Overclocking the 8600GTS

[Black Panther]

I've got a couple of questions:

With my vanilla 8600gts I got the result of 138690 on aquamark 3. I overclocked it to 773/1141 and the aquamark score went up to 144574.

I don't have any games to test the difference visually. This pc is relatively new for me and on my previous P4 1.6Ghz I refrained from buying good-quality games because I knew that I'd end up disillusioned. However I wouldn't want to run an overclocked card if the overclock would be too minor in my case to make a difference in game-play.

At the overclock, the gpu temperature went up to 61 degrees.
Will the overclock be making a noticeable difference when within in a couple of days I'd be getting Oblivion or is the oc so minimal that it's not worth it?

Another question - would you suggest that were I to keep the current oc on the gpu I should look for after-market cooling? I'd love to hear experiences from other 8600GTS users here.

Any 8600GTS users there? Do you OC? How much? What cooling do you use?

I also wanted to ask - since I'd be playing Oblivion soon do you think I'd be getting a better graphical performance with an overclocked card or is my card too 'mid-range' to benefit from significan result-producing overclocking and hence I shouldn't be bothering at all?

As a final word, I have Windows XP but as soon as Vista is more stable and there are tempting DX10 games out there I'd be switching on to Vista and probably ditching my video card in favour of a high-end DX10 compatible one in the future.

Now that it's too late I wish I had purchased the 8800 version, however I'm stuck for the time being and the only choice I got is to make the best out of my 8600GTS.

 

[FatForester]

Any OC helps! Mid-range cards can actually see a ton of boost from a nice OC. The only problem I see for you is that Oblivion is a pretty picky game when it comes to OCing.. at least for me. So when overclocking for it, make sure everything is super stable so you won't get mad in-game when it freezes up! And for you, since you're planning on upgrading your video card to a faster one later on, you could prob get away with your stock cooler for now if you put some AS5 on it.

 

[Skitzoid]

Yeah i got the msi nx8600gts http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127284, with a huge hsf on it i now have the core at 800 and mem at 2300

 

[Black Panther]

Yeah i got the msi nx8600gts http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127284, with a huge hsf on it i now have the core at 800 and mem at 2300

If you can, please post a pic of your hsf, or tell me the type and brand. It'd help me a lot if I need to oc my gpu that much. Thanks!

 

[vrdublu]

Thats an awsome overclock, I got the XFX 8600GTS at 675 1000 mhz it runs 59-60 c idle and 65-69 c full load. I recently overclocked it to 730 2260 and I'm making bacon and eggs at the same time I play. She's running at 75-77 c full load in ati tool. I wouldn't complain too much, its a good card you got there.

 

[Ketxxx]

Aquamark3 is CPU limited at its default benchmark settings to see any benefits. Without question your OC will come into great effect when playing games like Oblivion. I still remain skeptical of the 8600GTS using a 128bit memory interface.. but theres nothing we can do about that. I think both nVidia and ATi are trying to shift more of their flagship cards right now, hence the lack of any DX10 capable card using a 256bit memory interface.

 

[vrdublu]

I just switched over from an 850 XT PE with a 256 bit memory interface to a XFX 8600GTS and running any DX9C games it blows it away through and through, and I will still be able to play DX10 games when they come out in August. Now if you campare it to the 1900 XT cards, the overclocked versions of the 8600GTS still keep up with them for the most part, and the price difference for a card that can't run DX10 games, there is no comparison. This is by far the best card for the money/performance on the market today.

 

[Ketxxx]

Not really. Just try enabling AA\AF on a 8600GTS even with the snot clocked out of it @ even a reasonable resolution and watch it fall flat on its face and lay there motionless. The card just doesnt have the bandwidth. nVidia should of specified a 256bit memory interface and lower (hence, slower) grade BGA memory. At least that way it would of given the poor thing a fighting chance when AA and AF were enabled.

 

[Stonecold80]

I have two 8800gts 640 supper clock card. running in SLI
going to install vista to test it.

