GALAXY GeForce GTX 780 HOF Edition Review @ [H]

Galaxy said:
It's uncanny how many of these cards are running at exactly 1306Mhz. Either these cards are unbelievably consistent (even for binned GPUs) or there's something magical about that frequency. What slot config did you go with for SLI and how's it working for you so far?
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Native x8/x8-- PCIe_x16/x8_1 (Red) & PCIe_x8_2B (Black) recommended by manufacturer

It seems to be working out very well. These are very good cards from my consumer standpoint and application. Very pleased. Truly a beast GPU.

I wanted to mention to you that the Galaxy Tuner I DL from here http://www.galaxytechus.com/__US__/Driver6/Xtreme?areas=__US__ refused to OC the cards. The EVGA Tuner from here http://www.evga.com/precision/ had no issues and OC'd the cards with no problem.
 
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v--kybosh--v said:
Native x8/x8-- PCIe_x16/x8_1 (Red) & PCIe_x8_2B (Black) recommended by manufacturer

It seems to be working out very well. These are very good cards from my consumer standpoint and application. Very pleased. Truly a beast GPU.

I wanted to mention to you that the Galaxy Tuner I DL from here http://www.galaxytechus.com/__US__/Driver6/Xtreme?areas=__US__ refused to OC the cards. The EVGA Tuner from here http://www.evga.com/precision/ had no issues and OC'd the cards with no problem.
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What about v2.0.7.0 included on the disk? Any difference?
 
Westfield said:
@Galaxy - Every time I would exit a game (Arma 3 or Bf3) and started something new my O.C. wouldn't stick....I'd have to manually apply the O.C. and voltage again (by alt-tabbing) out of the new game.
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I'm having this same exact issue. If I alt tab out of a game my core drops to about 600mhz and just stays there. I on the other had have to completely restart my computer to get the mhz to run normal. But heaven forbid I ever alt tab out of my games...

For Natural Selection 2, I didnt even have to alt tab... just by loading the game the fps would drop to 60 and spike back up to 140 or 200 and then drop to 60... mean while the voltage and mhz rise when the fps hit 60 and drop again as the fps increase to 100+. Then it just repeats non-stop. I have a thread there of people trying to trouble shoot this issue with me for a week. It was driving me crazy. I found a temporary fix, I had to delete some folder under appdata every single time I wanted to play. Only then the core would clock to 1100mhz and I couldnt alt tab or the fps would start bouncing around as the gpu usage % went NUTS.

I put in a ticket over two weeks ago and have been waiting over a week now to hear back from the "engineers" on this issue. Luckily you can flash the bios without voiding your warranty (I asked before doing it).

Skyn3t just came out with a new bios for the gtx 780 hof @ overclock.net.

This guy is my hero... disabling (crap)boost 2.0 through his bios has been a god send, hitting a 1300mhz overclock without being forced press the blue button and have the fans blazing @ max speeds... 75% fan speed is more than enough to keep this card under 70c
 
babochee said:
I'm having this same exact issue. If I alt tab out of a game my core drops to about 600mhz and just stays there. I on the other had have to completely restart my computer to get the mhz to run normal. But heaven forbid I ever alt tab out of my games...

For Natural Selection 2, I didnt even have to alt tab... just by loading the game the fps would drop to 60 and spike back up to 140 or 200 and then drop to 60... mean while the voltage and mhz rise when the fps hit 60 and drop again as the fps increase to 100+. Then it just repeats non-stop. I have a thread there of people trying to trouble shoot this issue with me for a week. It was driving me crazy. I found a temporary fix, I had to delete some folder under appdata every single time I wanted to play. Only then the core would clock to 1100mhz and I couldnt alt tab or the fps would start bouncing around as the gpu usage % went NUTS.

I put in a ticket over two weeks ago and have been waiting over a week now to hear back from the "engineers" on this issue. Luckily you can flash the bios without voiding your warranty (I asked before doing it).

Skyn3t just came out with a new bios for the gtx 780 hof @ overclock.net.

