View Full Version : Factory OC Cards...
z-freak
05-03-09, 09:19 PM
It's been over 3 years since I've upgraded my card so I've been out of the loop for a while. That said, are factory OC cards nothing more than a marketing ploy, especially if they can be OC'd even further?
IMO, if a company touts a card as OC'd, it should be maxed out and tested to run well at that maxed out level...you thoughts?
EVGA has the FTW line, which are actually a bit better OCers than the ones sold at stock. Other OC cards, not worth getting over the stock version in any aspect. FTW aren't really worth getting either because of the ridicilous price point, unless you're going for the absolutely extreme (3xGTX285, having them be the best OCers around, why not if you're dropping that much cash to them anyways?)
Marshmallow64
05-03-09, 09:34 PM
I think they just overclock it for you and stabilize it. I dont think those cards overclock further than a normal one. Since they usually run a bit hotter to begin with.
freeagent
05-03-09, 10:27 PM
the highest speed cards have specifically binned cores :thup:
the highest speed cards have specifically binned cores :thup:
Do you mean that the factory oc'd cards are binned differently than the vanilla versions? If so, do you have any literature or a link. All the factory oc'd are just vanilla cards that are bios modded and tested at the factory to be stable at posted slock speeds. My old BFG 8800GT OC was even given a voltage bump in the bios from 1.05v to 1.1v giveing me greater oc potential off the bat. But it isn't anything special hardware wise compared to the vanilla.
No special cores or memory chips go into the factory oc'd, all the same just a small bump in clocks for about $50 more on thier end. Great marketing if you ask me though.
with some effort you can reproduce factory oc on your normal card.
I strongly suggest not to take them, get a normal one and overclock that, you can even increase voltage on those cards (if they are the 65nm version)
the only way i know to how increase voltage with 55nm cards is bios modding, but be aware that if you volt mod the bios and the card will die (not just because of your OC)
you won't be able to get it changed since changing the bios will lift the warranty.
freeagent
05-04-09, 09:41 AM
Do you mean that the factory oc'd cards are binned differently than the vanilla versions? If so, do you have any literature or a link. All the factory oc'd are just vanilla cards that are bios modded and tested at the factory to be stable at posted slock speeds. My old BFG 8800GT OC was even given a voltage bump in the bios from 1.05v to 1.1v giveing me greater oc potential off the bat. But it isn't anything special hardware wise compared to the vanilla.
No special cores or memory chips go into the factory oc'd, all the same just a small bump in clocks for about $50 more on thier end. Great marketing if you ask me though.
no, i dont have anything off hand, but when i bought this card from a member on the forums here, i was doing a litle research on it. they temporarily stopped produceing this card at this speed because they were haveing a hard time binning the cores. my card is 702mhz stock. just like with everything else, as time goes by, it gets easier to make things :) now.. do you have anything that says all cores are created equal? because i have had vanilla cards not make it near as high the higher binned cards.. from 6600gt-8800gtx's..
nightelph
05-04-09, 11:10 AM
I remember a couple manufacturers used to bin cards legitimately, but companies started OC'ing Vanillas and things got confusing. I only recommend eVGA for their kick ass warranty, service, and upgrade policy. Buy a vanilla and OC it yourself. Theres voltage mods out there for lots of cards if you still hunger for more speed.
vipermkk
05-04-09, 01:26 PM
I have a BFG oced GTX285(675/2520)
I got a unit that can't even run well at the stock clocks so I RMAed it.
Now I get a replacement which runs fine in "most" games. Still having problems with some games I don't know if is a driver issue but everything seems OK after I set it back to (648/2484)...I will never buy a factory OC again.
