BFGTech GeForce 7800 GS OC AGP Gaming Evaluation

No numbers, just experience. Did we tell you what you wanted to know?

  • All I needed to know! 100%

    Votes: 80 32.7%
  • I got good information, but I would like a graph. 75%

    Votes: 65 26.5%
  • I got OK information, but need to see framerates, no exceptions 50%

    Votes: 77 31.4%
  • That told me NOTHING! 25%

    Votes: 16 6.5%
  • Pure idiocy, you don't even know what you are talking about. 0%

    Votes: 7 2.9%

  • Total voters
    245
  • Poll closed .
So we are biased against ATI and biased against AGP, right? And biased for NVIDIA and biased for PCIe, right?

Then why the hell does this deal on an X850 sound so damn good? :eek:

SereLaw said:
189.00 after 50.00 rebate @Microcenter.com

I'm digging the card man

I am so confused. :p Just making sure I got that right....
 
Torgo said:
I wanted to make this a separate post about AGP cards. I know that there's this big movement to upgrade to PCIe because it's future and it's here and all that. For those of us who are still on AGP, there's something to be set to keep your system running as long as you can, overclocking it and tweaking it, just to stick it to The Man for whatever reason. I mean, isn't that part of the spirit of HardOCP?

I think comparing the days of running a 266 at 450 for near 100% performance increases and what you get now days is a bit of a miscomparison. That said, I think we were very clear that if you wanted to invest your hard earned money in a 7800GS, then knock yourself, it is a solid product. I just know for sure that I would rather be OCing one to 500MHz clock speed that had 20 pipes open.
 
I was thinking about some things that just might make the 7800GS a bit more compelling...

1) Prices have come down quite a bit already ~$300. $320 for the eVGA Superclock version @ 460/1350. Much more palatable than the $350 piddling BFG effort. I'd expect the price to slide a bit more in the next few weeks. If it gets to around $275, it might get my vote.

2) It's also worth considering that M2/DDR2 is around the corner. And that WILL be a major upgrade. The 7800GS might just be the ticket to hold us otherwise "up to date" AGP'ers with 939's over until it's time to go that upgrade route.

Decisions, decisions.... Something to ponder.
 
skippy9146 said:
I was thinking about some things that just might make the 7800GS a bit more compelling...

1) Prices have come down quite a bit already ~$300. $320 for the eVGA Superclock version @ 460/1350. Much more palatable than the $350 piddling BFG effort. I'd expect the price to slide a bit more in the next few weeks. If it gets to around $275, it might get my vote.

2) It's also worth considering that M2/DDR2 is around the corner. And that WILL be a major upgrade. The 7800GS might just be the ticket to hold us otherwise "up to date" AGP'ers with 939's over until it's time to go that upgrade route.

Decisions, decisions.... Something to ponder.

I still think it is a 225 - 250 dollar card on its best day. At that price point, I would say it would be a good contender to fill in the AGP slot till M2 shows up. Sounds like a plan.
 
Now that I'm awake and clearheaded, one more comment on the short-review format. I think it's already going to go in this direction. For any major product releases, especially of a first generation of a chipset line or new technology, the full nine page spread is required. For derivatives of that line, the short review format is perfect. For example, the brand spanking new AMD 64 Doowhoptometer 6000+ would get the full treatment. The nVidia Hotternhell 3000 would get oodles of coverage.

However, the Doowhopomer 6500+ would get a short review (nothing's changed except the speed and cache) as well as the Hotternhell 3050 (now with fewer pipelines and a slower clockspeed. This can be applied to game expansion packs, product updates, etc. I think system reviews should always get a full review unless the company has a small update to their system (ala the Dell Latitude D600 to the D610).
 
This review is more than what this card warrants. It is like stealing candy from a baby to sell this thing to unsuspecting(unknowledgable) consumers that think they are getting top-of-the-line performance.

