[Legit]Gigabyte Working on Custom NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Video Card

[Jaydip]

http://www.legitreviews.com/news/15373/

 

[BallaTheFeared]

Really at this point the only thing that could interest me with aftermarket cards is voltage control and TDP limit increases.

 

[Soulkeeper]

** rant

Yeah, no doubt it'll be voltage locked.
This seems to be gigabyte's MO

wait till the reviews hit showing excellent unlocked cards, then switcheroo

I just bought a gigabyte 7870 that's locked
Went down to the store to buy a 7970 and all they had was gigabyte (locked) so I left and took my money with me

Another thing that annoys me: even cards that are "unlocked" often won't let you lower voltages only raise them. Or they'll have annoying ranges ie: 501MHz or lower is needed to change voltage. The requirement that mem clock be within ~150MHz of gpu clock is lame too.

**end rant

 

[Cloudfire777]

Better VRMs, custom made PCB, unlocked voltage, then we can talk. Right now with only a cooler change with the OEM Titan`s, its kinda boring.

 

[GrantMeThePower]

My gigabyte 680 is not voltage locked...

 

[blackened23]

Not sure that I would classify this as "custom" because the PCB is reference design. It's mostly worthless since there are no additional power phases and the VRM is the same, i'd rather have the reference rather than a souped up reference PCB - since it makes little difference without better components to complement the improved cooler.

 

[futurefields]

** rant

Yeah, no doubt it'll be voltage locked.
This seems to be gigabyte's MO

wait till the reviews hit showing excellent unlocked cards, then switcheroo

I just bought a gigabyte 7870 that's locked
Went down to the store to buy a 7970 and all they had was gigabyte (locked) so I left and took my money with me

Another thing that annoys me: even cards that are "unlocked" often won't let you lower voltages only raise them. Or they'll have annoying ranges ie: 501MHz or lower is needed to change voltage. The requirement that mem clock be within ~150MHz of gpu clock is lame too.

**end rant

For somebody who is a "casual forum poster who doesn't want to be quoted" you sure rant a lot.

 

[aaksheytalwar]

Why has amd started to lock voltage when that was their advantage?

 

[BallaTheFeared]

Well AMD does copy everyone else, but my guess would be because too many RMA's for dead cards, probably why my TF3 has a void warranty on the screws for the heat sink as well.

 

[badb0y]

AMD reference cards have never been locked, it's the stupid AIBs that are doing that.

Also Balla, MSi always had those void stickers but they don't care if you change the cooler as long as you change it back when you RMA the card. XFX does the same thing.

 

[DooKey]

Why has amd started to lock voltage when that was their advantage?

Shhhhhhhh, you're not supposed to talk about that.

 

[24601]

Well AMD does copy everyone else, but my guess would be because too many RMA's for dead cards, probably why my TF3 has a void warranty on the screws for the heat sink as well.

The problem is, Nvidia's lock on voltage is specifically software only with a requirement for reference boards so that their partners can't screw them over on their reputation like they did with the 5xx series.

AMD's gone full bore and done severe hardware locks on voltages which harkens back to a time before MSI Afterburner (A hell of a long time ago). Board manufacturers for AMD have also pulled this shit before on the 6xxx series, so I shouldn't be surprised (too bad I got suckered since I didn't have much experience in previous AMD card generations [referring to my locked voltage XFX DD Black edition, where the same company pulled that shit with every generation of their AMD cards, the old bait and switch])

 

[alcoholbob]

Problem is, due to throttling while playing demanding games, I've found really no effective advantage between a stock and an OC'ed Titan because during the most demanding scenes the card is going to use up so much TDP its just gonna throttle to stock clocks anyway.

 

[badb0y]

Yea you guys need to do more research before you pull the trigger there are definitely some vendors who don't lock the voltage on their cards...

 

[24601]

Problem is, due to throttling while playing demanding games, I've found really no effective advantage between a stock and an OC'ed Titan because during the most demanding scenes the card is going to use up so much TDP its just gonna throttle to stock clocks anyway.

Just increase your power limit/TDP limit.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?284014-KGB-Kepler-BIOS-Editor-Unlocker

Anyone who isn't doing this on their Titans doesn't >>really<< want the fastest single gpu graphics card

 

[Keysplayr]

Why has amd started to lock voltage when that was their advantage?

