New GTX 295 How are these overclocks and results?

Z

Zepharus

Gawd
Joined
Sep 6, 2008
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Im new to the GTX 295 having come over from a 4870 X2 (MSI RMAed me a GTX 295 after almost 2months of run around on my X2)

I installed and am using the latest Beta drivers.

My highest stable overclock is 650/1400/1250 This is running the fan at 70% (which is still pretty quiet in my case)

My Vantage score is 22930 on Performance. Thoughts on these? Thanks in advance
 
Not bad, Im at 648/1532/1201 is all I can get and still be stable. I have the fan at 100% since I am folding 24/7.
 
Try out the EVGA Voltage Tuner, you might be able to squeeze out a couple more MHz on the sliders (not guaranteed though, some people says it doesn't help at all because of the shaders being heat limited). That is...if you actually bought the right company this time lol.
 
Zepharus said:
So this is basically 2 GTX260's??
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From [H]

The memory is composed of 896MB of GDDR3 per GPU, same as the GTX 260 and the memory bus is 448-bit, same as the GTX 260. A GeForce GTX 280 has 1GB of GDDR3 and a 512-bit bus. When you combine the fact about the clock frequencies, and the memory, to us it just seems like a GTX 260 with all the shader cores turned on. Your mileage may vary.
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610/1300/1200

cant go up more :mad:

I didn't try voltmod, maybe I'll give a shot later..

but I really doubt it let me get any higher with reference cooling...
 
Best I can get is 640/1540/1200. At 650/1550 core/shader and I can visually see pixelations and tearing. Memory higher than 1205 causes freezing so I just kept it at 1200to have stability.

arg.png
 
Volt modding actually won't net you much as the GTX 295 is already heat-limited. I've found that the best way to get higher clocks is to cool it more. Also, run RivaTuner hardware monitoring to see what clocks you're actually running. Like most recent NVIDIA cards, these cards only run at set intervals. For example, the core will only run at 648MHz, 666MHz, 675MHz, etc., shaders will only run at 1440MHz, 1476MHz, 1512MHz, etc, and RAM will only run at 1188MHz, 1215MHz, 1224MHz, 1242MHz, etc. etc. For some reason, all increases are in mulitples of 9.
 
Mr. K6 said:
Volt modding actually won't net you much as the GTX 295 is already heat-limited. I've found that the best way to get higher clocks is to cool it more. Also, run RivaTuner hardware monitoring to see what clocks you're actually running. Like most recent NVIDIA cards, these cards only run at set intervals. For example, the core will only run at 648MHz, 666MHz, 675MHz, etc., shaders will only run at 1440MHz, 1476MHz, 1512MHz, etc, and RAM will only run at 1188MHz, 1215MHz, 1224MHz, 1242MHz, etc. etc. For some reason, all increases are in mulitples of 9.
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I wonder why RivaTuner only post 1188MHz for 1200MHz. I could have sworn 602 core posted in RivaTuner as 602 core. I have to try this out.

Any other ideas about cooling the card other than increasing the fan rpm / watercooling? I tried a fan blowing on the card but this really didn't lower the temps much, maybe 2-3c. Sandwich design doesn't help much.
 
Blazemore said:
I wonder why RivaTuner only post 1188MHz for 1200MHz. I could have sworn 602 core posted in RivaTuner as 602 core. I have to try this out.

Any other ideas about cooling the card other than increasing the fan rpm / watercooling? I tried a fan blowing on the card but this really didn't lower the temps much, maybe 2-3c. Sandwich design doesn't help much.
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602 core is one of the intervals, so is 612 and 620 I believe :D. Just increase your clocks 1-2MHz at a time and watch the hardware monitor of the GPU clock, you'll get nothing, nothing, then BAM 8-10MHz jump, and that pattern will repeat. Same with shader clocks and RAM clocks.

As far as cooling, watercooling is extremely tempting with this card, has I have no doubt that with a good watercooling set-up, this card could do close to 775MHz core stable (volt-modding definitely required). However, the $250+ price tag of that would throw cost effectiveness out the window :p. If I have time coming up, I was thinking about pulling this thing apart and redoing the thermal grease, as well as checking out the heatsink design and seeing if there was any room for improvement. Hopefully a combination of those will help.
 
Oh crap, you are right. Mine is showing 632.57/1548/1188.