This guy is my hero... disabling (crap)boost 2.0 through his bios has been a god send, hitting a 1300mhz overclock without being forced press the blue button and have the fans blazing @ max speeds... 75% fan speed is more than enough to keep this card under 70c
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tips. Glad the custom firmware got you back in action. I'll pass all the info from this thread along to R&D in case there's anything new there that will help in their current endeavors.
 
babochee said:
I put in a ticket over two weeks ago and have been waiting over a week now to hear back from the "engineers" on this issue. Luckily you can flash the bios without voiding your warranty (I asked before doing it).

Skyn3t just came out with a new bios for the gtx 780 hof @ overclock.net.

This guy is my hero... disabling (crap)boost 2.0 through his bios has been a god send, hitting a 1300mhz overclock without being forced press the blue button and have the fans blazing @ max speeds... 75% fan speed is more than enough to keep this card under 70c
Click to expand...
I think I read on Galaxy's Facebook page that a custom BIOS was not approved of or maybe I need to go back and read the wording. Obviously they wouldn't support the custom BIOS but if it doesn't void the warranty to use it then I might try that since I'm having issues with mine that a new BIOS would probably resolve.
 
Flashing a custom BIOS does not void the warranty unless the failure of the card can be directly attributed to doing so. We do require that the original BIOS be restored before sending in for an RMA should a replacement be required. On a side note, should a card fail to post there's no practical way to see what version is on there.

As djoye says we can't officially support any third party firmware, but at the same time I haven't seen any evidence to indicate Skyn3t's offerings are harmful or unsafe when installed properly.
 
babochee said:
I'm having this same exact issue. If I alt tab out of a game my core drops to about 600mhz and just stays there. I on the other had have to completely restart my computer to get the mhz to run normal. But heaven forbid I ever alt tab out of my games...

For Natural Selection 2, I didnt even have to alt tab... just by loading the game the fps would drop to 60 and spike back up to 140 or 200 and then drop to 60... mean while the voltage and mhz rise when the fps hit 60 and drop again as the fps increase to 100+. Then it just repeats non-stop. I have a thread there of people trying to trouble shoot this issue with me for a week. It was driving me crazy. I found a temporary fix, I had to delete some folder under appdata every single time I wanted to play. Only then the core would clock to 1100mhz and I couldnt alt tab or the fps would start bouncing around as the gpu usage % went NUTS.

I put in a ticket over two weeks ago and have been waiting over a week now to hear back from the "engineers" on this issue. Luckily you can flash the bios without voiding your warranty (I asked before doing it).

Skyn3t just came out with a new bios for the gtx 780 hof @ overclock.net.

This guy is my hero... disabling (crap)boost 2.0 through his bios has been a god send, hitting a 1300mhz overclock without being forced press the blue button and have the fans blazing @ max speeds... 75% fan speed is more than enough to keep this card under 70c
Click to expand...

Wow, thanks for the info, I am going to check this out for sure.

Did you use the 3a-rev2 bios?

This seemed to work, but I think it was a placebo effect. I am back to having the gpu clock issue.
 
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I tried the Skyn3t BIOS and, while it allowed me to properly OC the card, it didn't fix all issues. Some weeks ago, before changing the BIOS, my fan speed has decided to stop reading most of the time and now it just pops in occasionally. BIOS change didn't get the fan RPM back. It knows the % just not the RPMs. Skyn3t said that he's pulling his firmware for the HOF card since there are so many issues.

I've reverted back to the stock BIOS but for some reason I'm only able to hit 1.18V and I think that limits me to just over a 100MHz OC on the core. I'm using version 2.0.8.0 of Xtreme Tuner Plus since I couldn't adjust voltage with the EVGA software on the stock BIOS (Skyn3t's BIOS let me do it with EVGA).