On another note, I too am tied to an AGP board and have been having some difficulty jumping into the pcie realm. I did buy a EVGA6800 thinking it would prolong me for a good while. This to upgrade from an ATI 9800 Pro. Boy was I dissapointed. If anything my experience was worse. No real difference is 3D quality, extremely buggy drivers even in 2D, and the fan was so friggin loud it came through my sound card. I went back to the ATI card. Nvidia sucks afaiac :mad:
 
I did buy a EVGA6800 thinking it would prolong me for a good while. This to upgrade from an ATI 9800 Pro. Boy was I dissapointed. If anything my experience was worse. No real difference is 3D quality, extremely buggy drivers even in 2D, and the fan was so friggin loud it came through my sound card.

Can you elaborate on these problems? What CPU does this system have? What bugs in 2D did you have?
 
Wow, I thought it was funny. Just me and the crickets. :cool:
 
Kyle vs the printer, ala office space.

Zipzoom already has the bfg at 309, free 2nd air. not bad all considering. do i wish it had more pipes, sure, but it will hold me till June/am2.

Any one else getting same damn nice overclocks? I was pushing 475/1.44 for a while, but i kept on running it, and ive hit 508/1.5. Only tested in hl2/cs:s, and no artifacting. Ill check it other games eventually.
 
This is a little off topic, but I figure those who matter might see it...

Why not have a max playable settings database? Somethine where we can look up the game, look up our card and see what we can play it at max? Might save some people a little bit of time between searching through all the different reviews? Just a thought...

P.S. thinking about going pci-e now, and saving the current AGP machine for a HTPC PVR..... decisions, decisions...

-pig
 
Schmiggy_JK23 said:
Zipzoom already has the bfg at 309, free 2nd air. not bad all considering. do i wish it had more pipes, sure, but it will hold me till June/am2.

Any one else getting same damn nice overclocks? I was pushing 475/1.44 for a while, but i kept on running it, and ive hit 508/1.5. Only tested in hl2/cs:s, and no artifacting. Ill check it other games eventually.

Yeah, I saw an eVGA Superclock (or whatever they call it) at the 'Egg for $319, their "regular" one is $299.

I suspect they'll come down quite a bit more by the end of the month - around $260 - $270. Then I may pull the trigger & wait to upgrade my entire system until after the dust settles around the invevitable socket M2 "feeding frenzy".

I do most of my gaming anyway at least 1024x768 anyway, since I just have a 19"CRT.
 
skippy9146 said:
I do most of my gaming anyway at least 1024x768 anyway, since I just have a 19"CRT.

just a 19" CRT ???

i have a 19" CRT and play everything at 1280x960 or 1600x1200, 1024x768 is a waste on a 19" 'er man
 
nobody_here said:
just a 19" CRT ???

i have a 19" CRT and play everything at 1280x960 or 1600x1200, 1024x768 is a waste on a 19" 'er man

I should have been more clear. I do most of my older games @ 1280x960 & above.

I have been playing a lot of FEAR lately & 1024x786 is about all my old 6800NU can hack with ANY eye candy at all with a decent FPS...
 
skippy9146 said:
I have been playing a lot of FEAR lately & 1024x786 is about all my old 6800NU can hack with ANY eye candy at all with a decent FPS...
A) That unlocked 6800NU should be able to push a lot more then that.
B) Reading your sig reminds me, will the Zelman VF700-Cu fit on the 7800GS?
 
Unknown-One said:
A) That unlocked 6800NU should be able to push a lot more then that.
B) Reading your sig reminds me, will the Zelman VF700-Cu fit on the 7800GS?

no not really, the 6800NU performs closest to a 6600GT, and i have had two of those, have also had a 6800GT which is a bit faster than a unlocked 6800NU, and it also struggled, not as much, but some....playing FEAR even at 1024x768, he's telling the truth
 
I got the BFG 7800 GS (400/1250), and I for one am totally happy. I upgraded from an EVGA 5900 SE, and I have to say there's a HUGE difference in performance. Right now I have it running at 471/1350 and it runs all my games in 1280 x 1024 well (I was stuck in 1024 x 768 land for a long time).

