Been reading slizone and was surprised to see that the officials of SLI Zone claimed that it's a waste of money paying extra for factory pre-oc cards.

As we all know, alot of manufactures tries to stand out from each other when it comes to selling their "value-for-money" products. Increased clocks, redesign cooler (and even partnership with renown cooling specialists), longer warranty, 90-days step up program, gold plated DVI connectors are some of the examples the manufactures do to outshine their competitors.

As most of us are interested in performance rather than anything else, do you think it's worth paying a little extra for the pre-oc cards, or, rather buy the reference speed cards and OC it yourself?

buying OCed cards would mean that the card surely will run at that OCed speed already. you can buy OCed unit to OC further also.

Thus it's only waste money if you want to overclock it more. If you buy, plug it in and leave it as it is, it's good enough.

does preclocked cards can oc better than default clock cards?

i bought 2 OCed cards before.

my 6800 Ultra. bought it and didn't OC it further.

my 8600GT OC edition of course, i OC further la. i bought used unit mah.

well,for me,pre oc card is already reaches its limit and wont oc more than it.

Well it depends on individuals. Some do not wan2 go thru the hassle and risk of overclocking, thus going for preclocked card.

Others, would get the cheapest card outthere and MAX it out.

but then again, the preclocked card already OC'ed to the best speed that it can achieve and the manufacturer already bundled with it the best heatsink that it needed. for manual overclocking, you need the time to test out the best speed, and also might spend more and heating solutions

There are various factors that needs consideration.

Firstly is how more expensive the OCed version compared to the normal version. If it is much more expensive, then there would be no point getting the OCed version as normally, an overclock GC would provide only a few additional fps which doesn't justify it's extra price.

Secondly is how high the OC is. If it is just a small OC, then that is also not worth it. The best is to compared the OCed version vs normal version and see the performance gains of the OC. Remember that the gains in fps is usually not great.

Thirdly, how high can a normal GC overclocked as compared to the OCed version. In some cases, the normal version can OC as high as the factory pre-overlocked version!! However, this would also depend on luck. If you're lucky, you can get one normal card that can OC higher. Like goldfries said, the OCed version would guarantee that it will work at that OC level.

Fourthly is how much you can afford. Some people would just buy the greatest of the series because they just have so much money to spend and want the highest frame rate obtainable!!!

I had a 7800 GS extreme edition which came pre-overclocked at 440/1300 (from stock 375/1200). It was much more expensive and could only be overclocked to 490/1450 stable. I had seen people with the normal stock version OC until 500/1500 or more!!!!!

So, in the end, IMO, there's no straight forward answer.....

this was true for my 6800 Ultra BUT my 8600GT OC edition proves otherwise.

i managed to push the OC edition even further. from 600/800 to 690/900 or so.

not necessarily. as mentioned, my 8600 GT OC edition cames with decent heatsink already (copper based, alu fins) and it still OCs.

temperatures are 62c at most.

Well it still depends on many factors. Luck is also one of it.
i rememebered me and my fren bought identitical X1600 that is factory overclocked. But mine can still overclocked further while he's stuck at that speed without encountering artifacts

Heck no! Usually, not all of them, the pre-overclocked cards have special PCB, better memory (handpicked or lower nanosecond rating) better core and power regulator on the card so it's more stable to overclock

But as usual, do your homework before buying any pre-overclocked card so you won't end up buying a card that have issue in the first place

i'm prefer manual overclocking, and the gc price are more lower

factory OCed cards comes with warranty..

as far as i know..

dun think it applies only to pre-oc cards. i think this approach is to make themselves unique from their competitors.
asus 8800gts 320mb for example, is a reference card, but it uses 1.1ns memory (forgot wat memory brand) as opposed to 1.2ns.

i think it does apply to pre-oc cards.....i find that pre-oc cards tend to OC better than stock/ reference cards. thats just my experience la.

Najmods has a point...in order for the cards to run @ OCed speeds stable...im pretty sure minor tweaking has to be done...and my guess is due to this minor tweaking, the preOC cards tend to OC better. sometimes ALOT better. im guessing it has something to do with core and mem voltage which allows u to push alot higher.

take my old preOC 9550 for example... it was running on infineon 2.8ns ram....and the clocks on card (core and mem) were one of the highest stock clocks for a 9550. that particular infineon 2.8ns ram was rated for a max of 2.2v. on stock it was already running at 2.1v and damn that card OCs like mad. (found out about the voltages while voltmodding the card)

so i say, pre OC cards is the way to go...
if ur planning to leave them at stock clocks good...coz ull get the extra clocks comapred to stock
if ur planning to OC oso good...coz like i said...i find that pre OC cards tend to OC alot more than stock.

This post has been edited by mADmAN: Aug 10 2007, 03:09 PM

Nope.
I found that as not true.