 

[Stonecold80]

ATITOOL won't work on Window Vista

 

[vrdublu]

KetXX I have no idea what you are comparing this to, I said this is the best card for performance /money at the present time. If you feel theres something better that will play DX10 games in two months time, please don't hesitate to reply. Saying that this card will not play as fast at higher resolutions with all the bells and whistles enabled is a little short sighted I think. Don't compare apples to oranges, if you want to do that then compare the 8800 ultras to the 2900 ati has to offer, again no comparison.

 

[vrdublu]

Stonecold80 you using 32 or 64 bit ? Had the same issue, but luckly it somehow fixed itslef. See the ati-tool forum for resolutions to any problems.

 

[Kursah]

ATITOOL won't work on Window Vista

I have no trouble using ATI Tool on Vista...at least 32bit. I use .27 b1 for compatability with my x1950pro, but I even used .26 w/o issue.

 

[Masterjubag]

I have my XFX 8600gts overclocked. Its core is at 777 mhz and the memory clock is at 1143 mhz. It runs idle at 43-46 degrees Celsius. While running a game for example FEAR. it reaches about 53-56 degrees celsius, which is a pretty good temp for a GPU. all u need to do i buy some 120 mm fans. i have 3 of them surrounding my card at the moment, i also have my side panel off, with it on it runs at like 51 celsius idle so i took it off and it runs at 46 mostly. i have 3 120 mm Rosewill Fans and here is mi rig, its not so good lookin but it works just fine. http://img64.imageshack.us/img64/6369/1000806xj0.jpg

 

[JC316]

800/1150 here. 60*C max load with the stock cooler.

Ket, you are right, it does fall flat on it's face with the AA on, AF doesn't do much, but AA does.

If you game at 1280x1024 with 2-4xAA, then this card kicks ass, otherwise, it's dead.

 

[Ketxxx]

Dont forget about shader clocks. Incleasing your shader clocks is going to be the only hope for a 86GTS to be able to even attempt to play DX10 at any kind of acceptable FPS.

 

[Ketxxx]

KetXX I have no idea what you are comparing this to, I said this is the best card for performance /money at the present time. If you feel theres something better that will play DX10 games in two months time, please don't hesitate to reply. Saying that this card will not play as fast at higher resolutions with all the bells and whistles enabled is a little short sighted I think. Don't compare apples to oranges, if you want to do that then compare the 8800 ultras to the 2900 ati has to offer, again no comparison.

I'll quote myself to give you a good idea.

"Both NVIDIA and AMD were very upset over how little we thought of their DX10 class mainstream hardware. They both argued that graphics cards are no longer just about 3D, and additional video decode hardware and DX10 support add a lot of value above the previous generation. We certainly don't see it this way. Yes, we can't expect last years high-end performance to trickle down to the low-end segment, but we should at least demand that this generation's $150 part will always outperform last generation's.

AMD and NVIDIA had the chance to define the minimum performance of a DX10 class part higher than what we can expect from cards that barely get by with DX9 code. By choosing to design their hardware without a significant, consistent performance advantage over the X1600 and 7600 class of parts, developers have even less incentive (not to mention ability) to push next generation features only possible with DX10 into their games. These cards are just not powerful enough to enable widespread use of any features that reach beyond the capability of DirectX 9."

Game, set, match point. I was right all along. People never listen, though *sigh*

You can read the full details from anandtech HERE They come to exactly the same conclusion I've been saying about for months, in DX10, the midrange cards are dead in the water.

 

[mullered07]

how do you change the shader clocks ? sorry but in game when oc i dont notice any slowdown compared to my x1950pro thats with 4xaa and af enabled granted i only game at 1280x or 1440x900 but thats plenty for me

 

[regan1985]

what i want to know is when is someone going to figure out how to volt mod these as temps seem really low so there could be a lot more in these cards, and thats the only reason i may go for the x2600 because people come out with volt mods faster, but i think the 8600 is the better car stock

 

[TXcharger]

they are still 128bit cards... no use in getting it especially when dx10 isnt out and the next cards will pwn the 8800 and 2900

 

[Skitzoid]

Listen i like ati or nvidia i go with what is best bang for buk and from what i know the 8600gts (even though 128bit like the 2600xt or pro) is better and a good oc`er
I have 8600gts at 800/2300.
45c idle and 54-56 @ load