XFX 8800GTS - overclocked out of the box? (plus a useless bench & temps)

SunnyD

Belgian Waffler
Jan 2, 2001
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Happy day, just got my new 8800GTS installed. First the lowdown for ya'll:

System Spec:
Sempron 64 2800+ (1.6GHz - STOCK)
DFI Infinity NF4x
1.5GB Ram, running 333MHz (forced divider by chipset)
Pair of Seagate 200GB 7200.8 SATA drives, non-raid
And a nice, new XFX 8800GTS

First, temps:
Idle - 60 Degrees C
Load - 75 Degrees C (Tested running NWN2 at 1680x1050 fullscreen for about 20 minutes)

The fan works WELL. As soon as I came out of the game, temps were dropping fast into the upper 60's. After about 10 minutes, I'm flatlined at 60 degrees C again. Please note, I have an old Enlight 7237 Mid-Tower, and it's really not the best for cooling.

Next, FPS:
First test (and only one I have at this point) - NWN2. Marked improvement over a Radeon X1950XTX, I can feel the difference, with the balance needing to be made up by a faster CPU. I was averaging at 1680x1050 with every single graphics setting maxed 23FPS, low was 19 and high was, well, I'm not sure. I know it's not great, but I couldn't do that with the Radeon (highs in the upper teens).

Finally, apparently I'm overclocked right out of the box. nTune (latest version) and ATITool both agree that the core is running at 513MHz. The memory on the other hand is running a hair slow, at 792MHz DDR (1.584GHz). <--- This is my main sticking point! Is anyone else seeing out of the box clocks differing from spec?

Anyway, off to play some more.

Update:
Alright, just played an hour long bout of TCE (if you don't know, it's a mod for Wolfenstein:Enemy Territory that's a good deal like Counterstrike, and adds HDR to the WolfET engine). Now, without any actual empirical data, I actually came out on top or doing very well for several rounds. There is no reason for this, as I really and truly SUCK at FPS games. Well, the only reason I can think of is the 8800GTS.

Random Thought:
This thing in my humble opinion no louder than my Radeon X1950XTX. In fact, I would have to say it's quieter. On a couple occasions with the Radeon, I've actually heard the fan spin up and down at random times under load. Also on system startup it did that. The 8800GTS, just solidly silent. Or rather, I simply can't hear it over the 2 80mm case fans, the stock AMD heatsink fan, the chipset fan and the 120mm PSU fan.
 

thilanliyan

Lifer
Jun 21, 2005
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Originally posted by: SunnyD
Finally, apparently I'm overclocked right out of the box. nTune (latest version) and ATITool both agree that the core is running at 513MHz. The memory on the other hand is running a hair slow, at 792MHz DDR (1.584GHz). <--- This is my main sticking point! Is anyone else seeing out of the box clocks differing from spec?

Anyway, off to play some more.

Those are the exact stock clocks with my eVGA 8800GTS.
 

SunnyD

Belgian Waffler
Jan 2, 2001
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www.neftastic.com
Originally posted by: Dethfrumbelo
I would definitely look into overclocking that Sempron up to at least 2.2GHz if possible.

I would, if I had a better case, something better than stock cooling, and didn't live in Florida.
 

HybridSquirrel

Diamond Member
Nov 20, 2005
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i havent been following too much of the dx10 cards, the way i see it, they can run any game out nowadays at ease and have room to spare so i dont feel a need to OC
 

acole1

Golden Member
Sep 28, 2005
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mine is running 70c min ~75c max... how are you getting 60c min?

BTW mine is the BFG card
 

Avalon

Diamond Member
Jul 16, 2001
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Originally posted by: SunnyD
Originally posted by: Dethfrumbelo
I would definitely look into overclocking that Sempron up to at least 2.2GHz if possible.

I would, if I had a better case, something better than stock cooling, and didn't live in Florida.

No need for a great case and large cooling to get a Sempron to 2.2, trust me. I live in Florida as well, and sent my 2800+ chips to the 2.6 range on a Zalman CNPS 7000-AL, which isn't much better than stock. You shouldn't have any trouble hitting 2.2 at stock voltage with the stock heatsink so long as your board can handle the overclock.
 

SunnyD

Belgian Waffler
Jan 2, 2001
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Originally posted by: acole1
mine is running 70c min ~75c max... how are you getting 60c min?

BTW mine is the BFG card

The NV Control panel right now is showing minor fluctuations right now at between 62 and 63 degrees C... and I might add, it is QUITE warm in my apartment today for some reason. My system has been on idle for the last 25 minutes or so from power on.

I should add, I had an odd boot up just now - from power on, I had a garbled green screen. Absolutely nothing legible. Upon hard reset, everything came up fine, but showed the system had tried to load into windows when I shut down. Dunno whether it's the video card or the monitor though, as this Gateway 21" has been flaky lately.

Avalon, I'd try the OC, but I tried at 1920MHz already and was getting 51 degrees on the core under Prime95. I have a few co-workers that have 2800's, and they're saying I shouldn't see more than 40 degrees. Of course, like I said, I'm using stock everything too.
 

blckgrffn

Diamond Member
May 1, 2003
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Originally posted by: SunnyD
Originally posted by: acole1
mine is running 70c min ~75c max... how are you getting 60c min?

BTW mine is the BFG card

The NV Control panel right now is showing minor fluctuations right now at between 62 and 63 degrees C... and I might add, it is QUITE warm in my apartment today for some reason. My system has been on idle for the last 25 minutes or so from power on.

I should add, I had an odd boot up just now - from power on, I had a garbled green screen. Absolutely nothing legible. Upon hard reset, everything came up fine, but showed the system had tried to load into windows when I shut down. Dunno whether it's the video card or the monitor though, as this Gateway 21" has been flaky lately.

Avalon, I'd try the OC, but I tried at 1920MHz already and was getting 51 degrees on the core under Prime95. I have a few co-workers that have 2800's, and they're saying I shouldn't see more than 40 degrees. Of course, like I said, I'm using stock everything too.

I really wouldn't worry about that sort of temp increase on your chip. Unlike video cards, in my opinion, motherboard temp sensors range wildly. If you can prime stable for 12 hours or so, you are fine.

Or just buy a freaking 3400+ and be done with it! :D

Nat