Take the Colorful 8600GT OC Edition for example, it's pre-overclocked to 580MHz Core & 800MHz Mem.
But, i manage to overclock it to 650MHz Core & 1000MHz Mem.
Stable all the way to benchmarking and playing games for hours.

The same goes to my BFG 8800 Ultra Overclocked too.
It's pre overclocked, but i manage to overclocke more than what is set by the manufacturer.

My 79GS also, stock core/mem for this card is 600/800, uses 1.2ns samsung RAM n i manage to push it to 650/900 its still stable

my oc'ed gc comes at 550/1700, but then i get to push til 675/2020 stable also, but temp reached 80C, so only in really dire cases then only push that high..

normal 8800gts cant go that much IINM

are you sure there's a variant of 79gs at 600/800 from galaxy? AFAIK, the highest 79gs sold by Galaxy is 560mhz (the one that comes with zalman fan).

you are right abt the 1.2ns RAM, other 79gs uses 1.4ns. i'm using 1 now

mine is GALAXY super clocked edition comes wif cooler master fan

it's NOT A WASTE if oc version comes with better hsf as purchasing a new hsf might cost more...

it's NOT A WASTE of $$$ too, if u gonna use that oc setting for ur rig 24/7 as if faulty then they can't blame u oc the card..

NOT worth it, if the oc n non-oc price different is a lot then not worth it... unless it's having different hsf, memory or hardware included... it's like xfx xxx edition, same hsf, same memory, all same hardware then no point... better just get non oc version... i think bfg oso same rite??? same memory, same hsf oso to normal 1...

as for my personal preference , getting a "Overclocked Edition", "Extreme Edition", "Ultra Edition", "XXX" or "Super..." is good for newly in overclocks scene, well the way i see it, most of pre-overclocked card already comes with pre-overvoltage as well as usually comes with good PCB design, solid capacitor and good cooling solution too...

i think the best example of a pre-overclocked card thats really worth it would be the Galaxy 7300GT 128mb DDR3.

good cooler, good components (ram etc) AND it can still overclock like mad.

and of course lets not forget the Colorful 8600GT OC and UE Editions from the bulk orders section.

I would go for pre-OCed GC as well. More juice IMO

If the price not differ too much better get oc version then.

i got the oc edition at non-oc price...thus its not a waste of money

secondly, for oc-edition, the bios is usually 'updated' from the reference bios, thus able to oc further...

managed to get mem of a GTS to match GTX stable....2016Mhz....

I say it depends on the pricing of the product.It's about price and performance ratio if you ask me.Like slayer said,if the price doesn't differs much,my as well we get the oced edition.

Pre-OC is better. More often so, it comes with better rams, at the very least.

Actually you're paying more for them to still give you warranty despite the card is overclocked. Thats all... I'd say worth the value. I wouldn't wanna spend so much money for a good GC and then overclock it and have my warranty void.

No warranty void if u oc safely.

only warranty void if you oc and damage the gc..

but for nowadays, non oc-ed gc can never match with oc-ed gc.. the memory bandwidth is higher for oc-ed gc..

For high end maybe, for lower end card (128-bit memory bus especially) needs a lot faster clock speed to have difference.

Another thing, some pre-overclocked card might appear stock but its the BIOS that makes the difference, it could have more aggressive memory timing among other thing

About the warranty void caused by overclocking, if you know how to hide it you will be fine. I even have a graphics card burned slightly but I managed to clean it and RMA it

OC cards all waste $ oni. How much do they OC? A paltry 10%. Anybody can OC the card 10% on their own.

The 10% OC would prolly only contribute to 1% FPS increase. From which ever angle we look at it, whether Pre or Post OC, the gain will never be substantial. Not to mention, VGA's die easier as to compared to proc under OC.

it's meant for those who don't dare to OC. so get it pre-OCed lor.

i'm not willing to pay more for OC edition. however i'm willing to pay for CHEAP OC edition. hehe.

later you view my 8600GT OC Edition review la. i've already done the test. downclock to 8600GT ref. 8600GT OC Ed and 8600GT OC Ed OC some more.

it's surely more than 1%

I dont think this applies to Palit "OC" edition though.

What are you trying to say?

Yea...what are you trying to say? Because of their build quality?

yeah, OC gc is suitable for newbies overclockers

For them is a small deal, in their mind, those little bucks wont effect anything.
And you pay extra bucks for extra performance isn't ?
For me, I will Buy the OC'ed card if the price is not much different on reference card.
*SLI zone is those "western men" forum. All using godly system rig
e.g. Core 2 Extreme QX6700, 8800Ultra SLI, 2x 150GB Raptor and bla bla bla...even PSU cost us Rm1,000.

