NVIDIA 7800GT Review

I got 7800GT yesterday, lets see how the performance of 7800GT is.

Card outlook, PCB is different with 7800GTX


Power part


Backside full look



Backside Detail #1


Backside Detail #2


Test Platform
AMD Athlon X2 4200+ OC 270X10
DFL LanPARTY nF4 SLI-D
GSkill 2GBHZ OC DDR540 3 4-4-8
SPARKLE 7800GTX SLI
Seagate 八代 400GB
TOPOWER 520W


Default 400/1000

3D Mark 2001SE

3D Mark 2003

3D Mark 2005

NV auto OC to 494/1180

3D Mark 2003

3D Mark 2005

The temperature of GT 20-pipes is lower than GTX 24-pipes, even in running.
The OC range is higher than the GTX I have.
The default is over6800Ultra already. It’s a real next generation display card.
If you want performance but are not affordable for 580USD GTX, you can consider this 7800GT which is under 430USD.
7 Series is coming… [

7800GTX Vs. 6800 Ultra Comparison

Just got time to make the 2 cards comparison.

7800GTX
Card outlook with thinner cooler, not reference board logo.


Components close to the power part


Card backside


Backside detail #1


Backside detail #2

6800Ultra
Card outlook with thicker cooler, reference board logo.


Components close to the power part


Card backside


Backside detail #1


Backside detail #2



Photo together

Test Platform
AMD Athlon X2 4200+ OC 270X10
DFL LanPARTY nF4 SLI-D
GSkill 2GBHZ OC DDR540 3 4-4-8
SPARKLE 7800GTX SLI/6800ultra
Seagate 八代 400GB
TOPOWER 520W


All test is based on default.

3DMARK2001SE

6800 Ultra Core 425Mhz Memory 1.1Ghz

7800GTX Core 430Mhz Memory 1.30Ghz

3DMARK2003

6800 Ultra Core 425Mhz Memory 1.1Ghz

7800GTX Core 430Mhz Memory 1.3Ghz

3DMARK2005

6800 Ultra Core 425Mhz Memory 1.1Ghz

7800GTX Core 430Mhz Memory 1.3Ghz

Comments for the cooler

6800Ultra
Even it is with thicker cooler, only a big noise in booting moment. After entering OS or running 3Dmark, it is very quiet. The temperature of card is lower than 7800GTX

7800GTX
Equipping with thinner cooler, the noise is very low. Only in running, it has low high-freq. sound, but it is too low to call noise. The temperature is higher than 6800Ultra.

Performance Reference, Generation Change, No Win or Lose.

GSKILL PC4800 F1-4800DSU2-1GBFF Review

Recently, 1GB rises sharply, it means great capacity generation is coming?!
As my experience, for general system, 512MBX2 are enough.
Only some heavy 3D Games need more than 1GB memory space.

Lets see what different with previous one.
New version with date code 2005/09, with copper sliver-color heatsink.
Someone think the heatsink doesn’t help much, but it really make it be better look!
Attractive packing is also an important selling point.

Use TCCD equally, on a price reduction to about 250 dollars






FF official spec : 2.5-3-3-7 (PC4400) / 2.5-4-4-8 (PC4800)




The past OC result
Test configuration
AMD 3000+ Venice 0517
DFI nF4 LanPARTY SLI-D
GSkill 1GBFF
SPARKLE 6200
TOPOWER520W

DDR630 2.5 3-3-6 PI 32M
SuprePi Results



Even 1GBX2 rising is good news for buyers.
However, WINXP with often open software and files are only occupying 300~400MB memory space.

It is just like BMW325 2500cc.
Many cars’ power is bigger and cheaper, but BMW owns its reputation.

I believe TCCD still has the strength in high frequency, low latency and best memorychips :good:
Performance, Capacity, Price, Chip, Brand – everyone have their own standard to judge their own best C/P products.
I choose TCCD, and you?!

Next Test might be one of the items below :
OCZ 1GBX2 DDR500, the price is around 340USD.


or GSkill 2GBHZ, the price is around 270USD.


or VGA cards?! Except 7800GTX SLI, I got 6800Ultra as well....

