factory oc-ed cards

koolh

Member
Jan 7, 2008
30
0
61
Hi,

I'm about to embark on my first build, and i've a couple of questions about the different variants of graphics cards on the market.

Looking at EVGA in particular, 8800GT
this is the vanilla one @ 600mhz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814130318
and the overclocked @ 650mhz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814130319

My question is: why would there be factory overclocked cards when you can overclock using RivaTuner etc and go beyond 650mhz etc? Why would there be an oc-ed card that sells for $20 more.

is there a difference in the cooler? or warranty? or do ppl not overclock the 650mhz one if they buy it?

sorry for the noobish questions, but would really appreciate if someone could shed light on this matter.

thanks tons!

p.s. also would any of these cards require an aftermarket cooler such as the VF900? what is the stock cooler for these cards anyway? thanks again
 

BlueAcolyte

Platinum Member
Nov 19, 2007
2,793
2
0
The stock cooler is a thin piece of aluminum that has several thinner "fins" to dissipate heat better. It uses (Styrofoam?) thermal tape to increase thermal contact and comes with a 60mm fan.

You don't need an aftermarket cooler if you set the fan speed higher with Rivatuner.

And believe it or not, some people don't overclock (gasp!)
 

MTDEW

Diamond Member
Oct 31, 1999
4,284
37
91
The only difference is the overclocked one is tested at the overclocked speeds and is guaranteed to to run at the overclocked speeds.

The "vanilla" one has no guarantee it will do the 650/1900 speeds that the superclocked version does.

BTW: ive had 3 different brands of 8800gt cards and the all did the 650/1900 speeds of the Evga superclocked version pretty easily. ;) :thumbsup:
 

DSF

Diamond Member
Oct 6, 2007
4,902
0
71
Originally posted by: koolh
Hi,

I'm about to embark on my first build, and i've a couple of questions about the different variants of graphics cards on the market.

Looking at EVGA in particular, 8800GT
this is the vanilla one @ 600mhz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814130318
and the overclocked @ 650mhz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814130319

My question is: why would there be factory overclocked cards when you can overclock using RivaTuner etc and go beyond 650mhz etc? Why would there be an oc-ed card that sells for $20 more.

is there a difference in the cooler? or warranty? or do ppl not overclock the 650mhz one if they buy it?

sorry for the noobish questions, but would really appreciate if someone could shed light on this matter.

thanks tons!

p.s. also would any of these cards require an aftermarket cooler such as the VF900? what is the stock cooler for these cards anyway? thanks again

They sell them for more money because they make more money that way. Same guts in both versions, one is just set to run faster.
 

imported_Scoop

Senior member
Dec 10, 2007
773
0
0
The OC'd versions are just a waste of money, unless they come with a special (hopefully better) heatsinkfan.
 

taltamir

Lifer
Mar 21, 2004
13,576
6
76
even when gaurenteed to operate at the OC speed. Many factory OC have issues... generally it is such a pathetic overclock that almost every one of the cards would perform at that level. Get the stock, get riva tuner. Up the fan speed, and set the clock to that of factory OC (or don't OC, it doesn't matter all that much)...

Many people with factory OC end up having to downclock it to stock later on, especially when they are out of warranty (and cannot have the card replaced for not performing at the factory OC level.)
 

koolh

Member
Jan 7, 2008
30
0
61
Originally posted by: BlueAcolyte
You don't need an aftermarket cooler if you set the fan speed higher with Rivatuner.

i guess you mean you don't need an aftermarket cooler if you don't set the fan speed higher? :)



anyway thanks for the replies! i'm not sure if i'd be doing any OC-ing... cos i haven't done it before. we'll see

so i guess i'll just get the one @ 600mhz, save $20, and try to up the clock to whatever i'm comfortable with.

also what kind of overclocking would require investing in an aftermarket cooler? past 700mhz?
 

bunnyfubbles

Lifer
Sep 3, 2001
12,248
3
0
Biggest difference is that one is guaranteed to hit the overclocked speeds, so there's always a chance the cheaper one simply ends up a really poor overclocker and doesn't reach that far past the default speed no matter how much you invest in aftermarket cooling.

The cherry picked OC cards might also have better overall components and most likely will also reach higher maximum overclocks on average.