Mr. K6 said:
Volt modding actually won't net you much as the GTX 295 is already heat-limited. I've found that the best way to get higher clocks is to cool it more. Also, run RivaTuner hardware monitoring to see what clocks you're actually running. Like most recent NVIDIA cards, these cards only run at set intervals. For example, the core will only run at 648MHz, 666MHz, 675MHz, etc., shaders will only run at 1440MHz, 1476MHz, 1512MHz, etc, and RAM will only run at 1188MHz, 1215MHz, 1224MHz, 1242MHz, etc. etc. For some reason, all increases are in mulitples of 9.
Click to expand...
 
Mr. K6 said:
602 core is one of the intervals, so is 612 and 620 I believe :D. Just increase your clocks 1-2MHz at a time and watch the hardware monitor of the GPU clock, you'll get nothing, nothing, then BAM 8-10MHz jump, and that pattern will repeat. Same with shader clocks and RAM clocks.

As far as cooling, watercooling is extremely tempting with this card, has I have no doubt that with a good watercooling set-up, this card could do close to 775MHz core stable (volt-modding definitely required). However, the $250+ price tag of that would throw cost effectiveness out the window :p. If I have time coming up, I was thinking about pulling this thing apart and redoing the thermal grease, as well as checking out the heatsink design and seeing if there was any room for improvement. Hopefully a combination of those will help.
Click to expand...

I usually go up and down in 10's when testing. Nice to know I wasn't far off, although a bit surprising. I'll go by 9's now. Thanks for the tips, man. You rock.

How do you respond to people that trash talk, this card, though? I quote them price, performance, and thermals, and give them links to benches and they still maintain that this is not good performance per dollar.:confused:
 
SirKronan said:
I usually go up and down in 10's when testing. Nice to know I wasn't far off, although a bit surprising. I'll go by 9's now. Thanks for the tips, man. You rock.

How do you respond to people that trash talk, this card, though? I quote them price, performance, and thermals, and give them links to benches and they still maintain that this is not good performance per dollar.:confused:
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I see that a lot on forums, but it generally comes from people who don't even own the card, and just read a few reviews and now think they're experts on the card. But honestly, if they want to downtalk hardware due to jealousy, "fanboism," or whatever reason, let them. However, I make sure I add in my two cents in so that people reading the thread can judge for themselves and know that there is a lot more to the story, especially coming from someone who owns said video card.

In the end, enthusiast hardware is never going to have the best price/performance ratio. I mean, you don't buy a Lamborghini for its gas mileage :p. Still, I'm very impressed by what this card is capable of, and it is without a doubt the fastest single card out there at a reasonable price. Hell, two years ago the 8800Ultra had an MSRP close to $800, and didn't offer near this kind of performance over the second fastest card (then the 8800GTX). So for $500, I definitely say you get your money's worth, and I let people know that :).
 
Mr. K6 said:
602 core is one of the intervals, so is 612 and 620 I believe :D.
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Man I wasn't thinking :(


Mr. K6 said:
If I have time coming up, I was thinking about pulling this thing apart and redoing the thermal grease, as well as checking out the heatsink design and seeing if there was any room for improvement. Hopefully a combination of those will help.
Click to expand...

Post pics or let us know you findings if this ever takes place.
 
Mr. K6 said:
602 core is one of the intervals, so is 612 and 620 I believe :D. Just increase your clocks 1-2MHz at a time and watch the hardware monitor of the GPU clock, you'll get nothing, nothing, then BAM 8-10MHz jump, and that pattern will repeat. Same with shader clocks and RAM clocks.

As far as cooling, watercooling is extremely tempting with this card, has I have no doubt that with a good watercooling set-up, this card could do close to 775MHz core stable (volt-modding definitely required). However, the $250+ price tag of that would throw cost effectiveness out the window :p. If I have time coming up, I was thinking about pulling this thing apart and redoing the thermal grease, as well as checking out the heatsink design and seeing if there was any room for improvement. Hopefully a combination of those will help.
Click to expand...

I thought the danger den cooler for this was only going to be $189 ....

And also, I know taking apart the card technically voids the warranty, but If I took it apart to redo thermal paste (and did a really good job) put it back together, it worked fine, but say in a year or so craps out ... would they still honor the warranty? It's BFG, not EVGA. I know they have let me OC their cards "balls to the wall" before without voiding any coverage, but taking it apart is another thing.

Pretty sure watercooling would void it, even though it could actually extend the life of the card with the lower and more stable temps (unless you make up for it with a phat overclock.)

Thoughts?

My 295 runs awesome and quiet, BTW. Drivers (181.5 I think) installed flawlessly, stability is insanely good. So far every game I've thrown at this thing has ran flawlessly. I love seeing 2 GPUs in ESA software. I can OC them independently, and set one GPU for physx if I desire.