Monster 120mm heatsink Full Copper HSF, tested on Venice 3000+

Test rig specification :

A64 3000+ Venice 0517 ( 2.7ghz )
MSI K8N SLI Platinum
Elsa 6800 GT x 1
Infineon DDR 400 1Gb x 2
Hitachi Sata II 80Gb x4 Raid 0
Ultra X-Connect 500W true power


Other things to take note :

- side panel open
- tower case resting on floor
- ambient temperature taken from LCD thermal probe
- Gun type Infrared thermometer for additional temp measurement
- Temperature information from MBM 5


Ambient temperature : 28.5C ( average taken from LCD thermal probe )
Test done night time, without air-conditioning. Guys who came my house before will know we're on natural breeze.

Thermal probe & Copper/silver thermal compound


Gun type professional Infrared Thermometer



The CPU heatsink base. Its quite smooth, but in my opinion, still need a little lapping. Its a pity its nite time & I realize i've run out of 1000grid sandpaper


take a close look on the fins ...



So I just proceed to applying some copper/silver thermal compound & wack the monster on !! Mounting the heatink onto the mobo is brainless job, or at least 30seconds to figure out which mounting bracket I need. Mind u, this cooler is monstrous & pretty heavy, on my weighing machine, its 750gram.




Happily preparing the tools, like Infrared thermometer & digital camera ..... I kinda fook-up the cpu cooler the infrared thermometer slipped & dropped directly in the middle of the cooler.

Like that ...


Then become like that ..



So we have a sort of handicap HSF for this little review here ... geezz, that sux. Due to the unbalanced fan blades, there's a little loud low hum sound. Nevermind I think, shouldn't hinder performance so much ... so we carry on.


CPU Idle : 39C - 40C
Case Idle : 35C - 36C
Ambient : 28.5C - 29C
CPU Core : 1.52V ( do not read from MBM 5's cpu core, i didn't set properly )


CPU Idle : 38.9C
**as shown by external thermometer source - Infrared Thermometer

CPU Full load : 39C - 40C
Case Full load : 35C - 36C
Ambient : 28.5C - 29C
CPU Core : 1.482V ( do not read from MBM 5's cpu core, i didn't set properly )


CPU Full load : 46.1C
** as shown by external measurement source - Infrared thermometer



Conclusion :

Here, I won't be commenting how good or how bad the cooler is. Screen shots & real life pictures above should give readers a rough idea of how this cooler perform. The A64 rig used for testing should also be a good hardware test reference.


Its after all, about 3C - 4C better then my current Iceman heatpipe heatink.


This HSF can be purchased from Member's Store. CLICK HERE !!

This post has been edited by uglyvamp: Oct 5 2005, 02:14 AM

A rather simple review by myself...

Thermalright Si-120 Heatsink Review, Overclocked Setup..

DFi LanParty-UT RDX200 CF-DR Review

Since nVIDIA launched nFORCE-integrated chipset, nVIDIA has launched nF2 for K7, nF3 for K8 and well-selling nF4 to grab the K8 market.

ATI is 1 of the 2 largest VGA chipset makers.
Since last year, their integrated IGP was getting better.
Now, it combines with great OC blood from DFI LANParty UT RDX200 CF-DR.
We are looking forward to seeing the performance.

Outlook

The pack is changed to red. Looks great, different with others.



Accessories 1
2 IDE cables, 1 Floppy cable
Multi-Language quick installation guide(Improvement 1)




Accessories 2
Karajan audio module is using ALC822 – 8 channels HD audio.
Manual is much thicker than the past. Look closely, it is Multi-Language (Improvement 2)
Driver CD
SATA UV cables
RAID diskette
SATA power cables
IO panel



Board outlook
It's the first AMD motherboard with HD-AUDIO technology.
Enlarge the PCI-e gaps. NB cooler position is no interfile to any VGA (Improvement3)



Left-down corner
3 PCI for using (Improvement 4)



Right-down corner
The chassis pin headers with recognized colors (Improvement 5)
Silicon Image 3114 with 4 SATA in RAID0.1.5
Plus chipset built-in 4 SATA, you can use 8 SATA devices




Nearby CPU
4 Phases PWM (Improvement 6)
24PIN + 8PIN( not 4PIN as before),LGA775 stable power supply spec.



