Okay So I'm trying to pick a good card for my computer and I'm looking at the cards and the same cards go from say like $150-$210. I know the more expensive ones are overclocked from the manufacture but wouldn't you get the same performance if you just buy the stocked one and overclock it yourself. I'm just trying to understand all this and make a good educated purchase. I want to make sure I'm not going to spend an extra $50 for an OC GPU when I could just go ahead and do it myself. For example you have a 1gb 460 stock for $169 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130571 Then you have the same card OC for $214 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130568 I'm currently looking at 460's, 6850's, and 6870's. Performance wise I want the 6870 but it might not happen due to money being tight but its still a 20% chance of me getting one. We will see what the bills say lol. Thanks again for you guys helping me out!
There are advantages to pre-overclocked, like better quality components and coolers, plus the GPUs are usually speed-binned and cherry picked. You also get warranty cover with the card as it is. The other side of the coin is that Vanilla cards are cheaper, more likely to be stable (at stock speed) and can often reach similar overclocks to the pre-clocked cards (with the risk of voiding your warranty). Personally i buy a decent, vanilla card in the first place and i leave it on stock settings. I'm not interested in shortening the life of my components or risking instability when i'm playing games. Each to their own though.
So the ones that get pre-overclocked, are they more stable for the most part then? Since the people doing it are professionals and all that fun stuff? Thank you very much sir.
I try not to ever buy pre overclocked hardware. The only exception would be if it was the only thing available (I mean for older cards). But yeah, if the overclocked card comes with a better heatsink/fan, then it's worth it to spend the extra. It might also be quieter. Usually factory overclocked stuff is just a BIOS update to make it run at those higher default clocks and I can usually surpass those speeds by overclocking it myself. I also don't give a crap about warranties.
No. Take the gigabyte GTX560 at 1Ghz for example. Unstable. Look at the SKU. For example, there are 3 versions of this MSi that i have. Stock GPU clock, mild OC at 880Mhz and "super" OC at 950Hz. They're all the same, same cooler, same pcb, etc. OCed versions generally vary in GPU default voltage. Manufacturers dont always chose good chips, ie, chips that run at high clocks at stock voltage. Instead, they just pump the vcore to get their OC. I'd say that if you are going to buy a reference card, dont go with pre OCed versions. Usually reference designs arent good for that. But, if you're choosing between different cards with aftermarket coolers, choose the one with the best cooler. You can do the OC by yourself if you have a good cooler to start with. There are middle points of course. Not all 820Mhz GTX560 can get to 950Mhz for example, so between a Twin Frozr II with stock clock and a TFII at 950Mhz, maybe the 950Mhz one is more attractive if the price difference aint high. You cant have a one fit all solution here. You have to check specs and decide. BTW, i'd decide for a HD6850 instead of the GTX460 if they're the same price. And as said, i think that OCed reference cards dont worth it.
Yeah thats what I was starting to figure out. I noticed that MSI has the cooler on a lot of their cards but some are OC and some aren't. I only plan on doing moderate overclocking. So with that being said should I just buy a reference GPU with a good cooler? Yeah I've been leaning towards Radeon more than Nvidia after originally leaning towards Nvidia. My MOBO doesn't support SLI and right now I have no plans for SLI of CF but incase I change my mind I would like to do it. Thanks for the help.
Hahaha I know. I've been looking at cards for the last few weeks and I've noticed that a lot. One cards OC is 10mhz and another for almost the same exact price is like 100mhz. People just trying to make some money on sleezy advertising and people who don't properly research or know what they are buying. **** I've been researching this crap for a $1,000 computer for over a month now. Always trying to maximize my bang for the buck.
Yeah, and one thing even more stupid. For example in the twin frozr II series that have a great overclock potencial they increase 10mhz. I mean couldnt the guys in the lab think that are people that dont know how to/bother to overclock theirs cards and want a big boost out of the box?