Here's a couple of benchmarks:
(btw - using 81.98 forceware)

3D Mark 05 (default 1024x768)
6528 3DMarks

3D Mark 06 (default settings 1280x1024)
Total - 3103
SM 2.0 Score 1470 Marks
SM 3.0 Score 1482 Marks
CPU Score 653 Marks

FEAR test (game patch ver 1.02)
everything maximum except:
No AA/AF=4x/No SS
23 low 1% / 54 med 36% / 121 high 63%

everything maximum except:
AA=4x / AS=4x / No SS
20 low 25% / 34 med 51% / 77 high 24%

Not done testing yet, still got more o/c'ing to do, plus mess around with different drivers....
CoD 2 runs great, haven't tried HL2 yet.

Unless I come across some kind of freak windfall, I'm planning on keeping this rig for a couple of years. I only upgrade when either a) my system gets totally borked or b) there's a cool game that won't run well on my system and it is driving me nuts (aka FEAR).

I happened to get the card last Saturday from Best Buy for $349.99 (I have never bought any computer hardware from there b4 - felt weird!), after Comp USA would not sell me the BFG 7800 GS they had in stock... which is outside of my normal behavior pattern, but I was somehow allured by this card and decided, what the hell...

now that I see prices are dropping, I think it is totally worth it unless you already have a 6800+ series Nvidia or x800+ series ATI... I paid a premium to get it early - yes, I was somewhat duped, but at least there's a smile on my face as I'm gaming...
 
Decent review that tells it like it is.
I personally am glad that there is a new AGP card out. It is very common for people to keep their existing hardware long after it has been proclaimed "obsolete" by the "experts".
For many people, paying $500 for any video card, no matter how good it is, is too much money.

Moving to PCI-E is also a much bigger financial jump for many users who will need a new cpu and new ram to go with their new video card. A higher end agp card is not as dumb as it sounds.

Take the following system for example:
Abit AI7 mobo with p4 3.4 GHz processor. (socket 478)
2 gig of Mushkin DDR RAM.
Fast hard drives and DVD drives.
AGP only.

This system is fully capable of running EVERYTHING that is available in todays computing world.
It's not the fastest thing available, but it is not slow by any means.

Should this system be completely scrapped so that the user can get a PCI-E video card?
Hardly.
A high end agp card such as the 850xt or 7800gs will probably extend this computers life for another year, and probably two years.
in 4 months, the 7800gs will drop to $250 and AGP users will be sitting pretty.
The true cost of switching to high end PCI-E is a lot more prohibitive then people let on.
 
The_Terminator said:
A higher end agp card is not as dumb as it sounds.
i think the whole point of the article was to show us that this is anything BUT a high-end AGP card man. i think people would have been a lot more pleased if this was a high-end card. this thing does not deserve the 7800 moniker, it should be a 7000 or 7200 or somthing.

BTW:
<facetoface>How many times do I have to say it....this was a test....fucking just read my previous posts and stop your mouthing to hear yourself, as your thoughts have already been addressed. Order me a beer when the hot waitress gets back.</facetoface>
ROFL. just saw it K. the crickets are laughing too.
 
Ctrl_Alt_Delete said:
i think the whole point of the article was to show us that this is anything BUT a high-end AGP card man.
It IS a higher end video card. It's not the Highest thing on this planet, and it's expensive for what you get, but it's still a higher end card. And it'll be even sweeter for those who need it after the price falls.

Call it a 7600. fine.
 
I'd like to see widescreen resolutions...enough with the 4:3 BS. Yeah, you heard me: I'm talking about 1280x800, 1680x1050, 1920x1200 and 2560x1600. Widescreen for life! :)
 
So Kyle, you can suspend someone's account for saying smacktard (YmkFX) but you can use the f-word because you preceed it with facetoface ??

