Overclocked vs standard

[Turbosound]

I will be upgrading my PCs video card and this will my first time ever doing so. I wanted to ask what is the difference when choosing a Over Clocked card intead of the standard specs on Nvidia website?

For instance, I want to get a GXT 680 and on the Nvidia website the specs read 2GB, 1006 core speed and 1058 boost speed.

Is it better just to go with the base models from EVGA, Zotac, MSI, Gigabyte, ASUS, Galaxy, etc instead of the OCed/4GB models?

If I were to choose an OCed model with higher core/boost speeds or one with 4GB instead of 2GB does that involve manually adjusting the setting in the BIOS?

Thanks

 

[Forceman]

I wouldn't pay extra for an overclocked card, unless it also has a non-reference cooler. so the Asus DCII or Gigabyte Windforce cards might be worth it (depending on price), but the EVGA Superclocked cards aren't. You can easily manually overclock a regular card to the overclock card speeds, especially if it is just a reference card with slightly higher clocks (like the EVGA ones). No need to get a 4GB card unless you are running multiple monitors and intend to run SLI. A single card doesn't have the GPU horsepower to need more than 2GB.

 

[Fixall]

I will be upgrading my PCs video card and this will my first time ever doing so. I wanted to ask what is the difference when choosing a Over Clocked card intead of the standard specs on Nvidia website?

For instance, I want to get a GXT 680 and on the Nvidia website the specs read 2GB, 1006 core speed and 1058 boost speed.

Is it better just to go with the base models from EVGA, Zotac, MSI, Gigabyte, ASUS, Galaxy, etc instead of the OCed/4GB models?

If I were to choose an OCed model with higher core/boost speeds or one with 4GB instead of 2GB does that involve manually adjusting the setting in the BIOS?

Thanks

As always... It's going to depend on the variables when deciding which card would do best for you.

Generally a 4GB card is only going to be needed if you are running multiple monitors or extremely high resolution. If you're running a single monitor and at mainstream resolutions like 1920 x 1080 (or 1200) you aren't going to see any benefeit from the extra VRAM (in fact you may even lose a couple frames per second because of the latency). I run Skyrim with 50+ mods/texture packs at 1080 and I've yet to break 1.8GBs.

Whether or not it's worth it to buy a pre-overclocked card is going to vary from person to person. When you buy a reference OC card (such as the EVGA GTX 680 Superclocked) you are really only buying a guarantee that the card will be stable at the advertised speeds, the card is going to be exactly the same as far as components used. The only difference is that they adjust the bios before you buy it so that it runs at the higher clocked speeds (so to answer your last question, no, you don't have to adjust anything in the settings to get a pre-overclocked card to run at the OC speeds). If you want more performance out of a card than what it gives at stock and also don't wish to overclock the card yourself... It can be worth the extra $10-$20 for an overclocked card. However... Overclocking a graphics card is extremely easy and generally safe to do yourself (there are several people on this forum who would help you do this in a heartbeat), so most people here on [H] go that route.

Now when you buy a non-reference pre-overclocked card this can be a different situation. As Forceman said... A pre-overclocked graphics card that uses a non-reference cooler that is more efficient than the stock cooler could be one factor in deciding if a non-reference pre-overclocked card is right for you. Some of these non-reference coolers keep the cards up to 10 degrees cooler (keep in mind that some non-reference coolers such as the one on the Windforce blow the heat from the card into your case, while the reference card sends it out the rear). Another reason to pick up a non-reference pre-overclocked card (not counting aesthics) is that a lot of them use higher quality components, more power phases, etc which can result in higher manual overclocks and theoretically a longer lasting card.

 

[teletran8]

Learn how to OC yourself, or use Google to search out articles on cards and what those writer's found for limits.

MSI Twin Frozer+Afterburner+On Screen Display=Period

Stock 560Ti = Core 822MHz, Shader 1644MHz, Memory 2004MHz.

My MSI 560Ti card OC'd ability with simple air. 100% stable, very low 80's like 82 or less and never crashes hours of BF3 multiplayer, Metro 2033, TF2 etc.

Core 950MHz, Shader 1900MHz, 2300MHz. I run my CPU on max power plan 24/7 when I game also, but I do have one of the best if not the best consumer air coolers on my CPU a Noctua D-14, along with a solid case that blows air out the top and back simultaneously. Yet it's nothing all that extreme, it's very affordable. BTW I'm not saying it's the best setup but for the price I paid for my system, it can't really be beat dollar for dollar. Don't believe me, don't care. I'm personally waiting for MSI 670/680 4GB cards with Twin Frozers before I upgrade this outstanding mid-range card.

MSI>ASUS>Zotac>Gigabyte>EVGA imho. There's other brands I left out but it's obviously just a my quick opinion post comment.

An extra 20 bucks will get you cooler temps by 10-20 degrees over reference, and the ability to run cooler than reference builds with OC, or just go for a super OC. Reference cards prob only useful to people doing watercooling period or cutting edge want it now types. I hate a hot case, and havent donw w/c on cards b4 so I wait it out and get TF MSI cards.

 

[roaf85]

Here is some considerations that others have not mentioned:

1. Like a mainboard increasing the core clock and memory speed of a card that isn't already overclocked is going to use more power/voltage since it will auto adjust. The factor is small and I probably wouldn't let it factor into your buying consideration, just that warranty could deny this.

2. Overclocked cards usually clock higher since the reference memory is better from different vendors/batches.

Like others said they would not pay the upgraded difference between those OC cards and the reference cards. You basically need to look at the core clock as that has a better overall difference vs just increasing the memory speed.

So if I was buying a card where the OC verison had like a like a 90 mhz increase in core clock for like 20 more bucks with a lifetime warranty I would pony up the 20 dollars, since there is no guarentee that the reference card could hit that from another vendor.

Just something to consider.

 

[Starrbuck]

MSI>ASUS>Zotac>Gigabyte>EVGA imho. There's other brands I left out but it's obviously just a my quick opinion post comment.

Zotac above Gigabyte and EVGA? Seriously???

 

[raghu78]

I will be upgrading my PCs video card and this will my first time ever doing so. I wanted to ask what is the difference when choosing a Over Clocked card intead of the standard specs on Nvidia website?

For instance, I want to get a GXT 680 and on the Nvidia website the specs read 2GB, 1006 core speed and 1058 boost speed.

Is it better just to go with the base models from EVGA, Zotac, MSI, Gigabyte, ASUS, Galaxy, etc instead of the OCed/4GB models?

If I were to choose an OCed model with higher core/boost speeds or one with 4GB instead of 2GB does that involve manually adjusting the setting in the BIOS?

Thanks

Get the EVGA FTW 670. same core clock as GTX 680. Clock for clock 670 is 3-5% slower than 680 but the 670 is 20% cheaper than 680.

 

[Turbosound]

Thanks everyone. I ended up going with the PNY 680, base specs. After waiting a few years, I finally have a Nvidia card with a standard size Displayport.

 

[Comenius]

Congrats!

 

[Fixall]

Thanks everyone. I ended up going with the PNY 680, base specs. After waiting a few years, I finally have a Nvidia card with a standard size Displayport.

Congrats on your purchase! The 680 is a beast of a card, enjoy your new toy.