements regarding the 'best thing to do'. So far, the testing I have seen indicates that Johnny's modded GTO BIOS which I linked to on page 18 is currently being used by (arguably) the most famous overclocker in the world, and several others on XS. IMHO, this should end any speculation.

 

[jlin101]

Originally posted by: ThinJ
Anybody getting funky driver related errors?

I went into safe mode, uninstalled the old cards, ran driver cleaner to kill all the old nvidia drivers, and then went back in and installed the drivers that came on the disks with my GTO's (they seem to be the WQHL 91.47's).

But today playing CS: Source I got a BSOD and a STOP error related to nv4displ.dll

*edit*

Actually, the BSOD/STOP error is persisting in all 3d games The cards aren't overheating. Is anyone else having driver issues of any kind using the 91.47's ?

Is it possible this could be power related? I'm still wondering if my 550watt supply is enough for these cards along with my 2 hd's, 2 optical drives, the X-Fi and all that :|

I haven't received my card yet, but I don't think it's driver-related, as there are plenty of people who have already got their cards going without problems (unless they were all using beta drivers). 550W should be plenty (assuming you have a quality unit), since even a GTX consumes only 90W in 3D. Could it be a bad card? Try it in another PC.