Mad-Moxx 7900 GTO 512 MB Burstfire

[W1zzard]

[page=Introduction & Specifications]
Introduction

The GeForce 7900 GTO is a product derived directly from the GeForce 7900 GTX. After the initial 7900 GTX shipments people complained about instabilities and display corruption related to the memory clock. It seemed that not all memory chips could handle the high clock speeds of 800 MHz GDDR3. So the first batch of cards got recalled and everybody was wondering what to do with those cards that work perfectly fine apart from the high memory speeds. Unsoldering and soldering better memory on was out of the question because it is too expensive. So the GeForce 7900 GTO was born. It is a full fledged, 7900 GTX, except for the reduced memory clock of 690 MHz

When the 7900 GTO appeared, it was a card that everybody wanted. It was cheap, fast, and often you could overclock the memory to GTX levels without any problems. Most cards are now sold out. Mad Moxx has got themselves a ton of cards and tested them in their offices if they are able to run stable at GTX clocks. This "premodded" approach gives you 100% warranty that the product will work as intended, also the card comes with a full warranty, which you could lose when overclocking another card.

<table border="1" class="resulttable" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3">
<tr>
<th></th>
<td>7800 GTX </td>
<td>7900 GT </td>
<td>7900 GTO </td>
<td><strong>GTO Burstfire </strong></td>
<td>7900 GTX </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>GPU</th>
<td align="right">G70</td>
<td align="right">G71</td>
<td align="right">G71</td>
<td align="right"><strong>G71</strong></td>
<td align="right">G71</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Pixel Shaders</th>
<td align="right">24</td>
<td align="right">24</td>
<td align="right">24</td>
<td align="right"><strong>24</strong></td>
<td align="right">24</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Vertex Pipes</th>
<td align="right">8</td>
<td align="right">8</td>
<td align="right">8</td>
<td align="right"><strong>8</strong></td>
<td align="right">8</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>ROPs</th>
<td align="right">16</td>
<td align="right">16</td>
<td align="right">16</td>
<td align="right"><strong>16</strong></td>
<td align="right">16</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Memory Size</th>
<td align="right">256/512</td>
<td align="right">256</td>
<td align="right">512</td>
<td align="right"><strong>512</strong></td>
<td align="right">512</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Memory Type </th>
<td align="right">GDDR3</td>
<td align="right">GDDR3</td>
<td align="right">GDDR3</td>
<td align="right"><strong>GDDR3</strong></td>
<td align="right">GDDR3</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Core Clock</th>
<td align="right">550 MHz </td>
<td align="right">450 MHz </td>
<td align="right"> 650 MHz </td>
<td align="right"><strong> 650 MHz </strong></td>
<td align="right">650 MHz </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Memory Clock</th>
<td align="right">600 MHz </td>
<td align="right">660 MHz </td>
<td align="right">690 MHz </td>
<td align="right"><strong>800 MHz </strong></td>
<td align="right">800 MHz </td>
</tr>
</table>

As you can see the only difference is the memory clock of the cards. Mad Moxx puts a different BIOS on the GTO cards, so there is no need to install any software. You put the card in and it runs like a 7900 GTX for a smaller price.

Complete Specifications

Vertex Shaders

Support for Microsoft DirectX 9.0 Vertex Shader 3.0
Displacement mapping
Geometry instancing
Infinite length vertex programs


Pixel Shaders

Support for DirectX 9.0 Pixel Shader 3.0
Full pixel branching support
Support for Multiple Render Targets (MRTs)
Infinite length pixel programs


Next-Generation Texture Engine

Accelerated texture access
Up to 16 textures per rendering pass
Support for 16-bit floating point format and 32-bit floating point format
Support for non-power of two textures
Support for sRGB texture format for gamma textures
DirectX and S3TC texture compression



Full 128-bit studio-quality floating point precision through the entire rendering pipeline with native hardware support for 32bpp, 64bpp, and 128bpp rendering modes


64-Bit Texture Filtering and Blending

Delivers true high dynamic-range (HDR) lighting support
Full floating point support throughout entire pipeline
Floating point filtering improves the quality of images in motion
Floating point texturing drives new levels of clarity and image detail
Floating point frame buffer blending gives detail to special effects like motion blur and explosions


