XFX 6600GT oc progress

[TAZ]

the results are in, and they are good.

Card:
XFX GeForce 66000GT (not extreme gamer ed)

Mods:
-replaced stock POS ("Piece Of Sh*t" for anyone who doesn't know) cooler with Zalman VF700Cu. (€58 overclockers.co.uk)
-overclocked using rivatuner

note: when i removed the stock heatsink, judging by the thermal paste on the base it seemed to have been slapped on and twisted approx 60degrees about the corner of the chip, there was thermal grease smeared all over the base of the cooler. not cool XFX!! (no pun intended...)

anywhoo...

_________previously:________now:________diff(%):
GPU:______500MHz_________601MHz______+20.0
GM:______1000MHz________1303MHz_____+30.3
Idle:______48C____________39C_________-18.75
Load:_____76C____________54C_________-29.0
Mark03:___8082___________9766________+20.83
Mark05:___2882___________4382________+52.05

not bad methinks, card is now faster, cooler *and* quieter (believe it or not).

at this level i got 0 artifacts and 0 snow, the only reason i didn't try going higher is that rivatuner started telling me that "the currently installed driver" wouldn't support it for some reason or another. i have no idea what this means, anyone care to enlighten me?

more to the point, i had never expected to be able to push the card to this extent, can anyone tell me if this is normal or a tad freaky?

all in all, XFX have regained some of their former status in my estimation, but the list i posted before still stands.
as for the Zalman VF700Cu: 😎 😎 😎 😎 😎 ('nuf said!)


________________________________________________________
know your limits, and never stop trying to exceed them!

 

[cefoskey]

Thats awesome. Is that the AGP 6600GT you are using there? Plus, do you own HL2 or FarCry that you can test?

"Who is General Failure, and why is he reading my drive?"
P4 3.0C HT, Intel D865GBF, 1GB Crucial PC3200 DDR, 2x WD 36GB Raptor 10kRPM, BBA Radeon 9800PRO, SB Audigy, Hauppage WinTV

 

[TAZ]

PCIe version, don't own HL2 yet but can get it for a test. will let you know how it does.

________________________________________________________
know your limits, and never stop trying to exceed them!

 

[pnjunction]

Those are some nice numbers. I should be getting my AGP version back today (returned it when the heatsink fell off as I took it out of the box 😛). <A HREF="http://www.xfxforce.com/pinetechnotes/Fan Update.pdf" target="_new">The cooler</A> is supposed to be improved over the standard version, so it'll be interesting to see how it does.
If I'm disappointed, you can bet I'll be thinking about the Zalman VF700cu.

AMD XP-m 2500+ @ 166x14=2333
MSI KT3-Ultra 5.7
1024MB Samsung DDR400
PowerColor R9600Pro @ 475/675
2xMaxtor 60GB 7200 RPM Raid0

If it isn't broken, you haven't fixed it enough yet.

 

[Slava]

Very, very nice! Hmm. I wonder what I could get out of my 6800 Ultra if I modded it like you did with your GT. I doubt however that I would get much benefit. The card seems to be limited by my P4 3.0 GHz CPU. I tried to OC the 6800U (both GPU and memory) about 5-7% without applying any 3rd party cooling solutions but I saw zero benchmark improvement. 3DMark05 is 5104 at stock, Aquamark3 showed like a 30-point difference which is nothing compared to the total score of some 62000.

By the way, is there a CPU out there which, without major OCing/modding (like liquid nitrogen cooling solutions 😱), would allow to squeeze every last bit of performance out of a 6800U?


<font color=green>"The creative powers of English morphology are pathetic compared to what we find in other languages." (Steven Pinker, The Language Instinct)</font color=green> 😎

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

Nice, I wouldn't be surprised if the 3Dmk05 benifits most from the Memory OC. Try OCing just the memory and just the core while testing if you could, and that would likely show which has the biggest impact on results.

Have fun!


