Just switched back to nVidia.. few questions

[keenan]

I've been an ATI (AMD) fan for as long as I can remember, but today I saw a GTX480 for £100 and could'nt resist..

First of all, I know it's old, but it still a decent buy for the money right?

Secondly, I did a Vantage run with it in my terribly average system and got 21100.. Is that reasonable?

Another thing, I'm playing Alan Wake and it flies, the game looks amazing, but the shadows look jaggedy and edgy.

Is there maybe a setting in the control panel that can make the shadows look smoother?

Thanks

[IcE]

The 480 is still a power house, although it is basically a prototype compared to the newer 580 and 680. As long as you keep heat in check it will overclock nicely and serve you well.

[keenan]

Originally Posted by ice445

The 480 is still a power house, although it is basically a prototype compared to the newer 580 and 680. As long as you keep heat in check it will overclock nicely and serve you well.

It's on water, only a gpu block, but with sinks on the ram and vrms..

Idle temps are 35'C and after 10 minutes of heaven bench it's 57'C

I take it that's ok'ish??

[The_Fool]

Heh, 57C is better than my 560Ti DirectCUII at 60C. I'd say that's a great temperature for a hot GPU.

[Agent-A01]

yeah thats fine. just make sure the vrms dont get hot.

[Elite Bushido™]

i havent been bothered by Winter since these cards came out ~_~

[keenan]

Alright..

Just got the i7 setup (920 D0 with Gigabyte EX58-UD5)

I've got the 920 and GTX480 on water with a single loop consisting of a 750l/h pump running at 7V so probably just over 400l/h, 1 x 240 Rad, 1 120 Rad and the blocks..

Settings used for the overclock:

CPU

CPU Clock Ratio : 20 (4.0Ghz)
Intel(R) Turbo Boost Tech : Disable
CPU Multi Threading :Enable
CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E) : Disable
C3/C6/C7 State Support : Disable
CPU Thermal Monitor : Disable
CPU EIST Function : Disable

Uncore & QPI Features:
QPI Link Speed :x36 7.2GHz
Uncore Frequency :x17 3400MHz
Isonchronous Frequency :Enable

Standard Clock Control:
Base Clock (BCLK) Control :Enable
BCLK Frequency (MHz) :200
PCI Express Frequency (MHz) : 100

Advanced Voltage Control:
Load Line Calibration : Enabled
CPU Vcore .:1.325v
QPI/VTT Voltage 1.375v
CPU PLL 1.800v
PCIE 1.500v
QPI PLL 1.100v
IOH Core 1.200v

GPU

Flashed to 850/4000 @ 1.075v

With the UNCore at 3.4Ghz it seems to generate alot more heat.. idling at 45'C and running Prime95 for 10 minutes settles at 75'C

How normal is that for watercooling?

[Darren Hodgson]

Originally Posted by keenan

Another thing, I'm playing Alan Wake and it flies, the game looks amazing, but the shadows look jaggedy and edgy.

Is there maybe a setting in the control panel that can make the shadows look smoother?

As long as you're playing the game on the highest settings then that's as good as the shadows are going to look. I can't say I noticed the shadows looking bad during my play through on the GTX 580 and now GTX 680 though but maybe I wasn't paying enough attention? Shadows are often poor looking in multiformat games, particularly ones that still use DX9 like this game does.

[keenan]

To be honest, the shadows look the same in Heaven Benchmark.. Kinda like they're moving or vibrating..

[Denial]

Originally Posted by keenan

Alright..

Just got the i7 setup (920 D0 with Gigabyte EX58-UD5)

I've got the 920 and GTX480 on water with a single loop consisting of a 750l/h pump running at 7V so probably just over 400l/h, 1 x 240 Rad, 1 120 Rad and the blocks..

Settings used for the overclock:

CPU



GPU



With the UNCore at 3.4Ghz it seems to generate alot more heat.. idling at 45'C and running Prime95 for 10 minutes settles at 75'C

How normal is that for watercooling?

Seems about right. I only hit 65ish but I also have a 3/1/1 rad loop. Some of your voltages seem a little high - here is mine:

Core Voltage: 1.33
Bus Speed: 200
Multiplier: 21
QPI PLL Vcore - 1.2v
CPU PLL Vcore - 1.8v
IOH Vcore - 1.1v
CPU VTT Voltage - 1.175
IOH/ICH Voltage 1.5
ICH Vcore - 1.10

[keenan]

Ok, finally got it stable at 4Ghz..

Load Line Calibration : Enabled
CPU Vcore .:1.275v
QPI/VTT Voltage 1.325v
CPU PLL 1.800v
PCIE 1.500v
QPI PLL 1.100v
IOH Core 1.100v

How does these bench runs compare?