NVIDIA® Intellisample™ 4.0 Technology

Advanced 16x anisotropic filtering (with up to 128 taps)
Blistering-fast antialiasing and compression performance
Gamma-adjusted rotated-grid antialiasing removes jagged edges for incredible image quality
Transparent multisampling and transparent supersampling modes boost antialiasing quality to new levels
Support for normal map compression
Support for advanced lossless compression algorithms for color, texture, and z-data at even higher resolutions and frame rates
Fast z-clear


NVIDIA® UltraShadow™ II Technology

Designed to enhance the performance of shadow-intensive games


NVIDIA® SLI™ Technology

Patented hardware and software technology allows two GeForce-based graphics cards to run in parallel to scale performance and enhance image quality on today's top titles.
Quad SLI technology enabled through select System Builders delivers SLI support for four GPUs, providing mind-blowing performance and image quality at extreme resolutions. SLI support for the GeForce 7950 GX2 will be provided through a future NVIDIA ForceWare driver release. See www.slizone.com for details


NVIDIA® PureVideo™ Technology

Dedicated on-chip video processor
High-definition H.264, MPEG2 and WMV9 decode acceleration
Advanced spatial-temporal de-interlacing
Inverse telecine (2:2 and 3:2 pull-down correction)
High-quality video scaling
Video color correction
Microsoft® Video Mixing Renderer (VMR) supports multiple video windows with full video quality and features in each window


Built for Microsoft® Windows Vista™

Third-generation GPU architecture built for Windows Vista
Delivers best possible experience when running Windows Vista 3D graphical user interface
New OS supported by renowned NVIDIA® Unified Driver Architecture (UDA) for maximum stability and reliability
NVIDIA® PureVideo™ technology delivers high-quality VMR pipeline for best-in-class video for Windows Vista


Advanced Display Functionality

Dual integrated 400MHz RAMDACs for analog display resolutions up to and including 2048x1536 at 85Hz
Dual-link DVI capability to drive the industry's largest and highest resolution digital flat panel displays up to 2560x1600
Integrated HDTV encoder provides analog TV-output (Component/Composite/S-Video) up to 1080i resolution
Full NVIDIA® nView® multi-display technology capability


High Speed Interfaces

Designed for PCI Express x16
Designed for high-speed GDDR3 memory
NVIDIA® Digital Vibrance Control® (DVC) 3.0 Technology
DVC color controls
DVC image sharpening controls


Operating Systems

Windows XP/Windows XP 64
Built for Microsoft Windows Vista
Windows 2000
Linux
Macintosh OS X


API Support

Complete DirectX support, including the latest version of Microsoft DirectX 9.0 Shader Model 3.0
Full OpenGL support, including OpenGL 2.0


[page=Packaging & Contents]
Packaging
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MadMoxx/7900_GTO_Burstfire/images/package1_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MadMoxx/7900_GTO_Burstfire/images/package1.jpg)
Compared to all the eye candy boxes out there, the BurstFire box looks a bit dull.

Contents
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MadMoxx/7900_GTO_Burstfire/images/contents_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MadMoxx/7900_GTO_Burstfire/images/contents.jpg)
Inside the box you will find:

Video Card
Driver CD
Component TV adapter
2x DVI Adapter
PCI-E Power Adapter


[page=The Card]
The Card
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MadMoxx/7900_GTO_Burstfire/images/card_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MadMoxx/7900_GTO_Burstfire/images/card.jpg) http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MadMoxx/7900_GTO_Burstfire/images/card3_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MadMoxx/7900_GTO_Burstfire/images/card3.jpg)
The card looks just like the GeForce 7900 GTX. To separate their product from a regular GTO, Mad Moxx puts a small sticker on the cooler. Which is about the same what most other manufacturers do to their cards after buying them from NVIDIA.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MadMoxx/7900_GTO_Burstfire/images/card2_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MadMoxx/7900_GTO_Burstfire/images/card2.jpg)
On the back there is not much to see. Memory chips are on the same side as the GPU.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MadMoxx/7900_GTO_Burstfire/images/connectors_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MadMoxx/7900_GTO_Burstfire/images/connectors.jpg)
Two DVI interfaces are the standard on today's higher end cards. Both ports support Dual-Link, to allow higher resolutions than 1600x1200. If you need to connect an analog display, two DVI adapters are included with the package.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MadMoxx/7900_GTO_Burstfire/images/card4_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MadMoxx/7900_GTO_Burstfire/images/card4.jpg)
The cooler on the card is the GeForce 7900 GTX reference design cooler which uses heatpipes and a quite silent fan.

