NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 Overclocking with Voltage Adjustment

[Lonyo]

The 5970 is a 5870x2. A 470x2 isn't a very compelling card. Yeah, it's theoretically possible but to me the whole draw of Fermi is that it's #1 for performance and a 470x2 would be beat by a 5970.

Really? Then why does an HD5970 have reduced core and memory clocks compared to a standard HD5870?

The HD5970 is the HD5870 GPU at HD5850 clocks. Even ATI haven't made a full top end card as an X2. Which also means there's no reason why a GTX470x2 wouldn't beat it (GTX470 being between an HD5850 and HD5870 in performance, and half an HD5970 also being between them in performance), since 1) it would be equal in speed outright (GPU vs GPU), so 2) it'll all be about scaling and which games scale well or have issues.

At 2560x1600 (according to the AT review upon launch), the HD5970 was equal to or slightly slower than HD5850 in Crossfire, so it was even worse in performance than the specs might suggest.

 

[Dark Shroud]

Really? Then why does an HD5970 have reduced core and memory clocks compared to a standard HD5870?

They're downclocked to stay within the ATX spec. Look up the over clocked 4gig versions from Sapphire & Asus. Asus calls their's the ROG Ares.

http://www.tweaktown.com/news/14350..._image_show_up_hd_5970_on_steroids/index.html

 

[SHAQ]

Got my 470's to 750/1500/1800 for now. Power consumption gets crazy as you go up from there. About 1 watt per Mhz. lol I'm waiting on a better cooling case to revisit 790+ again. That should equal or best a stock 480 for $349 err...$369.

 

[Keysplayr]

Got my 470's to 750/1500/1800 for now. Power consumption gets crazy as you go up from there. About 1 watt per Mhz. lol I'm waiting on a better cooling case to revisit 790+ again. That should equal or best a stock 480 for $349 err...$369.

Stable at 750? If so that is a sweet o/c! Please update with some benches when you get the chance!

 

[SlowSpyder]

They're downclocked to stay within the ATX spec. Look up the over clocked 4gig versions from Sapphire & Asus. Asus calls their's the ROG Ares.

http://www.tweaktown.com/news/14350..._image_show_up_hd_5970_on_steroids/index.html

But I think the point Lonyo was trying to make is that the 5970 is not two 5870's like someone else said. Infact AMD said during the 5970 launch that they chose the 5970 name over 5870x2/5850x2 (as they used in previous gens, 4870x2, 4850x2, 3870x2) because the GPU's they used were neither 5850's or 5870's. But they are their own GPU's with unique specs... the 1600SP's of the 5870 and the 725MHz clock of the 5850.

It appears that the 5970 also uses less power than the 4870x2, I wonder why AMD felt they could not release higher clocks on the 5970..? I know they said it was to stay in the PCIE spec, but then I would then the 4870x2 must be breaking the spec? My guess is that Nvidia won't like AMD having the faster part with the 5970, I imagine even if they have to break PCIE spec and release only a small number of dual GPU cards they'll do so. But, I don't know if a dual GTX470 will be fast enough to clearly be the quicker part, they may have to make a hybrid GPU (like they did with the GTX295) as well. I imagine power use will be through the roof in doing so, though.

 

[Keysplayr]

But I think the point Lonyo was trying to make is that the 5970 is not two 5870's like someone else said. Infact AMD said during the 5970 launch that they chose the 5970 name over 5870x2/5850x2 (as they used in previous gens, 4870x2, 4850x2, 3870x2) because the GPU's they used were neither 5850's or 5870's. But they are their own GPU's with unique specs... the 1600SP's of the 5870 and the 725MHz clock of the 5850.

It appears that the 5970 also uses less power than the 4870x2, I wonder why AMD felt they could not release higher clocks on the 5970..? I know they said it was to stay in the PCIE spec, but then I would then the 4870x2 must be breaking the spec?

If the GPUs used in the 5970 were physically cut down (less shaders, TMUs, ROPs) I'd agree that they were their own unique GPU. But since there is absolutely no difference between a 5870 and the 5970s GPUs besides clocks, I'm inclined to say these GPUs are just lower clocked 5870s to fit within spec. If you can produce some kind of data to suggested any physical differences between a 5870 and one of the GPUs in a 5970, then I would agree with you. But until then...
Kind of similar to a GTX295. It uses two GTX275 GPUs but clocked lower at 576MHz instead of the standard 633MHz. Still a GTX275 GPU with lower clocks.

 

[Apocalypse23]

The one thing I really have loated about Nvidia are it's really hot/loud running cards, particularly with the 9800GX2 (mine ran at 110C on load running Crysis with 100% fan), the later versions of some of their cards are also hot, it's like their cards just keep getting hotter. My favorite Nvidia card has always been the 8800 GTS 512MB, that was a decent running smooth card with some power back in the day.

To comment about the OP's post, TweakTown may have cranked up those voltages and burned that GTX480, but it's like a Lamborghini Murcielago LP 670 that does a 9 mpg in the City (highly impracticable and only for the super rich).

 

[SlowSpyder]

If the GPUs used in the 5970 were physically cut down (less shaders, TMUs, ROPs) I'd agree that they were their own unique GPU. But since there is absolutely no difference between a 5870 and the 5970s GPUs besides clocks, I'm inclined to say these GPUs are just lower clocked 5870s to fit within spec. If you can produce some kind of data to suggested any physical differences between a 5870 and one of the GPUs in a 5970, then I would agree with you. But until then...
Kind of similar to a GTX295. It uses two GTX275 GPUs but clocked lower at 576MHz instead of the standard 633MHz. Still a GTX275 GPU with lower clocks.