PhoenixOfChaos
05-04-09, 03:49 PM
From what I've seen Factory OC'd cards are a complete ripoff. You're guaranteed a marginal overclock for 20-50$ more when you could just get a EVGA card with their awesome warranties, and go to town with changing the volts etc and have it all covered and most likely surpass the pre-oc'd card or = it in the very end.
freeagent
05-04-09, 11:09 PM
From what I've seen Factory OC'd cards are a complete ripoff. You're guaranteed a marginal overclock for 20-50$ more when you could just get a EVGA card with their awesome warranties, and go to town with changing the volts etc and have it all covered and most likely surpass the pre-oc'd card or = it in the very end.
well.. i see you bought a card from a company who is well known for good clocking cards.. you must have gotten an early one then, since you were only able to manage 20mhz over a vanilla one? meanwhile i was able to get 100mhz oc on the core of my old sapphire 9600xt.. im not saying vanilla cards dont oc as well as the higher binned ones, but not all vanilla cards will oc as well.. your milage may vary ;)
PhoenixOfChaos
05-04-09, 11:25 PM
well.. i see you bought a card from a company who is well known for good clocking cards.. you must have gotten an early one then, since you were only able to manage 20mhz over a vanilla one? meanwhile i was able to get 100mhz oc on the core of my old sapphire 9600xt.. im not saying vanilla cards dont oc as well as the higher binned ones, but not all vanilla cards will oc as well.. your milage may vary ;)
My X850 was pretty much fresh off the manuf. line when I bought it many moons ago. It was like 440$. Anyway, mine wasn't pre OC'd but it definitely OC'd like a pile of junk. A buddy of mine bought the same one and the only way he could get it to do a decent clock was with a volt mod. I, on the other hand, lack the skills to execute such a mod.
But that's besides the point! Don't buy Pre-oc'd cards unless all you want is a marginal OC!
freeagent
05-04-09, 11:54 PM
My X850 was pretty much fresh off the manuf. line when I bought it many moons ago. It was like 440$. Anyway, mine wasn't pre OC'd but it definitely OC'd like a pile of junk. A buddy of mine bought the same one and the only way he could get it to do a decent clock was with a volt mod. I, on the other hand, lack the skills to execute such a mod.
But that's besides the point! Don't buy Pre-oc'd cards unless all you want is a marginal OC!
i understand, my zotac is an early model too, so was my 88gtx. also, there is no voltage tuner for current 55nm nvidia gpu's :/
you will have to look to ati for that now :(
PhoenixOfChaos
05-05-09, 12:22 AM
I could've sworn the new 55nm nVidia cards could have their volts modified through software.
aside from the top gtx 285 cards which evga has claimed ARE binned, there isnt any proof or evidence of this and I never would buy a oc'd card unless it was a gtx 285.
xtkxhom3r
05-05-09, 01:17 AM
if your scared to oc your card then pay a premium and get a factory oc'd that way if anything ever goes wrong well your covered... but im sure any card can oc higher than the factory oc'd equivalent since they arent oc'd that high to begin with
nightelph
05-05-09, 06:09 AM
I could've sworn the new 55nm nVidia cards could have their volts modified through software.
I thought the most recent update to EVGA Precision allowed for this.. Either way, theres more than one way to skin a cat.
eVGA gtx 285... the diffrent versions, reg, sc/c, ftw... all have diffrent memory/core volts. its been tested with a dmm, and you can even see on the back of the card where the extra resistors are added.
freeagent
05-05-09, 11:10 AM
either way, i bought my card used, so i really dont care what the consensus is :)
Buying a "factory overclocked" graphics card is like buying a faster CPU. There are those who buy a Core 2 Duo E8400 and those who buy an E8600.
Regarding BFG graphics cards, all I will say is that the top cards are binned. If you don't believe me... *shrug*
jason4207
05-13-09, 11:22 AM
eVGA gtx 285... the diffrent versions, reg, sc/c, ftw... all have diffrent memory/core volts. its been tested with a dmm, and you can even see on the back of the card where the extra resistors are added.
Yep, you really need to be very specific on the card if you are trying to decide to get the vanilla or a pre-OC'd version. The 55nm and 65nm 260/280/285 are all slightly different in the ways you can attack them to get the most speed.
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