The ultimate rig - if they ever really get the drivers together - would be two of these for quad SLI + a 9600GT or something for physx. I've got a motherboard that can do it, but not a wallet. :p The only reason I have one of these is thanks to trade-up.

Anyways, just wanted to bounce a couple thoughts off your head.

Edit: Also, I was wondering about my PSU. It's the Antec Neo Blue 650 Modular. It has all the necessary connections (and seems to run fine so far.) Is it enough for this thing? When I had my GTX 260 w/max OC, Processor at 3.98GHz, Ram OC'd, with about 9 system fans and four hard disks, the most load from the wall was between 500-550w. Assuming 80% efficiency (this PSU is rated 80% or better) the actual system draw was only about 440w. Think this 650w is still enough? I have a brand new 1000w Antec from Black Friday sitting over here in the closet...
 
I'm running QuadSLI with my cards at:
675mhz core
1500 shader
1200 memory

They're stable in every game and 3Dmark. They do get really really f'ing hot though, lol. It doesn't help that I have them sandwiched together either. I've seen around 95C temps, but it doesn't go much above that. The back of the cards and my case are so hot, it almost burns your skin to touch it. :p

I do have the EVGA Voltage Tuner utility installed, but I just haven't tried overclocking further with increased voltages. I'm sure I could squeeze some more out of them.

OC'd 295's + i7 920 @ 4GHz = P35689 in Vantage.
 
w1retap said:
I'm running QuadSLI with my cards at:
675mhz core
1500 shader
1200 memory

They're stable in every game and 3Dmark. They do get really really f'ing hot though, lol. It doesn't help that I have them sandwiched together either. I've seen around 95C temps, but it doesn't go much above that. The back of the cards and my case are so hot, it almost burns your skin to touch it. :p

I do have the EVGA Voltage Tuner utility installed, but I just haven't tried overclocking further with increased voltages. I'm sure I could squeeze some more out of them.

OC'd 295's + i7 920 @ 4GHz = P35689 in Vantage.
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even at stock clocks those are hot running cards so why risk damage and super high temps for basically zero return in performance? I cant even imagine why you would need TWO gtx295 cards especially when having only 896mb can limit just one of them.
 
Blazemore said:
Post pics or let us know you findings if this ever takes place.
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Will do, but it'll be a bit. I'm in college and have exams over the next few weeks XD
SirKronan said:
I thought the danger den cooler for this was only going to be $189 ....
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That's just for the block itself. My system is still all air cooling, so I'd also have to get fittings, tubing, a radiator, a pump, and additive at minimum. Also, the DangerDen block looks extremely over priced for what you get. I've actually been considering this one from Koolance, and there's a nice one from Aqua Computer, but shipping from Germany would probably kill it :p. Anyway, there's a good thread over at XtremeSystems tracking WB's for the GTX 295 that I've been reading: http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=213804&highlight=295 EDIT: Forgot to mention this complete system from CoolIT that was shown at CES: http://www.legitreviews.com/article/873/1/ Depending on its performance and price, it could be worth it to just grab that and hook it up for a higher overclock. However, I think a single 120MM rad might not be enough for an overclocked GTX 295, nevermind volt modding.
SirKronan said:
And also, I know taking apart the card technically voids the warranty, but If I took it apart to redo thermal paste (and did a really good job) put it back together, it worked fine, but say in a year or so craps out ... would they still honor the warranty? It's BFG, not EVGA. I know they have let me OC their cards "balls to the wall" before without voiding any coverage, but taking it apart is another thing.

Pretty sure watercooling would void it, even though it could actually extend the life of the card with the lower and more stable temps (unless you make up for it with a phat overclock.)

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
I got into computers in the beginning of high school, and the first graphics card I bought for myself was a Ti4200. I've owned 8 other graphics cards since then and have never had one just outright fail on me. Most computer hardware I've used has either been DOA or has worked flawlessly for its whole life. That said, I don't really consider warranties much. I suppose you could do whatever you want to a card, but if you replace the stock cooler and fix it up neatly no one would be any the wiser. Still, I don't want to discuss skirting the legalities of all this, and the mods probably don't want me to either :p.

SirKronan said:
My 295 runs awesome and quiet, BTW. Drivers (181.5 I think) installed flawlessly, stability is insanely good. So far every game I've thrown at this thing has ran flawlessly. I love seeing 2 GPUs in ESA software. I can OC them independently, and set one GPU for physx if I desire.

The ultimate rig - if they ever really get the drivers together - would be two of these for quad SLI + a 9600GT or something for physx. I've got a motherboard that can do it, but not a wallet. :p The only reason I have one of these is thanks to trade-up.