[page=A Closer Look]
A Closer Look
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MadMoxx/7900_GTO_Burstfire/images/power_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MadMoxx/7900_GTO_Burstfire/images/power.jpg)
The card needs additional power delivery through one PCI-E power connector, an adapter cable is included.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MadMoxx/7900_GTO_Burstfire/images/sli_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MadMoxx/7900_GTO_Burstfire/images/sli.jpg)
You can combine this card with the 7900 GTX, or another Burstfire 7900 GTO to build an SLI rig. SLI with the 7900 GTO will work too of course, but due to the different clocks there might be a small loss of performance.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MadMoxx/7900_GTO_Burstfire/images/cooler_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MadMoxx/7900_GTO_Burstfire/images/cooler.jpg)
After removing the cooler, we see that a Copper baseplate makes contact with the hot core. Once the heat is distributed far enough, Aluminum is used to keep the weight down. You can also see here, that the memory chips are making contact with the heatsink.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MadMoxx/7900_GTO_Burstfire/images/pcb_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MadMoxx/7900_GTO_Burstfire/images/pcb.jpg)
The memory layout and everything is just like on the big GeForce 7900 GTX.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MadMoxx/7900_GTO_Burstfire/images/gpu_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MadMoxx/7900_GTO_Burstfire/images/gpu.jpg)
The NVIDIA G71 uses 278 Million transistors with support for Shader Model 3.0.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MadMoxx/7900_GTO_Burstfire/images/memory_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MadMoxx/7900_GTO_Burstfire/images/memory.jpg)
As memory Samsung 1.1 ns GDDR3 memory with the model number K4J52324QC-BJ11 is used.

[page=Test Setup]
Test System
<table border="1" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" class="ramtable" width="450">
<tr align="center">
<th colspan="2" scope="row" style="font-size:larger;text-align:center">Test System</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th width="150" scope="row">CPU:</th>
<td scope="row">AMD Athlon64 FX-60 @ 2900 MHz<br />(Toledo, 2x 1024 KB Cache)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th scope="row">Motherboard:</th>
<td scope="row">Sapphire PC-A9RD580<br />ATI Radeon XPRESS 3200</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th scope="row">Memory:</th>
<td scope="row">2x 1024MB G.Skill F1-4000BIU2-2GBHV CL3</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th valign="top" scope="row">Harddisk:</th>
<td valign="top" scope="row">WD Raptor 360GD 36 GB</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th valign="top" scope="row">Power Supply:</th>
<td valign="top" scope="row">OCZ GameXStream 700W</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th valign="top" scope="row">Software:</th>
<td valign="top" scope="row">Windows XP SP2</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th valign="top" scope="row">Drivers:</th>
<td valign="top" scope="row">NVIDIA: 91.47<br />ATI: Catalyst 6.11</td>
</tr>
</table>


All video card results were obtained on this exact system with the exact same configuration.
All games were set to their highest quality setting


Three resolutions were tested per benchmark:


1024 x 768, No Anti-aliasing, No anisotropic filtering. This is a standard resolution without demanding display settings.
1280 x 1024, 2x Anti-aliasing, 8x anisotropic filtering. Common resolution for most gamer flatscreens today. A bit of eye candy turned on in the drivers.
1600 x 1200, 4x Anti-aliasing, 16x anisotropic filter. Highest non-widescreen resolution available to a wide range of users. Very good looking driver graphics settings.
2048 x 1536, 4x Anti-aliasing, 16x anisotropic filter. Highest non-widescreen resolution available to any consumer video card. Very good looking driver graphics settings.


[page=Far Cry]
Far Cry
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MadMoxx/7900_GTO_Burstfire/images/farcry.jpg
Far Cry (http://www.farcry-thegame.com) was released in early 2004 by the new development studio Crytek. It quickly became a massive success because it was one of the first titles to take you in a beautiful 3D outdoor world. Far Cry was one of the most demanding games at its time. Even with today's video cards you can still see big differences in frame rates, especially at the higher resolutions.

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[page=FEAR]
FEAR

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The first person shooter F.E.A.R (htttp://www.whatisfear.com), developed by Monolith Game Studios, was released in Fall 2005 and has a great 3D engine that uses a large number of shading and shadow effects to accurately model the game world. In addition to that it features a realistic physics engine that lets you interact with many objects in the game world. The game was voted game of the year by several publications.