- You need a licence to buy a gun, but they'll sell anyone a stamp <i>(or internet account)</i> ! - <font color=green>RED </font color=green> <font color=red> GREEN</font color=red> GA to SK

 

[TAZ]

hmmm... the memory overclock seems to account for about 55-60% of the total benefit alright.

not that i'm not happy with the card as it is running now, (well with exception to some sub 20FPS performance when really pushed) but since i am still getting 0 flaws, i am curios to know why i can't clock any harder than this. it seems i'm being limited by some driver or other and can't get around it.

i've been informed that the 6800 doesn't clock as well as the 6600 but i'd be interested in hearing any attempt results anyway.

as for the cooler, i can't praise it enough. my card still hasn't gone about 54C on anything i've used all weekend. haven't gotten HL2 on to it yet though, i'm aquiring a copy later this week.

________________________________________________________
know your limits, and never stop trying to exceed them!

 

[RX8]

your % is wrong for 3dmark05.

also whats your system spec? thank you.

 

[TAZ]

no it's not... (??) unless i'm a total dumbass...

anywhoo, system spec:
Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe
AMD 64 3500+
2x 1GB PC3200 CL2.5 Kingston valueRAM
160 Seagate SATA
Antec Neopower 480W PSU
Thermaltake V5000A Xaser 3
Viewsonic 19" TFT (surprisingly good unit too)
XFX 6600GT PCIe w Zalman VF400Cu cooler
Antec Lansing 200Wrms 5.1 surround system
Samsung DVD/CD-RW
Windows XP-pro SP2

don't think i've forgotten anything there...

as a matter of interest, this cost €2300 to put together, that's $3050. how much could it be put together for over there?

________________________________________________________
know your limits, and never stop trying to exceed them!

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

Percentages look fine to me, but the again I am a total dumbass, but I do know my math.

Thanks for checking the memory, I still think that ATi and nV have to stop putting 128bit memory on their mid-range cards, because those midrange cards are far more advanced than the old ones and they are just holding these cards back. Thanfully ATi is bringing the 256bit X800/X800XL to the market, but can you imagine a GF6600GT with 256bit 256MB of 2.0ns GDDR3. Now that'd beed an interesting card investigation. And especially in light of the recent 512mb slides, that 256nb alone would be a nice test.

Edit: Don't have time to check your build costs, but I'd be interested in seeing that.

- You need a licence to buy a gun, but they'll sell anyone a stamp <i>(or internet account)</i> ! - <font color=green>RED </font color=green> <font color=red> GREEN</font color=red> GA to SK
<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by TheGreatGrapeApe on 02/28/05 01:42 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[Slava]

Don't have time to check your build costs, but I'd be interested in seeing that.

A friend of mine is putting together a similar system with the following differences:

CPU AMD 3500+ 90nm - chiefvalue.com - $274.00
Motherboard MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum SLI - chiefvalue.com - $172.00
CPU Cooling Asetek WaterChill CPU/VGA/Chipset cooling kit - KT12AT-L30 (Socket T) (03-L-4510) - FrozenCPU - $280.00
RAM Crucial Ballistix PC3200 512x2 – NewEgg -$230.00
Case Thermaltake VA4000 Series SViking VA4000BWS – NewEgg -$70.00
PSU OCZ ModStream 520W NewEgg - $120.00
Video Card Gigabyte GeForce 6600 GT 128MB DDR3 PCI-Express – AllStarShop - $177.00
HDD1 Seagate 80 GB Barracuda 7200RPM SATA with NCQ – Newegg - $69.00
HDD2 Hitachi 7K250 - FoxTec - $124.00
HDD3 Hitachi 7K250 - FoxTec - $124.00
DVD-RW1 NEC 16X Double Layer DVD±RW Drive – NewEgg - $64.00
DVD+RW2 NEC 16X Double Layer DVD±RW Drive – NewEgg - $58.00
Keyboard Logitech Cordless Desktop LX700 Keyboard and Mouse – RETAIL – NewEgg - $63.00
Fan ThermalTake 120mm Smart fan w/ Blue LED – NewEgg - $14.55
Other Fluid Xp + Non-Conductive Water Cooling Fluid (1 Quart) - FrozenCPU - $45.00
Other FrozenCPU Blue UV Reactive Water Dye - 1 oz. Bottle – FrozenCPU - $10.00
Other Dual 12" Cold Cathode Kit - Ultra Bright UV – FrozenCPU - $19.00
Other Pengo CD-R 700MB, 50 Pack Hamburger Case 52X, Model 58850 – RETAIL – NewEgg - $10.50
Other HP DVD+R 8X 4.7GB 50pk Cake Box, Model DR00034, Retail – NewEgg - $19.99
Shipping – FrozenCPU - $19.55
Shipping – AllStarShop - $4.99
Shipping - chiefvalue.com - $0.00
Shipping – NewEgg - $48.84
<font color=red>Total: US$2,017.42</font color=red>

