What makes an overclocked version different

[Acoustique]

Is it just a better cooler and higher locked in clock speeds thats been tested to be stable with? or is it made a bit differently?

 

[9mmx19]

Most of the time its the exact same card/cooler just clocked higher with a different sticker. If its the same price then go for it but I wouldnt pay anything extra for one.

 

[Sr7]

They're the same.

The idea is that the overclocks are factory warrantied if you buy them with the overclock.

Instead of selling them at normal clocks and letting people attempt overclocks and often mess up their card, they make bucks off of the convenience factor by overclocking for you via safe, tested means and just sell it for a bit more.

 

[Hurshai]

The idea is that the overclocks are factory warrantied if you buy them with the overclock.

I don't think it's possible for manufacturers to determine whether a failure has do to with an overclock or not, nor would they take the time to investigate

 

[Chombo]

I don't think it's possible for manufacturers to determine whether a failure has do to with an overclock or not, nor would they take the time to investigate

I think Evga covers you even if you did overclock.

 

[Mnx4]

So it's not actually true that the cards were made with chips that were "hand picked" for their stability in overclocking?

Or rather, all cards were overclocked and the ones that could be pushed the farthest were sold as OC'd and the ones that didn't are at stock speeds?

 

[Hurshai]

Or rather, all cards were overclocked and the ones that could be pushed the farthest were sold as OC'd and the ones that didn't are at stock speeds?

Or sold as a different model. Take my card for example: The cores that performed the best were branded as the x850XT/PE and were sold at a premium. The x850XT probably has a core with the same capabilities as the PE but it is clocked lower and sold at a lower price. The x850 Pro has cores that didn't test the greatest so they locked some of the pipes and lowered the clocks even more. They are all the same core though, so if you have a Pro you can flash the bios and have an XT/PE (With some upgraded cooling).

It's also kind of like processors. The only thing that really separates models is the multiplier, they are all the same chip.

 

[Forceman]

So it's not actually true that the cards were made with chips that were "hand picked" for their stability in overclocking?

Or rather, all cards were overclocked and the ones that could be pushed the farthest were sold as OC'd and the ones that didn't are at stock speeds?

Not anymore. Maybe in the case of a boutique product, like something from Alienware or something - but from a major manufacturer like EVGA or XFX it is just a re-labeled card. They probably do some testing to verify the card can do the higher speed, but they certainly don't speed-bin them.

 

[Acoustique]

hmm interesting

now when u overclock it takes up the pixel shader aswell

are they affected by heat or are they designed for a specific frequency, so basically it dosnt matter how cool the core is there going to fudge up anyway and wear down the cards life alot quicker?

ive owned a 8600gt before and was able to crank it to 720 b4 it fudged out and needed a v-mod which i never did but thats a different sort of chip

how well do 8800gts 512's overclock? i just want some opinions that arnt from a review
ive got a gigabyte 8800gts, nice idles of 40c at 60% fan and 37c at 60% fan.

Does anyone have similiar results and what was your overclock result?