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[page=Prey]
Prey
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MadMoxx/7900_GTO_Burstfire/images/prey.jpg
Prey (http://www.prey.com) is based on a highly modified 3D engine made by id Software. This first person shooter brought a completely new way of gaming to the genre. In many levels you find yourself walking upside down or on the walls. This adds a completely new aspect to the gaming experience in this genre.

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[page=Quake 4]
Quake 4
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MadMoxx/7900_GTO_Burstfire/images/quake4.jpg
The Quake titles are among the most successful first person games. Developed by id Software, the famous game studio that brought you DOOM, you find yourself in a scifi world that is full of aliens and shocking effects. The main focus of the game is the single player story line. Quake 4 (http://www.quake4game.com) puts you on the home planet of the Strogg. In a number of missions you and your fellow marines will encounter all sorts of enemies, including some really huge aliens.

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[page=X3]
X3
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MadMoxx/7900_GTO_Burstfire/images/x3.jpg
X3 (http://www.egosoft.com) is a space combat/trading simulation game with beautiful graphics. The game world is gigantic and there is always something new to see. Even though the user interface is not that great, the title has found many fans that love to explore the rich content. When you are flying in your spaceship you are sometimes tempted to just stop the action to take a look at the highly detailed ships and planets.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MadMoxx/7900_GTO_Burstfire/images/x3_1024_768.gif

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[page=3DMark03]
3DMark03
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MadMoxx/7900_GTO_Burstfire/images/3dmark03.jpg
Futuremark Corporation (http://www.futuremark.com) is the number one player in the world of synthetic benchmarking. The 3DMark series is the most popular test suite for video card testing and is used by gamers, overclockers and manufacturers alike to determine how fast their hardware is. Even though it is a few years old, 3DMark03 can easily stress today's video cards.

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[page=3DMark05]
3DMark05
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MadMoxx/7900_GTO_Burstfire/images/3dmark05.jpg
Another benchmark from Futuremark (http://www.futuremark.com) is 3DMark05 which comes with four completely new game tests that make massive use of shaders and lighting effects. 3DMark05 is a great test for modern video card architectures - in some tests you are often close to the 30 fps mark, below which your games will feel sluggish.

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[page=Power consumption]
Power consumption
Cooling modern video cards is becoming more and more difficult, especially when users are asking for quiet cooling solutions. That's why the engineers are now paying much more attention to power consumption of new video card designs.

To measure power consumption the whole system's mains power draw was measured. This means that these numbers include CPU, Memory, HDD, Video card and PSU inefficiency.

The load value was obtained by running 3DMark03 Nature at 1280x1024, 6xAA, 16xAF. This results in the highest power consumption. While the test was running, power consumption was recorded. The highest reading is listed in the following graph.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MadMoxx/7900_GTO_Burstfire/images/power.gif

With a peak power draw of 200W, the 7900 GTX is quite modest in its power supply requirements. Compared to the ATI X1950 XTX it is definitely more efficient.

Since the Mad Moxx 7900 GTO Burstfire is essentially a 7900 GTX, the 7900 GTX numbers apply to this modded GTO as well.

[page=Overclocking]
Overclocking
The card uses different clocks for 2D and 3D. While running in 2D mode the clocks are 250 MHz on the core and 800 MHz on the memory. In 3D the defaults are 650 MHz / 800 MHz.

We used ATITool to automatically find the maximum core and memory clocks of our card.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MadMoxx/7900_GTO_Burstfire/images/maxclock.gif

In the end the card runs completely stable at 697 MHz Core (7 % overclock) and 804 MHz Memory (0.5 % overclock). Both overclocks are nothing spectacular, especially the low memory overclock is a bit scary.

Overall the overclocks are fair for a pre-modded card, a voltmod can probably raise the clocks some more.