Anyways, just wanted to bounce a couple thoughts off your head.

Edit: Also, I was wondering about my PSU. It's the Antec Neo Blue 650 Modular. It has all the necessary connections (and seems to run fine so far.) Is it enough for this thing? When I had my GTX 260 w/max OC, Processor at 3.98GHz, Ram OC'd, with about 9 system fans and four hard disks, the most load from the wall was between 500-550w. Assuming 80% efficiency (this PSU is rated 80% or better) the actual system draw was only about 440w. Think this 650w is still enough? I have a brand new 1000w Antec from Black Friday sitting over here in the closet...
Click to expand...
Anyway to test it now that you have GTX 295? The GTX 295 probably pulls about 100W more than a GTX 260, so I'd say you're fine with your current PSU if the GTX295 was the only change since your last reading. Kind of a waste for that 1000W bugger to just be sitting there though :p.
 
Mr. K6 said:
Forgot to mention this complete system from CoolIT that was shown at CES: http://www.legitreviews.com/article/873/1/ Depending on its performance and price, it could be worth it to just grab that and hook it up for a higher overclock. However, I think a single 120MM rad might not be enough for an overclocked GTX 295, nevermind volt modding.
Click to expand...

Yeah - I'd be skeptical if it was using a PA120.1, let alone the slimline rad depicted. The only way I can see it managing even a stock GTX295 running Furmark is with very dense fins and a high-rpm fan.
 
Mr. K6 said:
Will do, but it'll be a bit. I'm in college and have exams over the next few weeks XD
That's just for the block itself. My system is still all air cooling, so I'd also have to get fittings, tubing, a radiator, a pump, and additive at minimum. Also, the DangerDen block looks extremely over priced for what you get. I've actually been considering this one from Koolance, and there's a nice one from Aqua Computer, but shipping from Germany would probably kill it :p. Anyway, there's a good thread over at XtremeSystems tracking WB's for the GTX 295 that I've been reading: http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=213804&highlight=295 EDIT: Forgot to mention this complete system from CoolIT that was shown at CES: http://www.legitreviews.com/article/873/1/ Depending on its performance and price, it could be worth it to just grab that and hook it up for a higher overclock. However, I think a single 120MM rad might not be enough for an overclocked GTX 295, nevermind volt modding.
I got into computers in the beginning of high school, and the first graphics card I bought for myself was a Ti4200. I've owned 8 other graphics cards since then and have never had one just outright fail on me. Most computer hardware I've used has either been DOA or has worked flawlessly for its whole life. That said, I don't really consider warranties much. I suppose you could do whatever you want to a card, but if you replace the stock cooler and fix it up neatly no one would be any the wiser. Still, I don't want to discuss skirting the legalities of all this, and the mods probably don't want me to either :p.

Anyway to test it now that you have GTX 295? The GTX 295 probably pulls about 100W more than a GTX 260, so I'd say you're fine with your current PSU if the GTX295 was the only change since your last reading. Kind of a waste for that 1000W bugger to just be sitting there though :p.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the response. I couldn't pass up a 1000w antec modular for $90 AR .... Black Friday special, you know.
 
Moving up the o/c department..finally!
Started 602/1298/1200 kept getting the nvlddmkm after and 30-45mins of game play.
Then 594/1296/1215 highest I could go without getting the nvlddmkm. 2+ hours gaming.
At 648/1368/1215 with a very little electron boost. It woke up :)
 
Blazemore said:
Moving up the o/c department..finally!
Started 602/1298/1200 kept getting the nvlddmkm after and 30-45mins of game play.
Then 594/1296/1215 highest I could go without getting the nvlddmkm. 2+ hours gaming.
At 648/1368/1215 with a very little electron boost. It woke up :)
Click to expand...
Try cranking your fan to see if you are heat-limited or not.
 
Mr. K6 said:
Try cranking your fan to see if you are heat-limited or not.
Click to expand...

I've already setup my own profile using the advance fan control. After 1-1.5 hours each gpu reads in the 75-80c. Go back and test the mem again and see if any improvement.
 
Up to 648/1368/1260 under RviaTuner plus 2 hours max gaming and atitool for a couple hours also. GTX280 x2 in a sense.

Does anyone know of a plugin for RviaTuner that will supports voltage tweaks and also post on G15 fan rpm, temps, o/c speeds, and fan duty cycle % for the GTX295

Tried VT1165 but can' t get the voltage tweaks to work and loose the rpm / duty cycle monitoring.
 
Blazemore said:
Up to 648/1368/1260 under RviaTuner plus 2 hours max gaming and atitool for a couple hours also. GTX280 x2 in a sense.

