GTX 460: Would a factory-OC model produce more heat/noise?

[bapc]

I'm looking to purchase a GTX 460 card. I'm wondering whether I should go for the default model or get a factory over clocked version. The pricing difference is so little, in fact some OC'd cards are less.

My concern is the heat and noise of an overclocked model.

When purchasing a GPU, do many of you get a default card or an OC'd card?

 

[Twoboxer]

Folks who review graphics cards tend to say factory OC's perform a bit better than stock, but the difference isn't often noticable and the price may lower the value (frames/$) of the card itself.

You *will* generate more heat, that's a necessary consequence of the OC.

However, the card itself may or may not reach a higher temperature than a stock card, depending on the performance of its cooler. The heat will either stay in the case or be exhausted, depending. The vidcard fan will likely run faster, but not always, and that often will generate more noise, which you may or may not notice. When a factory OC runs faster at the same temps, part of what you are buying is the changes to accomplish that.

What I buy depends on the price difference between stock and OC'd cards at the time I purchase. If the difference is more than a couple of bucks, I also want to google for a quality review of the card (not users, or reviews that cover only the carton and connectors). If the price of the OC is less, and its a good manufacturer, I'd probably buy it knowing I can likely reverse the OC if necessary. I do NOT depend on OC to get the performance I need, I'd rather move to the next higher card.

Without a quality, comparative review, you cannot tell whether one stock card or OC'd card runs hotter or louder or noticably faster than another stock or OC'd card.

Hope that helps.

 

[Mezza_18]

Well for example there is the Galaxy GTX 460 Super OC, @ 810 core clock. These babies in SLI beat 5870 in CrossFire. However, they produce about 75 decibels of noise together. But from a price standpoint, they are extremely good bang for buck. Although 2 way SLI is the limit.

 

[bapc]

Thanks for the helpful responses.

The Galaxy appears to be extremely overclocked. I read somewhere that Nvidia stated it can be OC'd to 800 max.

It is also very expensive at $255. I wanted to go with the GTX 460 since the ATI 5850 is too much.

I'm looking at the two 1GB 460's from Gigabyte and MSI:

GIGABYTE GV-N460OC-1GI
MSI N460GTX CYCLONE

The Gigabyte is $10 less, it also has two fans. I am concerned that the fan (since it's 2 small ones) will be loud but people and a review is claiming that it's not loud.

The MSI looks impressive but I had absolutely horrible experience with MSI boards so I'm kinda worried to go with them for this even though no reviews said anything about quality.

Surprisingly, the EVGA cards had poor reviews for quality. I'm building to use it for several years so I am not considering EVGA.

Any comments about the GIGABYTE or MSI?

I'm also considering going with the ASUS stock version since I'm getting an ASUS board but it probably won't matter one bit. It's also stock.

 

[Twoboxer]

The Gigabyte 1GB OC has been reviewed several times, google "gigabyte 460 review" for a list, and pass on the 768MB versions to find:

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/3393/gigabyte_geforce_gtx_460_1gb_oc_video_card/index17.html

Doesn't seem like noise is an issue, compared to others.

 

[bapc]

Thank you for that link! I didn't come across that review. Finally one that mentions a different manufacturer in the same review.

"Noise levels are also good but the card does not only run a little warmer than the MSI version, but also a little louder."

Made my decision easy, thanks again.

 

[jyjjy]

Just get the card with the best cooler(MSI Cyclone or Asus DirectCU.) Factory OCs are pointless IMO. You can easily do it yourself and get much better results. The OC limit for these cards is usually more like 875-925mhz when you raise the voltage btw.

 

[Twoboxer]

Thank you for that link! I didn't come across that review. Finally one that mentions a different manufacturer in the same review.

If a review doesn't compare the product to current, relevant competitors, its not a review. Its an advertisement.

 

[Doom3klr]

Im looken at the palit gtx 460 2gb version only like 20 or 30 dollars more than the 1gb versions. The xtra memory could allways come in handy down the road.

 

[Annisman]

Have my GTX 460's at 800Mhz with stock voltage btw.