[page=Value & Conclusion]
Value and Conclusion
<table width="100%" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" id="result">
<tr><th>http://www.techpowerup.com/images/dollar.gif</th>
<td>
The Mad Moxx 7900 GTO Burstfire costs € 349, which is quite a bit more than the regular 7900 GTO.</td>
</tr><tr>
<th>http://www.techpowerup.com/images/thumbup.gif</th>
<td>
Premodded, full warranty
Excellent performance
In-Stock today
Silent cooler
SLI capable
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>http://www.techpowerup.com/images/thumbdown.gif</th>
<td>
A bit expensive
Limited overclocking capability
</td></tr>
<tr><th>9.3</th>
<td>Mad Moxx has a long tradition of offering pre-modded cards to their customers, starting with the Radeon 9500 NP modded to a 9700 Pro. As you can imagine the manual testing and selection process takes time and costs money. For a premium you get a product that is thoroughly tested to run at the advertised speeds.<br />
In our testing we saw that the Mad-Moxx 7900 GTO 512 MB Burstfire is identical in performance to the GeForce 7900 GTX (within margin of measurement error). During all our testing the card ran perfectly stable at the GTX memory clocks of 800 MHz. It is safe to say that you get a full-fledged GeForce 7900 GTX, just for a lower price. Compared to the much more expensive 7900 GTX, the overclocking possibilities are definitely more limited. In our testing we saw a 7% increase in core and practically no increase in maximum memory clock.<br />
Of course you could argue that you could buy a regular 7900 GTO for a lower price and mod it yourself, who needs a warranty anyway. But not all users are comfortable with doing that, also the GeForce 7900 GTO is out of stock almost anywhere.<br />
As added bonus, Mad Moxx is now including a coupon for three months of free access to the German Pay TV Channel Premiere. If you are from outside Europe, feel free to contact Mad Moxx directly to figure out shipping, usually they will be able to help you.
</td></tr>
<tr><th></th><td>http://www.techpowerup.com/images/editorschoice.gif</td></tr>
</table>

[Jimmy 2004]

Looks like it performs very well compared to the standard 7900GTX, but the price is still quite steep and the fact that is supposedly a lower model wouldn't look good for your internet boasting (call it what you want, there is a better way to describe it) I have to say! Still think I would go for an X1800 GTO as a budget card at the moment.

Nice review though W1zz.

[i_am_mustang_man]

nice review

i heard that evga and msi put tighter mem clocks to make up for the lost mhz as best as possible, and thusly, a gto @ 800mhz ram would out do a gtx @ 800 mhz.

i wonder if madmox just oc'ed the ram, or maybe they loosened the timings too? could you post the mad mox bios into the bios thing, w1zz? that'd be sick

[Tatty_One]

Dont see much point in paying the extra tho as mine out of the box overclocks higher, I must have got a lucky one because it gets better with age, can just about do 713/840 now with mine although I have not benched it since I first got it in October, will have to some time!

Also the MSI is the better option over the EVGA as it is HDCP also. Are they really hard to come by now?

[Jimmy 2004]

Dont see much point in paying the extra tho as mine out of the box overclocks higher, I must have got a lucky one because it gets better with age, can just about do 713/840 now with mine although I have not benched it since I first got it in October, will have to some time!

I guess it comes down to whether you want to try your luck or pay that little bit extra and be assured of getting a high performer for better value. I haven't had much luck with OCing my cards, admittedly my PSU sucks and I only use stock cooling plus case fans but my cards never OC that high, although my X800 GTO came with all 16 pipes unlocked for some reason :confused: . I think it was new...

[i_am_mustang_man]

I guess it comes down to whether you want to try your luck or pay that little bit extra and be assured of getting a high performer for better value. I haven't had much luck with OCing my cards, admittedly my PSU sucks and I only use stock cooling plus case fans but my cards never OC that high, although my X800 GTO came with all 16 pipes unlocked for some reason :confused: . I think it was new...

but even my gto, which oc's worse than most that i've heard about (700/760), will be about the same perf as a stock gtx

however, the stock gto can't be found anywhere, whereas the mad moxx is available. imo, mad mox should have just bought the boatload, and then held onto them for these 3 months, and then sold them. most 7900gto's are going for 290~+ on ebay, so a brand new one would be 300 easy from a retailer.

the only thing i don't like about the mad mox, is that it prolly won't go much higher than 800 anyways. oh well

but i think that what mad moxx does is smart and wouldn't hesitate to buy a product from them if i missed out on a deal like the 7900gtos

[Tatty_One]

I guess it comes down to whether you want to try your luck or pay that little bit extra and be assured of getting a high performer for better value. I haven't had much luck with OCing my cards, admittedly my PSU sucks and I only use stock cooling plus case fans but my cards never OC that high, although my X800 GTO came with all 16 pipes unlocked for some reason :confused: . I think it was new...

Yeah but to put it in perspective, I only paid £150 at launch for mine (they put the prices up the following day!) which is what the 1950pro launched for in the UK and its a fair bit faster, so certainly it is "bang for buck". As fast as a GTX for half the price, cant be bad! I think they are still available in the UK tho.