Does anyone know of a plugin for RviaTuner that will supports voltage tweaks and also post on G15 fan rpm, temps, o/c speeds, and fan duty cycle % for the GTX295

Tried VT1165 but can' t get the voltage tweaks to work and loose the rpm / duty cycle monitoring.
Click to expand...
I know for certain you'll never see a GUI voltage tweaking application for Rivatuner - it seems the programmer of Rivatuner flatly refuses to incorporate for fear it'll just help too many newcomers fry their cards and bring all kinds of spam and crying to him and the forums. Therefore, all voltage mods have to be done via command line (power user), but there are a few guides online on how to do this (iirc).

As far as plugins, I use ADT7473 and VT1103 and that covers all my readings, but I dont know if they export to the G15 :confused:
 
Final clocks 648/1404/1242 at max temp of 85-86c with max settings 1680 playing through Lost Planet for 3hours straight, no problems.
 
Blazemore said:
Final clocks 648/1404/1242 at max temp of 85-86c with max settings 1680 playing through Lost Planet for 3hours straight, no problems.
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a 295 for Lost Planet at 1680? Im playing that game maxed out on a single 192sp gtx260 at 1920x1080. :p

why would you buy a card like that to play games at 1680?
 
cannondale06 said:
a 295 for Lost Planet at 1680? Im playing that game maxed out on a single 192sp gtx260 at 1920x1080. :p

why would you buy a card like that to play games at 1680?
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I only had to pay around $150 for a step-up of my own money, so why not. I know its extreme don't have to remind me.:p

As for Lost Planet...still have some catching up to do in games. Two down 14 more to go.
 
Blazemore said:
I only had to pay around $150 for a step-up of my own money, so why not. I know its extreme don't have to remind me.:p

As for Lost Planet...still have some catching up to do in games. Two down 14 more to go.
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well I would step up to a bigger monitor for sure. you certainly wont lose any performance in games at 1920.

Im also trying to catch up on several games. Lost Planet has a couple of bosses that were hard as hell for me. in fact I gave up on the level 10 boss and just watched the rest of the game on youtube. lol
 
cannondale06 said:
well I would step up to a bigger monitor for sure. you certainly wont lose any performance in games at 1920.

Im also trying to catch up on several games. Lost Planet has a couple of bosses that were hard as hell for me. in fact I gave up on the level 10 boss and just watched the rest of the game on youtube. lol
Click to expand...

Assassin's Creed, Bioshock, and World at War are all sitting on the shelf, so far unplayed. I'm beating FA3 for the second time right now, and playing L4D. Way too many games out there for me to play them all during school, and still working on weekends.

Mass Effect took a good 90 hrs. of my time, too. First time played through, second time with different class, and during the 3rd time my Seagate HD bricked (only 9 mo. old btw.) Then I finally started playing RA3 (still have not beat) and FA3 - how could I stop playing that? It's like that book you just can't put down!!

By the way, is there any way to force AA via your graphics card on Mass Effect?
 
SirKronan said:
Assassin's Creed, Bioshock, and World at War are all sitting on the shelf, so far unplayed. I'm beating FA3 for the second time right now, and playing L4D. Way too many games out there for me to play them all during school, and still working on weekends.

Mass Effect took a good 90 hrs. of my time, too. First time played through, second time with different class, and during the 3rd time my Seagate HD bricked (only 9 mo. old btw.) Then I finally started playing RA3 (still have not beat) and FA3 - how could I stop playing that? It's like that book you just can't put down!!

By the way, is there any way to force AA via your graphics card on Mass Effect?
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I still need to finish Assassins Creed, Clear Sky, and Fallout 3 just to name a few. im not sure about AA with Mass Effect but I will be picking up that game tomorrow or Monday. I have some reward points that I need to use by the end of the week and thats the only game at Best Buy that I think I want. I was going to get FEAR 2 but I will wait till that drops in price.

I had thought about getting a gtx295 but $499 is lot of money and Crysis/Warhead very high/enthusiast DX10 and Clear Sky enhanced DX10 are the only games I would need that much gpu power for.
 
cannondale06 said:
well I would step up to a bigger monitor for sure. you certainly wont lose any performance in games at 1920.

Im also trying to catch up on several games. Lost Planet has a couple of bosses that were hard as hell for me. in fact I gave up on the level 10 boss and just watched the rest of the game on youtube. lol
Click to expand...

Bigger monitor is on the list, but I love my 226cw. Well that and my wifie got it for me. I can only imagine what would be said if it got replaced with a 24" Samsung.;)
 
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