As far as the XT+ software goes. These are the issues I have with 2.0.8.0:
- Everytime I run it, it defaults to "Run and minimize to system tray". I have to reset that back to "Do not run" every time I run the program.
- The GPU Voltage slider goes to 1.2 but then drops back to 1.137V when settings are applied. Should that be just "V" instead of "V/mv"?
- OV Voltage should just be "mv"? I crank both voltage sliders to the right and end up with something like 1187mv when the core bumps up during a game.
- The Fan Speed auto check box setting isn't remembered when I change profiles.

I'm currently using the 331.40 driver.

edit: Also wanna throw in that when my fan does read, when it's at normal operation it shows around 1700RPMs but when I have the boost button pressed it's around 3300RPMs. What's odd is that fan speed % always reads as 50% speed regardless.
 
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djoye said:
I tried the Skyn3t BIOS and, while it allowed me to properly OC the card, it didn't fix all issues. Some weeks ago, before changing the BIOS, my fan speed has decided to stop reading most of the time and now it just pops in occasionally. BIOS change didn't get the fan RPM back. It knows the % just not the RPMs. Skyn3t said that he's pulling his firmware for the HOF card since there are so many issues.

I've reverted back to the stock BIOS but for some reason I'm only able to hit 1.18V and I think that limits me to just over a 100MHz OC on the core. I'm using version 2.0.8.0 of Xtreme Tuner Plus since I couldn't adjust voltage with the EVGA software on the stock BIOS (Skyn3t's BIOS let me do it with EVGA).

As far as the XT+ software goes. These are the issues I have with 2.0.8.0:
- Everytime I run it, it defaults to "Run and minimize to system tray". I have to reset that back to "Do not run" every time I run the program.
- The GPU Voltage slider goes to 1.2 but then drops back to 1.137V when settings are applied. Should that be just "V" instead of "V/mv"?
- OV Voltage should just be "mv"? I crank both voltage sliders to the right and end up with something like 1187mv when the core bumps up during a game.
- The Fan Speed auto check box setting isn't remembered when I change profiles.

I'm currently using the 331.40 driver.

edit: Also wanna throw in that when my fan does read, when it's at normal operation it shows around 1700RPMs but when I have the boost button pressed it's around 3300RPMs. What's odd is that fan speed % always reads as 50% speed regardless.
Click to expand...

I sent you a pm. We'll do everything we can to help get all these issues sorted out for you.
 
djoye said:
I tried the Skyn3t BIOS and, while it allowed me to properly OC the card, it didn't fix all issues. Some weeks ago, before changing the BIOS, my fan speed has decided to stop reading most of the time and now it just pops in occasionally. BIOS change didn't get the fan RPM back. It knows the % just not the RPMs. Skyn3t said that he's pulling his firmware for the HOF card since there are so many issues.

I've reverted back to the stock BIOS but for some reason I'm only able to hit 1.18V and I think that limits me to just over a 100MHz OC on the core. I'm using version 2.0.8.0 of Xtreme Tuner Plus since I couldn't adjust voltage with the EVGA software on the stock BIOS (Skyn3t's BIOS let me do it with EVGA).

As far as the XT+ software goes. These are the issues I have with 2.0.8.0:
- Everytime I run it, it defaults to "Run and minimize to system tray". I have to reset that back to "Do not run" every time I run the program.
- The GPU Voltage slider goes to 1.2 but then drops back to 1.137V when settings are applied. Should that be just "V" instead of "V/mv"?
- OV Voltage should just be "mv"? I crank both voltage sliders to the right and end up with something like 1187mv when the core bumps up during a game.
- The Fan Speed auto check box setting isn't remembered when I change profiles.

I'm currently using the 331.40 driver.

edit: Also wanna throw in that when my fan does read, when it's at normal operation it shows around 1700RPMs but when I have the boost button pressed it's around 3300RPMs. What's odd is that fan speed % always reads as 50% speed regardless.
Click to expand...

So I found something that somewhat works for me on my end. Its not a fix, but it keeps the clock from changing for me. When I use the evga software and enable kboost, my clock does not drop down. I also have the same fan issues as you.
 
Does anyone have trouble getting theirs to 1.3ghz? I'm hitting the wall at 1228mhz, and I would really like to get to 1.3.... I have the turbo boost button pushed, and core volt at +37, power limit at 126%.
 
