[H]GALAXY GeForce GTX 780 HOF Edition Review

[TheMasterNoob]

This was my first graphics card (usually I run laptops) so my OC is nowhere near what a more experienced overclocker can achieve.

 

[Grooveriding]

Yeah for real. Good luck with that since every GTX 780 can do 1.2V, but for some odd reason this article hypes 1.2V up as "over-volting". My 780 does +37 (equals 1.2V) and I am under the assumption that every 780 can do the same.

Alrighty... I'll just completely take at face value that the HOF card can overclock better than the 780 classified despite not being able over volt to 1.35V as the classified can with EVBOT. Whatever. Still not buying it. Galaxy is HardOCPs biggest sponsor and probably sent them the most golden sample in the world. By the way, *most* aftermarket 780s already get near 1100 boosts out of the box, and most already are equal to the Titan - from most SC ACX users I've heard experiences from, 1100 boost out of box is pretty common, anyway. I don't know how the reference 780 fares in terms of out of box boosts.

I'll eat my words if "real" people actually get good overclocks, but seeing as how the HOF volts to 1.2V as every 780 does while the classified and lightning will be able to do 1.35V via software - sounds unbelievable. And when something sounds too good to be true...well you know the rest..

Besides which, I can't tell you how many times i've seen reports of complaints from folks that buy factory overclocked cards based on these types of reviews, only to find their "real world" sample doesn't clock nearly as high. Very common. Therefore I doubt "real" people will be able to replicate these results.

Yeah I think 1.1 is standard for everyone. Both my original Titans at stock boosted to 1097, I had to get one replaced and the replacement boosts to 1045.

The trouble with the 1.3ghz claim is with there being no voltage control on the card, so you're at the mercy of getting a cherry chip, which this most likely was.

All that said it did encourage me to sell my Titans. I hope we get some concrete performance info about AMD's Hawaii soon. I am looking at a pair of those, 780 Lightnings or 780 Classifieds. Something with some real voltage control. Titan is just not doing it for me overclock wise and I am going to dump them while they still have the resale value they do right now.

 

[blackened23]

This was my first graphics card (usually I run laptops) so my OC is nowhere near what a more experienced overclocker can achieve.

Ok, master noob,

Since the Kepler chip does boosts in 13mhz bins, 1320mhz is actually not possible. 1306mhz and 1319mhz is possible, but 1320mhz is not.

edit: nevermind on the rest

 

[TheMasterNoob]

This is my first graphics card so someone with more experience overclocking could definitely achieve more. I'm at work so I'll be posting pics later.

Edit: double post -.-

It was actually 1319mhz im not currently at my computer.

I will post screen shots later if you want.

 

[blackened23]

Nevermind. 1319 sounds right, I miscalculated the bins.

 

[TheMasterNoob]

If you think I'm making this up you're wrong...It was really really close to 1320 mhz (within a couple mhz). This was last night so I can't really remember specifics but it was really close. I do remember OC'ing to 1376 but I was artififacting in games so I dropped the OC a bit. Trust me, I have no reason to lie.

Also the "golden chip" argument is true...except it doesn't only apply to hardocp. I remember reading somewhere that they were binning the chips, so almost every card will be good.

 

[blackened23]

Very well then, didn't mean any offense, apologies about that. My mistake on the boost calculation, 1319 actually is a valid boost. Just sounds unbelievable that this card is OC'ing better despite not having over voltage as the 780 classified does, most classified users aren't getting these overclocks. Still, i'd like to see more samples.

Yeah if you get a chance get some SS's up at OCN. You'd definitely have some of the highest scores with 1319mhz. Might have to give one of these bad boys a whirl myself since MSI apparently doesn't want to release their lightning card on time..

 

[TheMasterNoob]

I am not the only one that is claiming high overclocks though. for example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_i1Kq_mGbU

If this doesn't convince you guys, I don't know what will.

P.S: I was initially going to buy a classified. That was until i reached the checkout and evga kept failing to verify my billing address, in my rage i went on newegg and bought this. I really thought i would end up regretting it, but it seems like Galaxy is a good company.

P.S.S: I wanted a lightning before i wanted the classified, so that made this card my third choice at the time.

