BFGTech & XFX GeForce 7800 GT's

[Tim S]

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/200..._7800gt/1.html

[TMM]

I don't get it - why are Nvidia promoting SM3, HDR and SLI when all of them have been around since the 6-series was released?

[Reaper_Unreal]

say that the BFGTech GeForce 7800 GT OC cannot be overclocked, but in doing that you will void your warrant

Don't you mean can be overclocked?

But either way, I'm starting to regret having just bought that X850XTPE. I could get this 7800GT for almost the same price, and it has better performance. That'll teach me for not waiting, I did the same thing with my 9800Pro. Guess I'll just wait until the next ATI product cycle.

These sure seem like awesome cards though, great bargain!

All of these AA modes are getting confusing. I know what they are and what they do, but I'm sure that there's loads of people out there that are totally confused, I'd suggest doing an aritcle on what all of the AA modes do. And which looks better, etc...

[Mister_Tad]

an-ti-cli-max
1. A decline viewed in disappointing contrast with a previous rise
2. Something trivial or commonplace that concludes a series of significant events

tbh

any idea as to the existence of the other 4 pipes waiting to be unlocked?
also, how do the mounting holes compare to the 6800, ie for the nv68

[Tim S]

Originally Posted by TMM

I don't get it - why are Nvidia promoting SM3, HDR and SLI when all of them have been around since the 6-series was released?

I don't know in all honesty - possibly because ATI are 'late' with all three? R520 was expected in April and CrossFire was expected in July - they're still not here.

any idea as to the existence of the other 4 pipes waiting to be unlocked?

Not with NVStrap.

I think the mounting holes are the same...

[Hamish]

Originally Posted by page 8

When we enabled SLI, we were enable to turn HDR rendering on,

unable?

are you going to re-run the FEAR benches with 2gig of ram?

[Mister_Tad]

Originally Posted by bigz

I think the mounting holes are the same...

awesomeness, didnt really fancy a £80 copper paperweight

[Tim S]

Originally Posted by Hamish

unable?

are you going to re-run the FEAR benches with 2gig of ram?

if/when it arrives, we'll start benching with 2GB of memory in high-end systems.

thanks for the typo - been a long (sleepless) night! It should have been able.

[Hamish]

Originally Posted by bigz

if/when it arrives, we'll start benching with 2GB of memory in high-end systems.

i really wanna see what an OC'd 7800gtx + 2gig + 2.8gig FX can do in FEAR

[webbyman]

some mistakes

how long have you know about the 7800gt's and shouldn't some more versions like the 7800's be out?

[Tim S]

I've known about 7800 GT for a while now

[Da Dego]

No proof of unlocking those additional 4 pipes? They're built on the exact same core, I see no reason why they would be AWOL...

Great cards, these look to be. But I am not sure that I would prefer to spend the $449 on this when I can get some great deals on a GTX. I'm VERY surprised a the way a single GTX really takes these on a run for their money, even in SLI. When I can get a special on the GTX for $480, I'd rather have one and wait to buy the second one than buy two of these.

Of course, this is completely academic, because I'm still rockin' my 6600gt and my 15" LCD.

[Tim S]

You definitely can't unlock them with NVStrap in the same way that you could unlock GeForce 6800 - it simply says that the remaining pixel quad/vertex shader are 'disabled' not hardware masked.

I tried unlocking with NVStrap and you just get a black screen when loading windows - I had to install another video card and disable NVStrap to get the 7800 GT's working again.

[Da Dego]

Hmmm.... 'disabled', huh? I wonder how one gets around that...

Oh, and biggles, without breaking your NDAs, do you know about any 7600's or anything like that coming down the pipe?

[Tim S]

not heard anything at all about lower cards yet in all honesty

some buy links:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...Thumbnails=yes
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/7800_Series.html

XFX - £317 inc VAT
BFGTech - £334 inc VAT

[The_Pope]

This post technically probably belongs in the Feedback Forum, but since YOU guys are the ones that have read Tim's review, I'm interested in what you think. Without naming names, I have flicked around a few of the other reviews that have hit the net, and I'm very pleased with what we have published. Not everyone posted 7800 GT SLI results, some presented their results in a rather confusing manner...

So give it to me straight - what did you like, and what didn't you like? Please try to be constructive - give reasons to support your opinion. Hopefully we can improve things for next time.

If you like, I'll kick things off: the NFSU2 test seems a little silly - everything runs at the same maxxed out settings. I think it is still important to include non-FPS games, and Driving Games are a very popular genre. So do we just wait for the next NFS game? Should we consider Juiced, or maybe is there another option? Typing just that makes me wonder if we should try Trackmania: Sunrise - that's got plenty of bells & whistles...

[Tim S]

Yes, as always... if you think there's a game missing from our six, I'm more than happy for you to suggest it. We're looking to cover performance across games that are relevant to you guys, rather than just a bunch of games that nobody plays anymore (read: Doom 3).

[Da Dego]

I really like the review...I think the style of BT's reviews has grown a LOT since the site transformation, and most of it has been very good. I've really enjoyed seeing the apples to apples, apples to oranges, and finally the easy-to-read pictures of Best Playable Settings. The reviews have finally stopped looking like a secondary thing, and they have truly come into their own compared to other sites. It also doesn't hurt that since we have such great access to the staff of the site, it's easier to trust that the reviews are done in a scientific, well thought out manner.

As for games, PLEASE drop NFSU2. It has been running on "max" settings ever since the release of the 6600gt. It no longer provides useful info. Other than FPS games are fine, but there's no sense in having one if it doesn't give a useful result. Right now, FPS games are the card-taxers. Hopefully with B&W2 or some other game, we'll end up with something you can test aside from FPS. But driving games are just not that much work to render with current cards.

Also, I will request that you please continue to discourage theoretical benches like 3dmark. You've avoided it so far, but don't throw it in there because you can't find 15 things to test the cards with.

[Reaper_Unreal]

Offhand I can only think of one non-FPS game that ever taxed my system, and that's Perimeter. It's an RTS and it brought my 9800Pro down really hard. My Mobility 9000 could just barely run it. Haven't tried it on my X850XTPE yet, but it might be a good bet. But it is true that there aren't really many games that will give your system a run for it's money other than FPS games.

Come to think of it, there's also Everquest 2 that has a bunch of settings that make videocards sweat. Could try that, but then of course you'd have to pay the $15/month to play

[Tim S]

What about something like Guild Wars?