This post has been edited by 168257061: Aug 11 2007, 07:33 PM

Depend on luck too... Some Pre-OC cards are very stable, minor problem some may encounter overheat, artifact or hanged while gaming.

This post has been edited by zeustronic: Aug 12 2007, 08:57 AM

ok la guys. make it simple.

since you all argue about OCed cards worth it or not, i'd say it's up to you BUT here's the results of 1 of the benches for my review of Galaxy 8600GT OC Edition

The following was done on F.E.A.R at 1152 x something resolution. max details, CPU settings minimum.

86GT 540/700 = 21/38/76
86GT OC 600/800 = 23/43/86
86GT OC being OCed 660/860 = 24/47/94

all in all - it goes back to how much additional you pay for the OCed card and how much you're willing to pay for the speed gain.

it's 1152 x 864

, anyway... buying OCed card, limiting our overclock adventure while getting a normal/plain non-OC card, we could get wider overclocking since it's not pre-overclocked if you guys know what i mean...

Well, for me, those who does not need to fuss of OCing the card further, just go ahead and get an OCed version rather than a plain one. If you are those enthuasist who need to OC even higher, either one will do it for you depending on the price and performance ratio..

off topic....

can it be SLI if different clock speed?

Yes, but the Nvidia driver will set both of your graphic card to be the same as either one that has lower speed.

Let's say first graphic card is on 650MHz core clock while the 2nd one is on 550MHz core clock, once you're on SLi, the Nvidia driver will automatically set the the first graphic card to follow the core clock of the lower clock speed that is the 2nd graphic card.

As tweaking program like RT and ATI Tools can help to overclock an OEM cards to (or probably higher) pre-oc cards with stability, there's 1 thing that we cant OC; shader clocks.

Here's what I've noticed from both my 8 series gc. my reference card (Asus 8800GTS 320) is running at about 1188mhz shader clock. As shader clock increase in propotion to core clock, I've managed to have a stable OC with 1418 mhz shader clock (from stock core 500mhz to 631mhz).

On the other hand, XFX 8800GTS XXX has a pre OC core clock at 580mhz (reference clock 500mhz). WHen I OC the XFX's core to 631mhz, the shader clock jumps from 1512mhz to 1620mhz.

Here's a summary table of both the cards;

Asus 8800GTS 320 MB | 500/1600/1188 (core/memory/shader)
XFX 8800GTS 320 MBXXX | 580/1800/1512 (core/memory/shader)


As shader clocks increases when core increases, I've set the core clock to 631mhz and compare both the shaders.

Asus 8800GTS 320 MB | 631/1884/1418 (core/memory/shader)
XFX 8800GTS 320 MBXXX | 631/1884/1620 (core/memory/shader)

The result shows that pre-OC cards hv higher shader clocks compared to reference card despite the same core clocks.

As of now, neither RT nor Ati Tools (pls correct me if i'm wrong) is unable to control the shader clock, Getting pre-oc cards seems to be the better deal here; as far as the unified shader domain is concerned.

Just my 2 cents.

For 8800series better go for normal then oc. Save the RM200++ for other parts.

Nope.
Version maybe which is Overclocked Edition, Ultra Edition or some other edition, but i never heard of GC have reivision, stepping

You want a GC that is easier to overclocked, get those that has been factory Pre-overclocked.

oced card if rosak can claim warranty or...

.......
Offcourse can ler.

different stepping @ revison, no
but got some model which used diff core( i forgot the core name )
such as 6200 early model uses 6600 IIRC,

same as 7800GS agp which some manufacturers like Gainward used 7900GT core

Chow

if there is no physical damage on the card

Simply said just put it to RMA and wait for the result. Mostly they just change to new one.

wut i mean if u oc the normal 1 then broke down
woooooohhhhhhhoooooooooooo to ur 8800gt ulra or wut so ever

---

Added on August 16, 2007, 8:03 pmwut i mean if u oc the normal 1 then broke down
woooooohhhhhhhoooooooooooo to ur 8800gt ulra or wut so ever

This post has been edited by nelienuxe_sara: Aug 16 2007, 08:03 PM

software oc wont void ur warranty

software oc wont void ur warranty

software oc won't void warrenty? then using what method will void?

Doing VMOD.

and also flashing BIOS IINM.

lor, really ah? in that case, if i push my card to 800/4000, then rosak (what you expect? running perfectly?), then warranty still got ah?

i thought warranty void even if you do software oc...

As long as there's no parts on the card that fall from the card itself and there's no burntmark, you card is still valid for RMA.