First board uses this memory layout position.
You can use system fan to spread the heat better (Improvement 7)
IO part has 6 USB, 2 Gigabit LAN, 1 1394



Improvement parts are comparing with DFI original nF4 board.
Of course, new DFI nF4 expert has the same advantages as well.

Then, lets look at the test equipment.

VGA
ASUS X800 256MB VIVO



DRAM
GSkill 2GBHX DDR400 2 3-2-5

I will use TCCD to test again as only TCCD can reach
512MBX4 4DIMM DDR400 1T 2 2-2-5
The other TCCD magic parameter will come as well...

Next -BIOS Introduction

The outlook takes me 2 hours....
Maybe it will take 1 week more to finish the detail test....


BIOS Introduction

Rich BIOS items make DFI be better than others.

The boot screen is modified.
Smaller art, better quality with some marks. Let me feel better. (Improvement 8)



Main setup menu



Below the main setup menu, it shows the current voltage status.



DRAM Voltage, the main course
This revision, you don't need jumper to setup 3.3~4V
You can adjust it from 2.4~4.03V
BTW, even it is over 3.3V, no IC will be over 100 degree
More voltage stepping, really great! (Improvement 9)



Lowest voltage becomes 2.4V from 2.5V.




CPU voltage is still separated into 2 parts.
First, 0.800V~1.550V
Second, ratio : maximum is 136%
The highest voltage is 1.55X1.36=2.108V



FSB jump to 500Mhz from 450Mhz.
The original DFI nF4 almost can reach 400~450Mhz every boards.
You can adjust in 1Mhz. It's very convenient. (Improvement 10)



LDT is from1.0~5.0X
Also have 1.5 and 2.5X for easier OC.

The new item, if it is over 280Mhz, better to enable it to enhance the OC ability.




Built-in Sil 3114 with RAID0,1,0+1,5.
The pity is not SATAII version.



DRAM menu part 1
It's plenty as usual. Over OC limitation comes from these items.
As nF4 512MBX2 DDR600 1T, only DFI can reach it. The BIOS items are the key factor.
If you are not looking for limitation( around 200~280Mhz), you just adjust some setting as the normal board.



DRAM menu part 2



High FSB sync. Key setting
DRAM Drive Strength
Changing from LEVEL1~8 to LEVEL1~15(Improvement 11)


BIOS test rpm/temp/voltage page
You can control the temp, the chipset temp is around 50.
4000rpm, the sound is still very low.



Warm up. GH reach DDR500 2 2-2-5 3.3V.



Some parts are different with nF4.
I may spend more time to familiar with it to break the barrier.
In the past, I think ATI K8 chipset is only for normal usage.
The same chipset on DFI RD design, the OC and performance is over my expectation.

LITEON SHM-165P6S DVD-RAM

LITEON first DVD-RAM Writter.

Write:
16X DVD+/-R,
8X DVD+RW,6XDVD-RW,
8X DVD+R9,4X DVD-R9,
5X DVD-RAM.
24X CD-RW,48X CD-R.









*5x P-CAV Burn Speed.~


*DVD-RAM pi/po quality test.


*Mitsubishi 16x Burn Speed

DFi LanParty-UT RDX200 CF-DR Review Part II

3D basic performance and Winbond memory test

ASUS AX800 2DVI VIVO 256MB
The packing is quite big, around NTD 7400. The C/P value is very high in ATI VGA cards.




Blue light is shinning during operation.



Test Configuration
CPU: AMD K8 939 3000+ VENICE OC 2.7G
MB: DFI LANParty RDX200 CF-DR
DRAM: GSkill 1GBGH
VGA:ASUS AX800 VIVO

Under 3DMARK2003
Default 400/350
Better than 6600GT



OC to 460/820

Single card to enable CF mode?!

Misunderstanding, OC too high makes 3DMARK miss judge…



Voltage DRAM can adjust from 2.4~4.03V
That’s perfect for Winbond memory chips

Use GSkill 1GBGH



CPU 300X9 RAM divide frequency to 180Mhz reaching DDR540

What? 543 passed?! Reach DDR543 2 2-2-5 3.58V

ATI card has a gorgeous taste.
BTW, RDX200 plus Winbond BH5/UTT have the same great OC ability with DFI Lanparty nF4

Continued................