 

[sushiwarrior]

There is a big difference between most 780s and a HOF card that can hit 1.3ghz on air and actually got o 1376mhz on air. Not to forget that out of the box it boosts to 1.1ghz. At that point this card is now approaching 50% faster than my overclocked 7970. I am getting a lot closer to my desire to have a card 70-80% faster to upgrade to. Also, what impresses me the most here is even if HD9970 catches up to the Titan, cards like the HOF have an additional 20% advantage over the Titan after overclocking. For enthusiasts then for 9970 to make a dent, it's not enough for it to simply catch up to after-market 780s in stock form. I am hoping AMD delivers a card 35% faster than HD7970GE at $550 so at least consumers have a choice between a cheaper stock card and a faster but more expensive overclocked NV card. This would be nice.

So now you're going back to comparing non-OC'd card to OC'd ones... Well, considering any remotely average 7970 can hit 1200+, why not compare it to that? The OC'd 7970 completely eliminates the gain that the HOF gets from OC'ing.

 

[Grooveriding]

I am not the only one that is claiming high overclocks though. for example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_i1Kq_mGbU

If this doesn't convince you guys, I don't know what will.

P.S: I was initially going to buy a classified. That was until i reached the checkout and evga kept failing to verify my billing address, in my rage i went on newegg and bought this. I really thought i would end up regretting it, but it seems like Galaxy is a good company.

P.S.S: I wanted a lightning before i wanted the classified, so that made this card my third choice at the time.

I've had the same experience with their website. It's a complete POS. When I had a Titan RMAed through them I did advanced exchanged and had to put down a deposit for the value.

Constantly got the error that my billing address was wrong with multiple credit cards. I ended up trying to flip a few things and got it to work by entering my billing address wrong. :awe: Their website is utter garbage and I can't believe such a reputable company has such a horrible website.

 

[TheMasterNoob]

I've had the same experience with their website. It's a complete POS. When I had a Titan RMAed through them I did advanced exchanged and had to put down a deposit for the value.

Constantly got the error that my billing address was wrong with multiple credit cards. I ended up trying to flip a few things and got it to work by entering my billing address wrong. :awe: Their website is utter garbage and I can't believe such a reputable company has such a horrible website.

I thought I was the only one 😀. I tried and tried and tried...for 3 days and it didn't work. I made 2 accounts...it didn't work. As a matter of fact, somehow, it screwed things up even more. Instead of having me check out with my new account, it would switch to my old account (which was logged out) once i reached the checkout. So I had 2 accounts logged on at once except they would switch over at the checkout :\

Edit: thought not though 😛

 

[Xed]

Masternoob, have you overclocked your memory at all? You're making me want to get one instead of waiting on the classified =P

Also how is the noise level of the fans at load? Some people complain about the acx cooler above 65%

 

[SirPauly]

Confusing, why hold your best card?

Possibly, supply/demand, yields, node maturity, competition factors.

 

[TheMasterNoob]

Masternoob, have you overclocked your memory at all? You're making me want to get one instead of waiting on the classified =P

Also how is the noise level of the fans at load? Some people complain about the acx cooler above 65%

Well with the auto fan it is really really quiet, and I am currently running it on my mobo box until my ft03 gets here. I haven't tried to OC memory, I just set it to a "safe" OC. Serious OC'ing will begin later today. My safe setting is +200 on memory (not the max) and 1319mhz on the core. With these OC settings I have never seen temps go over 67 while gaming. Enabling hyper boost drops it even further at the cost of silence. I would suggest getting it over a classified, since the HOF uses less voltage to reach 1300mhz (mine uses 1.16v, stock was at 1.0__ [forgot the last digits], to get to 1319mhz) stays cooler, costs 10 less, and has nice LEDs.

You wont be disappointed (I wasn't) I can guarantee that. I posted a link to a video before, that is usual for these cards from what i've seen on forums. I will OC memory and screenshot it after work.

EDIT: Also, the white PCB is unique.

EDIT 2: while gaming, my fan speed never reached over 55%

 

[Nomanor]

I have the card OC'd to 1320mhz running at 1.16v. My idle temps with hyper boost enabled are around 32-34 degrees celcius.

This never happened.

 

[TheMasterNoob]

I assure you it did happen. the higher 1300s are achievable on this card with 1.2 volts. I am in the lower 1300's. I promise you it did. I have no reason to lie. I have no brand allegiance. This is my first card. Ever. Why do you seem opposed to good performance? Be happy that there is finally a gk110 card (along with the classy) that can actually OC on air.

