Graphic Cards Pre-Overlocked Graphics Cards May Have Problems

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dipdude

Forerunner
"Pre-Overlocked Graphics Cards May Have Problems," Surprising isn't it? Many Enthusiasts haven't quite known how to take to pre-overclocked video cards. According to the [H]ard|OCP web-site the failure rate of pre-overclocked GeForce 7900 graphics cards, shipped by BFG Technology, EVGA and XFX, is higher than the non-pre-overclocked graphics cards.

Well today NVIDIA officially got back to me with an answer to all my inquiries on the subject. The short of it is: the GPUs on the cards that were having problems didn't have the headroom necessary for the vendor's overclocked specifications. The two most prominent problem areas were the vertex clock (which remember runs 50 MHz faster than the pixel clock) and the memory clock. These GPU subsystems were running far enough out of spec that the chips were having physical issues with stability; causing the random "freezes" we were seeing.

[H]ard|OCP summarizes the different paths taking to resolve this issue by the companies BFG Technology, XFX, and EVGA. It is interesting the way each company is handling the problem. Perhaps this will have some influence on your future graphic card purchases.

The Bottom Line

There are some “bad†7900 video cards out there right now if you are going to shop for the overclocked variety. Again, it seems to me BFGTech is catching less flack than EVGA and XFX, but that is not a scientific observation. Keep in mind that BFGTech does not overclock their cards as high as EVGA or XFX. If I were buying an overclocked 7900 card right now, I would be leaning towards BFGTech or EVGA simply because they have a much better reputation when it comes to warranty, support, and service.

If you have a card to RMA, return it to the card builder, not the retailer. Given the awareness level of this problem at this time I would suggest that you have a much better chance of getting a solid 7900 directly from the card builder.

Lastly, I would not let this scare me away from buying an overclocked GeForce 7900 series video card as all the players are very aware something is going on with the cards and trying their best to make sure the problem is solved. Then again, there does seem to be certain level of risk with buying an overclocked card so a non-overclocked 7900 from a reputable builder might be a smart option. Just remember that when you are buying a video card that you are paying for service, support, and warranty as well as the hardware.
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[H]ard|OCP
techPowerUp! News :: Pre-Overlocked Graphics Cards May Have Problems
 
Why not just buy a unclocked Card n OC it to those speeds. But ppl buy them just to get a guarrentee of those speeds while maintaining a complete warrentee.
 
Saiyan said:
leadtek 7900GT extreme of kinofevil is seems to be artifacting:|. have to check it out.
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had told u when I was in chennai to stay away from factory OC'ed cards mate... looks like good advice is forgotten... :P beware the wrath of the vandal muhhaaa
Simple, show sandy boy the prob, make a fuss and he'll replace it...
 
Had already replaced it. But i still doubt the 7900GT cards

Read this guyz

Thanks to the new Rivatuner I decided to find exactly what was going on with my 7900 behind the scenes when Deep Freeze starts to artifact and ends up in a fuzzy results screen with monitor flashing on and off.
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7900GT / GTX for those who can't pass Deep Freeze 3DMark06! - Guru3D.com Forums

^^This is exactly wat happened with card.

7900GT owners, need some feedback please - Topic Powered by eve community
 
vandal said:
had told u when I was in chennai to stay away from factory OC'ed cards mate... looks like good advice is forgotten... :P beware the wrath of the vandal muhhaaa
Simple, show sandy boy the prob, make a fuss and he'll replace it...
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Its got ntn to do with overclocking... even stock 7900GTs are dying. Its present on the GTX cards too though to a much lesser degree. It looks like there's some bug in the silicon or on the pcb. 3dmark 2006 deep freeze has killed quite a few 7900GT cards.
 
I ran that benchy the last one in 3D mark 2006 if memory serves, to post the score here... that was on the 7900GTX, I was running it at default (Asus says 650/1600 is the default speed), and I did no tinkering... infact I ran this test 5 times continously and had no problems...no heating whatsoever but the card runs very cool, (its too heavy I feel), and I don't have a/c in mumbai.... 63 degrees maximum temp, after playing FEAR and oblivion...

I hope the memory ain't heating cause the 7900GT's don't have mem heat spreaders, but ddr3 runs cool.. check the heatsink contact... my leadtek 6800GT had one of the screws (that tighten the HS to the PCB) damaged, so there was play... eventually had to get a new screw, which I scavenged from another card :P
 
Vandal problem is very real.

Soo many 7900GTs are dying like pins all over the world.

Look at international forums, they are full of this. And all dying in similar fashion.

There is something wrong with either chip itself or PCB or something in drivers( less likely).

I think the cost saving that NV did with GTs is backfiring.
 
smith's card got froze in deep freeze test too. Leadtek 7900GT extreme.

Now justin has also bought a 7900GT.. have to ask him to run deep freeze in 3D mark 06.
 
Saiyan said:
smith's card got froze in deep freeze test too. Leadtek 7900GT extreme.

Now justin has also bought a 7900GT.. have to ask him to run deep freeze in 3D mark 06.
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I did run the test two times and without problems. I think the problem is only with factory OC cards. Mine is 7900GT plain, not extreme.

stormblast said:
good i dint buy the 7900gt. was thinking of getting. will wait n see what happens.
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No, you didnt made a good decision. ;) This card rocks... :hap2:
 
@Justin --- the problem is not only with the OC versions..... the experts suspect that the chip or the card itself is on the edge.

Anyway since you bought it in India, you can chill..... if the card goes techboy, you can still get it replaced under warranty.

The problem is for people who got it from abroad..... I dont think anyone on TE has a 7900 card which does not have local warranty..
 
nVidia did something to the cards architecture .. they integrated a so called "fail safe" mechanisim .. which is supposed to slow down the clocks if the card generates heat above a certain level .... ouch ... so if ur getting a 7900' series card .. pre oc'ed .. make sure u keep it cool ... otherwise u'll probably have to rma' it ...

BTW ... not everyone faces this problem .... and some guys even volt mod these cards to uber high clocks without any problem ... the only reason that stopped me from getting a 7900 .... coz it gets damm hot here ... and i didn't have proper cooling then ...
 
Well .. it shouldn't .. atleast u can hope so .. if u can keep the card cool i.e. ... the 7900's are supposed to run pretty cool by theselves thanks to the good heatsink .. just make sure the ambient temps are low too ....
 
Does not matter what brand it is or whether its overclocked or not. The GPU temps also don't matter. Its the voltage regulators that are going kaput. All 7900GT cards are made by flextronics in china do every single card maker is affected.
 
Good, thats the only good card i can get for 20k right now from Mumbai. I will have good cooling, it will have 3 years warranty too. The people will replace it right if the card dies on me ?
 
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