[WarEagleAU]

Not a bad card, but still too damn much money for the pittance of gains. Still, if this is an only option for some, its a good one. ATI has cornered the market on value and power~!


-The Eagle

[Tatty_One]

Not a bad card, but still too damn much money for the pittance of gains. Still, if this is an only option for some, its a good one. ATI has cornered the market on value and power~!


-The Eagle

Well as I said, the same price as a 1950Pro and a fair bit faster so really you could say that NVidia have cornered the market not ATi in respect of this sector.

[tkpenalty]

Is this a vain attempt to get back the consumers trust by Nvidia?

[Track]

W1zzard makes GREAT reviews!

But why make a review for a product that can no longer be bought?

[Tatty_One]

Dunno, the cards are still freely available in the UK still.

[newtekie1]

Am I the only one that finds it the slightest bit odd that NVidia recalled the cards because they couldn't do 800MHz on the memory. Then NVidia lowers the clock speeds to 690MHz to fix the problem. But, then Mad-Moxx takes them and clocks the memory back to 800MHz and magically they work at that clock speed?

The lower overclocking headroom on the memory kind of scares me. This card might work perfectly fine in a well ventilated case or an open workbench, but something tells me the original problem will show it's ugly head if you try to stick this card in a case with poor airflow.

[Tatty_One]

Am I the only one that finds it the slightest bit odd that NVidia recalled the cards because they couldn't do 800MHz on the memory. Then NVidia lowers the clock speeds to 690MHz to fix the problem. But, then Mad-Moxx takes them and clocks the memory back to 800MHz and magically they work at that clock speed?

The lower overclocking headroom on the memory kind of scares me. This card might work perfectly fine in a well ventilated case or an open workbench, but something tells me the original problem will show it's ugly head if you try to stick this card in a case with poor airflow.

All they did was lower the voltage to the memory which is why results are sporadic between cards, the MSI cards have the GTX cooler which is excellent for memory cooling and if it cools the GTX's memory upto 900 why would it not cool the GTO's at 800? The 7900GT stocks its memory at the same speed as the GTO and even on it's farty little cooler overclocks to 870 without problems.

Ohhhh and they are not all recalled cards either, if they were there would be a lot more manufacturers than just EVGA and MSi pushing them out as GTO's.

[cdawall]

Am I the only one that finds it the slightest bit odd that NVidia recalled the cards because they couldn't do 800MHz on the memory. Then NVidia lowers the clock speeds to 690MHz to fix the problem. But, then Mad-Moxx takes them and clocks the memory back to 800MHz and magically they work at that clock speed?

The lower overclocking headroom on the memory kind of scares me. This card might work perfectly fine in a well ventilated case or an open workbench, but something tells me the original problem will show it's ugly head if you try to stick this card in a case with poor airflow.

memory really wont have an issue with the heat of poor airflow any air flow (assuming there is some)cool the ram just fine we went over this in another thread

[newtekie1]

All they did was lower the voltage to the memory which is why results are sporadic between cards, the MSI cards have the GTX cooler which is excellent for memory cooling and if it cools the GTX's memory upto 900 why would it not cool the GTO's at 800? The 7900GT stocks its memory at the same speed as the GTO and even on it's farty little cooler overclocks to 870 without problems.

Ohhhh and they are not all recalled cards either, if they were there would be a lot more manufacturers than just EVGA and MSi pushing them out as GTO's.

The problem is that the RAM on the original batch couldn't handle the 800Mhz, that is what these cards are are based off of, most likely due to RAM overheating and causing artifacts. The whole issue is that the cards originally couldn't handle the clock speed and were recalled, relabeled, underclocked, and resold. So how are they now working?

memory really wont have an issue with the heat of poor airflow any air flow (assuming there is some)cool the ram just fine we went over this in another thread

Yes, and you said making RAM cooler doesn't increase the ability to overclock it. You are wrong, we told you that. By itself it doesn't increase overclockability. However, it allows increased voltages to be pushed through the memory without it overheating and causing instability.

High voltage+low airflow=Overheated RAM=Instability

The batch of DDR3 on the first batch of 7800GTX cards probably wasn't able to handle the heat generated at the voltage required.

[Tatty_One]

Well that just reinforces the fact that not all GTO's are returned GTX's then as mine has been running all day for 2 months at speeds in excess of 800Mhz without a heat or stability problem......maybe I got lucky. And these cards are just the opposite, they are undervolted therefore no heat issues.