 

[thilanliyan]

How does boost work on these cards? Is it purely temperature based or is there a power limit as well? Is the volt limit increased if you keep the temps down?

For example, if I watercool a 780 and keep it at like 60C, would I be able to reach something like 1350MHz+?

 

[Nomanor]

I assure you it did happen. the higher 1300s are achievable on this card with 1.2 volts. I am in the lower 1300's. I promise you it did. I have no reason to lie. I have no brand allegiance. This is my first card. Ever. Why do you seem opposed to good performance? Be happy that there is finally a gk110 card (along with the classy) that can actually OC on air.

post screenshots.

 

[TheMasterNoob]

I will post screenshots when i get back from work. My job finishes at 5:00. It is currently 1:32 in my time zone.

 

[Face2Face]

I will post screenshots when i get back from work. My job finishes at 5:00. It is currently 1:32 in my time zone.

Congrats on the card. Looks like a real beast 😀 It's nice to see Galaxy is using binned chips for these cards. Pretty much makes higher overclocks a reasonable guarantee. I think Asus needs to take some notes here with their Matrix Series... Still anxiously awaiting the MSI Lightning GTX 780, but it looks like they need to bring the heat if they are going up against this card.

 

[Keysplayr]

I said it before and i'll say it again: any end-user buying one of these cards and expecting this type of overclock will probably be disappointed. Galaxy is a major sponsor of HardOCP so I feel like this was the supreme golden chip. No, not saying they were dishonest. I am saying that 99% of HOF cards will never reach the same speeds and that actual end-users of the card are a better sample to go by.

I can't tell you the number of times i've seen factory OC'ed cards report near 300mhz overclocks such as the classified 680, only for users to be disappointed with mid 1200s. Overclocking is luck based. There's no way, IMO, that actual users will get results like this. That leaves the only question being how many 780s did galaxy go through to find their golden chip....

Quote directly from galaxy:

"There’s actually a very interesting answer to the question of whether or not HardOCP’s sample was cherry picked. There is some truth in the assertion HardOCP received a “golden sample”, but the reason I say this is because EVERY GTX 780 HOF is cherry picked with extremely selective standards. Only essentially 100% flawless chips make the cut, hence the scarce supply of cards. Sure their Galaxy GTX 780 HOF was special, but so is everyone else’s. The results I’ve seen so far corroborate this. Every customer I’ve seen post results on their card so far has been able to achieve the same phenomenal core clocks HardOCP described, my own sample included.

As for whether we sent HardOCP the best sample of these cherry picked cards, this is not only false but also impossible. HardOCP received literally the very first finished card that was available, weeks before enough cards were even produced to fulfill a single order. It was naturally tested before shipping, but it’s hardly possible to pick a “golden sample” from a batch of 1."

[edited]

Nope.
-- stahlhart

 

[BallaTheFeared]

^ That's either the best PR spin I've ever read, or real talk.

 

[thilanliyan]

^ That's either the best PR spin I've ever read, or real talk.

Could be a bit of both.

 

[stahlhart]

Forum politics and the personal agendas associated with them are off topic here. Last warning.
-- stahlhart

 

[SiliconWars]

Quote directly from galaxy:

"There’s actually a very interesting answer to the question of whether or not HardOCP’s sample was cherry picked. There is some truth in the assertion HardOCP received a “golden sample”, but the reason I say this is because EVERY GTX 780 HOF is cherry picked with extremely selective standards. Only essentially 100% flawless chips make the cut, hence the scarce supply of cards. Sure their Galaxy GTX 780 HOF was special, but so is everyone else’s. The results I’ve seen so far corroborate this. Every customer I’ve seen post results on their card so far has been able to achieve the same phenomenal core clocks HardOCP described, my own sample included.

As for whether we sent HardOCP the best sample of these cherry picked cards, this is not only false but also impossible. HardOCP received literally the very first finished card that was available, weeks before enough cards were even produced to fulfill a single order. It was naturally tested before shipping, but it’s hardly possible to pick a “golden sample” from a batch of 1."

[edited]

Nope.
-- stahlhart

If they were 100% flawless chips they'd be Titans.