New OC Legend - DFI nF4 SLI-DR EXPERT

These 2 weeks, DFI has done a lot.
Just remember DFI launched ATI RD482, RDX200 CF-DR, 2 weeks ago.
I am still impressive in the OC ability, great layout and components.
Today, DFI launches revised nF4 – EXPERT version.

Lets have a look.
The box changes to green plus EXPERT wording.
Previous nF4 is blue and RDX200 is red.



The backside of box has detail description.



The outlook of the board
We can see it’s similar with RDX200.
The same 100% Japanese capacitors keep good quality.



Left below
For advanced user who has audio card or TV tuner card, the original nF4 just has 2 PCI.
This version increase to 3 PCIs and keep the diagnostic LEDs.



Right below
The same as usual to have POWER&RESET switches.
4 nF4 built-in SATAII and 4 SATA from Sil3114 which supports RAID5.
Also built-in PC speaker which can be disable by jumper.



Left above
2 IDE slots.
The same as INTEL LGA775 uses 24PIN + 8PIN in power connectors.
But normal 20PIN + 4PIN POWER still can use.



IO and Memory
6 USB 2.0 + Dual Gigabit LAN + 1 IEEE1394
The memory slots are great. You can use CPU and chassis coolers to reduce the heat of memory




SLI switch is electrical.
Enlarged PCI-E gap is wonderful for user to use water blocks or compressor to tweak the VGA performance.
nF4 chipset cooler is magnetic levitated fan. It’s 3000 to 7000rpm. User can adjust it by himself. This design is great for performance and low noise.兼固效能與安靜的設計



The components close to CPU socket
4 phases PWM with aluminum components to enhance the stability.



The best selling point for this board
Keep the nF4 great OC blood, in memory, it break the AMD 4DIMM in DDR333 2T spce.
In EXPERT, we may can reach DDR400 1T with 2 2-2-5.
I use 2 pairs GSkill 1GBFX to test this.




Time is late. Wait for more detail test in BIOS and memory tuning............

BIOS Options...

The boot up screen is getting better.




BIOS
Basically, the setup is similar with previous DFI LanPARTY nF4 series.
However, the range is more flexible.

Main setup options




Built-in MEMTEST is a great tool. The version is 1.65






The highest frequency is 550





HT 1~5X also has 1.5X and 2.5X





CPU voltage also has 2 segments adjustment.
1st segment is 0.08V to 1.55V






The 2nd segment is %, maximum is 136%
The overall highest voltage is 2.108V

DRAM voltage
Previous version is setting into 2 sections : 2.5V~3.2V&3.3~4V JUMP.
This version is non-section voltage from 2.29V~4V. Even the voltage is over 3.3V, there is no heat issue as before.







SLI uses electronic switch. You can switch into 1X/16X or 8X/8X mode in BIOS



DRAM tuning options
Same as previous version
First page



Next page



The key factor of OC - DRAM Drive Strength
From LEVEL1~LEVEL8 to LEVEL1~LEVEL15




BIOS Temp./Speed control page



Test Congiuration

AMD K8 939 3000+ 0517
DFI nF4 SLI-DR EXPERT
GSkill 1GBFX DDR400 2 2-2-5 2 pairs
SPARKLE 6200
Maxtor 30GB
DELTA 350W



Even it's 512X2 DDR400 2 2-2-5, when you plug 4 DIMMs, you still need to adjust the BIOS very carefully.
DDR400 1T 4 DIMM is not CPU(AMD).MB(DFI).DRAM(GSkill) official guarantee.
All official guarantee is dual channels not 4 DIMMs in 2 channels.

Reached! DDR400 2 2-2-5 1T 512MBX4 2.68V
PI 32M finished!!!





Forget the most important accessory

Longer SLI bridge

Click on the thumbnails to open the full size pictures.
Left: IBM Thinkpad T22, Right: IBM Thinkpad T23

I am getting poorer nowadays.
Although I am fully aware of the new trend in computing world such as multicore on single processor, dual display, dual LCD or even bigger wide screen LCD, dual channel memory, etc.

Everything going to be in pair, in dual.

What the hell man, I really have no $$$ to pursue all these trends.....

So how?

I believe a lot of ppl don't even have >1000 US Dollar on hand to buy all those expensive toys.

A typical setup of Dual Core CPU, Dual LCD, Dual VGA (SLI or CorssFire), Dual Channel RAM are not cheap.

