Which Geforce 7800GTX 512 is the fastest on the market right now.

[xMax]

BFG seems to be the one that has the fastest clock speeds. But thats because its OverClocked by default, which sort of doesnt make sense since i could get a non overclocked version and OC it myself. Of course, i guess the argument there could be that the BFG is stable at its OC settings, whereas a non overclocked one if overclocked could become unstable and will also void the warranty.

Im not sure if OCing will void the warranty, although it seems to in many products, like CPUs.

Anyhow, is there anything out there faster.

Im not interested in SLI because my board doesnt support it.

And quite frankly, the computer industry, especially with graphics cards, has become insane with products between ATI and Nvidia coming out one after the other. Its like, you cant have a top of the line system for longer than 3 months if your lucky.

 

[Beef Taco]

Overclocking does void the warrenty. I don't know which 7800GTX 512 is the fastest because no one has any in stock!

 

[Cooler]

Originally posted by: xMax
BFG seems to be the one that has the fastest clock speeds. But thats because its OverClocked by default, which sort of doesnt make sense since i could get a non overclocked version and OC it myself. Of course, i guess the argument there could be that the BFG is stable at its OC settings, whereas a non overclocked one if overclocked could become unstable and will also void the warranty.

Im not sure if OCing will void the warranty, although it seems to in many products, like CPUs.

Anyhow, is there anything out there faster.

Im not interested in SLI because my board doesnt support it.

And quite frankly, the computer industry, especially with graphics cards, has become insane with products between ATI and Nvidia coming out one after the other. Its like, you cant have a top of the line system for longer than 3 months if your lucky.

as long as you dont volt mod your card your your card should last a long time.

 

[xMax]

vold mod my card, what does that mean. is that simply a savvy way of saying overclock or is it something else, like manual overclocking maybe.

 

[hans030390]

Originally posted by: xMax
vold mod my card, what does that mean. is that simply a savvy way of saying overclock or is it something else, like manual overclocking maybe.

overclocking is manual...

I'm not sure how it works, but it changes the voltage that the card gets for more power, so a higher OC can be reached. you have to do something physically with the card, unlike OCing, which is all software.

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: Beef Taco
Overclocking does void the warrenty. I don't know which 7800GTX 512 is the fastest because no one has any in stock!

Which leads to the inevitable conclusion: Whichever one you can find!


That's assuming hey are still in short supply.

 

[imported_X]

Just wait a couple weeks for the X1900XTX, which should beat the 7800GTX 512 in quite a few games and will actually be available.

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: X
Just wait a couple weeks for the X1900XTX, which should beat the 7800GTX 512 in quite a few games and will actually be available.

This sounds like the best plan. As of right now.

 

[xMax]

I currently have the ATI X1800 XT and have no interest in getting any ATI card for the simple reason that ATI cards, all of them, actually have a bug with windows media player 9 or 10 in all windows XPs. The bug has to do with border problems and not showing all 256 shades of gray when the "use overlay" option is checked in the performance options of windows media player.

Im 100% sure about this too, unless an AMD processor would change things. The reason as to how i know im certain is because ive tried the border and grayscale tests on about 4 different radeon cards, ranging from a 9200 to the X1800 XT, as they all failed the test.

The test can actually be easily carried out on analog or digitally connected displays. All you do is create an image in BMP or AVI format that has a white outline on a pure black background so that the outline only covers the edge pixels on the display. What you will see is that the brightness of the outline is not the same on all the sides.

The other test can be done with varying grayscale test images where you will see that step 254 and 255 are the same.

These are not a problem, but they intail the possibility that there could be other image artifacts.

After running my animation, which is a very intricate fractal animation, it doesnt end up looking correct.

Ive tried other media players as they seem to possess the same effect and i also want to stick with windows media player.

And so, by unchecking the 'use overlay' option, the image artifacts are gone as the image looks perfect and the animation looks correct. Only without overlay checked, the playback is much slower and improper in appearance.

After trying the border and grayscale test on a system that had an Nvidia card, i noticed that there was no image artifacts when overlay was used.

So the ATI cards are the only possible causes. Im sure an AMD system could be different, but ive already bought my system and cant change it now. The store i got my system from, even though i didnt get the card from them, is allowing me to exchange my ATI card for an Nvidia card, as they can get the Geforce 7800 GTX 512.

Ironically, its the only component i didnt get from the store and the only one that has given me problems.

So im going with Nvidia, as i dont care for the extra slight performance gains from the X1900 XT, since its negligible compared to the massive performance difference from using or not using overlay, which is about x20 times difference in playback speed. And i cant wait another month either.

