I want this 8800GT to be faster!

[Beertintedgoggles]

First of all, I'm an overclocking junkie and am always tweaking my system despite having found my pretty much absolute fastest stable overclock on my system (CPU, RAM, VID card, etc.). I have a BFG 8800GT 512MB that tops out at 720/1728/1030 with the 1.1V BIOS mod. I've reused my VF700cu on this card and get ~44C idle/~59C load. After searching around I'm pretty content with those clocks but I've seen a lot of people stuck either at or around 720 for the core. My question is, would cooling the core even more allow me more headroom in my OC? 60C doesn't seem very hot compared to other temps and higher overclocks that I've seen (and yes, the RAM and voltage regulators are all cooled as well). One other question, are there any BIOS out there that allow for higher overclocks? Thanks in advance.

 

[phanbuey]

try pushing your shaders further using rivatuner (unlinked shader+core)... mine got up to 1850ish... makes a huge difference.

EDIT: to answer your question... no... better cooling would give you negligible increases if any... your best bet would be a hard vmod. can be found at VR-zone, i chose not to do it, as the marginal increases are pretty minimal. 4-5 FPS in a best case scenario. But if you OC as a hobby, you could give it a go.

Also... Gigabyte makes an 8800GT which has a software app to modivy Vcore up to 1.2, i dont know if they use referrence PCB, but if they do then you could flash to a gigabyte bios and use that software.

HEre is the link to the Gigabyte review:
http://www.bjorn3d.com/read.php?cID=1233&pageID=4467

 

[phanbuey]

I can give you the link to the software app... it can be found on the gigabyte website... Im gonna try this later.

im not actually going to flash to the Gigabyte Bios, as that could brick my card... but instead try to get NiBiTor to ID my card as a Gigabyte so that the software is fooled into trying to change the Vcore. Its less hassle than soldering stuff.

 

[pepsi71ocean]

my 8800GT is running at 750/1805/970 (CSM). If you want a higher clock score you need to lower your memory speeds, that how i got it on my evga.

 

[JRMBelgium]

Anyone here that can write a simpel ans small tutorial that shows me how to do that 1.1v voltmod. And how dangerous is it?

 

[Beertintedgoggles]

Well.... unfortunately I already have my core and shader clocks unlinked. With AtiTool's artifact scanner I just can't get that next shader step to run stable (it jumps from 1728 to something like 1780, I can't remember exactly). If that Gigabyte card is the one I'm thinking of it has the 3 phase power design but that still shouldn't effect anything in the bios, unless it has some voltage control not present on reference designs. I kind of figured more cooling wouldn't really help all that much, I may try opening the window here (it's about 20F for the high today) and see if that makes any difference at all.

 

[sneekypeet]

Anyone here that can write a simpel ans small tutorial that shows me how to do that 1.1v voltmod. And how dangerous is it?

sorry to hijack....this topic was covered here...http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=52897

 

[Beertintedgoggles]

Anyone here that can write a simpel ans small tutorial that shows me how to do that 1.1v voltmod. And how dangerous is it?

The only danger is that you could get a bad flash with your card.... this is the same danger whenever you flash the bios of your video card. Also, if you do flash your card make sure to save the old bios as a backup (if you need to RMA and the card is still 'alive' enough for the manufacturer to check for the stock bios).

 

[Beertintedgoggles]

my 8800GT is running at 750/1805/970 (CSM). If you want a higher clock score you need to lower your memory speeds, that how i got it on my evga.

I'll give that a try when I get back from work today.

 

[JRMBelgium]

The only danger is that you could get a bad flash with your card.... this is the same danger whenever you flash the bios of your video card. Also, if you do flash your card make sure to save the old bios as a backup (if you need to RMA and the card is still 'alive' enough for the manufacturer to check for the stock bios).

I am going to sell my 8800GT and buy the 9800GTX as soon as it gets out so it's probably best that I don't risk it.

 

[pepsi71ocean]

I'll give that a try when I get back from work today.

I use Riva Tuner on my gfx card. I found it better than ATI tool for my computer. You can unlink your Core/Shader with RT and its just like ATI Tool with slider bars.

 

[Beertintedgoggles]

I use riva tuner to overclock the card, I just use ati tool to scan for artifacts.

 

[Tatty_Two]

I am going to sell my 8800GT and buy the 9800GTX as soon as it gets out so it's probably best that I don't risk it.

No risk really involved with a BIOS mod to 1.1V, I would be happy to mod your BIOS for you if you upload it and post it here, then I can give you clear instructions on what you need to do, it can be good for an extra 30-50mhz on the core no problems with the linked increase in shaders also.

 

[Tatty_Two]

I use riva tuner to overclock the card, I just use ati tool to scan for artifacts.

In my experience, dont rely on ATi tool artifact scanner, in ATi tool I started getting artifacts at 730mhz, probably because it didnt properly support the GT, I did a run in 3D Mark 2006 at 775core and no artifacts.....ran the test smoothly without a hitch.

 

[candle_86]

First of all, I'm an overclocking junkie and am always tweaking my system despite having found my pretty much absolute fastest stable overclock on my system (CPU, RAM, VID card, etc.). I have a BFG 8800GT 512MB that tops out at 720/1728/1030 with the 1.1V BIOS mod. I've reused my VF700cu on this card and get ~44C idle/~59C load. After searching around I'm pretty content with those clocks but I've seen a lot of people stuck either at or around 720 for the core. My question is, would cooling the core even more allow me more headroom in my OC? 60C doesn't seem very hot compared to other temps and higher overclocks that I've seen (and yes, the RAM and voltage regulators are all cooled as well). One other question, are there any BIOS out there that allow for higher overclocks? Thanks in advance.

dont think it will my core maxes at 722 its the G92 with 2 quads offline so i think we found the limit with the vcore on the chip lol

 

[Beertintedgoggles]

In my experience, dont rely on ATi tool artifact scanner, in ATi tool I started getting artifacts at 730mhz, probably because it didnt properly support the GT, I did a run in 3D Mark 2006 at 775core and no artifacts.....ran the test smoothly without a hitch.

Before this 8800GT, I'd test stability first using RTHDRIBL (real-time high dynamic range image-based lighting) then in games and 3dmark runs. That RTHDRIBL program still heats up the GPU more than anything else I've been able to run, the trick is to maximize the window (with the default window the old program just doesn't stress the new cards as much). I've run through 3dMark06 at ~760 core but could not get past two minutes of the ati tool artifact scanner. I was only trying to heat up the core to determine the overall load temps before and after the vf700 and it kept indicating that both my core and shaders were too high.

 

[Beertintedgoggles]

Quick update, decreasing the mem overclock in 50MHz steps all the way down to stock did not net any gains in core or shader unfortunately.

 

[pepsi71ocean]

Strange, i hit a wall, where the card would keep crashing, Did you try my setting in my system specs?