But most of the users need only the smoothness in opening 2 applications eg. MSN & IE, Antivirus & Word, MeidaPlayer & Firefox, etc simultaneously with minimum lag if possible.

Do you really need those power & $$$ sucker such as Pentium D 830, AthlonX2 3800+, Apple or Dell 24" Wide Screen ??

Before you fork out your hard earned $$$ to buy all these latest products, maybe you should take a look at Garage Sales section to look for cheaper 2ndhand solutions to fulfill your needs.

The only 1 drawback of my setup is cannot play latest 3d games. But then I gain portability to move around with 2 seperate laptops which only less than 4.5kg.

Afterall I don't really need games to earn $$$, lol.

Just my 2 cents of the day, nothing extra ordinary, thx for viewing.



EDITED for decency in language

This post has been edited by almostthere: Nov 15 2005, 07:09 PM

7800 series 20 pipes value card - MSI NX7800GT SLI

Since last month's test of 6800Ultra, SPARKLE 7800GTX SLI and 7800GT single card. Finally, I got chance to see the 7800GT SLI performance.


Take a look first



Single card full view
Personal idea – it’s the best picture in 7800 series



Backside view



Other details
Based on reference board layout with great quality components.






Test Configuration
AMD 939 Athlon 3000+
DFL LanPARTY nF4 EXPERT
GSkill 1GBGH
MSI NX7800GT SLI

Default setting 450/1000

3DMARK2003





3DMARK2005







Auto OC to 490/1080


3DMARK2003





3DMARK2005



During the test, temperature and noise condition is very well. SLI auto OC performance is similar to 7800GTX SLI.
NV in 7 series VGA card enhance their temperature and noise controls.
Of course, the performance is quite close to 7800GTX. This is a good news for budgeted users.
7800GT is a great choice in high-end cards.

This post has been edited by almostthere: Nov 23 2005, 01:26 AM

New OC Legend - DFI nF4 SLI-DR EXPERT Part 2

3D VGA
MSI 7800GT SLI


3DMARK2003


3DMARK2005


DRAM
2GB Kit
GSkill 2GBHZ


DDR570 3 4-4-8 1T 2.49V PI 32M


This post has been edited by almostthere: Nov 23 2005, 01:21 AM

MSI K8N Diamond Plus first look, The most luxury NVIDIA SLI 16X MB

Based on the new release NVIDIA 16X+16X Chipset, it’s seems there is no motherboard good at spec and over clock. Now the MSI K8N Diamond Plus which is base on the good performance Diamond series enhances the spec to become the shining Socket 939 K8 motherboard.
First, let us take a look of this motherboard.




The bottom left side of the motherboard has been set up 2 PCI, 2PCI-E 1X, and 1 PCI-E 2X slots to satisfy the expansion demand of users.





MSI brings the Creative SB Live! 24 to Diamond, set up the highest integrated audio class, now we have Sound Blaster Audigy SE comes with 24-bit/192kHz sampling, 106dB S/N ratio, supports EAX Advanced HD technology, and S/PDIF digital output through fiber optics or coaxial.
The enthusiasts often buy another sound card to gain the better sound quality because they do not satisfied by integrated AC’97 audio.





The bottom right
It is convenient that the Clear CMOS becomes a botton.
4 SATA2 by NVIDIA and 2 by Sil3132, support RAID 0, 1, 0+1, 5 mode.





The jumper on the upper right of south bridge is the key point of this board,
After DFI, this board becomes the second one which able to over 3.2V on DRAM!





The extension of16X PCI-E slots bring the bigger thermal space,
It’s also convenient to add on water cooling system, compressor, or other advanced thermal system.





The partition of memory slots is almost the same as Neo4/Diamond,
and the power connector is 24 pins, too.





The materials surround CPU’s power
The input power connector changes to 8 pins
But the common power line which is 20+4 pins is also workable




High quality copper-made heat pipe used between north bridge and south bridge
A small fan is add on north bridge with low noise
This design is prevent the high temperature cause the nForce4 chipset burn out.






the IO partition
Dual Gigabit LAN ports
IEEE 1394 and fiber optics output with 4 USB ports
The ability of expansion is very good



This post has been edited by almostthere: Dec 2 2005, 08:55 PM