He has a flatscreen display so he is not getting one.
He is going to mod the GT with watercooling (GPU water cooler is included in his kit). I can't wait to see how this thing benchmarks after all the crazy OCing he is planning 😱) I tried to talk him into getting a 6800GT instead of the 6600 but he was bent on not going over US $2,000.00. Oh, well...

<font color=green>"The creative powers of English morphology are pathetic compared to what we find in other languages." (Steven Pinker, The Language Instinct)</font color=green> 😎 <P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Slava on 03/01/05 08:39 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[TAZ]

my dear sweeet j*sus!!!
that's for buttons!!

i really like the price on the water cooling!
not into turning my case into a christmas tree so the lighting doesn't impact.
assume HD's 2&3 are going into a RAID (nice, definetly my preferred config, have it running on my DV machine)
think two DL drives is a bit wasted unless there's a lot of DVD production/replication going on.
liquid cooling on the GC should make for some interesting OC'd benchmarks alright, (deffo keep me posted on that one)
although i'm inclined to agree that the 6800 would be a better deal, i'm guilty of the same so i can't harp on too much. does the cooling cover the GC ram aswell?


i don't really know why i wanted to sicken myself by asking anyway, i knew it was gonna be like half price or less. for that price i could have flown over, bought the parts and flown back with them for the same money!! 😱

might just do that next time.. hmmm.. weekend in NY, or florida.. actually zephyrhills has a kickass dropzone too. ye know, i'm actually starting to consider this

________________________________________________________
know your limits, and never stop trying to exceed them!

 

[Slava]

Heh ... sorry, mate. I kinda knew that his price might freak you out but I was mainly responding to Grape's question. I am kinda fixing to get that water cooling kit myself and OC my P-4 3.0GHz Northwood to like 4.0GHz + my 6800U 256Mb AGP to, I dunno, say, clock to whatever it can go to with Coolbits (550MHz? 600MHz?) with GDDR3 to who knows 1.3GHz? 1.4GHz?

That would be interesting. Right now I feel like I am paralyzed by my system RAM (dual channel PC-2700). Could do much better in that department but I got 1 gig of it for free, so I guess I should not complain.

I kinda have a feeling though that my friend's PC OCed will still benchmark lower than mine currently running all at stock. What do you guys think? Am I full of it?

My machine:

P-4 3.0 GHz Northwood;
Gigabyte GH-PCU31-VH Cooler (3D Cooler-Ultra GT)
Abit IS7 mobo;
4x256Mb dual channel DDR;
Antec True 550 PSU;
eVGA GF6800 Ultra 256Mb GDDR3;
2x120Gb Seagate Barracudas IDE.7200 RPM/8Mb cache;
Thoshiba DVD drive;
Yamaha 24xCD/RW;
A-Open Full Tower server case with 2x60mm, 3x80mm fans and a 90mm system blower;
Microsoft Multimedia Keyboard + Optical wheel Intellimouse;

