7800GTX in an SN25P

C

canislupy

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jan 31, 2003
Messages
1,030
See the pics I posted in this thread:
http://www.hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1027855136&postcount=79

This card actually fits, amazingly enough. The capacitor on the very back of the card will get pushed forward a smidge, but this seems quite alright. Also, the PCB at the end of the card contacts the CPU fan shroud and causes the card to bend slightly towards the back. This also doesn't seem to be a problem since the bend is very minimal.

First test running 3dmark05 I hit 8268. :D
 
Very reassuring as I am considering going with a Shuttle for college. Thanks for the info and pics.
 
Hopefully I can get some better quality pics done up tomorrow. I'll try to show the contact points a bit better.
 
Hey Canislupy, could you check the clocks on your BFG? I just cancelled my video card order since it didn't get out anyways but saw on a form that it's 460/1200 instead of 460/1300 like it was advertised.

Ald
 
2D defaults are 275MHz/1.2GHz
3D defaults are 460MHz/1.3GHz

Anyone know of a tool that will graph GPU/MEM clocks while running?
 
Here are some higher quality pictures for those that have asked. Warning, linked full size images are 3-5MB each! Can you find the penguin? Enjoy! :D

bfg78-01.jpg

http://josh.paulsons.net/images/9e2s4519.jpg

bfg78-02.jpg

http://josh.paulsons.net/images/9e2s4521.jpg

bfg78-03.jpg

http://josh.paulsons.net/images/9e2s4522.jpg

bfg78-04.jpg

http://josh.paulsons.net/images/9e2s4523.jpg

bfg78-05.jpg

http://josh.paulsons.net/images/9e2s4526.jpg

bfg78-06.jpg

http://josh.paulsons.net/images/9e2s4528.jpg
 
I wonder how much hotter it runs in there compared to say, a mid-tower case.

By the way, nice 1Ds. You have very nice toys. :)
 
You can use Rivatuner to record temps, volts, and clocks of the card.

Also, to the one talking about the clock issue... there is none. Coolbits simply reads the memory clock wrong, if you click "set defaults" it will set it to 1.3Ghz, its a coolbits issue, not a BFG.
 
I wonder how much of a temperature difference there would be without the fan duct. Kinda makes me shiver to think of "bending" the card a little :p

Ald
 
Skrying - thanks, I'll take a look at that.

Aldoria - I know what you mean, but it seems fine. I was thinking of getting a dremmel tool to add another fan to this case, so I might just do a little work on the duct as well.

I really think the fan duct would affect the CPU temps since the duct is for cool air in. Without it, it would probably draw more warmer air off of the GPU. Haven't tried to prove this theory yet though.
 
Erfus said:
By the way, nice 1Ds. You have very nice toys. :)
Click to expand...

Thank you. I pay dearly for them. Case in point, its off to work again for me today... :(

Speaking of the 1Ds though, let's not leave him out of the hot computer pr0n action going on here. :D

1ds.jpg


Not only does the penguin make another appearance here, I've got some juice and some linked 7.62x51mm tracer rounds left over from a minigun shoot lying around too.
 
Aldoria said:
I wonder how much of a temperature difference there would be without the fan duct. Kinda makes me shiver to think of "bending" the card a little :p

Ald
Click to expand...

I've had my duct removed since I've had my 25P in March. I have an X850XT with an AC Silencer on it. I notice almost no change in CPU temps at Idle, and maybe a 2 or 3 degree change at full load. if you are worried about it, just pull it out and try it, you dont have to cut or break andything to test it by pulling it out.
 
I just recently registered as this is the type of system I am about to buy. I am still debating waiting for the R520 or just getting the 7800GTX... anyway, that's not why I replied.

That plastic duct looks like it's made of plastic. I would be tempted to use a Dremmel to simply sand down about 2-3mm on that one edge, to give the 7800 room so it wont flex. That looks like it would solve the problem permanently.

Have you noticed any stability problems with this setup?
 
You have to make the choice yourself... but I vote don't wait, get the 7800GTX. Its an awesome card. :D

As for grinding the fan duct down so that it won't flex, its a good idea, but it will cause another problem that would then require cutting. I tried to show the 7800GTX's rear most capacitor in the second to last picture in my post above. That capacitor is being kept from contacting the fan duct only by the cards PCB being stopped against the fan duct. If you were to shave down the fan duct, then the card would be resting against it through the capacitor... not good. So, just so you know, you won't be able to avoid cutting the duct w/ the 7800GTX.

No stability problems on my current setup which goes like this (to expand upon my sig):

SN25P (currently coverless, have not tried load w/ cover on - fan speed set to medium)
FX-55 (stock)
1GB OCZ Plat. Rev. 2 PC3200 2.2.2.5.1t
WD 74GB Raptor
Sony DVDR

Components I have removed for now:
2x Maxtor 300GB (had trouble with RAID at first while rebuilding system)
Patriot Enhanced PC3200 2GB 2.3.2.5 kit (problems! not sure if mem is bad or if SN25P doesn't like it or just doesn't like 2GB? need to memtest on my other rig when I get the time)
Plextor 716 SATA DVDR (removed when I was having issues, but probably was just the memory)

Damnit! I really want that 2GB back... my system is choppy w/o it running BF2 at high res. :(
 
i got 2x1gb ocz pc3500 running right now no problems. might be ur mem dude.
 