Can someone advise / provide link to Galaxy warranty? Need to understand if it's against the card or owner and if it's global - ie: similar to EVGA or similar to others.

If I buy it from Amazon then what warranty do I have? With EVGA I'd be covered, can someone advise re: Galaxy? Looking at the 780 HOF.
 
error-id10t said:
Can someone advise / provide link to Galaxy warranty? Need to understand if it's against the card or owner and if it's global - ie: similar to EVGA or similar to others.

If I buy it from Amazon then what warranty do I have? With EVGA I'd be covered, can someone advise re: Galaxy? Looking at the 780 HOF.
Click to expand...

The warranty follows the card. Any owner who can provide a copy of the original receipt will be eligible for any remaining warranty coverage from the original purchase. Warranties vary globally, however, so a card bought in North America will have a North American warranty requiring a North American address.

Amazon.com sells cards from the North American region, so if you bought a card from Amazon you would have a North American 3 year extended warranty if registered within 30 days, 2 years standard warranty if not registered.

Does this answer all your questions?
 
lobski2 said:
Does anyone have trouble getting theirs to 1.3ghz? I'm hitting the wall at 1228mhz, and I would really like to get to 1.3.... I have the turbo boost button pushed, and core volt at +37, power limit at 126%.
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I think that you need to find out what final voltage your card is running at. I think you need at least 1.2V to get to 1300MHz.

Monitor your voltage while playing and see what it gets up to. NVIDIA Inspector may also report the voltage.
 
Figured I'd post this for the masses to enjoy :)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814162142

Also could someone help me with my problem?

my overclock seems to cap out at 1201mhz core even if I bump up the volts to 1.2v.

If I keep it at 1201mhz it runs fine and holds clock. Any higher and it will eventually throttle down to 600mhz even though temps never reach above 80c. Any thoughts?
 
Galaxy said:
The warranty follows the card. Any owner who can provide a copy of the original receipt will be eligible for any remaining warranty coverage from the original purchase. Warranties vary globally, however, so a card bought in North America will have a North American warranty requiring a North American address.

Amazon.com sells cards from the North American region, so if you bought a card from Amazon you would have a North American 3 year extended warranty if registered within 30 days, 2 years standard warranty if not registered.

Does this answer all your questions?
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Thanks for the above. Let me try and get some clarity on it to be 100% sure.

I'm at Australia. I buy 780 HOF from Amazon because they do ship it here, I have warranty correct? Where would I ship it? The 2nd and more important part is; the warranty is against the card - not just me as the 1st buyer? I think this 2nd part is yes if I read your reply correctly.
 
error-id10t said:
Thanks for the above. Let me try and get some clarity on it to be 100% sure.

I'm at Australia. I buy 780 HOF from Amazon because they do ship it here, I have warranty correct? Where would I ship it? The 2nd and more important part is; the warranty is against the card - not just me as the 1st buyer? I think this 2nd part is yes if I read your reply correctly.
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You would technically have a warranty, yes, but again the North American warranty requires a North American address so you would have to set up a forwarding address here in the States to get an RMA, and your shipping costs would be very expensive. The situation with Amazon selling US cards to AUS customers is fairly new and we're still discussing ways we can make this work without undue complications. For now though I highly recommend you to buy through an authorized dealer based in your region so you can be sure to avoid any potential issues in the event a replacement is needed. I just don't want you to end up having to pay shipping from US to AUS if something happens.
 
Just got my 780 HOF in and it's a beautiful card. Unfortunately I did not win at the silicon lottery, again. It's only stable up to 1241 core at 1.2v. A little disappointing after reading all the 1300+ success, but still overall good for 780. May end up flashing skyn3t bios and see if it helps any.


Edit: I've had the card in my system and running for only a few hours and I've had 4 BSOD while gaming at stock. Very disheartening considering that hasn't happened in a very long time, and never with my 7970.