I know its crazy that im barking over such a slight bug, but im in a ridiculous situation that i can only describe as one where i am assigned an objective to accomplish and that it has to be accomplished without a single glitch of an error.

So far the BFG is the best Nvidia card out there. Although i think that the store is only going to be able to get me what they can regardless of what i want since these cards are so hard to find. But it still helps to know which one is the best and to make the corresponding request as the first choice.

And yes, it would probably make no difference, but my philosophy is that aim high and you can go to sleep.

 

[Munky]

Well, then at least you could get something more reaonable like a 256gtx or a gt. I really can't recommend getting a 512gtx at it's current $999 pricetag even if you do find one in stock somewhere - it's just absurd. But if you insist, then I'd get BFG, because their lifetime warranty actually means it's for the card's lifetime, not like the "lifetime" warranties of some other brands. And it's facory OC'd, so even better. But dont say I didnt warn ya when in 2 weeks a newer and faster card comes out that costs less too.

 

[xMax]

i will take your advice into consideration munky.

I think the price is absurd. A person can get an entire system for that same price right now. Ridiculous. And i dont know why they even make 4x SLI. Besides showcasing, a person would have to be deranged to even buy a setup like that for gaming.

Anyhow, i could easily start blabbing away, so i'll just end it here.

 

[akugami]

Originally posted by: xMax
The test can actually be easily carried out on analog or digitally connected displays. All you do is create an image in BMP or AVI format that has a white outline on a pure black background so that the outline only covers the edge pixels on the display. What you will see is that the brightness of the outline is not the same on all the sides.

The other test can be done with varying grayscale test images where you will see that step 254 and 255 are the same.

These are not a problem, but they intail the possibility that there could be other image artifacts.

After running my animation, which is a very intricate fractal animation, it doesnt end up looking correct.

Ive tried other media players as they seem to possess the same effect and i also want to stick with windows media player.

And so, by unchecking the 'use overlay' option, the image artifacts are gone as the image looks perfect and the animation looks correct. Only without overlay checked, the playback is much slower and improper in appearance.

After trying the border and grayscale test on a system that had an Nvidia card, i noticed that there was no image artifacts when overlay was used.

So the ATI cards are the only possible causes. Im sure an AMD system could be different, but ive already bought my system and cant change it now. The store i got my system from, even though i didnt get the card from them, is allowing me to exchange my ATI card for an Nvidia card, as they can get the Geforce 7800 GTX 512.

Ironically, its the only component i didnt get from the store and the only one that has given me problems.

So im going with Nvidia, as i dont care for the extra slight performance gains from the X1900 XT, since its negligible compared to the massive performance difference from using or not using overlay, which is about x20 times difference in playback speed. And i cant wait another month either.

I know its crazy that im barking over such a slight bug, but im in a ridiculous situation that i can only describe as one where i am assigned an objective to accomplish and that it has to be accomplished without a single glitch of an error.

So far the BFG is the best Nvidia card out there. Although i think that the store is only going to be able to get me what they can regardless of what i want since these cards are so hard to find. But it still helps to know which one is the best and to make the corresponding request as the first choice.

And yes, it would probably make no difference, but my philosophy is that aim high and you can go to sleep.

The only question I have is that have you tried the same tests using an nVidia card in the same system using the same monitor as the one you tested the ATI cards in? I know you said you tested this on a different system using an nVidia card but you don't say whether it's the same monitor. For it to be a more conclusive test you need to run the same tests using a clean install of Windows with whatever codecs and apps you need on an ATI card system. Then running the tests. Then doing the same tests using the same system except exchanging the ATI card for an nVidia card with a clean install.

I'd run the tests myself but unfortunately the only cards I have in the house are all ATI cards.

 

[xMax]

Normally you would be correct, but i tried the tests on varying systems with varying monitors but all running xp. And they all failed whenever there was an ATI card. I tried the test on a different system, running the Nvidia card, and it worked. The ATI card has to be whats causing the malfunctioning, if we can call it that. The truth is that you might be right. I just realized that i can pluck out the Nvidia card from that system that currently has it and try it out on my computer right now. This may work.

Im a little mixed up, but the idea is that im almost certain that the ATI cars are whats causing the issue, but i would need more Nvidia systems to make sure that the one Nvidia system that i tried didnt work by fluke.

Im gonna have to run some tests tomorrow and then come back and here and give my results.

 

[TheRyuu]

Latest drivers?