Well, I just made another post about building a new system with the SN25P and you may have a question and scared me a bit with a statement...

(First, I think, regarding that cap, you could drill out a little hole for it in the duct... just the perfect size for the end of the cap.)

I was looking at that very same Patriot memory module. I want 2GB in the new setup. The latency looked good for a 1GB module. I thought I searched here but I could not find anything negative... what exactly is the problem you are having?

Second, regarding the case -- I would only buy this setup if having the case on was a reality. I have no interest in the setup looking gimpy with the lid off all the time. That, and I am a stickler or silence. The SN25P looks to be a quiet system when not under full load. Having the lid off seems only to cause more noise escape into my nice, quiet office area... :)

(I do realize that there will be sound when playing games or stressing the system, so I don't believe I have unrealistic expectations there.)
 
Argh, and I just got this patriot 2gb kit. :(

When I use the 2GB, no matter what settings, I get BSOD, cannot find "system" registry on boot and application crashes. Not good. The OCZ kit is rock solid in comparison (there's a lesson here somewhere, I just know it). Anyway, looks like I may have some bad mem. There are other options for you though, since you are still picking out components. OCZ being one of them though for a few dollars more.

I can't say anything about the heat since I have not given the system enough working time with cover on to say for sure myself. I need to get some benches going and run overnight or something. Now, this is under load I'm talking about, idle... you should have no problems at all.
 
That camera is sick. Those have got to be the crystal clearest pictures i have ever seen posted on the internet. Props!!!
 
We have(had, lol)almost exactly the same rig, now you went and changed it with a 7800GTX.

sn25p - check
raptor(s) - check
fx55 - check
hp 2335 - check

Can't remember what memory I've got in mine, it was corsair or crucial, probably corsair, as I've had my best luck with them. Is an x800xl with arctic silencer. I took the dremel to the drive cage and the cpu shroud to make it all fit. Had to get a bit funky with the third hard drive, though.

I think I'm going to skip at least 1 to 2 rounds of the video card game at this point. I've got a 6800gt and an x800pro in the parts pile already, neither of which I used for more than 6 months.
 
Sorry! I can't help myself. I am a new technology junkie! :D

Well, I'm also actually only running one raptor now, I gave up on raid 0, not worth it IMO, haven't missed it and the sometimes hassle it caused (you doing raid-0?).

The 7800GTX is sweet! Runs the L2335 awesomely. As I said, and not to be taken wrong, the X850XT was a nice card and did do 1920x1200 for me, but the 7800GTX is getting much better numbers with more features at full res (AA/AF wise). Is it worth $600 though? It is to me, but I am crazy after all. ;)

My X850XT is going to the workstation, and one of my 6800GTs already went to my cousin, the other GT will go to my brother. I always have family in need of upgrades, so my spares don't sit for long.
 
Nice rig. I have the L2335 as well and get my BFG 7800GTX tommorow. Glad to see that it is to your liking at @ 1920 x 1200. I guess I just need some tracer rounds now... :D
 
Congrats. THe L2335 is a sweet monitor.

Speaking of ammunition...
30mm.jpg


:D

This reminds me now that I have my system rebuilt, I need to get a lot of my games re-installed so I can fire them all up at high res on this card. I've only tried a few games so far. Especially since I should be able to get the AA/AF settings up much higher now with this 7800.
 
canislupy said:
.... Is it worth $600 though? It is to me, but I am crazy after all. ;)
.
Click to expand...
suuuuuuuuuuure! wanna see how much they are in canada? I've paid $600+ 3 times now for vid cards. with tax a 7800 will be well over 8 bills, even 9. we're far from crazy. we B lunatics!
 
I am a new tech junkie too, but there isn't much new tech in these cards.

Transparency AA is it, as far as I can tell, and that isn't worth $600 from me. :)
 
eastvillager said:
I am a new tech junkie too, but there isn't much new tech in these cards.

Transparency AA is it, as far as I can tell, and that isn't worth $600 from me. :)
Click to expand...
No but gaming @ 1920x1200 w/4xAA 8xAF @80+fps is :D
 
Hiya Canislupy, I almost got all my parts in. When I was reading back on the forum on page 1, you said you had some trouble with the Plextor 716SA which is what I ordered as well. What type of trouble, was it not detecting it? I'll know by tomorrow but I guess I was too curious. I've read that some people had trouble getting it to work so maybe we will be in the same boat soon :p

Ald
 
Hard to pin down the problem exactly... I definitely had trouble with install and use when I was using RAID. It almost seemed like the SATA DVDR was being mistaken for a HDD at times. Weird... so I just moved it to my workstation instead and put an 8x sony ide drive in its place. Maybe newer bios/firmware would have fixed this?
 