Well. Thats why there are "super OC" versions. When they change the PCB or something, unless its a uber high end exclusive design, they sell various models with different specs. More/less memory, higher/lower clocks, etc. Besides, you dont sell a Twin Frozr II to someone who doesnt know how to OC it. The thing is, that if you want to have an OCed card and you dont know how to do it, you have to pay for the OCed version. If you know how to OC it and want to risk having a bad GPU that doesnt go up even by 10Hz, you can pay for the non OCed version and give it a shot. Knowledge in modern day isnt just power, is money too. Those companies have been selling for years, they know their stuff. The chances are that they're right, its just that the customer dont understand the logic behind their desitions... or that they're Sony Of course, im not saying that everything that a company does its the right desition. Often enough good for them doesnt mean good for the customer.
evga will warranty the card even if you overclock it and change the cooler. i go for the reference cards myself and overclock them
i think they may have fixed the issue with the gigabyte 560soc. you can get the 1ghz models again. i think the issue was poor QA, as there are a lot that run fine out there. and not all of the msi 560s are the same. the hawk 560 ti uses the twin frozr iii cooler instead and has more power phases.
No idea. The point is, pre OCed card not always are the better ones (compared against the same card non pre OCed). As any card, maybe one OC higher, maybe not. They're just filling market niches, nothing too special. At least not small ammount of OC, as i said, not all GTX560 reach 950Ghz or 1Ghz, so those very high OC editions may worth the extra cash, or maybe they dont and you can buy a card and OC it to 1050hz. Who knows? Thats the idea, if you're willing to risk it, buy a card and OC it as much as you can, if you dont, pay the extra and buy a pre OCed card and thats it, thats what they're for. I'd go for the Hawk or Twin Frozr II pre OCed at 950hz instead of the SOC Gigabyte anyway, it has a better cooling solution it seems. Dont know bout the price difference though. Maybe Gigabyte is cheaper. Rainb... i mean, better cooling all the way though Thats why i said "this MSi that i have" reffering to this Twin Frozr II that i have and not "all MSi cards on the world". All 3 common models of the TFII cooler are the same, just different GPU clocks. Exept for fourth "golden edition" TFII that has copper colored plating instead of nickel plating, a 950Mhz GPU... and thats all i think. All four models (of the Twin Frozr II, in case you forgot that im talking bout those ) use the same PCB, same copper heatsink with copper heat pipes and same fans.
i gotta agree, the twin frozr cooling solution is much better. i suppose one thing that helps is that the twin frozr shroud is made from metal, so it kinda helps improve the surface area of the heatsink a little (from what i can see it looks like its mounted to the heatsink, but i could be wrong). the gigabyte soc cooler isnt too bad, but it doesnt seem to cool as well as the twin frozrs. i have nfi about the golden edition... according to msi, it runs at 900mhz core. if they wanted to make it special or have limited edition appeal, they shouldve bumped it up to at least 950mhz... lol
Yep. I got that impression. But i dont think that the aluminium cover does that much. Probably its the distribution of the heat pipes, their size or maybe the fluid that they use inside of them. Gigabyte's cooler does seems a little more flat than the Twin Frozr II, so maybe it just got more fins... wtf? Yeah, for a golden edition kinda it doesnt get too much impressive. I checked and the TFII SOC edition is the one at 950Mhz. Kinda weird having one not golden edition faster than the golden edition. The golden edition should run cooler if the rest of the card (fins, heat pipes) is made from copper though...
This card, linked in your first post, is an OC'd card....not a stock clocked card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130571 In fact, in this case...the stock clocked cards are actually higher priced... Stock clocked GTX460's: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814134116 ($170) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121391 ($177) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500169 ($200) The "stock" GPU clock on the GTX460 is only 675mhz...and due to price....I'd go for this card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121390 ($150 and only OC'd to 700mhz, which can be done on the stock 0.987v - 1.012v)
hmm, if the whole heatsink is made from copper, then it should be a pretty beefy cooler. wonder if there are any reviews on it.
There is one review. And didnt test load temps >.< only idle, 31ºC (looks nice in the case btw ) http://www.funkykit.com/component/c...-ti-twin-frozr-ii-golden-edition.html?start=4