Owh, and not to forget to make sure that you never leave any traces that you've opened the heatsink even on the original screws.

haha
now days got so many software 4 noobs to oc their things...

worth it or not depend the ratio of performance gained and money paid ..

for example 8800GTS series got few nice OC model ..those really worth money ... additional 10% increment for the same amount of money paid as well ..

but not all OC version worth the money paid ...

i see colorful, Palit and Galaxy are the best stock OC'ed GC... at lower price summo... unfortunately it's gonna change soon...

for me i personally think tat paying other ppl for OC is stupid.... it's something only daddy's boy will do... 1 of the company doing OC service for money is vadim... i can do tat for free myself...

i would go for default clock card and go try my luck in OC. i enjoy that.haha

proud of galaxy 8600GT OC Version DDR3 owner..

you can also get a pre-oc'ed GC, and then OC it even higher than what achievable with a non-oc'ed card.

xfx still my choice of preoc'ed card, even with that suky cooler lolz. But it can go higher with better cooling for sure.

wat the 60/60 , u guy have own opinion .... i'll choice oc edition .. because newbie in ocer

I thought you changed your cooler already!?!?

yes, this was what i had dream of with my last GC, BFG 6800GT OC (factory pre-OC GC)
and the HIS X1950Pro IceQ3 version (also factory pre-OC)

but then, from my experience, these both so call factory pre-OC GC was not that good in OC anymore,
as they had been trip down every potential of them by the ('factory') and OC was no-no for it.

somehow, with reference design GC, i can gain more OC with lower price.........

well for OC version at least if RMA.. we can can get oced speed by default..
rather than buy standard which cannot guarantee the OCability for the next card...

the important thing for me.. is the performance/price ratio...

well, IIRC, some ppl said that pre-oc-ed old series gc can't do much manual oc, compared to reference design gc..

but in my case, and all other ppl who're using the latest batch of pre-oc'ed gc, i see that the power can go even higher than the reference design gc..

so i can say that if this question were to be asked like last year or two, then probably the answer should be "no"

but for this year, and the upcoming ones (hopefully), it'll definitely be "yes"

Pre overclocked card does had its value, especially involving on the shader clocks in the latest graphic card where its still not support manual tweaking over software. One had to manual tweak and flash the video card bios to change those settings, where not many are actually expert into doing it.

which is y i said only mummy's boy will do so... pro tools for pro dudes... stock tools are for fools...

if there are two cards, one oced, the other non oc-ed, and the price difference is zero or minimal then might as well get the pre oced one. cos some brands are expensive at reference clocks while others are cheaper but at higher clocks. the extra cost is for the packaging for instance. getting a cheaper pre-oced cards that has bare packaging like palit/XV/colourful/galaxy beats game demos anytime. and some brands have better pcb design/pre overvoltage/better components which gives better headroom for ocing. if u dont like taking risks pre-oced is the way to go. if you love taking risks and want crazy clock speeds then pre oc-ed should be the way to go. but depends on luck too. it all depends on the price in my opinion.

yeah, not all OC version are worth

Too bad no manufacturer that willing just to sell their card without any bundle ... it would cut down lots of cost and make gc much more worth of purchase for us as consumer .... hahahah

i think some of us do want a better bundle included..

take bfg for example.. got t-shirt!!

i want t-shirt

I bought a OCed GC too because I lazy OC already so I put it and leave it at my mobo...

Its easy to oc gc than cpu. especially those who bought midrange they should oc cos lot of games are gpu power hungry.

oc gpu easy cuz u have the tools for them
like ati tool and rthdibl etc etc

but high end cards oc are stupid
the best is if u want a simple gc for a simple pc but just wanna do mild gaming, get a low/mid end card oc'ed already
like Palit/XpertVision Sonic series
they are oc'ed by the engineers
but u can oc them further
e.g. 7300gt Sonic
stock - 500/1000mhz
after oc can reach - 680/1690mhz
link - http://reviews.sc3n3.com/review.php?review=2&page=14
i dunno how they got there on the stock fan but its actually the speed of 7600gt (except with 4 fewer pipes)
haha

For me i choose OC gc coz more stable if compare to self Oc
but its depend on what manufacturer u choose , i rather spend more .....

if u got the skills... it won be a problem...

For me i choose a stock Graphic Card that is OC frenly, that will be more fun.

yup me also...
sometimes when u get normal GC...u can even beat a already OCed gc as well....
need skill and need time....
anst the most save ur $$$$$

waste money, dont buy stock oc gfx.

I agree with ataris...

also the extra fps is hardly noticeable by our naked eyes... better spend the money on other computer parts like CPU, memory etc...

u sure u only get extra a few...? if u OC ur GC + proc + RAM is not juz "a few FPS"...

What he previously meant was purely OC'ed stock GC , not related with other components . There are no pre-OC cpu , as in this topic .

yeah... and OC CPU+RAM won give u any diff either... have to tweak them all and make them work 2gether or they will break apart bottle necking each other...