Hm.. yea perhaps. I'll know by tonight I guess :p

By the way, there is a newer version of the sn25p bios update as well as the plextor 716sa firmware update just released very recently. If you felt like messing around somemore with it, thought you would like to know. ;)

Ald
 
I went ahead and dremmeled my fan duct on my SN25P to accomodate the 7800GTX, as I found without the fan duct the hot air from the 7800GTX GPU goes straight into the CPU Heatsink/fan and temps increased dramatically. After dremelling the fan duct I cut a piece of thin black carboard and taped it to the fan duct so that it just bends around the edge of the 7800GTX - this actually worked very well and my temps dropped accordingly.

My preference had always been to run the 7800GTX in my ST20G5 since the new sinlge slot cooler is so much quieter and it actually runs cooler due to my mesh cover. Once I figured out that my performance issues were due to the "Z" Bios and not the PSU I have since switched the 7800GTX back to my ST20G5!

I also have 2gb Patriot and I have had issues running it in my Shuttles also. What I found was that I had to up the DDR voltage to 2.7 or 2.75 and set the timings manually to 2.5-3-2-5. (It is supposed to run at 2-3-2-5) Once I did that it works fine except it will not overclock at all.

---------------------------------------------
SN25P: FX-55, X850XT, 1GB Kingston HyperX, 160GB Samsung SATA, Iomega CDRW, PN11 802.11B, Dell 2005FPW, Klipsch Promedia 4.1
ST20G5B: 3700+, 7800GTX, 2GB Patriot LLK, 160GB Samsung SATA; Sony CDRW/DVD, PN11 802.11B, Audigy2, Dell 2001FP, Klipsch Promedia 4.1
 
canislupy said:
When I use the 2GB, no matter what settings, I get BSOD, cannot find "system" registry on boot and application crashes. Not good. The OCZ kit is rock solid in comparison (there's a lesson here somewhere, I just know it). Anyway, looks like I may have some bad mem. There are other options for you though, since you are still picking out components. OCZ being one of them though for a few dollars more.
Click to expand...

Well, it seems like I've been bitten by the Patriot as well. My system does the same type of shit. BSOD at random, freezes -- shit, I could barely INSTALL WinXP. It took about ten tries before it finally "took"... and that was after I bumped memory timings manually all way way back! (something like 3-15-7-7)

Yeah, this memory is going the f**k back... OMG

Now, who can get me some killer memory with weekend delivery? I am not going to pass up this nice long weekend without using my new toy...
 
The only onlin eretailer I know of that with Saturday delivery is Outpost.com. They also, do have a good selection of memory.

I have ordered several items overnight from them with Saturday delivery - they use DHL.

-Dave
 
Hmm... my Patriot memory was bad, one of the sticks is crapped... but, I still seem to be getting crashes intermittantly now using my 1GB OCZ kit. Some of the BSODs have been nv4_disp.dll, but others were different. This doesn't seem to happen while I'm playing games or anything... which is kind'a weird... not sure whats going on.

My Patriot mem kit is being RMA'd, but I also have a Mushkin 2GB 2-3-2-5 kit coming in today. Not sure if Mushkin does Saturday delivery, but they might, try calling them.
 
What PSU do you have in that? Enough to supply 7800gtx with clean power 24/7 I hope.
 
The SN25P has a 350w PSU.

In other late breaking news... I think I just fried my SN25P. :eek: :(

I was doing a memtest burn in, came back to it and found it had locked up on pass 70 of test #5. So, okay... not good, but not really bad... now tried rebooting... network boot agent comes up... uh-oh... is my raptor dead? Nope, works in another machine... doesn't look good, but then again, didn't have much time to mess with it. If it turns out to be fried... this will probably be it for me as far as SFF is concerned. Oh wel....
 
Are you still using the Patriot ram or did you switch?

By the way, did you install the nForce IDE drivers?

Ald
 
I was burning in a Mushkin 2GB kit I was having problems when running both sticks. I did individual burn-ins which then allowed me to run them together. They were still a bit unstable together so I ran a burn-in with them both, which was when I found my drive was no longer recognized by the BIOS (even though it booted in anothe nf4 system). The 2GB Patriot kit is going back to PDP on Tuesday for RMA. My new Mushkin unlike the Patriot, have 0 errors in memtest on their own. Only seem to have trouble running dual channel. Also, I can only run the Mushkin kit at default voltage, if I up to 2.7v or 2.8v, no boot.

Yes, I did have the nvidia IDE drivers installed.
 
Canislupy- is that FX-55 what you are using? You might want to research exactly which core it is, as there have beem significant improvements memory controller wise in the latest AMD cores. I know it would suck to give up such a nice processor, but it may be necessary in order to get the memory to work.
 
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