Very unprofessional, and smacks of hypocritical.

The review and the response, make me less likely to come back. I really like the system reviews but my experience is being soured.....

[Edited for spelling]
 
mjdalways said:
So Kyle, you can suspend someone's account for saying smacktard (YmkFX) but you can use the f-word becuase you preceed it with facetoface ??

Very unprofessional, and smacks of hypocritical.

The review and the response, make me less likely to come back. I really like the system reviews but my experience is being soured.....

Jesus Christ man.

Pick up your shield and go look for Bin Laden or something.

If we wanna hear from Fallwelldykes we can watch them on T.V.

Kyles Ball his game..

Go get your own forum and then you can be the One!

Wheres my spell checker
 
In the BFG website says the requirements for psu is A minimum 400W system power supply (with 12V current rating of 20A or more). I have 400W psu but I have +12v=/19A will that be enough ?

This is my psu spec just in case

Maximum Power true 400W
Hold-up Time 16ms minimum with full load 115 VAC/60 HZ
Efficiency > 70%
Over Voltage Protection +5V: 7V Max./ +3.3V: 4.5V Max./ +12V: 15.6V Max.
Input Voltage Manual Selectable (90Vac ~ 132Vac/ 180Vac ~ 264Vac)
Input Frequency Range 47 - 63Hz
Output +3.3V@25A/ +5V@32A/ +12V@19A/ [email protected]/ +5VSB@2A
MTBF >100,000 Hours
Certified by: IEC950, UL1950, CSA C22.2 NO.950, EN 60950, CCIB, BCIQ, CE
This power unit has (1) ATX P1 20pin connector, (1) ATX12V P4 Connector, (7) peripheral power connectors, (2) floppy drive connector.
Dimensions: 5.9 W x 3.9 H x 5.5 D - Inches

Will this be enough ? TY
 
Personaly i liked the format of this review. It boils down to this : if is a short and sweet review or a heart to heart long ass review, Hard ocp still delivers the message that that we know your money is hard earned and were not gonna let you spend it on crap if we can help it.

Long time ago I said that hard ocp was like a big brother who been around the block knew all the good and bad broad beers and bars (ok i added the last part but you get the meaning) .I really would not sweat the content too much Kyle, 99% percent of us trust your content cause we know yer not in noones pocket, and your looking out for us.
 
nobody_here said:
no not really, the 6800NU performs closest to a 6600GT, and i have had two of those, have also had a 6800GT which is a bit faster than a unlocked 6800NU, and it also struggled, not as much, but some....playing FEAR even at 1024x768, he's telling the truth
You must be CPU limited, my 6600GT can handle fear at 1280x1024 (8x AF, No AA, Soft Shadows Off)

BTW, nobody ever answered, will the VF700-Cu would fit on the 7800GS...So, will it?
 
The short review is fine. The lack of pictures is not. I mean who reads the words anyway :D

I was amused by your attempt to say some kind words about the card. Such as if you have a 9700/9800 (which I do) this card is going to give you 'tons more.' Fortunately after reading this thread I am able to see through that and know even 9700/9800 users should steer clear :(

I guess I have to read between the lines and accept that NVIDIA is pimp-slapping me :mad:
 
i dig my 7800 gs oc :)

now i got it on a 939 athlon 4000+ and smooth gaming is amazing :) see sig below :) card overclocks like decently. but this system wasnt built around overclockability, just stability :)
 
still digging it too :)

overclocked to 460/1400 and wows! it was struggling with my old 3200XP cpu, but now w/ new cpu, i can definatly feel a differece....steady frame rates @ 1280x960 all on high, 4xAA 8xAF, and some other tweaks to bf2, the thing never dips below 40fps....simply amazing :)

*planned this whole sunday to toke up and PWN in bf2 :)
 
Running 500/1.45 now stable. Too bad I will be getting rid of it once Core 2's come out, and going pci-e finally. She has been a good card.
 
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