 

[yomafire]

Originally posted by: xMax
vold mod my card, what does that mean. is that simply a savvy way of saying overclock or is it something else, like manual overclocking maybe.

It means you provide more voltage to the gpu and memory by soldering a variable resistor and thus reducing resistance, which gives it more juice.

Also.

What programs do you guys use to test for greyscale? I want to try that program that ATI apparantly fails.

 

[Sentry2]

Overclocking won't void the evga's warranty. Vmodding it will(of course). I sold both of my evga GTX 512's on ebay in hopes of the G71 showing up in early Feb. but that doesn't sound likely now. The only GTX 512 I would buy right now would be the evga just for the step up program because the G71 will eat the GTX 512 for lunch. Then when it comes out you can just step up to it. The GTX 512 is an awesome card but the X1900XT and G71 are just around the corner.

 

[chilled]

Originally posted by: X
Just wait a couple weeks for the X1900XTX, which should beat the 7800GTX 512 in quite a few games and will actually be available.

It will hopefully be available....!

 

[TheRyuu]

Look, it all depends on what your going to be doing with the computer. If your going to be doing some uber fast gaming than I'd wait for the next generation of cards (BOTH the R580 and G71 to come out).

If your going to be doing some casual gaming then get the 7800GT (really cheap and really good).

If your not going to game at all, get a budget card like 6600 or 6800GS? <-right?

 

[xMax]

Latest drivers?

I got them, but they dont change anything.

The peroformance gain of overclocking is negligible when compared to the performance gain of using overlay. So i have no interest in overclocking. In fact, i would probably need any good Nvidia card. So long as it uses overlay, then it will run faster than my X1800 XT with no overlay.

To make grayscale tests or to make the outline or border test, you would use any basic imaging or animation program. I use either photoshop or 3D Studio Max. Although they are not exactly basic, but the process of creating these test images requires basic knowledge in using the program and basic steps to create the images.

You can also find programs like displaymate, but that costs money and will not neccessarily have the required test images. Photoshop and 3D Studio Max trial versions can be downloaded for free.

But i need to run some tests and assess as to wether i can live with not using overlay and find another solution other than buying a new card.

Once again, thanks for all the help.

 

[v8envy]

Also, try ffdshow.

I'm thinking the ati cards may have video playback acceleration/enhancement turned on by default, which is doing things with your image you don't expect. That may be turned off in the nvidia drivers.

ffdshow gives you some pretty serious control over which filters are applied to your image, and you should be able to avoid any accidental on-card processing.

If memory serves you have a pretty decent upper midrange box, so it should be able to handle the CPU gruntwork even at 1900x1200 no problem.

Another test to try: download a linux live cd distro (so you don't have to install it) and see if the problem persists using non-accelerated players & open source codecs.

 

[Skott]

One of the advantages of the factory overclocked cards is that they may have a cooler built onto them. eVGA for example puts the ECS3 on some of their cards like the KO model. This is better than the stock cards in that regard. ASUS is another that modifies their cooling of some of their overclocked cards. Not sure if XFX or BFG adds extra cooling to their cards or not. Probably do. Its something to consider when looking at buying factory overclocked cards.

 

[xMax]

Ill give ffdshow a try. im downloading right now but confused because there is a 2002 version and an 2004 alpha version. I guess ill try the alpha first.

Linus is out of the question because im not going into that world right about now. And certain hardware devices that i have, like a monitor calibrator, is not compatible with linux. Nor is my graphics card either, since the x1000 ATI cards are still not compatible with linux.

NOPE: FFDSHOW is not for me. Thats for DivX stuff and not an RLE compressed AVi.

Skott: thanks for the info.

I dont believe that there is a fix. I must first assess as to wether i can live without the loss of speed. And if not, then im going to have to get an Nvidia. I probably dont even need a 512 GTX. But thats another assessement.

 

[TheRyuu]

So what are you going to be doing on this computer that you need a 512GTX so desperatly?

 

[xMax]

Its rather personal and ive partially explained it in previous forums. In plain and simple, its simply media playback.

But again, i dont think i will be needing the speed. This is what im currently working on right now.

 

[TheRyuu]

Originally posted by: xMax
Its rational personal and ive partially explained it in previous forums. In plain and simple, its simply media playback.

But again, i dont think i will be needing the speed. This is what im currently working on right now.

Then you don't need a 512GTX. The most you might ever need (and I remember your previous threads ) would be a 7800GT (and plus you can game on that too )

I think, and someone correct me if I'm wrong, a 6800GS migh be a good card if all he's doing is media playback (video editing??), maby even a 6600?