<font color=green>"The creative powers of English morphology are pathetic compared to what we find in other languages." (Steven Pinker, The Language Instinct)</font color=green> 😎 <P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Slava on 03/01/05 11:23 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[TAZ]

hmmm... i'd say you'd prob get it alright, your card alone is enough to match up. the only reason i don't say you'd definetly get it is because your RAM is pretty slow. i've absolutly no idea how that'll affect gaming performance though, if at all.

thinking about it i can't wait to see how much harder the water cooling will allow him to push the 6600. i could prob push mine harder if i can get past whatever driver is stopping me (info please if anyone has any...) and i'd be happy to run the GPU at up to 60C loaded. given how much i've pushed it so far and the performance it's given i have to wonder how much farther it'll go with the Zalmann, but water cooled!! if the gigabyte card clocks anything like my one that's gonna be *very* interesting.

________________________________________________________
know your limits, and never stop trying to exceed them!

 

[Guest]

If you're gonna hop across the pond for this, might as well make it a jump to LAs Vegas

<font color=green> Woohoo!! I am officially an <b> Enthusiast </b>!! </font color=green>
<i> <font color=red> One new Firefox fan </font color=red> </i>

 

[Slava]

Riva Tuner (you used) rules, but try Coolbits 2 or create a Coolbits DWORD in NvTweak in your registry manually and assign it the value of 3 (I prefer the manual thing cuz I don't like Coolbits 2 tab layout). I don't know though whether it will enable you go push your clock higher than Riva Tuner, but worth a try. I won't hurt anything...

<font color=green>"The creative powers of English morphology are pathetic compared to what we find in other languages." (Steven Pinker, The Language Instinct)</font color=green> 😎

 

[scottchen]

My friend got his up to 640mhz stably on the core and 1200mhz ont he ram, but that's after a bios volt mod to 1.6V on the VGPU. If he turns the ram down to the stock 1000mhz, the core goes to 680mhz stable, and will work pass 700mhz with incredible amount of artifacts, lockup at 704mhz.

So yeah that showed me the potential of these new 110 nanomter cores.

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

Just imagine the 110nm WITH Low-Kd insulation! 😱

Then think about the R520 which is supposed to be 90nm w/ Low-Kd! 😎

Seriously those things will be incredible to disect perfromance wise.


- You need a licence to buy a gun, but they'll sell anyone a stamp <i>(or internet account)</i> ! - <font color=green>RED </font color=green> <font color=red> GREEN</font color=red> GA to SK

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

Thanks for the list, nice rig specs.

I wouldn't be surprised if yours still outperformed for the the GF6800 influence. I think his AMD64 would help the CPU side of things, but still not be anywhere near enough for some games.


- You need a licence to buy a gun, but they'll sell anyone a stamp <i>(or internet account)</i> ! - <font color=green>RED </font color=green> <font color=red> GREEN</font color=red> GA to SK

 

[RX8]

i think it could out perform the stock 6800 128mb speed. but not by much.

i have seen 6800 (core 425 memory 950) with bios mods plus OC outperform 6800gt`s by a lot.

I like the 6600gt they are hard little sh1ts arent they.

 

[scottchen]

Too bad even on watercooling, these damn 6800ultra's won't even reach 500mhz.

I'll get my friend to do some benchies on his card at 680/1000 and 640/1200.

 

[Animefreak]

man it not fair in australia everything is espensive this is wat i'm planning to get
amd athlon 64 3500+ (AU$419)
gigabyte GA-K8NSNXP-939 (AU$359)
200 gig hard drive (AU$169)
PCX Leadtek WinFast PX6600 GT TDH Extreme (AU$359)
was going to get something below these spec but decide to get the best while i had the money
total (AU$1306)
btw upgradeing from

amd athlon xp 2000+
512ddr 400mhz ram
k7s5a motherboard
64mb ddr gforce4mx440
lol at the time cost me (AU$1300)