Whats Quicker?

[fastwunz]

what makes a card quicker - the core/memory speed or the number of pipelines?

For example - say you have a 7600GT with 12 pipelines running 500 and 1400 and you have a 7900GS with 20 pipes and running 450 with 1350.................... which is quicker and why?

Just needed some education from you guys please!

 

[semi-pro waster]

The number of pipelines generally makes more of a difference but you also have to take into account the fact that the chip itself will be more efficient/better designed on the 7900gs. Bus width can also make a difference although on both those cards it should be 256bit.

Other people may be able to give you a more technical breakdown but I think that is the gist of it.

 

[fastwunz]

The number of pipelines generally makes more of a difference but you also have to take into account the fact that the chip itself will be more efficient/better designed on the 7900gs. Bus width can also make a difference although on both those cards it should be 256bit.

Other people may be able to give you a more technical breakdown but I think that is the gist of it.

ah ok, so am i right in saying that as a general rule, my 7800Gt Overclocked will be quicker then any 7600 because i have more pipes? (20 in all) also, its clocked to 490 and 1350 - which isnt too shabby imo

 

[Massive Attack]

ah ok, so am i right in saying that as a general rule, my 7800Gt Overclocked will be quicker then any 7600 because i have more pipes? (20 in all) also, its clocked to 490 and 1350 - which isnt too shabby imo

yes

 

[Minstadave]

Bus width can also make a difference although on both those cards it should be 256bit.

The 7600GT has a 128bit memory bus doesn't it?

The 7900GS has lots more pipes and twice the memory bandwidth pretty much.

 

[semi-pro waster]

The 7600GT has a 128bit memory bus doesn't it?

It would appear it does , I thought that it must be 256bit given that the 6800gt has a 256bit bus and is about on a par/only a little slower.

 

[Minstadave]

It would appear it does , I thought that it must be 256bit given that the 6800gt has a 256bit bus and is about on a par/only a little slower.

Yeah Nvidia pulled off a stonker with the 7600GT, its basically a very efficient 6600GT on steroids

 

[fastwunz]

Yeah Nvidia pulled off a stonker with the 7600GT, its basically a very efficient 6600GT on steroids

wow -i didnt realise it was 128 - hmmmm, well ill sleep easier now knowing that me 7800 is better than the 7600's lol - i know it sounds silly to ask (what with 7800 being higher than 7600, so you would think one was better than the other) but the 7800 came and went quicker than you can blink - which in my opinion was pretty strage. How come they disappeared so quickly?

 

[Minstadave]

wow -i didnt realise it was 128 - hmmmm, well ill sleep easier now knowing that me 7800 is better than the 7600's lol - i know it sounds silly to ask (what with 7800 being higher than 7600, so you would think one was better than the other) but the 7800 came and went quicker than you can blink - which in my opinion was pretty strage. How come they disappeared so quickly?

7800 was expensive to make iirc, so Nvidia shifted to the cheaper 7900 as quickly as possible

 

[fastwunz]

7800 was expensive to make iirc, so Nvidia shifted to the cheaper 7900 as quickly as possible

ah i see - i wonder what made the 7800 more expensive to make than the 7900? surely they use the same parts, just different clocks and ram etc

 

[Minstadave]

7800s are 110nm whereas the 7900 is 90nm I seem to remember, so it'd be a smaller die and cheaper to produce (plus cooler running).

 

[Goody_GTI]

7800s are 110nm whereas the 7900 is 90nm I seem to remember, so it'd be a smaller die and cheaper to produce (plus cooler running).

correct - they use completely different chips its not just the speed of the core/memory that is different

They also use less power and create less heat because of this 90nm process compared to the 7800s