Volt-Mod 7600gs Questions

[Zoogle]

I checked around on the web and found a couple sites where they show how and where to volt-mod the 7600gs (based on the reference board). Some people have posted OC's on the core up to 760MHz @ 1.7~1.8V. At that level of voltage is the voltage mod even safe anymore? The 7600GS runs reference at around 1.1V. I understand that at those levels aftermarket cooling is required which to me, defeats the purpose of OCing a budget card. What kind of clocks could I expect if I did a slight voltmod with the stock cooler (the silent one or the fan one) in a well ventilated case? Also, could anyone post some pics of what volt-modding ends up looking like with a potentiometer and resistors hooked up?

Sorry for my nooblar questions, I'm new to the whole volt-modding business.

 

[HighTest]

Overclocking or overspecing a CPU or GPU has been performed for many years but an interesting trend has happened.

Originally, OC was a method for those of us that bought Budget hardware to yield the best performance for our buck. We'd then show off our result to those that paid twice as much to receive the same performance results and bask in the glory of our accomplishment.

Now it's the top end that is purchased by the "OC enthusiasts" and that is then OC'd to heretofor unknown levels to mankind.

In any event, there is no problem with either philosophy. OC all is a good motto.

As to the budget oriented, it's good that there are those that push the hardware to amazing limits and determine what can possibly be squeezed from the budget hardware. In addition, for newbie OC that smoke their hardware while attempting voltmods, etc, it's far cheaper to do this on a 7600GS than on a 7900GT

But here's the important point. With voltmods, new heatsink/fan combinations, etc.... Does the performance yield a better result than a retail product? Does it yield that performance at a lower cost? Then get the cheaper solution, that's either the next card up or it's the OC, but you'll have to do your due diligence before proceeding.

 

[Zoogle]

My assumption is that the addition of aftermarket cooling makes any attempt at OC'ing a budget item like this pointless. The money that goes into cooling it might as well step me up to the 7600gt. Besides these points and our apparent nostalgia for the old days of Celeron 300A, I hope someone can point me in the right direction for doing volt-mods.