Either they're really dumb, as has been the motif of their management since forever and a month of Sundays now, OR, they can't afford the RMAs.

 

[Plimogz]

[...]Also Balla, MSi always had those void stickers but they don't care if you change the cooler as long as you change it back when you RMA the card. XFX does the same thing.

If I was shopping around for a TF3 at the moment I would definitely look into this statement a bit more closely: While the MSI warranty did not in fact prohibit changing/removing the heatsink when I last read it carefully, I'm pretty sure I didn't have to break any "warranty void if" stickers when I checked the TIM on my TF2 6950 or my TF3 7950's.

So there might be something to this...

 

[badb0y]

If I was shopping around for a TF3 at the moment I would definitely look into this statement a bit more closely: While the MSI warranty did not in fact prohibit changing/removing the heatsink when I last read it carefully, I'm pretty sure I didn't have to break any "warranty void if" stickers when I checked the TIM on my TF2 6950 or my TF3 7950's.

So there might be something to this...

You can call to confirm but my statement is true as of December 2012.

 

[Rvenger]

AMD's gone full bore and done severe hardware locks on voltages which harkens back to a time before MSI Afterburner

Wrong...

If you own cards like the XFX DD (non ref) and Sapphire vaporX, Gigabyte, you will notice they are all on non reference boards. AMD did not lock the cards down. Buy a reference AMD card with the logo imprinted on the PCB and you will find its voltage unlocked.

Other companies such as XFX (one of the biggest offenders I might add) are locking voltage due to the downgraded hardware they are stuffing on their own PCBs. Take a look at XFX's new 7970 model with the shorter PCB.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150665


XFX 7970 2013 DD 9.3" x 4.4" x 1.5"
VS
HIS Reference 11.53" x 4.96" x 1.65"

It's no doubt they are locking down voltages on their cards when they have to cram circuitry into smaller areas and provide smaller, less efficient coolers. There is no doubt it may have less power phases too. XFX is cutting corners and it shows. If you check the user reviews, XFX customer support offers reference models as RMA replacements since their DD models are so bad.



Newegg customer review -

"Pros: It is a 7970.
Lifetime warranty.
Good build quality with a few poor decisions just to be different.
That's it for this model.
Cons: LOCKED VOLTAGE!
The Double D cooler is garbage. My Sapphire Dual-x runs 7-12c hotter then the Double D and it is touching the back of the Double D. As a reference my 6870s, reference cards, the top one ran about 75c and the bottom ran about 55c.
This card stays hot for a long time after load drops to 0% at least 2-3 mins before the fans are at idle speeds again. This is normal for this card apparently due to the design of the cooler.
The fans are un-godly loud at any speed, video cards are the only thing not water cooled. Yet.
Other Thoughts: I bought this card from another store because I was looking for the single DVI out model that has unlocked voltage but there are no more to be had I guess as I ended up with this one.
3570k @ 4.8ghz
16gb ddr3 g.skill 1600 @ 1800 9-9-9-24
Sapphire dual-x 7970
XFX Double D 7970
3 x Dell S2340M 1920x1080 IPS LED @ 5900x1080 eyefinity

Manufacturer Response:Hello Dky, we can RMA this unit and swap it out for a single DVI-Unlocked-Reference PCB model if you prefer the older revision. Please contact me at neweggsupport@xfxforce.com to get started. Thank you "
​

 

[blackened23]

Is there a list of what cards and which mfgrs are locking AMD cards?

 

[thilanliyan]

Why has amd started to lock voltage when that was their advantage?

The partners decide to do that...their reference ones are not but the reference cards have pretty much dried up. However, you can usually count on MSI, Asus, and maybe one or two other partners to have unlocked cards. My HIS cards for example, although non-reference, allow voltage changes. It usually goes like this...AMD makes good reference cards with voltage control, and then partners cut that out to lower cost, and then release special editions WITH voltage control to charge a bit more. It's how it has worked for several generations and I don't see it changing. As long as we get software voltage control in one form or another I personally don't mind.

 

[exar333]

Really at this point the only thing that could interest me with aftermarket cards is voltage control and TDP limit increases.

This. And getting those features without voiding my warranty with a third-party BIOS...