Edit: Can't hold 1.2v, keeps throttling down, which also downclocks the card..... Is this thing really this bad... I expected more from a binned "premium" card. If anyone can give me a fix other than flashing a custom bios that would be great.

We'll I never got the chance to flash a bios, I woke up this morning to a dead card... I hope galaxy has a good rma process.
 
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lobski2 said:
Has anyone tried the new bios? Any improvements?
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The response was 100% positive from the HOF owners I spoke to. If you're seeing abnormal clocks or performance issues of any kind it should clear everything right up, however there shouldn't be any noticeable difference if your card is already operating normally.
 
If using a full water block, should I press the boost button for best over clocking results? Also, is there any way to enable the same features via software control with the stock BIOS?
 
mope54 said:
If using a full water block, should I press the boost button for best over clocking results? Also, is there any way to enable the same features via software control with the stock BIOS?
Click to expand...

I'd most definitely leave the boost on at all times if using a water block. The only reason you'd want Hyper Boost disabled would be if you were wanting to minimize fan noise, and that doesn't apply if you're on water. Keeping the boost on doesn't increase wear or decrease the life of the card, but it does increase the max power available to the GPU, effectively giving you a higher max TDP to work with for generally improved overclocking.

Hyper Boost functionality is accomplished with discreet circuitry not directly controlled by the BIOS, and as such it can only be toggled with the onboard switch on current models.
 
I suspected it might be a discreet circuitry path. How do I determine it's on or off with no fans?
 
mope54 said:
I suspected it might be a discreet circuitry path. How do I determine it's on or off with no fans?
Click to expand...

That's a very good question. I've never tested without air cooling myself so I'll have to check with the engineers to what other indicators there might be.
 
Ok, apparently I'm just over thinking it. Taking another close look at my own card I just realized the simple answer that should have been obvious: The button will be depressed slightly when the boost in engaged. For some reason I remembered it being the same both on and off, but it's actually pretty easy to tell which position the switch is in with a just press or two.
 
Thanks for the response. It does seem like the button is visibly depressed with it activated. Not how I would prefer to assess the feature but that'll do in a pinch.
 
mope54 said:
Thanks for the response. It does seem like the button is visibly depressed with it activated. Not how I would prefer to assess the feature but that'll do in a pinch.
Click to expand...

I did learn another trick from one of the engineers, too. Apparently if you check the power consumption with a tool like GPU-Z, it will appear to drop to around 50% with hyper boost enabled under load.
 
djoye said:
I tried the Skyn3t BIOS and, while it allowed me to properly OC the card, it didn't fix all issues. Some weeks ago, before changing the BIOS, my fan speed has decided to stop reading most of the time and now it just pops in occasionally. BIOS change didn't get the fan RPM back. It knows the % just not the RPMs. Skyn3t said that he's pulling his firmware for the HOF card since there are so many issues.

I've reverted back to the stock BIOS but for some reason I'm only able to hit 1.18V and I think that limits me to just over a 100MHz OC on the core. I'm using version 2.0.8.0 of Xtreme Tuner Plus since I couldn't adjust voltage with the EVGA software on the stock BIOS (Skyn3t's BIOS let me do it with EVGA).

As far as the XT+ software goes. These are the issues I have with 2.0.8.0:
- Everytime I run it, it defaults to "Run and minimize to system tray". I have to reset that back to "Do not run" every time I run the program.
- The GPU Voltage slider goes to 1.2 but then drops back to 1.137V when settings are applied. Should that be just "V" instead of "V/mv"?
- OV Voltage should just be "mv"? I crank both voltage sliders to the right and end up with something like 1187mv when the core bumps up during a game.
- The Fan Speed auto check box setting isn't remembered when I change profiles.

I'm currently using the 331.40 driver.

edit: Also wanna throw in that when my fan does read, when it's at normal operation it shows around 1700RPMs but when I have the boost button pressed it's around 3300RPMs. What's odd is that fan speed % always reads as 50% speed regardless.
Click to expand...
I'm having the same problem. What did you do to resolve this?
 
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