No, I think it is exactly that... a 5870 GPU with lower clocks. But AMD couldn't stick to their x2 naming scheme since it isn't the same as a 5870x2... it's a unique set of specs, even if it's just lowered clocks or the same clocks as the 5850 with more SP's (however you want to look at it).

An earlier poster said, "The 5970 is a 5870x2." While it may be the same GPU, it's not the same clock speed, so AMD went with the 5970 name since neither 5850x2 or 5870x2 would be accurate.

 

[nosfe]

But are we absolutely sure that the 5970 uses the exact same chips as the 5870 or is there binning involved? Just because the only difference between two chips is the clock speed doesn't mean that they're identical and that the lower clocked part can attain the same frequency as the higher clocked one using the same amount of voltage (remember the 4870/4850?)

 

[Lonyo]

Semantics aside (because that's what everyone is arguing about), a dual GPU card doesn't have to be exactly twice the highest end single card to exist. There's no reason to assume that any dual-GU Fermi would be a GTX480x2 as the GTX480 exists currently. Equally the HD5970 isn't an HD5870x2 as the HD5870 is specced. Now a dual GPU Fermi could use the GTX480 variant of the GPU, or it could use the GTX470 variant of the GPU, either with standard or lowered clocks.

The point was that there is no requirement for a dual GPU card to be exactly twice the top end single card as sold (i.e. with the same number of functional units and the same clock speeds).
Whether the GPU on the HD5970 is the same as the one on the HD5870 or not doesn't matter, the HD5970 isn't twice an HD5870 simply because it is clocked lower by stock. Equally it's not twice an HD5850 because it has more functional units.

If I started selling HD5870s clocked at 725MHz core and 4GHz RAM, people would complain and say they aren't HD5870s.

Further to that, the HD5970 barely manages to equal the performance of HD5850s in Crossfire, and sometimes gets beaten (according to the AT benchmarks done at the time of release of the HD5970), so effective performance is barely at a part with HD5850x2, despite these more functional units and equal clocks.
To call it an HD5870x2 in terms of specifications would be inaccurate due to the lower clocks.
To call it an HD5870x2 in terms of performance seems to also be inaccurate based on the AT benchmarks.
So it's not really an HD5870x2, even if it uses the same GPU core as the HD5870 in terms of functional units.

And equally it wouldn't be necessary for a dual GPU fermi to be a GTX480x2, which again was the original point.

 

[Keysplayr]

But are we absolutely sure that the 5970 uses the exact same chips as the 5870 or is there binning involved? Just because the only difference between two chips is the clock speed doesn't mean that they're identical and that the lower clocked part can attain the same frequency as the higher clocked one using the same amount of voltage (remember the 4870/4850?)

I think you're on the wrong track here. Of course I think there is binning involved though. So I would agree with you. But that doesn't make the GPU anything less or more than what it is.
It may be that 5970 GPU's are just 5870 GPUs that couldn't clock high enough to be labeled 5870's and then used for the 5970s at 750MHz. And yes, ONLY a difference in the clocks that can be reached does not physcially differentiate the chips. They are still physically identical. Even if a produced 5870 GPU was tested and only reached 500MHz, it's still physically identical to a 5870 even though it could not be sold as such because it can't reach the standard clock speed of a reference 5870.
I really don't know what we are debating here. Seems like it shouldn't have existed, the conversation I mean. I feel like I wasted oxygen. I'm sorry for that.

 

[nosfe]

Hey, i was just responding to the 5970 uses 2x 5870 chips, no it doesn't, yes it does, no it doesn't, etc conversation with a "no it doesn't" of my own

This thread (or what it was in the beginning anyway) reminds me of the Pentium 4 in a way. It too needed a lot of Mhz over what it was originally released at to show it's true potential and it "only" needed to find a way to deal with the excessive heat and power consumption produced at those frequencies.

 

[3DVagabond]

http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/3...erclocking_with_voltage_adjustment/index.html

[sarc] LOL Yeah, here's what we need... more voltage and power please! [/sarc]

 

[ViRGE]

I think you're on the wrong track here. Of course I think there is binning involved though. So I would agree with you. But that doesn't make the GPU anything less or more than what it is.
It may be that 5970 GPU's are just 5870 GPUs that couldn't clock high enough to be labeled 5870's and then used for the 5970s at 750MHz.

Actually it's the other way around. The 5970 uses the cream of the crop of chips so that they can run a full chip (albeit at lower clocks) without drawing too much power. According to AT:

AMD went and binned Cypress chips specifically for the 5970, in order to find chips that could operate at 725MHz at only 1.05v (the 5850 runs at 1.088v).

And this would certainly explain the rarity of these cards. I'm pretty sure you could find a GTX 480 before you could find a 5970 right now.

 

[Keysplayr]

Actually it's the other way around. The 5970 uses the cream of the crop of chips so that they can run a full chip (albeit at lower clocks) without drawing too much power. According to AT:
And this would certainly explain the rarity of these cards. I'm pretty sure you could find a GTX 480 before you could find a 5970 right now.

Ah, yes. I would agree. Cream of the crop as far as being able to run at lower voltage/power draw. You are quite right.