6800 vs 6800GS

Runningkid · 22 Feb 2006 at 18:51

ok i posted last week about wether iwa nted a 6800XT or x1600XT, and i finally decided i wanted neither. I kno some of you told me to save a few more pennies for the GS but i jsut couldnt, 100 was the max max amount so i ordered a 6800 (not from ocuk unfortunatly), this is coming soon.

now my mate keep on anooying me about his GS will be better than mine (his is MSI one@ 425/1000)

i kno the GS is a very powerful card and my 6800 (350/800) is feeble compared to it.

What i want to kno is, will the rest of my system close the big gap? Becoz his spec is 3000+(stock) 1gb, and mines 3700+ with 1gb. if i overclock the card a little and my CPU/RAM a little.

I really want to shut him up and prove him wrong ! grrrrr. i kno the chances are slim but what you think?

Naffa · 22 Feb 2006 at 18:57

well is his 3000+ a 64bit or an old skoo' 32bit ?

Journey · 22 Feb 2006 at 18:59

OC'd a new XFX 6800 from it's stock 350/800 to a fab 477/986 (stable) only the other day, so I'd say that you have a good chance, the 6800NU is 12 pipes, so his GS has the advantage of the extra shader and faster RAM. You might get away with it, but it will be close!

Vegeta · 22 Feb 2006 at 19:04

I wouldnt say the 6800 is feeble to the 6800gs, you can unlock it and overclock it to have the identical performance of a gs in low res

man_from_uncle · 22 Feb 2006 at 21:07

If the 6800gs remains at stock it'll be well within your overclocking and unlocking range. You won't be able to counter having less ram, but you should be able to make up for it is other areas. I got my old 6800 to break 11300 in 3dmark03 with the pipes unlocked and 10700 with just the extra vertex shader and a hefty overclock. At a level that one might call completely 'artifact free' it could still get 10300; I don't think a stock 6800gs will do that well.

Runningkid · 22 Feb 2006 at 21:20

unofrtunatly the one i ordered is PCI-E so i dont think i can unlock, and his is a 64bit. He is gonna stay with stock, bcoz he dont like overclocking as his killed one of his mobo doing it a few eyars back.

what program to use to overclock?

man_from_uncle · 22 Feb 2006 at 21:32

I used coolbits most of the time. Rivatunar is probably more effective, but it's also more effort.

Anyway, I think you'll still be able to beat him by just overclocking. It won't be by much though and a bit of after sales cooling will make it a lot easier. I got a antec Vcool a few weeks ago and it gave me an extra 10mhz core and 100mhz on memory. That only translates to about 2-3%, but it all helps.l

Runningkid · 22 Feb 2006 at 21:47

is Vcool like artic coolers?

man_from_uncle · 22 Feb 2006 at 21:56

It's the opposite of an exhaust fan (though a lot of people tend to confuse the two). It sits under your graphics card (not attached in anyway) where the PCI slots are and blows cold air from outside the case onto the card. If you are overclocking your processor too then this extra vent that delivers room temprature air directly into the suction fan on the card makes quiet a difference.

As a side note an exhaust fan blows warm air from inside the case directly out the back. I've never used one but I hear they make little difference unless the inside of your case is toasty warm or well insulated.

Runningkid · 22 Feb 2006 at 22:07

..... but if ** gfx card fan is blowing down warm air and the Vcool is blowing cool air towards it wouldnt it jsut ... sorta you know clash?

hairyhen · 22 Feb 2006 at 22:21

I have been reading comments elsewhere, that many owners of the BFG 6800GS are achieving sucessful unlocking to 16/6....so I tried it with my 3-day old card using RivaTuner, and lo and behold it worked!

Runningkid · 22 Feb 2006 at 22:44

wow!?!? is this PCI-Express? and you think i can do it with my 6800?

hairyhen · 22 Feb 2006 at 23:38

I have the AGP version which uses the older NV40 - apparently these seem to have more potential for unlocking, and it would also depend on the manufacturer too - I have been reading that BFG seem to be getting higher yields from these chips.

The PCI-version of the 6800gs uses the NV42, which benefit from the higher clock speeds but has no room for unlocking ie. the final quad and vertex shader will have most likely already been certified dead.

This was just what I have been reading on the internet, so please correct me if I am wrong!

Runningkid - The only 6800 that I know of that overclocks/unlocks well is the Asus V9999. Think it was AGP?

man_from_uncle · 23 Feb 2006 at 11:21

Runningkid, the fan on the card sucks in cool air to blow onto the GPU. It then gets blown out the end normally towards the Hard disk. The Vcool just replaces the air that gets sucked in with cooler air from outside the case.

Runningkid · 23 Feb 2006 at 16:03

o i c, thanks

so i cant unlock it bcoz its the NV40 (i think) but i can overclock it, and to do it good i need something like a Vcool or Artic cooler.

man_from_uncle · 23 Feb 2006 at 16:19

You can overclock it with stock cooling without a problem. The type of fan i am describing really adds only a tiny bit of performance.

I still think you'll get up to 6800gs speeds though; perhaps not without some artifacting, but you'll get there.

Runningkid · 23 Feb 2006 at 17:44

lets hope so post update wen i get the card !

man_from_uncle · 23 Feb 2006 at 17:55

Cool, i'll be very interested. I thought my old AGP one was a legend, but i don't know how the PCI versions handle.

ParadoX · 23 Feb 2006 at 21:10

hairyhen said:
The PCI-version of the 6800gs uses the NV42, which benefit from the higher clock speeds but has no room for unlocking ie. the final quad and vertex shader will have most likely already been certified dead.

Yes there is no room for unlocking as the NV42 chip only has 12 pipes full stop. There are no pipes to unlock.

Runningkid · 23 Feb 2006 at 21:23